Crab!

Mmmm, this guy was dinner tonight.  What a messy, fabulous feast!  Clive and David don't care for crab, but Matthew loves it.  That just means even more work and less eating for mum and dad.

This is the guy that caught dinner.  The jacket has left over "blood" from Halloween, not crabbing.  He took our wwoofer out in the Schoyen's boat and had some fun.

David wouldn't get too close.  Big pinchers can be scary.  David loves his cap gun right now and bouncing on the trampoline.  He doesn't like dirty hands but offers to help fold the laundry.  He is still our main sleeper, he NEEDS his sleep.

Clive has taken to weeding the front area.  He has done a wonderful job, he is so careful and precise.  Clive doesn't mind dirty hands and doesn't like folding laundry.  He loves the chicks and chickens and figuring things out.

Of course, we shared dinner with the Schoyens, which gave Chloe another Chick-fill.  They are getting so big! The chicks, I mean.

Feeling Spring

The weekend was sunny and warm so we were able to mow both properties.  Matthew slept in our fancy farm truck while children screamed, the mower ran and the whipper snipper whirred.  Sometimes you're just THAT tired.

David and Matthew are playing together much more lately.  Here is David trying to piggy-back Matthew even though Matthew is strangling him.

Marc has started his 90 day challenge....

The chicks are two weeks old.  Here they are learning to roost.  They can fly now, so I've made a roof.

Clive's teacher has got him on to the Can Can music by Offenbach.  Now he listens on the ipod.  There is only so much can can one can take.

We have a wwoofer again.  He has dug out the wild blackberries from the chicken coup and the hens were all smiling today and we got a whole bunch of eggs.  Next, he cut down the pampass grass.

Kelly cut up a chicken to make "fricot".  She has also made cookies and cupcakes for the school bake sale.  Periodically, she puts the escape artist chick back in the pool.  She plays Monopoly and Scrabble with Jerry, and helps David with piano.  Today she said "no" to David for, I think, the first time.  She took the wwoofer to the beach and has been helping Marc with Facebook.  I hope she stays forever.

Now that I've planted my blueberries, I'm feeling like Spring really is going to come.  Someday.  Until then it'll just keep raining.

Ma 'n Pa visit

Family dinner.  We spread into the living room.

Margaret and Jerry joined us.  These are Jerry's photos.

Grandma and granddaughter.

All of the chicks have made it through their first week.

Not sure how Shack felt about the birds.  Can't compete with Gary.

Margaret is great company.  She has led a very interesting life and has some good stories.

There is Jerry in red.

Matthew giving the chicks kisses and cuddles.

The girls are learning to fly.  I think I need to make a lid for the pool.

Shack and Uncle Clive visit

Jerry is taking a picture of me taking a picture, probably because it is so rare.  Uncle Clive and Shackleton came this weekend, and this is the only picture I got of Uncle Clive.  Oh look, he's not there, but his place setting is.  That's because he spent the weekend out in the trees.  I kept the kids at the house while trees fell to the ground.  Who knew treehouse building could be so complex?

If you look closely, you'll see that the trees holding this fort have no tops.  Those are the trees that came down with help of Grandpa, the truck, and my crossed fingers.  Nobody was hurt.  Shack cut his finger clearing some bark off a tree, he didn't notice until later.  I'm happy there were no casualties.

The boys love their fort.  They ran out to it just before school this morning to see how dry it was in the pouring rain.  Thank you for the roof Uncle Clive, it really came in handy!

As our house is loud and chaotic, Shack took up pipe smoking.  Look at how calm he is.

David, on the other hand, can't seem to leave Matthew's head alone.  

Everybody had a great time, I think.

Babies

Cousins.

Twenty-one babies arrived Thursday night.

I repotted leggy tomato plants that grew from seed.  I am hoping for many cherry tomatoes!  I also have a couple of butternut squash plants that are healthy so far...

The babies snuggled down for sleeping.  We were concerned about keeping them warm enough under two red heat lamps.  These little ones are in the living room, so our house looks a bit like a brothel at night.

They are warm enough.  Look at this girl stretching her little leg out.  Before I took the picture she had both legs out.

So, we will look forward to eggs this September.  In the meantime, our old ladies should keep producing their lovely eggs.  The trees are beginning to bud and we are oh so excited for summer!

Ma n' Pa have arrived and already replaced the foggy kitchen window.  The boys are beyond excitement and the sun has come out.  Yay!

Easter

This is the breakfast table, ready for the boys to find in the morning.

A few treats to get them started for a BIG day.

The sun was out, but went behind a cloud when I finally got my camera out.  Twenty children hunted for 260 eggs.  Clive found a nest of real eggs and got a bonus.  20 adults wandered the property, drank coffee and tea and ate hot cross buns and fruit.  I think they had a nice morning.

The chickens came over as well.

Some sat and ate all their candy (Matthew) and some preferred to "save" it (Clive, David).

After the hunt there was playing on quads, jumping on the trampoline and soaking up the sun and warmth.

Of course, the chicken-cuddlers kept busy too.

Thank you sun for coming out today.  Thank you Tom, for not burning today.  Thank you Ma n' Pa for letting us play on this beautiful property.

Birthday

I woke up to Matthew and daddy wishing me a happy birthday and David sang Happy Birthday in french.

I opened very sweet cards and put on the bead bracelet Matthew made for me.  Kelly gave me a card of  cats singing Happy Birthday that Matthew went crazy for.  We listened to meowing all morning.  Wish I had the real thing...

Kelly worked really hard that day.  She looked after Matthew and Kacey while making dinner and Strawberry Shortcake (from scratch!)  I was able to go out for lunch with Bev and have a very relaxing day.  Then, she got up and cleaned up the dinner dishes.

The cake was delicious, all of the boys have asked for it for their birthdays.

Early egg hunt

It was nice to get back in to my routine this week.  I had Landis and Charlie over on Tuesday, nice little boys to play with Matthew.  They were very sweet together when Matthew wasn't pouting.  The "home" kid is always the one to act out.  Sigh.  Except when Kacey comes over, here she is holding her own!

Our egg hunts have revealed the nest under Kelly's window and a nest in the Arbutus trees. Apparently, the nest in the trees has been there for awhile.  Rotten eggs.  Just before dinner we all traipsed down to the cow field.

The boys took great delight in smashing the stinky eggs.  We really know how to have fun here.  There is Clive in his winter coat with his hood up again.  It was actually almost nice out after the crazy weather we've been having.  Every time I try to plant something outside, it rains.  It has been cold and windy and WET.  Enough already!

When Matthew isn't being smothered by his brothers, he comes out with these works of art.  

This is his "playground".  I am a proud mum.