Our Pets

So the chickens are pretty much trained now. If they're outside and I call them they come running over. If I'm sitting on the grass they'll jump on my lap! Today I was at the desk by the window in the boys' room and they were outside. I called through the window and they came trotting over, a little frustrated that they couldn't come in!

Jacob Hunting Turtles

Jake and Jesse's Visit- 7-10

It was good to have two of our boys home together.
This tree in the backyard works great for family pictures.
The chickens are a big hit. They provided hours of entertainment for the kids.

We went to the beach on a really hot day, so the ocean water was refreshing.


Jake and Laura.
Dad with two of his sons. Maybe next time we can have Joey and Katie here too!

Chickens!

We decided that we needed some sort of pets at our house and chickens seemed the easiest! They don't require a lot of attention, yet they can be fun when they're tame (and if you don't sleep with them). I discovered that it's not really baby chick season at the feed stores around here, but found a woman in Yucaipa who raises them and we got three Thursday. Ethan, Austin and Skylee were going to spend the night, so they went with me to get the chicks first. The woman told me she can't determine the sex till around 2 weeks or so, so I thought we'd be getting teen-agers, but I think these are more like young adults. They have all their feathers, but they're small. I cleaned out the chicken pen, which was full of vines and Dad had to fix the door yesterday because the pen had settled and it would barely open. The whole pen has begun to deteriorate, but will do alright for now. The chicks got to go live in it yesterday.


Ethan was a little nervous when this little Banty hopped up on his shoulder, but he's the only one who would actually hold them after awhile. We just got one Banty, one red one and a black one. I let the kids name them. The small one is Bobbie for shish kabob, the red one is Barbie, and Skylee wanted to name the black one Susie.

Ethan got braver after awhile!
They also wanted to go to Bass Pro shop again. You can't see the big fish very well in this picture.

Woodruff Building Open House June 2010

These are some of my friends from the school district entering the building for the VIP tour. Donna Libutti is by the door, then Sheri Nagel and Barbara M.

This is Steve Godwin and his wife, Kim. Steve is a board member too.

Here is Janet Temkin, superintendent of Cucamonga School District. She was the principal at the Ontario Center School when I used to sub there a lot.

Here is the mayor, Don Kurth and a city councilman awarding a proclamation honoring the stake for completing the building. The VIP group gathered together to see a video before the actual tour began.

A lot of officials from Central School District came. This is our ass't superintendent over business services and her husband. Caryn Payzant, who's also a board member in Alta Loma is our stake public affairs representative. She knows just about everyone in the city and the county.

Here's Caryn greeting Joan Weiss, who is my friend that I serve with on Central's board.

Here's Sheri Nagel, current superintendent and Barbara M., ass't superintendent over human resources.

Father's Day 2010

The weather was perfect on Father's Day to spend most of it outside.
Grandpa receiving gifts and special treatment by his grandchildren. It was really nice to get calls from all of the kids that day, and have spent the previous week with Carly's family.
Skylee helping me play Scrabble.
Here's Lilly being our "live" centerpiece! She goes for any food she can get her hands on!

Carly's Visit- June 2010

We really enjoyed spending time with Carly and the kids.


It was a little cool at the beach, but Evan and Audra had fun in the waves anyway. Bella was content to stay on the blanket and eat snacks and play around.
Hunter spent the night with Evan one night and we went swimming at a friend's pool. These little guys both love to swim!
Either they or their moms have similar taste in clothes!
Carly picked a good week to escape AZ's heat. It was pretty mild here the whole time.
It's fun having the babies together. Audra crawls already, but Lilly really wants to! Since she's a month younger, we'll give her a little time!
Audra liked having Grandpa take her out in the waves.
Bella loves her mom the best!
Evan and Hunter both really like to read. They had a good time together.

Even though they have a built-in pool at home, they still liked getting in the wading pool here. Once Bella got in she didn't want to get out!
Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to a "potty party" for Audra. She was a very good sport about it. After awhile she quit asking, "Am I done yet?" She got to sit up there with her big girl panties around her ankles and watch movies, eat snacks, read stories, and have lots of drinks! By the end of the week she was really getting the hang of it!