We're still here!!

I cannot believe it has been about eight months since I posted something! This entire year has just flown by in the blink of an eye. We have been so very busy since the first of the year--starting it off with a broken clavicle for my oldest boy and snow in AL!

We were all saddened by the death of our beloved cat--Oscar, but we found room in our hearts for two young pups--a mix-breed named Oliver and an American Boxer puppy named Lilly. What a crazy pair Oliver & Lilly make! [and, no, any similarity to Hannah Montana was not intentional--oddly, it was purely coincidental since Lilly was already named when we got her]

We've already participated in tons of fieldtrips this year from career-themed tours at ABC 33/40 news and Cox Radio station to significant historical sites like Old Cahawba, Alabama's first capitol. The highlight was probably a SCUBA lesson where the boys were able to don full SCUBA gear and try it out in a pool with a certified instructor.

 

  

We have also enjoyed numerous social activities from our annual Valentines Skate Party and our Egg Hunt & Lunch Social to regular bowling, skating & park days! Of course, the summer would never be complete without several meet-ups at our local Turkey Creek Nature Preserve with its super cool natural water slide and beautiful swimming hole, nicknamed the Blue Hole.

In May one of our Ameraucana hens decided to set a single egg. We figured there was no chance it would actually hatch....ha! By the first of June, we had a pretty new blue Ameraucana that we now believe is a hen.

Apparently the hatch fever spread to other hens, which immediately began hatching eggs as well. We re-homed 9 chicks that were mix breeds, but sadly the hatch fever was contagious to humans as well. By the end of June, I had set 34 eggs in the incubator!! We re-homed 5 of those mixed breeds as well, but we now have 4 more Ameraucana chicks and 2 chicks that seem to have some "issues"--possibly genetic problems. The ultimate purpose of the incubator hatch was to hatch some crosses which will hopefully produce hens that lay olive colored eggs. Alas, none of those eggs hatched. :-( So, if at first you don't succeed...try...try again! Our last incubator run for this year is still in progress with 8 eggs set to hatch approximately August 10. Hopefully this hatch will be more successful!

We are currently experiencing a heat wave here in Alabama, which really makes it difficult to get much done these days. It's so hot that it is hard to even think about doing anything! This year promises to bring lots of new activities but I hope that I will be able to keep up with posts more regularly during this new school year!