Camping Practice

     Last weekend we took the tent for a test run in the backyard. But before that fun began we had to get our business finished. 

Dalton got the tiller running so he and Cooper did some garden prep. 

I told Dalton we're looking more like farmers than ranchers these days with our chicks and garden.

     Then it was time to haul a few pigs into town. I have to say that I enjoy those trips; not because of the pigs, but because it's fun to load up in the truck and ride with Daddy. Then we usually get a hamburger (or corn dog in Cooper's case) and eat it on the way home…after a milk run at United. There's just something sweet about family trips like that. 

     On the way back from selling pigs, we spotted a couple of baby goats at Popsey's so we pulled in to pet them. Cooper was more interested in this guy though. 

    Then we petted the cute little black kid. He wasn't too thrilled to be held, and Cooper wasn't too thrilled to hear him making all that racket calling him momma, but he still held him for a little while.

    While the boys and I napped, Dalton set up the tent. Cooper was pretty excited when he woke up to a tent in the yard! He quickly got dressed and everyone went out to check the tent.

This is so neat!

Can we camp tonight please please!!

Notice Dalton's expression: What have I gotten myself into?

     Dalton was really funny. He worked really hard to keep the boys from dragging leaves into the tent but they didn't cooperate. And he was just as excited as the boys I think. He wanted me to bring out pillows, blankets and then the sleeping bags.

What a trio!

     We were going to cook steaks, but the grill wasn't cooperating with the cold, so scrambled egg sandwiches were the next best thing. While the boys played with flashlights in the tent I got it all ready and we ate in the tent. 

     It was a little crazy with no table and Ace shuffling around grabbing things, but we got it all down without much incident.

     Quote of the night: I was taking pictures and trying to get the boys and Dalton to pose and Dalton said "Gabby this isn't even real live camping!" I couldn't help but giggle.

     Finally it was time for the decision to be made. Cooper was really excited to sleep all night in the tent and Dalton agreed, assuming that they'd last a few hours and then come in.

Yeah, camping!!

Ace and I got in a quick snuggle before we all put on our PJs. 

     Cooper changed into his PJs as fast as he could and Dalton put his layers on as slow as he could. He was smirking and looking a little unsure at the same time. I kept giggling at thinking of them in the backyard camping. 

     Dalton said that when they got to the tent he was trying to talk to Cooper and read him books, but Cooper just laid there for a minute then went straight to sleep! I was inside putting Ace to bed and enjoying my free time to clean the house when I got a text from Dalton that said "Cooper's asleep, guess I'm staying out here." Another giggle picturing Dalton awake in the tent, on un-level ground, with no cushion but a sleeping bag (sounds like real live camping to me). 

     I had to sneak out and take a picture. Don't let it fool you though, Dalt's awake, he just didn't want to pose for the picture. 

     So how long did they last in the tent? Until 7 am!!! Wow! Cooper wasn't joking about camping all night.

     Now we are all excited to do some 'real live camping' in the spring!

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5

Chicks R Us…Not Quite

     My bathroom is no longer my own, as of Tuesday. It's been taken over by baby chicks. Now before you think "Awwww how cute" let me let you in on a little secret about birds…even baby birds. They are stinky, loud and very fragile. I knew this before, but had forgotten these three important facts about birds until they invaded my home.

     I don't want any misunderstandings…I willingly took these little creatures in and I do like the thought of little fluffy chicks running around at Easter, but so far it has not been a sweet fuzzy tale. Someone gave the chicks to Dalton's dad and he sent them to me by way of one of his employees. When he dropped them off there were 5 in the box (3 others had died the night before…not a good sign). When I opened the box I found 2 standing, 1 wobbling and 2 laying down. I had to hold the box really still to see if those two were alive. Hmmm.

     "Great," I thought to myself, "I'm starting with half-dead birds; that's just my luck." So I hurried them inside the house, knowing that they needed immediate attention. I called my chicken experts….Grandma and PawPaw to get the info I needed. Grandma told me that they needed to be in a really warm spot, not outside, with heat on them. Wonderful.

