Staheli Farm

Tuesday I took the babies on Nathan's class trip to Staheli Farm. At Staheli Farm they raise beef cattle. When Sophia went on this field trip, 2 years ago, she was full of comments for her classmates (she's as passionate as her parents about being a vegetarian). But not the buddy, he's kind and gentle and doesn't wanna stir up trouble. Luckily, Staheli Farm is a family-owned operation and at this farm they treat their animals well. However, I really wanted to liberate this sweet cow. I fell for him and spent some time petting his nose. Rachel loved being with the animals and running around. Children are so natural around animals (when they are raised with them). I'm grateful to be raising my kiddos with access to so many animals. Since we left the city (5 years ago) our family has grown closer and we are pleased to be living with so much open space and the knowledge than life can and should be simple and safe.

Salt Lake City

First stop, Liberty Park

Then Spaghetti Factory and a stroll thru Trolley Square

On Saturday we dropped Bishop off at City Pet Club for the night and headed to Litza's Pizza for lunch.

After pizza we went to Hogle Zoo.

After the Zoo we spent some time at Temple Square

We left SLC Sunday morning after we picked up Bishop. Instead of the normal route home we took Hwy 89. We stopped in Manti to see the Temple. We enjoyed a very unhealthy convenience store lunch picnic style on the grass near the majestic Temple.

Gym Germs

There aren't any cute pictures to post from last week. We were all sick. One by one we got the crazy sore-throat-huge tonsils-body-aching sickness. We didn't go anywhere or talk to anyone. I'm pretty sure we picked up these germs from the gym.
The best time for me to go to the gym is at 9:30 am. This is so I can wake up at a descent time (not 5:00 like before) and get Sophia and Emma June off to school. I take Nathan and Rachel to the gym childcare and I'm able to spend a

good 1 1/2 hours working out. I guess I could go to the 6:00 spin class and avoid taking the kids to the childcare, but it's just so hard for me to wake up. Pathetic, I know.

But, we survived, just in time for our planned trip to Salt Lake. I had a scheduled Dr's appt on Friday in Draper and thought it'd be fun to take the whole fam and go to the zoo over the weekend. Unfortunately, David got our sickness too on Thursday. He promised me that what he had was way worse than what I had (sure). But, he's a trooper and went along with us and had a good attitude. We're all better now :)

Kite Festival

I took the kids and a friend to the Kite Festival on Saturday. The weather was amazing! We met up with some friends and ate snow cones on the grass and jumped in jump houses. We turned in our reading logs and got our free kites. After the festival we took our friend home then picked up Gigi and went to Dennys for dinner.

Emily Rigby Meet Emily Rigby

This is my dear friend Emily Rigby. I adore her for countless reasons.

She taught me to can corn.

Emily Rigby is a traditional girl who cans corn and fruit, makes applesauce and her own maple syrup. She has a great story about riding her bike thru the Logan snow, while pregnant, to find her husband, who was working on the dairy farm to tell him about something that had happened. I forgot the whole point to that story, I just love the image of a very pregnant girl riding a bike in the snow in her pjs. When Emily and Brian first got married he gave her a pig as a gift (if I can remember correctly). Emily Rigby can do the worm better than ANYONE!!
She is also famous, to me, for coining the phrase about her children, "pecking her like chickens." It wasn't until I had chickens that I could truly appreciate the
accuracy of that statement.
The most important thing about Emily Rigby is her love for people. She has the ability to make everyone around her feel important and special. She has a pure, unconditional love for people and it's contagious. Like the time when she had all her kids in the car and she gave a homeless man a ride across town. Apparently he smelled so bad that all four kids in the backseat had to plug their nose.

Naming a chick after Emily Rigby is the least I could do.

A New Home for the Chicks

The chicks quickly outgrew their plastic pool home. It was time to put together a more permanent home for them. I searched the internet for hours looking at chicken coop plans. I had the grand idea that I was gonna build a spectacular hen house all by myself. I would paint it pink & purple and hail the loft as one of my grandest achievements. But I soon admitted to myself that I just wasn't up for the challenge; and the chicks need a new home fast.
David is much more practical than I am. Remember our dog Gracie that passed away? Well, we had a nice kennel that she lived in and David converted it into our hen house. Then he took plastic tote boxes, cut out a hole and created their laying boxes. If it were up to me I would've spent a couple hundred dollars putting something together. But instead, we used what we already had and it works swimmingly!

Harold loves the chicks! He shares the hen house with them. The chicks cuddle up to Harold and follow him around the coop.

So Cute.This is what we had for dinner last night. Cheesy bean enchiladas and rice...yummy.

Chicks

Early Monday morning we got the phone call from the post office. Our box of chicks had arrived. David took Sophia, Nathan and Emma June down in their pj's. We've all been waiting anxiously for them to arrive. We set up our garage as a makeshift barn (complete with Harold the bunny). A few days earlier we bought a small plastic swimming pool, some pet bedding a food tray and waterer. We got our chick starter feed from the IFA Country Store. While David and the kids were gone I ran out to the garage/barn to set everything up. When David got back with the chicks he set up a heat lamp for them. He drilled holes in the side of the pool and wired the light into place.

The chicks were shipped in a small box with holes. They joy we all felt was incredible as we opened the box and set them loose in their new home. To say the chicks are cute would be an understatement. We received 26 heirloom rainbow layers. They are very unique looking.

So far this has been a wonderful experience for us. The kids spend hours with them just watching and holding them. They have very interesting and distinct personalities and do the darnedest things. Like, for example, a chick will be running and stop mid run and fall asleep. They enjoy being held and will even fall asleep in our hands. I think it such a blessing to experience something so simple. Raising chicks is something that was, for every generation before my parents, a typical human experience. We have become so far removed from this wonderful tradition. Nathan says that having these chicks is the best thing that has ever happened to him. For me, it has been very relaxing and even therapeutic. Throughout the day, especially at night when the little people are in bed, I go out and hold the chicks and the bunny. It has brought me a lot of peace and joy.

Happy Easter

Instead of baskets filled with "stuff,"

we got the kids a bunny.
His name is Harold and he is so sweet and tame.

Traditional Tofurky

I spent the day baking lots of goodies

Happy Easter!

Hurricane Car Show

On Saturday we went to the annual Easter Car Show in Hurricane. Hurricane is a little town just outside of Zion Nat'l Park. If you live here you know it's pronounced "Hare-kin".

Date

After David & I had dinner at Don Pedros (Green Valley) we went downtown to the Art Festival. We were too late for the festival but just in time to catch the Southern Utah Heritage Choir's annual Easter Performance at the Tabernacle. Tabernacle performances are free.
The concert was amazing. The music was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. The Choir conductor said, "music prepares the soul to receive the Spirit." So true. After the concert we strolled downtown.

Tabernacle

River at the library

Looking up at Main Street

Tabernacle

We walked over to the Electric Theater to catch the show.

Cheers to another fab Friday Date Night!

School Party

Yesterday was Nathan's Easter party (yes, here in Utah we still call it "Easter"). His kindergarten class hunted for eggs then had a picnic. The school is in our backyard so David and I walked the babies over and hung out too.

Look at that view!

I love living here.