HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

11 Chickens

Well, one of the white roosters wouldn't stop harrassing the hens, so today Nathaniel killed the 2 white roosters.  The kids handled it much better this time.  The boys helped him catch them, and Malachi wanted to watch him butcher them.

He was particularly fascinated by how small a chicken's heart is. 

So now we have 10 hens (hopefully) and 1 rooster. 

The kids will be doing a trunk or treat tonight and trick or treating tomorrow night, so they are very excited.   Unfortunately, on Friday Nathaniel found out that he has to go to England on Monday, so he will miss Halloween night with us.  He'll be gone a lot this month.   

Camping and Tie-dye

 We had a great weekend camping with Nathaniel's family.  The weather Friday and Saturday was great.  Sunday we did have a little rain, but it was just annoying sprinkles.  The kids had a blast.  They even had some cousins to play with there, and that was a big bonus. 

Lydia couldn't remember camping, of course, so she was intrigued by the whole idea.  When I told her that the whole family was going to sleep in the tent, she thought I was joking.  It was fun to see her "discover" what camping was. 

Now we are back home and back in the swing of things.  Malachi was excited to try out his tie-dye kit, and he and Elijah dyed some shirts, long underwear, and 3 sheets.  Malachi spent some of his money to buy a second tie-dye kit, which we will use another day.  (One kit is plenty for one day!)

Kid pics

I really can't quite believe that my baby boy is 7 already.  Can you? 

And here is proof that it can be nearly impossible to get all 3 kids looking at and smiling for the camera:

Mamaw pointed out that it's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I'd share a bit.  Lydia loves getting her picture taken:

The boys are on fall break this week.  Yesterday we just stayed home and had a free day.  They had needed that, I think.  We have been very busy lately.  My friend Katie came for the weekend, and she and I saw Dracula.  That was fun.  I love to go to plays. 

I've also been sewing.  Here's my new doll:

The remaining 13 chickens are doing great.  We are going to have a neighbor feed them and Katie (the dog, not the friend!) while we're camping this weekend. 

Pumpkin Field Trip, a Birthday, and a Loss

Whew, it was a busy weekend around here!  But first, I wanted to share the pictures of Lydia and I going on Malachi's class field trip to the farm to pick pumpkins:

The kids all loved the "hay pit".

Then, my family came for the weekend.  We invited Malachi's class to a video game birthday party at a local place, but we were surprised just a few hours before that the place had had a fire and could not accomodate us!  Plan B went into full effect, with my parents and sister helping clean my house while Nathaniel worked out the details on the phone.  So the kids came here, and we started with outside play:

The chickens were a big hit with everyone:

And then the "Gamebulance" arrived, the mobile video game unit in an old ambulance:

It worked out fine, especially since the chickens were such a hit that two little girls spent the whole time chasing them instead of waiting for a turn to play games, so the wait time was less.  All in all, everyone had fun, and Malachi and Elijah dubbed it the best party ever.  So a last minute panic worked out wonderfully!
Then Sunday morning, the boys sang in church choir and Elijah read the scripture (Ezekiel 37:26-28).  After our family left, we relaxed and spent some time outside.  It wasn't until I went to put up the chickens that I knew something was wrong.  Penguin always runs to meet me in the yard, and she didn't.  She is gone.  We looked everywhere for her, but I knew we wouldn't find her alive.  Luckily, we didn't find her body, either.  But we think she got out of the yard and was eaten by something.  The kids are upset.  This was just before bedtime, so it was sad to end such a great weekend on a down note.