     I got the lamp from Ace's room and took it and the fading birds to my bathroom, the most out of the way and warmest room I could find. I put them under the lamp. Next she said to make sure they had water and food. I put a lid full of water in the box, along with some lay crumble that I made extra crumbly, with some boiled egg on top.

    Then I tried to rub the limp ones and get them back to life. They just responded by opening and closing their beaks at random intervals like they were gasping for breaths. Great.

The original set up

    After I got them settled I had to leave them and head into town. When I got back I was encouraged…only one was down now and the others seemed to be doing better. Dalton was not convinced that it was warm enough in the bathroom but I didn't listen. About an hour after I had last checked the chicks Dalt called to me from the bathroom. "Gabby, I need your assistance." Uh oh.

Dalton did not want me to take his picture while he tended to the chicks

    I arrived to the bathroom to see Dalton using the blow dryer to put warm air on two wet chicks, who weren't looking too good. How they had managed to soak themselves in a tiny tupperware lid is beyond me and at that point I was reminded and irritated at just how dumb chickens are. We blow dried the little guys, I held them in a warm towel, we changed the newspaper and water and put fresh food out and then hoped for the best.

Thank goodness for mirrors ; ) 

    As we prepared for bed, I realized that, aside from not being able to brush our teeth in our bathroom (can't do it with a box of chicks so close by), we were going to have to hear the chirps all night long. Dalton said we'd have dreams of spring as we heard the very loud chirps while climbing into bed. They were not comforting and springy though..instead they were harsh and loud. But after turning the fan up a notch it was bearable.

     That night, during one of my times up with a child (a whole other post), I checked on the chicks and found that we'd lost one. I'm embarrassed to say that I was a little relieved….once they were down and gasping I was just ready for them to give up so I didn't have to worry about them. The next morning the other one had finally went to eternal sleep too so we decided the survivors needed more heat.

     We added a space heater to the mix, turned up the heat in the house (luckily it was cold out) and I checked on them more often. Thankfully the three left were looking good. That day went by ok, and even though our bathroom smelled awful, we still had three living chicks by the end of day 2.

 The yellow one is the strongest…and look at that deal on dressing

    That night was a bit uncomfortable. In our effort to keep the house warm for the chicks (90 degrees in their box in the bathroom) I did not sleep well and woke up in a sweat. We like to sleep in the cold, so we can take full advantage of our comforters, and having our house at over 70 was not cold enough.
        
     The next day I kept the chicks warm and fed but to my dismay one started the dreaded wobble. He's been going downhill ever since and I must confess I'm ready for him to make his move, one way or another. I keep picking him up and sticking his beak in the water to get him to drink, not sure if I'm helping or hurting. The two others are still ok though.

     Last night it was just too warm as I got ready for bed and it was affecting my mood. I'd about had enough of the heat and asked Dalt what the temperature was in the house. He reported it was 73. What! I couldn't sleep another night in that heat, so I turned the AC on and headed back to the room. As I climbed into bed I said "so long chickies!" which got a chuckle out of Dalton…then he informed me that it was actually 75 degrees….no chick is worth that.  Don't think I'm heartless, I still made sure to wake up several times during the night, to turn the space heater on, then off when it cut off from overheating, then back on, so the lack of heat wouldn't result in another dead bird. Each time I entered the sauna that is now our bathroom I was a little taken aback at the heat and slight smell that was wafting from the teepee created by blankets and lamp over the box.

Moved to the tub. And, in case you are wondering, that is a meat thermometer

 sticking out of the blanket. 

     Today I awoke without sweat beading on my forehead for the first time in three days, and all three birds are still alive, albeit the one is still on his side heaving, so I consider the night a success. I think I'm getting the hang of this chick thing. I change the water and newspaper often, keep them warm, and make sure they have feed. At this point I'm actually considering buying more chicks at Tractor Supply. I mean, if I'm going through all of this work and effort I might as well be sure and get some hens out of the deal! We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Yes, you only see two. During the writing of this blog the other one took his last breath

      Hopefully we can get these guys out to the shed soon, but we'll see. I'm ready to brush my teeth at my own sink again, and shower without the smell of chicks surrounding me. I only hope our bathroom will recover……
     If you're wondering what the boys think of the chicks: Cooper likes them but isn't interested in getting too close or touching them. He does like to check on them periodically and tell people he has baby chickens. Ace just likes to get into the bathroom so he has the chance to get to the potty before we can stop him….he's so gross.

