A little of this and a little of that...

There has been so much going on around here, and I have had so many witty blog posts in my mind.  Then days go by, more has happened and the backlog of unwritten blog posts is feeling overwhelming to me.  So, we'll just have to go with more of a summary of all that has been happening lately.

• Our rooster (Dottie) is still with us, but his days are numbered. Kent and some of the guys have planned a "Kill it and Grill it" party for this coming Saturday.  Sorry, Dottie, only 3 days left of this lovely little life you have led.  We will remember you fondly...sort of.
• All five of our chickens have literally been flying the coop lately.  Kent and I went so far as to educate ourselves with a YouTube video and then clip the wings of three of the chickens.  And still they all just jump or fly our of their pen as they prefer the more "free range" situation that the entire backyard provides.  I have about had it with herding them all back into their area several times a day and cleaning up chicken s$%* on the back porch.  I kind of think Dottie is the instigator, though, so we will wait until he is gone to decide what needs to be done next.  If all goes well, we will start getting eggs out of the remaining chickens in the next month or two.
• Speaking of flying the coop...Allie jumped out the crib for the first time last week.  She was getting up on her knees and we knew the crib had to be lowered soon. I put her down for her nap and was barely downstairs when I heard the thump.  I found her sitting up in the middle of her room...practically laughing at me.  I had to immediately lower the crib all the way and so far she has not escaped again.
• In the last week, Allie is now fully sitting up and crawling.  Gone are the days of the army crawl.  She is all hands and knees and into everything.  Allie is sort of quietly into everything.  Just quiet enough that you sort of forget about her until you realize she is sucking on the fireplace poker (hypothetically, of course!), or some other equally undesirable activity.  She is the sweetest thing in the world, but something tells me she won't stand being forgotten for long in this crazy family of ours...
• Last weekend we went camping for the first time as a family of five.  We went with three other families that all had small children.  The kids had a great time wind surfing, playing in the water, playing in the dirt, eating s'mores and sleeping in the tent.  We had a great time, but were thoroughly exhausted after two nights.  Here are a few camping pics...

• Kaden had his first T-ball game this week.  Kaden's uncle Andy said that Kaden is "first in the league in sand sculptures"...meaning that he spends a little more time playing in the dirt than he does watching the ball.  He has a little ways to go on his skills and knowledge of the game...but we are taking baby steps. Here are a couple pics from his first game.

And lastly, Kaden has taken to sleeping on the floor lately. Maybe it's because it's a fraction of a degree cooler on the floor than on his bed, and we are doing anything we can to beat the heat in our house lately.  But tonight, either he convinced Maddie to join him or she just did it on her own.  And here is what we found when we went to check on them.  I'm not sure that Kaden's foot would appeal to me as a pillow...but to each his own.

That is all for now folks! ( I don't know why the writing shows up the way it does with a white background and it is driving  me crazy!)