Growing up & out!

We had a beautiful 4th of July holiday! We decided to take in the Summerville Symphony and fireworks, just a few minutes from our home. The kids loved watching the fireworks and we left wondering why we never took Ella to live fireworks before. Eric was squeeling in delight and asking for more, Ella was thrilled to see all the colors and lights! What a great way to spend the evening!

Ella has been requesting a new playroom, since her last one was converted to Eric's bedroom over a year ago now. Since, Eric is now mobile we thought it was also the right time to convert our downstairs guest room into a full fledged playroom for the kids. Ella even helped prepare the room and the kids love having a place all to themselves! The best part, the room is downstairs and convenient to the kitchen (the place we spend most of our time).

We've been hard at work lately, Ella has been asking for some time and so decided to take the kids to the beach. Eric hadn't been to the beach since he started sitting up and crawling, so we thought it was time. The kids loved the water, the weather was perfect, and we all enjoyed some R&R! We found the perfect spot, away from all the crowds with lots of tidal pools for the kids to splash around in. I was a little nervous about the kids being in the waves, as someone on the beach mentioned there had been sharks in the water and near the beach, just the day before. So, the tidal pools were perfect. We didn't stay too long, but decided we definitely need to hit the beach more often.

The kids are growing up so fast, we can't believe our eyes! Ella and Eric are really taking on a relationship of their very own. Eric loves his big sister! Ella enjoys the role and carries it well.

Speaking of growing up, our baby chicks aren't baby's anymore! No longer chicks, these girls are almost full size birds now. We now have 2 Ameraucana's, 2 French Marans, 2 Silkies, and 4 Light Sussex. We're slowly downsizing and placing all the roosters (as we find out they are roosters). We've had to give away 1 Silkie (the runt of the hatch) and 1 Cochin (our first hatchling), just due to the special needs of these little ones. We've also lost one to...well, we're not sure.

I had someone purchase a Light Sussex rooster from me and came to pick him up. During the time I picked him up out of the coop, opened the door, and placed him in his travel carrier one of the Silkies disappeared. Did I mention, Julie squeezed her way into the kennel and had one Silkie by the throat? Well, I caught her in time...I think, but now we have no idea where the Silkie ended up? We're thinking Julie may have finally caught one and made her own night time snack or she escaped through a small hole we found in the coop. Either way, we have now lost two Silkies. Here's hoping one of the Silkies we have left is a girl and lesson learned about letting the dogs out in the yard, when the chickens are out.

Meet Dora, our Light Sussex pullet (young hen). She will be a very large bird, having already outgrown Chickadee in weight and height. She is 8 weeks old and just a big girl. A very docile breed of bird, she gets along well with all the new chicks that arrive and keeps to herself in the coop. She will lay some nice tan/brown Grade A eggs when she gets older.

Chickadee rules the roost! She is always the first to check out the new arrivals in the chicken coop. She makes sure she lets all the newbies know who's boss and enjoys looking over all the others.


Hattie is still the smaller of the two Ameraucana's. She continues to be the sweetest bird we have. She'll let us pick her up and will always come up to us, when we enter the coop. A beautiful little hen she will be. We can't wait for the girls to start laying some beautiful blue eggs.

Our first eggs might be layed in Colorado, if all goes as we hope. It turns out we may be moving to Colorado after all. A recent turn of events with our house in Parker, Colorado (which we rented out) has led us to make some tough decisions over the last couple weeks. We have decided to try and make the move back to Colorado and sell our home in South Carolina. Ken will remain at Blackbaud, but will be commuting from Colorado. A bit more travel for Ken, but Maria and the kids will have the support of family when he travels. We're looking forward to a better school system and educational opportunities for the kids, being closer to our family, and decreasing our financial burdens. We have a long way to go, before this move becomes a reality. In the mean time, we're waiting on pins and needles for an offer to come in on our home here.