Cooper: I'm tired of sitting on this seat. Can I look at the baby chicks now?

Ace: Mama, get him off this seat so I can splash!

Me: Don't move Cooper!!

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8

The Country Mouse and City Mouse

     I think we are about recovered from our wonderful trip out west to visit the California Pitcocks, Justin, Kallie and Karper.

     It all started with a 7 am departure from the house, which went well, followed by an 11 am flight from Dallas to San Diego. I'm not going to lie, Dalt and I were pretty nervous boarding the plane with our two youngsters. Merann was with us, and she managed to snag some great seats at the very back of the plane, which meant we wouldn't disturb all of the passengers when the guys started fussing. It went pretty well, even though we had to work to make it go pretty well! Let's just say we were all glad when the wheels hit the ground in San Diego, which was a lot more mountainous than I thought it would be.

     We got our luggage and were picked up, and enjoyed the scenery as we headed to the hotel. There was a lot of green, pretty yards, palm trees mixed with pine trees and lots of hills with houses on them. After a quick drop off of luggage we went to Justin's house and checked it out. Kallie made us a ham for dinner, and while it was cooking we loaded up and headed out for a long walk…and I mean long. We needed it though after our day of cramped flying.

     We saw Balboa Park, stopped to let the kids play for a bit, including the beautiful buildings, fountain and museums. At one point Cooper said he had to go to the potty. While we were looking around to see which way to the bathroom, Cooper pulled down his pants, ready to 'water' the nearest bush. Embarrassing!!!! It was hard to get him to pull his pants up as we howled with laughter, but we did it and made it to the bathroom in time. That's when we decided we were country mice in the city.

     After our walk we ate and visited some more, until the trip and the time change started to hit us hard.    Back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. The boys were out quickly and we weren't too far behind!

     Next morning it was cloudy, cold and rainy, but we made the best of it. We had breakfast at our hotel, where there was a great view from the top!

     Then it was tourist time. We loaded up and headed to La Jolla to look at the seals/sea lions. Even though it was so windy and cold, it was beautiful! The ocean was angry and rough, but that made it even more appealing. I love the ocean because of it's vastness, power and beauty. We watched the waves crash into the rocks at the shore and then headed down to the seals.

     They were pretty cute! There was even a baby one just born that morning. We looked at them for a little bit and then made it back to the car just in time for the rain to start. La Jolla was a pretty place, very clean and upscale.

     Our next stop was Miramar Marine Base, Justin's workplace. It was our first time on a base, so it was an experience. We drove around and looked a little, then the boys did a flight simulator while Kallie and I distracted the kids best we could. I have to brag on Dalton a little…he did great at flying the simulator.

     That was followed by lunch on base, at the Officers' Club. It was interesting being surrounded by uniforms and military personnel, I felt a little awkward because I didn't want to do anything I wasn't supposed to, since we dont' know all the military regulations.

     Before we left the base we got to see the Ospreys and Justin's office. It was neat seeing all of the aircraft in the hangar and on the ground. We even saw a few take off.

     Deciding it would be best to let the boys nap in the car we did a little sightseeing on the way back. We drove up to Point Loma and saw some more beautiful views. It was especially neat because we could see Mexico in the distance, with a shadow of a military ship in front of it.

      The boys got a pretty good nap and woke up just in time to go to a children's museum. They had a big time running around and playing with all of the exhibits. The cutest thing were these rolling seats that were decorated like farm animals.

