January
After I did Ellie's hair she wanted to do mine so we could have matching pony tales.
January 8, 2017
WE HAD SO MUCH SNOW, WE HAD TO TAKE PICTURES FOR POSTERITY!
The snowblower made a clean cut-away to give you an idea of how deep the snow was.
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| This is where Caleb parks at work. No room to go out, so the pile must go up! (Jan 30th) |
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| Some pretty serious Ice Cicles when the snow started to melt. (Jan 31st) |
Daniel was able to go visit the girls and enjoy a Daddy Daughter Date with Hanna.
March
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| Lizzy, Caleb, and Ellie |
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| Ben (who just adores Aunt Ellie), Ellie, and Lizzy in back. |
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| Bubbles were a fun gift. Ben and Ellie giggled themselves silly blowing bubbles on the porch. |
I had the chance to go to Washington for the wedding and reception of my Cousin Chad Ashby, and his wife Heidi. It was fun to see everyone and enjoy some time with my family while the children stayed home with Daniel.
Enjoying some very fine Italian food the night before.
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| L to R: Amiane, Brenda Ashby, Dad in the back, Steve Ashby, Chad, Adriane, John Ashby, Rebecca Rhead, Kathy Ashby Sharlene and Tayler Ashby |
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| Groom Chad and two of his sister's Sharlene and Taylor Ashby, and cousin Adriane. (March 16). |
The Luncheon after the Wedding was Amazing, and gave us all a chance to visit.
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| Cousins Adriane, Stephan Ashby, and Heather Micheal |
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| Father and Daughters, Adriane, Amiane, and Ambur |
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| Aunt Brenda Warher, nieces Ambur Tolman & Adriane Saxton |
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| Clockwise: Amiane, Ambur, Mom, Aunt Janie (front), Adriane, and Aunt Brenda (middle). |
Back: Aunt Brenda, Jamie, Adriane, Emma, Sharlene, Kate, Sharlene&Zane, Jess &Ryley, AuntJanie
What I wanted most while on vacation was to go to one of the restaurants that served locally grown food. We had the most amazing meal.
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| Left: a friend, Sharlene, Taylor, & Kathy Ashby; Right: John, Amiane, Adriane, Brenda Ashby |
Dessert was every bit as good as it looked!
At the Reception: Cousins Heather, Taylor, Sharlene, and Adriane
A weekend or two after I returned it was Daniel's brother Grant's Wedding. We met Stephanie Staples in Missouri and had Sunday Dinner once a month at her parents house. We were rather surprised to find out that she had met Grant after moving to Provo for school. We love her family and are glad they are now part of our family.
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| Grant and Stephanie Baker |
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| Siblings Daniel, Ted, Carolyn, Grant, Janet, and Sam |
Joseph, Preston Norris, friend Cassidy, Sasha McCallister, and Carolyn Norris.
We had a wonderful time visiting at the Luncheon and then the Dinner Reception. Such wonderful food! And lots and lots of visiting.
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| L: Janet & Stephen, Amiane, Daniel, Joseph, Preston (standing), Caleb, and friend Kasten. |
Hanna and Becca were unable to attend the wedding as they were on family vacation.
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| L to R: Jack, Becca, Layla, Hanna, Henry (with taco), and Ollie. |
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| Jonah and kids |
April
About the first weekend in April we bought new baby chicks. We have enjoyed our break from having chickens but we are ready to try again.
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| Selfie of Lizzy and chick |
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| Lizzy |
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| Ellie |
April 14, 2017
Of course Spring means turkey hunting for Daniel. This year Andrew went with him and was delighted that Dad got a turkey.
Coop Renovation:
We enjoyed our old coop, but when we got rid of the chickens we sterilized the coop and turned it into a playhouse. Ultimately, it was too close to the house and the sidewalk, so we chose to get my sister's old coop and put it further from the house. The children were thrilled to help with the project.
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| Lizzy |
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| Andrew |
Ellie
One of the design changes we made was to build a nest box on the outside of the coop so we could access the eggs without having to enter the chicken yard or open up the coop.
View of nest box closed and open.
We wanted the new coop to match the now playhouse, so the next step was to side it with pallet wood. (Thanks goes to my brother Andrew for scoring the pallets and lending us their SawsAll.)
We are also moving the entrance to the other side of the coop, so this hole will be sided over.The baby chicks are in the house to stay warm and safe, so we still have time to work on the coop.
In the meantime, Ellie is trying to keep up with the rabbits.
Caleb has moved to a new, bigger apartment. Joseph is excited to move out of the house and join his brother with roomies, Kasten, Kaden, and Austin. Caleb is also enjoying his job at Pizza Pie Cafe.
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| A wild turkey nest Daniel found while exploring. |
We keep up with Becca and Hanna with facetime.
April 29, 2017 Pinewood Derby Time!
Daniel and Andrew worked hard on Andrew's car, and he won third place overall.
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| Ellie, taken by Andrew or Lizzy. They do like to take pictures of each other. |
Most of the wood siding has been added. The chicks have been moved out to the coop. They still need the heat lamps, so I drilled a hole so I could thread the extension card in. Which then led to building a box on the inside to hide the cord so the chicks (and later hens) couldn't get to the cord. Look closely and you will see the chicks in the grass getting some exercise.
Having the taller legs under the coop gives the chickens some shade and a place to keep the feeders out of the rain and snow.
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| This end faces the garden. |
This is the back side of the coop and faces the neighbors yard. I wanted it to look nice so they would be less likely to complain that we moved it close to the fence line. The hole for the door has been cut.
May 4, 2017. Two days later, and the siding is almost complete. The last piece has a tricky angle and I have no experience with the saw. So far I have cut almost all the wood and screwed it on. It is my first Building Project and I have learned a lot.
The door has been made and the hinges installed and a latch to lock the coop up at night.
The end facing the road is where the morning sun shines. At first I had it all wood, but then I went back and cut a window in it and added plexiglass and wire to give the chickens more light.
We still have a fence to put up, but the coop is looking good, and the chicks are out of the house!
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