Summer ... so close and yet so far .

I have been working feverishly at getting the garden in .. Lonnie and Peyton actually planted the whole back garden , so that just left the front raised beds and the flowers for me to get done .
I am anxiously awaiting summer as it marks a break in the constant running I do . Although since Zach did not qualify for summer school , I am going to have to get him into another form of schooling or therapy . I keep thinking that experiences will help expand language , so maybe we will just take advantage of the many great parks and museums ... good thing summer is not here yet as I would be caught unprepared.
For those who don't know we have invested in Chickens , I say invested because it is not cheap [ no pun intended ] to get them up and running . They are old enough now that they don't need a heat lamp so that saves me some money on power . Now they are just eating their weight in food , good thing chicken feed is cheap ....They have been fun , they are better than TV some days , we have 9 Chickens after losing one ... I think it was a runt and was just not thriving . Only the strong survive ... I wonder if the other Chickens voted her out ....?
I have officially decided to change my name to Dad ... Zach has started repeating "MOM!" over and over and over ... much like Peyton does , although he obviously has missed the fact that she stops saying "MOM!" when I say "WHAT !?" ... because he will say it for 10 + minutes until distracted . He will also say "wait I have an Idea " ..... but imagine saying that as one big super word and without consonants ... now imagine hearing that again repeated continuously . he will generally say that he has an idea when I interrupt something he wanted to continue , for example I bring him inside before he is ready ... "MOM!, wait I got an idea " ... "Zach , what is your idea ? " .... " ME , go outside !" .... to which I always reply "No " , and then we start back to the "MOM !" ...... I just keep reminding myself that I do WANT him to talk ... Right ?
Lonnie has been coaching Peyton's T-ball team again this season . This also will be the last season ... Peyton has decided that it is not her thing . I am not sure what her thing is , but we have ruled out soccer , t-ball , track and field [ she has not done track , but knows she wont like it . I know now not to make her try it ... it is a waste of time if she is not into it ] .. she wants to try Karate ... I think we will start with swimming lessons and perhaps guitar lessons .
Well that is all the important stuff I can think of for now ....

Oregon

Zach and Merriah wrestling Peyton , keily , Merriah and Megan playing cards

Without tv , the ceiling fan was very entertaining .

Zach , less than impressed with mossy rocks .

Peyton and Keily found a smiley rock .

We took a road trip to Oregon for the funeral of Lonnie's good friend Monte [ Monster ] . While it was a sad occasion and unfortunate reason for traveling .... it was a good trip . We discovered that Zach travels very well , and that he loves the nature in Oregon . He learned that deer dropping are NOT chocolate chips nor do they taste anything like them . He learned that you can actually fall off of bridges , gravity sucks . The kids got to see their big sister Merriah , they both really love her . They also got to meet Grampa Tom and Grandma Sandy , who were gracious enough to allow us to stay in their home . [ thanks again Sandy! ;) ] We saw crazy Grandma Dewey , and met their cousins Alexis , Cheyenne , and Savanna . I found my Giant pine cones on the last day , which is something I have always gotten each time we go up there . Thanks to Ben for the tip on the location of the pine cones , as they were doing an amazingly good job of eluding me .