March Science Clubs

Our Science clubs were fantastic this month. First we were so fortunate to have a friend of ours share with us his knowledge of botany. He is a professor at a local community college and it was really an honor to get his input on the importance of diversifying our diets and our gardens. I have since bought many different kinds of hierloom seeds and am currently trying to grow some new and unusual plants.

We were also very fortunate to have the Silly Safari guy come and show us some of their adorable critters. Many of my kiddos were lucky enough (or unlucky depending upon what animal they helped with) to join him on stage.

C with the baby tortoise.

A baby armadillo.

A great horned owl.

Tree frog.

T with the baby crocodile.

R happy to help with the very large snake! This about killed me to watch. I hate snakes!!! Better her than me!

New Chicks on the Block

Here are the most recent additions to our growing flock of chickens. We purchased 20 chicks for the kids to raise. Each of the older five picked out their own unique one. The remaining 15 were all barred rock chicks that we hope will be good brown egg layers. We've had a successful two years with our Rhode Island Red hens. They are still good large brown egg layers and have been throughout the whole winter, thanks to the addition of a timed heat lamp in their coop. I am not sure how much longer we can expect them to keep up such a steady production, so we decided to go ahead and invest in the next generation so that we wouldn't have any shortage of eggs.

To house our most recent additions, we've converted an old freezer into a nursery/incubator for them. It has worked out wonderfully! Since this picture, we've added some brick so that the chicks can hop up and down and self-regulate their temperature a little better. They are really loving that added feature.

Here are a few cute pictures of the R and E with the chicks.

M is even taking her chick "Mae" in 4-H this year. I am sure we all will learn much from her experience. That will definitely be an adventure!

Fun at the Forestry

We were blessed to attend another Young Adventurers at our State Forest this month. This time we learned more about insects and how they survive the winter. We then went on a hands-on field trip/experiment to try to find some of their winter hiding places. We found some under the ground, inside old decaying logs, under some bark, and even wrapped up in a leaf. The kids just loved this activity because it combined two of their favorite activities: digging and getting dirty! We are so grateful to Miss Cindi at the Nature Center. She is truly a gem!

T's Birthday Party

This just proves how busy we've been and how much of a slacker I've been. The party was the first weekend of March and I am just now posting pictures. We invited three families to come and celebrate with us. T again chose a Star Wars theme for his cakes. I think he will always be a Star Wars geek like his daddy. LOL.

This was our little man, D, when he was turning 7 months old the day of the party. He is such a good baby you hardly know he's around most days. He only fusses when he is hungry or tired. We have been so blessed!

Grampa was able to come over the following weekend to celebrate with us. He brought T a very special gift: a remote control helicopter just lilke Daddy's. As you can tell in the picture, T was very happy. It is even his favorite color: blue. Happy 10th Birthday!

The Twins Visit, Family Retreat, And My First Hat

The twins came for a visit back in January to stay for a few days. They were eating solids and starting to crawl, as well as getting some teeth. They are getting so big and I haven't even seen them in about 2 months. I am sure they are huge by now. D has noticeably grown since taking these pictures.

This is the one picture we took while on our family retreat. This year's topic was vocations. All the kids had a fabulous time and it was wonderful for mom and dad, as well, thanks to our friend, Donna. She was so wonderful and helped watch E, and sometimes D, during some of the sessions and talks that were for the adults.

Here is my first attempt at a hat that has a pattern to it. B is wearing it a little too low on her head, just because I was sharing these photos on another, less secure website and didn't want her face to show. The hat fits really well and is much more stretchy than I expected. I've been meaning to start one for the "boys" in a blue and brown scheme, but have been too busy to even get it started. Once the chaos of spring is over, I hope to have some more time.

Birthdays and Epiphany Party

C and B had a joint birthday party again this year and they both chose to do just the age they were turning. So, that is why the cake reads "86". It is supposed to show that C is turning 8 and B is turning 6. They each chose their colors and design that they wanted me to do. The funny thing about this cake is that if you turned it upside down it looked like they were turning "98" or 9 and 8.

The next day after the birthday party, we celebrated Epiphany with some friends of ours. Even a priest from our parish was able to attend. The day went really well and even included a little play about the wise men visiting baby Jesus and some fireworks after dark. D was the only little baby at the party, so he was asked to play baby Jesus in the play. I guess he has caught the acting bug even sooner than most of the other kids...and what a challenging role for his debut. lol.

More Christmas Celebrations

Some of our other Christmas celebrations with Grandpa, Nana, Aunt Olivia, and Ma and Pa.