Ready for summer!!

It’s hard to believe that April is gone and that summer is just around the corner!

At school this week, we’ll be reviewing for the big spring state test that we’ll take May 8-10.  There are only 16 1/2 days left in this school year.  We can’t wait for summer vacation!!!

As you can see, the chicks are growing quickly.  They are already 7 weeks old.  They love their coop and they also love to peck around outside in the grass.

Every afternoon after school, the kids and I go down to the barn to let “the girls” out of their coop to give them some yard time.  They are too young to free range or be outside unsupervised so the kids and I sit outside and watch them for a half hour or so.  

Never in my life did I think that one of my favorite things to do one day would be to sit around and watch chickens, but it’s truly one of my favorite things to do!

The Buff Orpington chicks are very sweet and gentle, which is the main reason I wanted this particular breed.  This little chick here let Guitar Boy carry her around and then sat in his lap for a while before jumping down to peck around in the dirt some more.

Speaking of birds.....

We had a Mom and Dad pair of house finches build a nest in an old cd box that had been sitting on the back porch.  The Chef hung the box up on the wall so that the nest would be safe but also so the kids could see the babies once the eggs hatched.

See the 4 little beaks?

It was fun watching Mom and Dad Finch bring them bites to eat.

The babies all grew quickly and have already left the nest.

Because we had such an early spring, we expect that the nest may be occupied again soon.

A few weekends ago we hosted a crawfish boil for the young adult Sunday school class as well as the church softball team.

Which, incidentally, were pretty much the same people!

One of my favorite things about being back in MS is the plentiful availability of crawfish!!!

Here is The Chef and our friend, Jeff preparing some of the crawfish to be put in the pot.

Jeff is from New Orleans and a true Cajun.

Jeff is also a mathematical genius.  He not only helped us figure out the chicken coop, but he and his equally brilliant wife helped Guitar Boy pass Advanced Geometry!

It’s been warm enough lately for the kids to do a little night swimming.

Here is The Boss taking her first leap!

This weekend we’ve been enjoying a visit with some friends from TN.

Ken and Marge had been in Baton Rouge at a workshop and stopped by our house to visit for a few days.

As you can see, they were traveling in their 

ah-maze-ing Winnebago.

Look how awesome this thing is!!!

They travel all over the place.  Last year they drove to Alaska and stayed for 3 months.

The Boss really liked the kitchen.

Middle Man really liked their dog, Oscar!

Last night we enjoyed a “low country boil” for supper.

Boiled shrimp, boiled crawfish, corn, potatoes, sausage, artichokes, and fresh french bread.

YUM.

Marge tried crawfish for the first time.

She said she liked the tail meat but it sure was a lot of work for such a small bite!

We assured her that all she needed was a little practice and she’d be a pro in no time.

I’m home from church this morning with Dogos.

She’s had some strange sort of a mild stomach bug the past few days.

I took this picture of her a few weeks ago and it’s one of my favorites.

I think it’s so sweet.

This afternoon I’ll be doing laundry and getting ready for the week ahead.

I hope you all have a great Sunday!