Chickens!

We’ve been talking about getting chickens for almost a year now. Last weekend, we finally purchased the plans for the coop I wanted. On Tuesday, construction began. Isaac was all too willing to give up his afternoon naps this week to help mommy build!

Last night, we put the finishing touches on our brand new chicken coop. I’m going to toot my own horn a bit here, because I am super proud of how well this thing turned out. I cut every single piece of wood myself, learned how to cut 60 degree angles and learned how to use a jig saw (to design and cut the handles) this week. I know my Grandpa Warren is looking down from heaven saying “good job girl”! The things he could build were amazing and this week his granddaughter did him proud! [Note: Daddy gets some kudos too though…he was my muscle holding things in place and helping with the stain.]

So with the coop done, today was chicken day! We visited a local chicken hatchery (some fellow NC State people)  and came home with 4 new additions to the family. Isaac was SO excited. He’s named 2 so far…the black one is his favorite (she has green legs) and her name is Wonder Woman. The white one is named Snowball. He’s still working on names for the 2 red ones; they’ve had a couple of different names today. Maybe some will stick tomorrow!

Isaac did great with the chickens.

Lucas didn't quite have the words to express his excitement. The video pretty much tells it all. He was so excited and so happy. I think it's his version of what a chicken says, but I'm not sure. The first time he did it we all (including the chickens) jumped back. It was hilarious!

Wripley hasn’t quite figured this all out yet, but she’s happy to stand guard and keep an eye on the new girls!

The most difficult part of this whole chicken thing is going to be keeping Isaac out of the coop! He begged all day to get in there, so tonight we let him help get the girls into the roosting area. Eventually they’ll learn to do this on their own. I’m thinking with a 3 year old chasing them around they might be motivated to learn a little bit faster.

And so our chicken adventure begins. Brian has said no more animals. He thinks that bees, chickens, koi and a dog are plenty for right now. I told him that was fine but if a giraffe shows up for free on Craigslist I’m totally going to get it!!

Weekend Fun!

Oma and Opa were in town this weekend for a visit. While we were in Hickory for our bee delivery on Wednesday, Opa introduced Isaac to Lincoln Logs. Isaac asked Opa to bring them when they came this weekend. They spent both mornings building all kinds of stuff !

And Lucas  spent both mornings destroying it. He’s a cute little godzilla!

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we spent the afternoon outside watching the boys play.

We ended the day with a fun and very resourceful dessert. The rain washed out our plans for a campfire, but have no fear left over Easter stuff makes good smores too!

If you’ve never microwaved a peep, then you’re missing out. Isaac thought it was hilarious to watch them grow!!

Sunday was rainy, but we still managed to fit in an outdoor project. We saw these at the Herbfest in downtown Wake Forest on Saturday. We managed to make this one out of stuff we already had at the house. We only had to buy one extra pot and the flowers/herbs to fill it. Much cheaper than buying one at the festival!

It was a great, relaxing weekend spent enjoying the family. We really need to do more weekends like these!!

Beekeeping

It’s spring, and spring can only mean one thing…honeybees! I got a call late on Tuesday night that our bees were ready for pickup. This meant a super quick trip on Wednesday to Winston-Salem to pick up our 3 packages of bees, then on to Hickory to deliver 1 package to Opa, and then finally back home this morning with our 2 packages of bees. The boys and I were tearing up the road, that’s for sure!

Last night we installed Opa’s bees in their hive. Isaac was all too ready to help. He got suited up and on the way out the back door announced “we are beekeepers!” with an excitement much like you’d see in a superhero cartoon. Isn’t he the cutest thing ever?

The beekeeping team…

Isaac was such a great helper too. The bees swarming around did not bother him at all. He asked questions and got right in the middle of things.

He and Opa with the Queen Bee.

Putting the bees in the hive body…

Isaac with the sugar water…

This afternoon when Jonathan & Kathryn got home from school, Isaac led them straight over to his packages of bees and told them all about them. It made me smile to hear him talk about them with such excitement.

Tonight, we installed the bees at our house and again, Isaac helped. Aunt Cindy, the bee charmer, came down to help too. (She really is a bee charmer…she wears no suit and just stands there and while the bees land on her, they never sting. It’s amazing because I’ve seen them sting Brian 100 yards from the hive. He is NOT a bee charmer.) Isaac walked Aunt Cindy through EVERY detail of what we were doing and what we were going to do. He really listened last night and took it all in. It was amazing to hear him explain it to her tonight. I’m so glad that I could share this hobby with him. We’re going to have so much fun learning together!

Touch a Truck

On Sunday, we took the boys on an adventure to the “Touch a Truck” event at University Mall in Chapel Hill. It is an annual event put on by a local boy scout troop to raise money for the children’s hospital. We met Shannon, Kevin and Charlotte there and got to sit in and climb on all sorts of cool trucks and vehicles.

We started at the police car…

Moved on to the dump truck, at which the boys got really cool hard hats to wear. Lucas didn’t seem to want his so it ended up on Brian’s head. I actually could have sworn that I carried that hat all day, but evidently every time I got the camera out I handed it back to Brian because he seems to be wearing it in EVERY picture!

The Bobcats…

Even Charlotte got to try it out…that’s one cute bobcat driver!

The power shovel (or as Cousin Madeline would call it “the snort”)

The garbage truck…

A flatbed tow truck…

The inside of the racing hauler had helmets to try out.

Mommy’s personal favorite was the crane. On the hook they actually had a swing for the kids to swing on very low to the ground. Unfortunately the kids in the garbage truck kept blowing the horn and it was really loud, so Isaac opted to move on without doing the swing part.

We spent quite a bit of time talking to the State Trooper. She let Shannon and Brian try out all the sirens.

And of course we had to check out the fire trucks, even though they were that horrid blue color!

There were probably another 15 or so trucks and things not pictured, including helicopters, pavers, and a cement truck. The boys had such a great time exploring them all. It’s definitely something that we will attend again next year!

Cupcakes

Aunt RaRa and Aunt Cindy brought the boys some special Easter cupcakes. The boys were all too excited to eat them right away.

Lucas dug right in with the wrapper still on…

He was very proud of himself…

Isaac was a little more civilized with his…

But you’ve got to love watching two little boys enjoy their cupcakes!!

Easter 2012

We spend every Easter in Fayetteville with Nana and Boppa for Raynor Family Fun Day. Boppa goes all out and puts together all kinds of games for the kids to enjoy complete with prizes for everyone.

We start the morning checking out the Easter bunny loot, before heading off to church.

After church, the boys got a head start warming up for the games while he waited for the rest of the family to arrive. (I think this year’s attendance was right at 46 people!)

The best event by far is the obstacle course that Boppa and Brian spend hours laying out the day before.

Isaac running the plank and Lucas checking out the hoops.

Isaac finishing the course…(I don’t remember falling down while taking this picture, but evidently I did.)

Boppa and Lucas. This is pretty much where Lucas spent 90% of the weekend.

The grand finale is the Easter Egg hunt complete with Easter bunny. This year they hid 399 eggs.

This is egg hunting is serious business…

Tallying up the loot!

My two beautiful boys…

We had a great time celebrating Easter with our extended Raynor family.