Seth and Dax Finally Get Pets

Dad is not exactly a pet person. In fact, he swore off ever having anything larger than a fish years ago. So it was quite a surprise when Dax and Seth told him they'd saved up a bunch of money for chicks and he actually agreed. Since the boys had been officiating soccer and making good money, they had plenty to contribute. 

First, they picked out a little coop. Then they started to get the yard ready. The trampoline had to go. They bought chicken wire and stakes, and Mom chipped in a large net. Then they got food and a feeder. Finally, they were ready to bring home some chicks. 

We went to IFA and Mom picked out a yellow chick that turned out to be the largest. We named her Sunny, because "the big yellow one is the sun!" Dad picked out a speckled chicken and named her Pebble, because his mom had a chicken of the same name. Dax picked out a brown striped chicken and named her Chocolate Thunder, rejecting Dad's suggestion of Captain Squeakers. And Seth picked out a tiny little tan chicken that he named Skittle. We brought them home and introduced them to their new home.

Skittle

Sunny

Chocolate Thunder

Pebble

Pebble and Sunny were fast friends, and they squawked each time they were separated. Chocolate Thunder became Dax's shoulder buddy, nestling on his neck and falling asleep each day. Skittle put up with all Seth's stroking and cuddling and became his good friend. She is the tiniest and chases the other chickens like a little sister. 

It didn't take long for Mom to like the chickens most. We were keeping them in the coop in the kitchen, and she was constantly sneaking peeks at them and giving them little treats. It took a little while for them to figure out she wasn't trying to poison them, but soon, she became their favorite, too (except Chocolate Thunder).

The chicks are adorable!

Chocolate loved to be on top of the food and water.

She also learned to fly out of the coop the soonest.

Dax loves this little chick.

These two napped together a lot.

When chicks sleep they sleep right on their face. 

Seth loves the chicks, too.

Now the chickens take up a lot of our time (and money). Most of their chicken run was made of recycled parts, but by the time we got the automatic door, the chicken run, and shade all built, we'd overspent the boys budget. Still, it has been fun watching the boys bond with their birds.

Skittle likes to sit on your fingers.

Mom loved having Pebble and Sunny sit with her.

Seth would hang out with all the chickens.

Chicks love to be high up, so they always want to climb on your head or shoulder.

Now the chickens are outside and getting so big!

Memorial Day Trip

We planned things a little differently this Memorial Day. Rather than visit a passed relative, a few of us decided to get together for a few days. There is a really old courthouse in Junction, Utah, that would hold quite a few people. So Laurie, Amy, and our family, decided to drive down and stay for a few days. 

After church on Sunday, we got the van loaded up. Then we made the two and a half hour drive. When we arrived, we were shocked at the size of the courthouse. It was built in 1903, and it towers over Junction Main Street, with its sharp red bricks and large green lawn. As soon as we drove up, we were excited!

The Courthouse is really beautiful!

First, we explored the house. We found multiple bedrooms with antique furniture, a large kitchen dining area, plus a few special rooms for us. Mom and Amy loved the library, which was two floors full of books with an old ladder to help you access the upper shelves. The kids preferred the game room with foosball, air hockey, and pool. They spent most of their time playing games. We also loved a few old touches like the judges stand, the county jail, and several vaults built right into the walls of the courthouse. The kids even played a very difficult game of hide-and-seek. For dinner, Mom made both chicken and beef tacos. Then we played some games and sat around the fire pit until bedtime.

The kids loved this room!

Dad enjoyed relaxing in the hammock.

We played Bingo outside.

It was fun to spend time with cousins. 

Some of us walked down to the small Junction City Park.

Lots of foosball games happened.

This courthouse was such a cool place to stay!

On Monday, we woke up to pancakes. Then we drove over to Fremont Indian State Park. We made sure to check out the Visitor Center first. They had a few small displays, and we spoiled ourselves with ice cream. The kids had a fun time using an atlatl, and after a little practice, they got pretty good at it. Most of us wanted to do a little hiking as well, and since there are plenty of petroglyphs to see in the area, we did a few short trails. Then we had lunch at a shady little picnic area.

