Flock of SHEE-SHONS!

We finally did it...built a chicken coop and filled it with chickens.  Hallie pronounces it "shee-shons."  This is something Cory has been wanting to do ever since we moved to the country.  The timing was never right (and still isn't), but Cory went ahead and built a coop and finished it the night before his major back surgery.  He wanted something to occupy his time while he was off work for four months.  I didn't really agree with the timing, but if it would keep Cory happy during recovery, I was all for it.  And guess what...it turns out I LOVE these chickens!!!  And the fresh, organic eggs they lay!  After Cory had recovered enough to ride in the car, we collected 11 chickens and one studly rooster from various sources...neighbors, craigslist and my facebook chicken talk group.  The first three chickens we got were a gift from our country neighbor, Amy.  They are four month old Rhode Island Reds and we named them Ethel, Lucy and Betsy.  They are so sweet and let me pick them up and cuddle them.  They should start laying eggs in the next month or so.  She also gave us a bantam rooster - Martin - who was being picked on in her coop.  Let's just say he is loving his new accommodations.

Then we picked up two Americanas (Dorothy & Lolly), one Barred Plymouth Rock (Trudy) and one "unknown" (Rudy) from a family on my "Omaha Chicken Talk" Facebook group.  We named them Lolly, Dorothy, Trudy and Rudy.  They are already laying eggs - about two a day.  Martin, our rooster, is head over heels in L.O.V.E. with Lolly.  He follows her around 24 hours a day and they are never apart.  He's a pretty faithful guy, too.  So far, Lolly is his only lover :)

We got three more bantam Americanas (Sally, Gwen & Hildy) and one more Barred Plymouth Rock off of craigslist.  Wynonna, the Barred, is fitting in nicely.  The bantams, however, are really skittish and prefer to chill up in the trees behind the coop.  Every night, Cory and I have to get Sally, Gwen and Hildy down out of the trees and heard them into the coop.  The rest of the chickens spend their days hanging out in the tall grass and head on into the coop on their own at dusk.  They're not stupid.  They know they're nice and safe from the foxes, coyotes, raccoons and such in Cory's deluxe coop :)

Hallie is a HUGE fan of the chickens.  She can see the coop from her room, and one of the first things she does in the morning is point out the window and say "shee-shons."  She absolutely loves going out to the coop and getting all up in the chickens' business...sometimes naked.  Let's face it, what's the point of living out in the middle of nowhere if you can't run around naked once in a while? :)


One last photo of Hallie picking flowers out by the coop one morning...just because I can :)

PHOTO FRIDAY: Vacation Edition/Table Rock Lake

Hallie and I spent the past five days with Grandma and Grandpa at The Wilderness Club at Big Cedar where they are members.  We had a wonderful time relaxing, boating, swimming and making memories together.  The temps were in the upper 70's/low 80's the whole time...sorry my Nebraska peeps :)  I know you were suffering through a May snowstorm while we were gone.

Here are some pictures of our adventure...

Swimming in the waterfall pool with Grandma

Morning snuggles with Grandpa

 

Lots of fun on the pontoon boat

S'mores around the campfire

Blueberry waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast!

   

PHOTO FRIDAY!

Catching up on the last few weeks...

Our little Easter egg hunter

I found an egg Grammulls!

  Watering the plants with Daddy

We finally picked out a new couch for our living room and Finnley is a HUGE fan

Grandpa and the FIRST birthday girl at her family party
 

Special cupcakes for my special birthday girl :)  If you're looking for a light, lemony, fruity cupcake for this spring, check out the recipe here

 
She is a BIG fan of crackers and all things carbohydrate related :)





















Love her and her skinny little tummy!

Hallie is ONE!

Our sweet little girl turned ONE year old today!  My how time flies!  We packed in as much fun as we could to celebrate.

We started the morning with her first birthday announcement on our local news station.  Sure, they pronounced her name wrong, but it was still special to us :)

Then Grandma Scearcy called to sing happy birthday!
 
When Daddy came home from work, he gave his special girl some yellow tulips.

Then we gave her a little adirondak chair, which she climbed on and off of for quite a while ;)

 



After that we had pink funfetti cake that Mommy made.  Hal loved it and really liked feeding the cake to herself and Daddy!

Here's a video of us singing "Happy Birthday"

We were going to go to the zoo, but decided to head down to the old market instead.  The weather was absolutely beautiful so we walked around and then had a delicious dinner at the Jackson Street Tavern.

After dinner we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house to see them and play with our cousins.

Hallie was fast asleep within five minutes of leaving Gma and Gpa's house :)  She may not remember today, but me and Daddy sure will!  

PHOTO FRIDAY!

Sorry it's been awhile :)  Here's a photo recap of our week...

Hallie loves to stand at the window in the dining room and watch Finn when he's outside

Grandma and Kate came out on Monday and those two girls CANNOT get enough of Grandma!  When she's around nobody else matters

Just enjoying the sunpatch in the empty dining room 

Walking around with blocks in her mouth is the latest craze

Hal and Daddy love to walk around the house and point out all the different people in the picture frames

After bath smooches with Mommy

Hal gained access to the laundry room (the door is usually closed) and was excited to discover my Chuck's.  She has a bit of a shoe obsession already...uh oh

We try to "facetime" Daddy on our iPhones every day, so every time I take out my phone Hallie starts saying "Dadda."  That is what she is saying in this picture :)

Hallie is officially a "walker."  No more crawling for our little nugget.  I love the look of determination on her face in this picture.  I've seen that same look on her dad's face several times :)









 

Turning ONE in less than two weeks!  Such a beauty 

Hallie's First Steps...Caught on Video!

Hallie has been taking tentative steps for a month or so, but I have always been "hovering" and unable to catch it on video until now.  Also, this video captures her adorable little giggle :)

Walking with Daddy

The weather has been nice here the last few days, so Cory took Hallie outside to practice her walking on the driveway.  He's such a loving, helpful Daddy.  Here are some pictures of their adventure together.