Better Pics of the Girls

I got some better pics of the girls yesterday morning.

Their personalities are something else... Saturday night I had to put them to bed early because we were going to Michigan City to meet up with some friends and wouldn't be getting back until late. They obliged, but weren't too happy. When I let them out yesterday morning, Ruby stood about 3 ft from me, look right at me and I swear she was telling me off... I went to give them some treats yesterday afternoon and they ran from me :) Last night, they put themselves to bed.

Connor also got in on the pics yesterday. He brought me the camera and said "smile!"

This is the only one that wasn't blurry. He kept running over to see the picture after :)

The Chickens Are Here!

I picked up "the girls" on Thursday!

This is Lace. She is a light Brahma.

This is Goldie. She's a Buff Orpington. My niece named her :)

And finally, this is Ruby. She is a Rhode Island Red. My "Idon'twantchickens" husband named her!

They were hatched in April/May of this year and should be laying in a month or so. I hope :) They have settled in well. They came from the same flock and get along. I will get better pics later :)

Chicken Coop!

My Uncle Roy, Jon and I have been busy lately... building a chicken coop! Yay! Here it is so far:

Not bad for $3 paint from Habitat for Humanity ReStore! I love the trim color. It's Sherwin Williams Wool Skein. The red is Sherwin Williams Rookwood Red.

I might still have to do another coat of paint on the exterior. I have to do at least two more coats on the inside. The window is in and screened with hardware cloth. I need to find bird netting for the kennel cover and then we'll be ready to go.

The roost will have to be moved. It's not even 2 inches from the back wall and it's supposed to be 12-18 inches.

I'm going to pick up the "girls" on Thursday from a friend I met on Backyard Chicken. I'm most likely going to get a light Brahma, Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpington. I will wait to get my Easter Egger/Americouna until I can find someone who has one. I need a chicken that lays blue eggs :)

Chickens and other things

I had a birthday a few weeks ago and my mom took us to the small zoo in Michigan City, IN to celebrate. Connor finally got to ride on a train!

Jon finally said yes to chickens! He's allowing me 4. I know I want at least two Americans/Easter Eggers for the blue-green eggs. We will be building the coop ourselves (scary!). We have leftover wood from a shed kit that was never put together.

I plan on building a 4ft x 4ft coop using the plans on Purina's website. We should have all of the materials except for paint and latches. My sister-in-law is going to take Connor for one day this weekend so we can get started on it. I don't want Mr. Nosey around when we're using a saw, etc. If we can get the parts cut and panels put together, I think it will go together fairly quickly. How difficult can it be? (famous last words...)

Outings

July 8th, 2011 - Taltree Arboretum, Railway Garden

Connor and Katie had fun! There is only one section right now, so it's fairly small. They put tons of detail into the exhibit. We can't wait to see the next one!

July 10, 2011 - Grandma's 91st birthday, IL

Unfortunately, Grandma J wasn't feeling good and we didn't stay too long. After, we took Connor to the school across the street. I played there as a kid, so did my mother and uncle. Some of the equipment is still the same. I spent countless hours on this piece as a kid!

Displaying Independence

Connor is 2 yrs and 2 months old.

He can count to 15 and knows his ABCs.







He can take his shoes off, lets the dog in and out of the house, knows how to unlock and relock the back door... :) He sings Rockabye Baby and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He knows all of his Chuggington trains by name and how to link them up to make a really long train.

Hangin' Tough

Since I teased her about not mentioning it on her blog, I really need to mention it here :) On Saturday, June 18th, one of my besties, Erika of Shane & Erika, came up for a visit and we went to the NKOTBSB concert at the United Center! That's New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys for those not in the know...

This was my second NKOTB concert and these tickets were a Christmas/Birthday present from my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece. I was never a BSB fan, but I was pleasantly surprised that I did actually know some of the songs.

Of course, NKOTB was just amazing! I love seeing how they really care about their fans. Other concerts I have gone to have thanked their fans, but these guys seem to really mean it. They know that without us fans and our undying devotion, they wouldn't have been able to make a comeback and be on tour for the last 3 years.

This crowd was a bit different than three years ago. There weren't nearly as many pins and buttons :) I don't know if it's because they've been back for a while and that first concert, no one knew if that was it or not. Or if it was because of the BSB fans. There were a ton of NKOTB shirts, not too many vintage though. The crowd seemed fairly evenly split between the two bands.

It was so nice to have someone with me this time! The last concert I went alone, 3 months pregnant. We screamed, laughed, sang and came home with sore ears and no voices. Somehow we forgot to have my husband take a pic of us before we left, but here are two pics I took from my crappy camera.

NKOTB was the first group I ever liked, and really the only one I've ever followed. I've been to three 3 Doors Down concerts and they are amazing, but I can't tell you any of their names except for the lead singer (Brad Arnold). NKOTB was it for me, the ultimate "boy band". I got the first album when I was 9 or 10. When other girls in my class switched to Vanilla Ice, I didn't. I knew who was better! I went to a Joey McIntyre concert in 2000. I have his solo albums and one of Jordan's. I still have videos from years ago, a few pins and some trading cards. I think I have a comic book somewhere.

Anyway, I was always a Donnie girl. I love him in Blue Bloods. He has definitely aged well :) He loves the crowd, the crowd loves him!