Belt Loop Mania

The last Pack Meeting of the summer was this past Wednesday (6/23). Ben was able to earn his basketball and marbles belt loops, as well as the music pin. The basketball one he earned with his group so several boys earned that one as well. The marbles one he earned pretty easily because he has some marbles that the lady who worked for us on the island gave to him and he was all excited to learn how to play - and that was before he knew about the belt loop. The music belt loop was earned last month so he did five more things to earn the pin. I wanted pictures this time so I told Marissa to go up with him. She hesitated and Xiomara said, "I'll go." They both ended up there and it was cute. So, here are some pictures from the pack meeting. Fortunately, we have some great leaders so the girls really enjoy going and we all have fun!

The first game they played... they had to "fish" for a bottle. The object of the game was to get the ring around the neck of the bottle and try to stand the bottle up on the board. I think only two of the boys were able to do it but everyone had fun trying. My Ben is on the right, but the other boy's name is also Ben so we could just shout out, "Go Ben" and both were cheered on!


Xiomara was excited to participate and it was funny to watch her. After a little while she bent over and used her hand to put the ring on the bottle. Then she'd stand up and try to pull the bottle up. It was funny.


Marissa also gave it a try. One time she was able to get the bottle part way up and it rolled around on the edge of the bottom of the bottle for a while before it fell off the board.

Here's Ben getting his belt loops and pin, with the support of his sisters. The quilt squares behind them will be put together to make a quilt (obviously) once they have all the boys squares to celebrate the 100th year of Boy Scouts.

We went outside for three other games (of which I didn't take any pictures). Then I decided to take a picture of Kemiah with these purple flowers in the back. Just lovely. She is holding a stick with a jar lid ring attached to it. You try to get the stick through the center of the lid. The kids all came home with one!

Splash Park and Beach!

It's about time! We made it to a nearby lake with a beach and a splash park with the whole family and met some friends there for a little cook-out. It was perfect! Of course, I wasn't the one getting wet... They all said the water was too cold but they had fun anyway!

This was as wet as Kemiah wanted to get at the Splash Park.


Emily running through a sprayer.


Marissa waiting for the bucket to dump...

Here it comes!

Completely soaked!


Oh wow!

Nice one! I'm glad she was willing to stand there for the whole thing - even though it was cold.

Now they are trying to warm up. Time to head to the beach.

After a quick game...


Yes, that's Xiomara swimming behind Marissa. Still a little fish!

They were warmer playing in the sand.

Just wanted to show you how far out they could walk... My three oldest are in the center of the picture.

This is our friends' dog - who was not aloud on to the beach.

We really had a great time! Thank you to our friends for inviting us to join them. We might go back again, because it's just under an hours drive away.

Can it be?

I only have a week and a half until the due date!?! I'm sure I'll go past "the date" but it really is getting closer. June is over soon and it will be the month I've been waiting for. I have found that no matter how many times I do this, when it comes to the end, I'm always in a tug-of-war. I'm ready for my back and ribs to stop aching, my feet to stop swelling, my veins to stop bulging, my hip to stop hurting, and all the other things that go along with it. I'm ready for the baby to be here so I can hold her, feed her, watch her, smell her, bathe her, and be awed by her. At the same time I'm not ready for any of it, especially the delivery part. It is easy to take of care of her when she's inside me - I don't have to worry about misplacing her. It's a sort of strange see-saw ride I'm on. At least I know it will end some day and I'll be so happy and life will move on!

People, strangers even, ask if we'll stop with #6. I really must say that it's a bad question to ask someone who's a little more than uncomfortable most of the time. But I always say, "I'm not sure." The popular response to that is a statement about wanting another boy. I've tried to have another boy and we just keep having beautiful girls so maybe one boy is enough. I just don't know for sure - and maybe that, in and of itself, means we're not done yet.

P.S. Sorry there was no picture. I tried to take one myself but it didn't work and Kevin isn't here to take one of me but I just had Ben take one of me so I thought I'd add it in. It's not really the best because my dress matches the wall and maybe you can't tell how big I feel but it'll have to do.

Our first real swing set

Some friends from Church moved to a different house and didn't take their swing set. Kevin asked them about it and they said, "You haul it away, you can have it." So that's just what Kevin did. I have to say that my kids are in heaven now when I send them outside to play. Of course, we have to weed in the garden before they can play (yes, I'll post about the garden soon) but they really do enjoy climbing and acting like monkeys, complete with sound effects. They really have a good time together and it's fun to watch them play together.