There was a ton of seating in the courthouse.

We liked spending time with our cousins.

Throwing the atlatl was super fun.

Seth hit the hay bale, which was a feat!

There is a pit house to tour.

Meditating at the medicine wheel.

The hiking was fun.

We found some fun petroglyphs, too.

Fremont Indian State Park has a lot of great ancient art.

We hadn't been to this park for quite a while.

Picnic lunch!

We played football in the park.

The 100 hands cave really only has 35 hands.

We had a fun afternoon!

After lunch we decided to head over to Cove Fort. It has been a few years since any of us had visited, and though it was Memorial Day, it wasn't too busy. We watched the short video and then walked through the fort. They had added some displays out back, too, so there was something more to see.

Mom loves pioneer sites.

There isn't a ton of room in the stagecoach.

This barn is huge!

Cove Fort was a lot of fun!

The drive back to Junction was about an hour. When we arrived, Mom made teriyaki chicken and rice. Then we broke into the board games. We played for awhile, and then Dax really wanted to go fishing. So Mark, Dad, and Dax went over to Otter Creek Reservoir and fished, but they mostly got eaten by mosquitos. While they were gone, Laurie and Seth played pool. Then we ended the night with more games until really late, and spoiled the boys bedtime, but no one seemed to mind. We let them sleep in a little Tuesday morning, and we still got home in time for lunch at home.

It was a serious game.

Board games are the best.

Fishing at Otter Creek.

Didn't catch much.

It was a fun weekend.

Mayhem Again!

May is busy with baseball and end of school events. But we still seem to squeeze in a ton of adventures amid all of the craziness. Here are some adventures from May!

We walked through the Layton Open House, and we loved this temple. The inside was beautiful and we were grateful that they had a few speaking parts, too. This was definitely a favorite new temple!

The Layton Temple as a family

Dad snapped this cute photo of Mom.

We had the chance to go to Monster Jam. Despite all of us not really wanting to go, we had a blast. It was WAY more fun than we thought. We would all definitely go again.

Not sure what we think of this event yet!

Afterward--loved it!!

It was loud and so fun!

Seth especially had a great time!

Dad's student told him about the baby owls living in his backyard and invited him over to see them. Mom and Dad went to scope it out and spotted Mom and Dad and the two babies, but it was pretty dark. So we took the boys back a few days later and got some great pics of the owlets. They were adorable!

Seth and Mom went on a few adventures together. First they went to check out the Unchartered Worlds exhibit at Thanksgiving Point. It has huge animated dinosaurs and bugs and other such creatures. We had a great time walking through together. Seth also takes great pictures.

Seth is still a great adventure buddy!

He willingly poses for all the pictures!

We loved the Utah Raptor!

I love this pic of Seth.

The second adventure we did was to check out the Alpine poppies. They were in full bloom and beautiful. It was a nice morning and not busy!

Seth and Mom at the poppy fields.

Seth and his poses!

The poppies were perfect. 

Mom and Mark went to the high school baseball championship game. Lehi was playing Corner Canyon, their biggest rivals. We went to watch his buddy TJ as starting pitcher. Unfortunately, this game in the series did not go well. Lehi lost tying the series at 1-1, so there was a deciding game. Mom went home because it was raining, but Mark stayed and Lehi ended up winning! It has been fun to watch Lehi win so many championships.

Mom and Mark love supporting our purple Lehi.

The rainbow was nice, but the rain was not.

Here are some other fun pics from the month of May.

It wouldn't be a monthly post without Seth's selfies.

Mom's dad came to stay for a few days and catch a bunch of baseball games. It was fun to spend time with Grandpa Daniels.

Seth buzzed his head for summer.

Mark and Mom have been volunteering at the food pantry and Mark put together a shelf for them.

Mom and Dad love going to the theater and this show was a good one!

I wish this was a video, but they are all singing and dancing!

Mom and Dad went to play pickleball one day with Mark. 

Mom wasn't half bad, but Mark destroyed her.

Mom stayed up all night at grad night helping the PTA. This was the only picture she took. It's water in the cup and her favorite mint brownie!