Stairs

Nathaniel is tearing the carpet off the stairs today.  It is tedious, since it is full of nails and staples.  Elijah and I are busy emptying the library, which takes some time cause ya'll know I love books and have tons.  More flooring will be installed, but not today.  Hopefully, we'll get to some tomorrow.   Part of this work will mean that I will be offline for a couple of days, since I have to move the computer out of the library for the floors.  (Yes, I have an old-school desk top computer, and I like it that way.)

So far, so good

I'm hoping this extreme heat doesn't effect Sol and the eggs.  She is still sitting, and like last time, she does move the eggs around the pen a bit.  She doesn't move them as far each time, though, which is probably because moving 12 eggs is harder than moving 6!

Since we are under an ozone alert, I'm really monitoring how long the kids (really Malachi) are outside.  It appears that he can go about an hour to an hour and a half without inducing migraines.  I've been letting him outside in the morning and again in the evening, avoiding the middle.  We set up a kiddie pool in the back yard yesterday, and he and Lydia were having so much fun together it was hard to pull them inside in the morning.  But all 3 of them went back out after dinner to continue the "pool party" and had a great time.

We went to the library for craft time yesterday, and that was a big hit.  They made 2 crafts each.  Here is one of them:

Since my kids are all crazy about owls, this was a big hit.  I've got to take a picture of the other craft they did later, too.

Eggs and Sol

Well, all our eggs are in one basket, as the saying goes.  I just put 12 eggs under Sol.  First, I moved her to the closed off section of the coop, along with her food and water.  She is stuck there now, so hopefully she will happily settle in to hatch the eggs.  We'll just have to wait and see.  In 22 days, we should have chicks.
The kids had swimming and gymnastics today.  I keep meaning to take pictures of gymnastics.  Next Tuesday is my last chance, so I'd better remember the camera!

I did take a cutie shot of Lydia the other day.  One yard sale shirt + one hand-me-down skirt = one adorable outfit:

Hair cut!

I also cut Elijah's hair last night.  I know I need to clip a few more hairs (like his sideburns!) but overall, it looks ok.  He likes it a little longer, so I didn't just buzz it all.

Today was day 3 of swimming lessons.  Sigh.  Elijah and Malachi are doing well - Praise God! a few years ago it was nightmarish with them - but Lydia had a really hard time today.  She was bawling/screaming.  I had to go sit with her, and one of the ladies finally took her on a pool tour along with another little boy from a different class that had the same type of day.  The instructor held both of them as she walked through the deep water, and then had them walk and jump with her in the shallow.  Lydia ended up smiling and high-fiving, and later she said swimming went "great", but she didn't do hardly any of her lesson.  I've got until next Tuesday to convince her that swimming lessons are awesome.

In the garden

The garden is growing.  Check out these pictures!

 Yes, I've got a little bell pepper growing!  And I had to take a picture of one of the lilies I transplanted.  They now line the deck and some are as tall as me!  (Of course, I am very short, as you all know.)

 This is one of the many pumpkin plants.  They look pretty good, although the leaves have a little damage:

 Naturally, Lydia had to get into a picture.  I just love this cute sundress she's wearing:

 And this is a Roma tomato.  It's small, but getting closer to ripe.

 Malachi is showing off his stradle on the rings.

 I gave the boys the job of watering the gardens and each other.  It's a chore they absolutely love!

Finally

Nathaniel messed with the computer today, and I think I can finally post again.  

We lost 6 chickens this week to a coyote.  (4 chicks, 2 hens)  The kids were distraught, and there were chicken bodies all over the yard.  On the plus side, we still have 4 hens and 1 chick.  Sol is broody again, and we hope to have her hatch some chicks soon.

We went to meet the new neighbors today and got caught in one of the sudden downpours we've been having over the last few days.  The kids enjoyed the summer rain, as you can see:

Yes, we were all still in our church clothes.  They had a great time.

First Tomato!