     The Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island was our next stop. It was a pretty drive across a big bridge to the island, and the historic hotel was very neat. They had displays of pictures from times past and it was really special to get to see the hotel with it's patrons in fancy dresses, big hats and old cars. We made it to the back and were able to get someone to snap a picture of the entire group. I wanted to go onto the beach, but it was just too windy and cold!

     Mexican food was our final stop and it was delicious. At one point Ace grabbed my glass and spilled it. That really bothered Cooper. He kept trying to get the waiter's attention to tell him. Finally I told him to say "Excuse me sir…" instead of "Hey you" when he needed something. He told the waiter the problem and then seemed to feel better.

     After supper, when we loaded back into the car, Cooper leaned forward and said "Excuse me sir, where are we going now?" to our chauffeur, aka Justin. Pretty funny stuff. When we got back to the hotel, Justin and Dalton hung out downstairs for a bit while the boys and I went to bed. I drifted off to Duck Dynasty….we don't get A&E at home.

    Saturday morning dawned and it was our final full day in California. We were going to make the most of it and were ready for the farmer's market early. We walked around and looked at all the fresh produce and goods available. I tasted some yummy toffee peanut butter, but couldn't talk Dalton into buying any. Then it was time for breakfast. The boys shared a banana and nutella panini, and I opted for a turkey, avocado, tomato crepe…yummmmm. As I stood in line to order I asked Dalton for some money to pay. He handed me a five and I told him, with downcast eyes, that I needed some more. He looked at me suspiciously and asked "How much is the crepe?" I replied "$9" as casually as I could, trying to look cool because I was surrounded by people, many locals. His eyes got wide and he said, very loudly "$9 for a crepe!!" and then handed over the money. I was a little embarrassed but didn't let that stop me from enjoying my crepe. It was another of our Country Mouse moments. The farmers' market provided a great view of the ocean and it was serene there browsing and listening to the music.

     After I polished off my crepe (had to finish it so I didn't waste any of that money) we headed to the zoo. I'd been waiting for the San Diego Zoo since I knew I was coming to California and it didn't disappoint. There were so many animals and they were really close and easy to see. The hippo exhibit and panda exhibit were probably my favorite, even though giraffes are still my fav zoo animal.

     Cooper was all about the elephants and was super excited to see those. Though when he was talking to GG about the zoo he told her his favorite animal was the wombat…random…must be from reading a book we have about a wombat. I could go on and on about the zoo but I'd better not.

     Saturday evening we enjoyed steaks and asparagus (from the market) and even tried brussel sprouts. Now we can say officially after we tried them that we don't like them. Although Kallie did make some quinuoa that was really good, going to try that here. It was nice to have a place to visit and relax…the beauty of vacationing where someone lives. The boys enjoyed playing together in Karper's ball pit and dancing to his musical animals. I was able to sneak away from the boys with Kallie and Merann to go get some gelato down the street. It was a whole different place at night and this shop, Chocolate, was hopping. It was a tough choice but I went with Peanut Butter and White Chocolate. And let me tell you this Country Mouse really likes gelato now!

      The day had come for us to leave. As much as I'd wished we could have stayed longer, the boys were definitely starting to feel the time change and rush of events from the past couple of days. Before we left we ate breakfast at a famous restaurant, Hash House. I heard it has been on the Food Network (a channel I frequent often) We were advised to share and boy were they right! The portions were humongous, even for a Texan! The plates were pretty though and the food delicious.

     Because of our big breakfast out we were running just a tad late at the airport. We were a bit worried when we saw the long line to security, but once we made it through we had plenty of time. Ace toddled around making friends and Cooper sat by Auntie M, begging to play a game on her Ipad. We boarded and endured the semi-rough flight home. The exhaustion was getting to Cooper and Ace was just a handful. I'll be honest…another 10 minutes before landing and it would have been total mayhem! But, God was merciful and we made it without incident.

     We had a wonderful time in California. Not only was it great to get to see another ocean and part of the country we hadn't been to before, but getting to visit with J, K and K was awesome. I loved getting to be a part of their lives for a little while. Now when I see pictures or they talk about things I actually know what they are saying or can picture where they are. We were so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to go and visit.

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:15