Homemade Chicken Coop

Kevin thought long and hard and this is what he came up with. Our original discussions were for a single level 8 foot square type of house, elevated off the ground a bit with two doors and ramps for the chickens. After thinking about it, he decided this would be better.

He picked up some pallets for free, broke them apart, and used that wood to build it. He used some particle board that was left in the garage for the roof and then used roofing shingles that were also left in the garage - so it's roof matches the roof of our house. He built in 4 wheels but they don't roll so well on the grass so we will have to put boards under it when we want to move it around the yard.

Here's the initial frame work and the chickens temporary pallet housing.

Now the roof is finished, the wire mesh is on each level and the ramps. The nesting boxes are on the top level ready for egg laying season. They have gotten really good at getting up to the top level for night time but during the day they have a hard time getting to the food that I put on the second level. I don't know why that is... so I have to put the food down on the ground a couple times a day and they go into a feeding frenzy! Silly chickens.

Kevin will be adding walls to the outside. The walls on the nesting box level will have hinges on them so that we can get to the eggs. But for now, this is where our chickens live.

Maybe this is why they like to hang out by the gate. Now they perch in the house rather than on the fence so that makes us happy.

Chicken Yard

So here it is! We finally got the fence up (actually, two weeks ago) and they have adjusted just fine. The constant daylight and heat was a little much for them so I ended up trying to make some shade for them until Kevin made the coop. I'll post about that sooner or later. The chicken yard is right behind the garage and we hope it's plenty of room for the flock that we have.

Here are Emily and Kemiah in the yard with the chickens.



Now you can see the back of the garage. There is space between the fence and the garage so that we can snow blow or mow that area without any trouble.


Now you can see the sidewalk/path that comes from the back of the house to the fenced yard.

This is what the chickens do to you when you come in the yard. I'm not sure why but the gate was their favorite place to hang out when we first put up the yard. Maybe because they knew that's how we got out...

Yes, Kemiah is carrying a red chicken under her arm like it's a normal thing for kids to do. I guess for our kids it is becoming a normal thing. She had just tried to get another chicken under the other arm but it didn't work out so she just kept the one.


Showing off their chickens.

Photos of Emily

We were outside, working in the garden/yard when I noticed Emily sitting on a stump in the neighbors yard. I had to run inside and grab my camera. I asked her to stay there until I came back and she was happy to obey. She even posed for the pictures, changing her position and so forth. It was cute. Yes, I do her hair.

School's Out!

We are done with school! Kevin took his STEP1 board exam yesterday and the older kids finished their second school year! Hurray! Kevin feels good about his test and is spending the first part of today with the Young Men from Church at the temple in Detroit. No more studying for him so we'll be seeing him a lot more. We will have a little party tonight with cake and ice cream to celebrate. Now I just need to get it made so that we can actually do it.

Now for summer.... I made a list of things that we need to review during the next couple months (math, spelling, reading, geography, practicing piano, parts of speech) so the kids don't forget everything we just learned. I also need to get some kind of chore sheet (daily or weekly) so that we make sure we get other things done. Then maybe we'll be in some good habits when school starts back up again. I should also take some time to work with the younger girls - get Joy School going for them - since they have been left out for a while. We'll do some swimming and gardening and have a baby and lots of other things. Sounds like fun!

35 weeks, and counting...

This picture of the baby was actually taken a week ago at my appointment with the specialist. My doctor said I should go because I'm 35 years old and their equipment was so much better that I'd be able to get good pictures. I didn't want to go because there are no red flags - except that I turned 35, so the doctor was trying to talk me into it. So I went. Guess what? The cord was in front of the baby's face so we couldn't get any great pictures. Oh well. Everything checked out great so at least we know she's healthy.


And here I am, with that little girl inside my tummy, taken this morning! Hot off the camera! I may not look bigger but I sure walk like I'm bigger.

Who'd have thunk?

Michigan is more like a Caribbean Island than I ever thought it could be. No really! Now that we are into warmer weather they are a lot alike.

• We bought two standing fans to help keep us cool. I thought that was just an island thing - we never really used fans in Alaska.
• I am grateful for the breeze. It makes playing and working outside so much more comfortable and enjoyable.
• I still hate when I find ants in my house.
• My kids were eaten by mosquitoes at the Memorial Picnic and lake outing. Xiomara was the worst (approximately 47 bites on her little body).
• The beach and water are still a favorite place to go.
• Dad deals with studying in cold air conditioning while we deal with a non-air conditioned home.
• I need to shower every night before going to bed because I feel so sticky.
• I love listening to all the noises outside (here it's birds, there it was other stuff as well as birds).

Yes, they are a lot alike.