Part 2

Again, Lilly has had us in tears of laughter by some of the things she says. Here is another one she sprang on us. Today was an insanely busy day! Thursday's are supposed to be our day off from Piano, Gymnastics, Story time, ect...but not today. Today we got chickens. But first we had to clean out the lambing pens and turn them into a chicken coop. That required hauling a lot of...well I think you get the idea. After the pen was ready, we picked up Stevie from school and headed to Cal Ranch for a chicken feeder.

A quick stop at home to change out of school clothes and we were on our way to a friends house to pick up a huge dog kennel to transport the chickens and of course 4 huge garbage cans of chicken crap for my mother's garden. I asked her what was wrong with the chicken crap we were about to get and she just gave me a look. Oh well the more the merrier and the better the garden. I won't be complaining come August!!!

Next, we headed for Shelley high school to pick up 7 half grown chickens from their FFA program. The chickens are really kind of cute and Stevie and Lilly were in heaven. I was cussing myself for not packing the camera! We headed home to unload and a quick nap.

Then it was off to the sand dunes for a load of sand for the carrots to grow in. The dunes are an awesome place to play. We took our snow sleds, some shovels, and the kids were in heaven. I didn't know how well snow sleds would go on sand, and the kids were happy to find out they go just fine. After getting enough sand and chasing a stupid dog that wouldn't come when called over and over and over and... we headed home just in time for a bath to remove the sand that seems to find every last little crevasse and dinner. We ate about 7 and the kids are supposed to be in bed by 7:30 but Stevie hadn't done his homework. So, Stevie and I set out to get that done. Meanwhile, Papa tried to distract Lilly for us. Papa took Lilly to the kitchen and offered her some left over strawberry shortcake. She loves "cqueam" ie whipped cream on everything and especially strawberries. Anyway, there were 3 strawberries in the bowl and one had quite a large dollop of cream on it. Of course she asked for that one. Papa gave it to her. It was a large strawberry and Papa didn't think she could even finish it, but she surprised him by eating it all and asking for another. He gave her the second one. She devoured it and asked for the last berry. Papa told her no because he was saving it for Stevie. Lilly turns to him and says, "but Papa, I already licked it and I'm sick." Papa burst out laughing and Lilly says in all seriousness, "really!!!"

Kids say the funniest things

Lilly has said some perfect 3 year-old comments recently and I want to share them. The first came from Papa's steel head fishing trip the weekend before we went to Nana Great's house for Easter. When he got home he told the kids, in a very animated way, all about the 2 fish he caught. Both fish were wild and had to be released back into the water. But Papa instilled in Lilly just how big those fish were. As you can see from the picutre they were "this big!" She was instructed to tell my unlce Andy, also a big fisherman, and he really got a kick out watching Lilly tell everyone just how big those fish were. Well, Stevie and Lilly love the story and the way Papa tells it so much that the telling has now become a dinner time ritual. Both kids now have a role in the telling, Lilly has to make the sound of the line zipping out when the fish bites, and Stevie describes, with all the approrpirate sounds, capturing the fish in the net and having to let it go. The second fish Papa caught was huge and a jumper. Those are the most fun to catch because of the fight they give you and can get several bursts of energy and pull the line out again and again. This one jumped clear out of the water several times. Papa told the kids that if it was me trying to get this big fighter in, my arm would be tired and I might have to let someone else take a turn. He was teasing and the kids loved it! So, last night, as requested by both kids, Papa told the story again. It goes like this,

Papa says, "I'm almost down the river and I haven't caught a single fish. But, there is one more good hole before the boat dock. So, I row over to the side of the river and under some trees. I have to duck and row at the same time. All of a sudden, BAM! A fish hits the line and it is bouncing in the pole holder. I grab the pole and set the hook. But now i'm floating toward the bank and a big tree, I have to put the pole back in the holder, grab the ore and hope that fish stays on the line. I row and row to get clear of the trees and reach for the anchor. I let the anchor out and again grab for the pole only to discover the fish is still on the line! I start reeling her in, and she is a big one so I have to really work to get her in. I pull and reel and pull and reel and pull and reel. And my arm starts to hurt." Lilly says, "Is Momma reeling the fish in?" Papa and the the rest of us just roar with laughter.

I told her she is a stinker and that I have strong arms. I showed her my muscles. But just as she knows to show how big the fish is, she also knows that when the fisherman in the story has tired arms, its me...

The story recently received an addition. At the end of the story, Papa asks Lilly, "and if Andy was fishing with us, how big of fish would he have caught?" Lilly holds out her pointer fingers about 6 inches apart and says, "this big Papa!" I'm not sure it gets any cuter than that!

Chicken's part 2

Lilly is watching this bird take a dust bath. They bath in the dust to "clean" themselves of the oil on their feathers. Kind of neat and Lilly got a kick out of a "dirt bath."

This cute chicken, if there is such a thing, really liked Lilly and followed her around. She eventually let Lilly pet her. Little did I know I was getting such a view with this shot!

Nana and Lilly on a beautiful March day...cold but calm and sunny...just about perfect!

Gatherin' Eggs

Lilly dancing to her own song. She loves to sing and does so regulary. Mostly about things happening right at that moment. So she was singing about the chickens, and the farm and egss and the kitty and how it was all beautiful! She is just so happy!

She loved this kitty and I think the feeling was mutual. They kissed and snuggled and talked to each other. Poor Daisey learned to kind of stear clear of the kids, although she will play with them despite all the tail pulls and rough kid behavior, so Lilly really loved this kitty for staying by her and really lovin' on her!

To Lilly, everything is exciting and wonderful. She is marveling at a chicken sitting on some eggs and how pretty the chicken is.

Bunny Teeth

Nana Karen and Papa Charlie sent us a great Easter basket and inside were these little jems. Stevie thought this was this greatest gift ever and wanted to try and eat dinner with them. Lilly, didn't like the taste and they were pretty big for her little mouth. Stevie ate his teeth and Lilly's ended up in the trash! But we got the picture and its cute!

Lilly making her birthday cupcakes!

She measured, and poured and tasted every part of her cakes. She also chose the color. Pink frosting with "prinkles" and purple cupcakes. Very fitting for a 3 year old!

The tasting is the best part!!!

Seattle Museum ~ Bubble Boy

Stevie was picked to help with a bubble experiment. It was great because the guy engineered the experiment so Stevie won! That made Stevie's Day! He gave Stevie and another girl a cup with liquid and a straw in it. They were both told to start blowing bubbles and the kid that had the most bubbles won. Well, Stevie's cup had a little bit of soap in it while the girl's was plain water. It was great!!!

The demonstrator was awesome! He had the right amount of enthusiasm and charisma to enthrall Stevie and when Stevie was picked to do the experiment, Stevie was hooked!

These pictures are from an incredible museum in Seattle. Stevie and Lilly had a blast taking in all the different exibits.

This last experiment was setting helium bubbles on fire. I missed the shot, but it was awesome and if you look closely, you can see the heat waves from the popped bubble!