Jon really liked the blue eggs we were getting from our Easter Egger hens. But we were really sad when a fox got one of them, the one that laid the bluest eggs. She was also blind in one eye and we think that may have been partly why the fox was able to get her. So Jon just decided to try incubating some eggs. We had one Easter Egger left and a sussex rooster. He kept all the green eggs from the Easter Egger each day and put them in the incubator. The genetics is such that we should end up with a colored egg if the chicken is a hen. We did realize later that a hen lays one egg each day but doesn't start sitting on the eggs until she has a clutch, which often averages around 10. So those 10 eggs just kind of sit alone until the hen starts incubating them. Anyway, point here was that we could have started incubating them all at the same time, rather than putting them in right away. That way they all would have hatched at the same time and we wouldn't have had to deal with chickens in with eggs and chicks of all different ages. It was a really cool experience though. We learned A TON about incubating eggs and it was fun for the kids to see. We would "candle" the eggs quite often so we could see them moving inside the shell-and in one case-no longer moving. We did lose one egg, which is not at all uncommon, and we opened the egg up and looked at the chick and it was interesting to talk about how they develop and guess that one may have stopped developing just a few days before it was time to hatch.
We also started a Thomas Jefferson Education co-op. It has been a really great experience so far. Benson and Brigham are in the same class and Annabelle tags along. Vanessa is in a 7-8 yr old class, that just happens to be all girls. She really loves her class. And I think the boys enjoy our class too. It has been really fun watching the kids all play together from Annabelle (who is the youngest) to 17. After classes we all go to a park or church when it is bad weather and have lunch and just hang out for a bit. I love that the kids are learning they can play with kids of all ages, boys and girls together and not segregate.
Vanessa also requested that I teach her how to sew. We made this cute little bag, that is reversible. Vanessa was super proud of herself and she genuinely did a good job.
Children's Miracle Network did a bike race and asked families that have been recipients of any donations to come help with the bike wash. I signed our kids up and they did a great job. I actually thought it was a road bike race but it was a bike=motorcycle. Hah. Jon enjoyed looking at the bikes and the kids had a lot of fun washing them. They did a really good job, worked hard, and seemed to enjoy it.
The kids were super excited for Mercy's employee appreciation day at Silver Dollar City. We were able to get enough passes for the whole family to go for free. And they have special hours for Mercy employees so the lines are not as long.
We had a birthday party for a friend from the ward and the kids figured out how to do one of the gambling games and didn't tear their tickets in between. They got a super long row of tickets and were really excited about it.
We had been using a metal ramp up these couple stairs since we moved in. It was one of those things that was sturdy but people seemed to feel really uncomfortable walking on. It was pretty high on Jon's list to get switched out. As soon as we bought the jointer/planer, this project was underway. He used douglas fir, which look nearly identical to the pine used on the rest of the floor. And we made a special stop in St Louis to pick up stain that matches the stain used, basically everywhere in the house. It looks super nice and as usual, he did a great job and was very detail oriented. The trim and sides still need to be finished, but at least this feels safer to walk on.
My parents were called to serve in the Oklahoma City, OK mission at Fort Sill. They are actually in a small town outside of OKC called Lawton. They drove their car out to their mission so they would have a vehicle while there and stopped on their way to see us. We had a fun couple of days with them. They also dropped off one of their four wheelers for us to use while they are away. My mom seems so much better since her surgery and has recovered really well. Her headaches are still somewhat of a problem but not nearly to the extent that they were. And her vision is pretty much what it was before things got crazy. She is so grateful to have had such a successful surgery.
