Flake Fun

 Let's see,  this past week our chickens had a visit from a coyote.  Luckily they were all locked up but it was very disconcerting to see the coyote right in our backyard. It has been a while since they visited. 

We are still slowly working on getting things ready for the foundation.  

This shelf of rock has to be chipped out down 14 inches so that we can put in footer forms.  (Just the L shape) We rented a jack hammer and Scott worked on it for about 5 hours and got about 6 feet worth done.  He was feeling pretty lousy (a nasty cough coming on as well as a total of 9 hours jack hammering) so we had to stop.  But it will get done sometime! 

We planted some peas which we are excited about and our greenhouse is full of little green things.  A lot of what we started will go out to the property as sacrificial crops to get some roots and green stuff in the soil. 

We are also starting some flowers in pots to take over there to attract bees and do our part in saving the declining bee populations! 

I am in the process of building a little in ground planter box for the strawberries that are supposed to come this week. I went a little overboard and there are 50 plants coming.  Aunt Karen's strawberry patch was eaten by the mule so we will share some with her and then see what happens to the rest of them. I also have a few raspberries coming.  So any fruit growing tips are welcome. 

Anyway, that is all for now! Love you guys! Here is a fun smile to start the week off.

Manning Moments

 Well, we are pretty thrilled about coming to the close of our house adventure. Nick has done a great job and we are just unpacking boxes, sending stuff to D.I. and finishing shelves and what not. I wonder when it will actually feel completed. We had the yard to figure out next but we are not going to rush that. 

It was fun to see Elise for a surprise visit. She was down with Peter for his birthday and they had the oldest Belliston's with them. So great to see all of them.

All the kids are doing well. School has been pretty basic and unprepared for the whole year but we've had some great read aloud and some fun random learning days. 

That is about all to report! Love you guys!

Flake Fun

 The word of the week was: Sick.  We did have a couple of days at the beginning of the week but all three of the kids were down for at least a day or two - but not on the same day or two.  If I could pick, I would have them all be sick the same 2 days so that we can just get it over with.   Anyway...

Congrats to the Mannings!!! Yay for successful final inspections! 

We loved having Mom and Dad visit for a few days.  Sadly the weather was less than ideal so we stayed inside nearly the whole time.  But the kids enjoyed playing chase with Grandpa, reading stories with Grandma and watching the birds.  The kids also really loved the snow that grandma and Grandpa brought so I couldn't complain too much.

Scott has been working hard on prepping for cement and I think that we are almost there.  More often than not he spends a couple of hours each night at, as Robin calls it, "the house hole" after the kids are in bed. After talking to the cement guy we realized that we would have to dig down to the rock before we can pour footers.  Sometimes that is a couple of inches and sometimes it is a foot or more. We are hoping to get footers poured in April.

I still don't have fruit trees but I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will come in the next couple of weeks along with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. 

The kids started their ninja gymnastics class again which they seem to enjoy.  

That's all for us this week.  Hope that you are all well! 

Hyde Happinesses

 Hello hello! Not much to say this week, but it is starting to warm up here and we are excited for it. We’ve taken lots and lots of walks around our yard and down the street to see the horses and that’s been so much fun. Stetson always wants to know if the horses will “come say hi.” So far they’ve been rather stand offish, but hopefully they’ll warm up to us. 

The other day we were driving in the car and Stetson was listing all the people that love him “mama loves Stetson. Dada loves Stetson. Oakley loves Stetson. Cameron loves Stetson (he never actually refers to Cam as dada anymore). Grandma and grandpa love Stetson. Stetson really happy.” Goodness he’s a cutie. He talks nonstop and sometimes I have to remind myself that I like hearing his little toddler voice and his shortened sentences. He has loved feeling the baby kick and asks when he’s going to come. I think he will be a great big brother. 

That’s all for now! Hope you have a lovely week!

There will be fish in the creek this summer, so come on out! 

Cam asks me everyday if he should shave the mustache. I’m undecided. 

They go out every night to walk in the creek and look for the deer. Stetson usually comes back screaming and hollering that he’s not done yet. 

This was truly unreal. It was bread pudding French toast and I’ve never had anything like it. It was absolutely divine. 

Flake Fun

The weather has teased us with a couple of really nice days and then it got windy again.  

Scott worked a lot on the site preparation and now we don't have gaping holes!!  Our kind neighbor is letting us borrow his skid steer which has been such a blessing. 

Robin, Rand and James are learning a ton and never cease to amaze me with the things that they can do.  

That's all for us!  Hope that you all have a great week.