New Bunk Beds!

James has wanted to build in bunk beds for the boys for sometime, and while his dad was visiting it was the perfect time to complete the project.  All of the boys chipped in and helped making it a great family project!

The boys helped bring in the wood, including Hyrum!

There was lots of cutting and drilling!  

And more drilling!  

And more drilling.  :)

We built a full/twin, so that Michael would have a little extra rom to grow.  Now we just need some new mattresses.  

The boys love showing off how sturdy they are!

And here is the regular twin bunk.  The boys love sleeping in them!

The ceiling fans are a little too big and not too safe, so we are going to put up some smaller fans/lights, so we can keep the air moving, but not worry about the boys getting hit in the head!  I am very impressed by the beds and know they will be great beds for a good long time!  Way to go James and helpers!

A new task

For the first time ever the boys got to clean out the chicks box.  There is no real place to let them run around inside, so they took the chicks out to the garden and let them lose while they cleaned it out.

This is our great chicken box.  We had to put the sides up to keep them from jumping out.  They are very active chicks!  Hyrum was so excited to show me where the chicks are.

Michael dumped them all out and let them run around while he put in fresh bedding.  Then, one of them (our great dominant hen) started to run away and Jacob proceeded to chase her around.  She got quite the workout before he chased her back towards the box.

Then, it was time to put them back in.  They did a great job and Hyrum loved watching the entire time!

The boys had fun, the chicks got to see their future home and the boys got to learn more about how to take care of the chicks!

Fence

This past week has been quite the adventure in fencing.  We decided to put in a 100 ft x 100 ft - 6 ft tall fence for our garden/animals that would keep out the deer.  We love our deer, but we don't love them in our garden.  It was quite the endeavor, and we were fortunate enough to have plenty of help.  The Lord knew we would need it!

Our main helper friend from church, Larry, brought with him a tractor with auger  (life saver) and many other amazing fence building tools that I have never even heard of.  He even took the time to taught the older boys how to drive the tractor.  Now Michael can use a clutch!

The life saving auger which is huge!

Driving the tractor may have been the highlight of the week.

Michael couldn't get enough of driving the tractor!

Michael loved giving rides, too!

After the holes were dug (which took less than an hour) it was time to set the corners.  We set the posts with concrete and put supports all around.  Those corners aren't going anywhere.  We did learn that you could just dump a bag of concrete mix in the ground, throw in some water, mix it and call it good.  It such easier than hauling cement around!  

Joshua loved helping, and that post level was amazing!  Friends are awesome!  

Then, there was lots of tamping to do.  Even Hryum got in on this action!  We even found him a shorter tamper just right for him.  

Tamping fun for all!

We did get one roll of wire put up before our great fencing party last night.  We had the missionaries and some other friends over for our fencing party.  We got all of the posts in and fencing up with time to enjoy a nice barbecue dinner.  Fun was had by all!  There are just a few little things left to do, but the major work is done! Now it is time to get it tilled and start planting!  James and I even did some shopping today for vegetables, berries and more to put into our new space!  Now the fun begins!

Michael holding up the fencing while others stapled it on.  This was a project for many hands.

Here is the finished product!  Joshua is now in there pretending to plant a garden.  But for now it is the biggest dirt yard ever for some very excited boys to play in.

Thank you everyone for your help as we could never have done this alone.  The final product is incredible, and hopefully the deer will never know all of the wonderful things we will grow inside of it!

Hyrum Helps

Hyrum helped Larry and I with the fence tonight. Mike Wynkoop helped us lay out and mark the spots late this afternoon, and while the older boys were at soccer and Mom was getting a pedicure, the Bug and I helped on the farm.

Hyrum held the string back while the holes were drilled:

And then he drove the tractor to its resting spot all by himself:

If you can't tell, Hyrum loves both the tractor and his favourite church friend, Larry. And, in the end we now have two corners and their supports (6 posts total) concreted in and ready to be the guiding supports for many, many, many more posts. 

That's the first leveled, concreted, filled, and finished pole of our 400-foot fence. Jacob and Joshua also helped with the measuring and squaring, and Michael and Joshua did some mean tamping in a couple of holes right at the end. Tamping—guck. Hyrum, though, was the only one who helped the whole (hole? lol) time. More updates soon!

Adventures in Pregnancy

This pregnancy has been a little rougher than anticipated, so I've had to find new ways of dealing with things.  First, I just have to say that indigestion is my great nemesis.  I don't know why, but it has gotten worse with every pregnancy and gets worse as the pregnancy progresses.  I am now to the point where I will take 2 Zantac early in the day and then later after dinner.  It is ridiculous and makes most foods look gross to me.  At least I shouldn't gain much more weight.

This pregnancy I learned what Restless Legs are, and I don't like them.  When I lay down my legs feel tingly and want to move all the time.  I did some research and didn't find anything very useful since I already eat bananas.  But right around the time that it was getting really bad my family started a healthy lifestyle challenge.  As part of that challenge I started walking for 1 mile every night.  And magically my legs were better.  So, note to self and anyone else who may have to deal with this very annoying syndrome, walk before bed and maybe do a few calf raises!

Morning sickness.  Up until this pregnancy I have been pretty consistent that as soon as the 2nd trimester hit I quit feeling sick and life was good.  But this year winter decided that it was going to take over the world, and I think that it really affected me personally.  The only fix I had for this was a trip to Florida, and well, it is not a quick or easy fix, but it was fun and I felt tons better by the end of the trip!

More children!!!  I think this pregnancy has similar challenges to my third when I had two little ones running around to take care of.  I remember hiring someone to help me clean and napping the moment the two of them went to sleep.  Now I have four children, but only one toddler, though, one is enough.  My boys have learned to make their own breakfast and lunch, clean it up and help mom out when she needs it.  I am a control freak by all definitions of the term, so this is very difficult for me to not be able to do everything, but I think it has been really good for my boys to help me when I need it and learn to put others' needs before their own.  They are great at playing with Hyrum (the toddler) and helping mom get a nap when she needs it.  I don't think they will be sad when I am running on all cylinders again, but for now they get to learn what it really takes to keep the house going and help make sure it happens.

33 weeks!  I am almost there!  I have always had my babies before week 39, so we are getting close, and I honestly cannot wait.  Usually I think the baby is easier to take care of inside, but I don't think so this time.  I am ready to be able to bend, sleep, eat and really exercise (3 mph walk is not my idea of exercise).  I know that sleep will be sketchy but the ability to eat and exercise and feel human again will be worth the trade off!  And I'll have a sweet little baby to cuddle with.

So, 5-6 more weeks and we'll be there, but for now I'll walk at night, eat little and enjoy my Zantac.