CHICKENS (Part 1)

For about 3 years now, Son #3 has begged for us to get chickens.

  Christmas 2014, we purchased a chicken coop and anticipated the day we would be able to have each child choose their very own chick.

During Winter School Break, Son #2 and Son #3 went to work on the construction of our simple 3-4 chicken capacity chicken coop.  It was sturdy and ready for chickens. However, it was too cold for chicks to be outside January 2, so we waited and waited and waited for Spring to come.

End of February came and we were ready to adopt our chicks.

The sad thing is..... everyone else in the Sacramento area decided to go get chicks too!

We had hopes of getting 4 chicks, however, many of the incubators were empty of hens for the type of chickens our children wanted. Lots of roosters available, but we want our chickens for eggs only.

We were able to find 2 breeds.

Plymouth Rock for Lovely Daughter.

And a Black Sumatra for Son #2.

Here are our first 2 chicks... Pebble and Neptune.

The next week we were able to get 2 other chicks.

Son #1 and Mom got an Americauna which lays blueish, green eggs.

We named her Hazel.

Son #3 wanted a Silky (none available), but was able to get his second choice, a Buff Orpington.

He named her Popcorn.

On March 7 Lovely Daughter's chick, Pebble, died in the morning before her baptism.

It was very sad and we buried Pebble before the baptism. 

We let her know that we were going to make a special trip so she could adopt a new chick.  

She was comforted and she had a beautiful baptism.

We went with her to find a new chick.  There were not any Plymouth Rock chicks available, so she decided on getting a Golden Laced Wyandotte.  

She named her Flutter.

All four chicks lived in our house for a little over A MONTH! YIKES!

When the chicks started flying out of their box, Mom couldn't take it anymore and they all went out to begin their adventures in their new home, the coop.

They were a little hesitant at first. 

Flutter, being the youngest, couldn't even get passed the others.

Trying to figure out what their getting into.

Hmmm.... not too bad.

Come on Neptune... you can do it!

Our chicks... Hazel, Popcorn, Flutter and Neptune

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving was so much fun with family-especially hanging out with cousins!

Thanksgiving this year was centered around service.

~ ~ ~

First up:  Run to Feed the Hungry.

 The Byrds and the Millers braved the early morning Thanksgiving Day chill.

Some walked and others ran the 5K through beautiful Sacramento neighborhoods.

~ ~ ~

In the afternoon, family and a family friend worked on making some hats for Angel Outfitters.

Such a wonderful way to serve grieving families of angel babies.

A few of us that day have lost a child through miscarriage. 

We understand a little of how these families might feel.

This particular service was in honor of an angel nephew/cousin.

We were able to make 40 hat sets (80 hats in total) in varying sizes.

The angel baby is dress with one set and the other set remains with their families.

(Some have been sent to a Women's and Children's hospital in Louisiana.)

~ ~ ~

 Our final service of the holiday was to make these cute advent calendars for all our nephews serving full time missions.  They were sent to Oregon, New York, Germany, Michigan and Southern California.  The calendars included a fun joke for each day leading up to Christmas Day. We received many thank you cards and messages from these amazing Elders.

~ ~ ~

Our Michigan Elder had his farewell talk that Sunday.

It's pretty emotional to see these young men grow up!

We're so thankful for forever families!

EAGLE PROJECT #1

We're so proud of Son #1 for completing his Eagle!

To be perfectly honest, we really weren't sure if this day would come.

When he started Scouts, he had a difficult time. His dad wasn't the biggest 

role model for scouting and Son #1 had some challenges with swimming.

For two years, he really did not want to participate.

Then a miracle! We found a fantastic place for swim instruction for our 2 middle kids.

We asked Son #1 if he could take private swim lessons and pass the requirements for 2nd and 1st class, did he feel that he could start working towards his Eagle since that was his only hangup?

He said, "Yes!"

He completed those requirements thanks to those lessons and amazingly supportive leaders.

He started working more on his merit badges and other requirements for Eagle.

His Eagle project was collecting glasses for Lions in Sight.

He was able to collect 398 pairs of glasses in about a 1 month time period.

They were collected from family, friends, schools, businesses, churches and businesses.

He also organized a cleaning day.

The final crunch was finding merit badge counselors to sign off merit badges.

He and we saw so many miracles throughout this entire process.

(with Mom at the completion of Eagle Board of Review)

And HE DID IT!

(The Byrd Gentlemen at the Eagle Court of Honor)

Back to School (2014-15)

It's that time of year again!

Son #1-Senior

Wisdom Teeth pulled to make room for braces.

Happy Labor Day weekend for him!

Son #2- Sophomore

2nd year in Cross Country
(Frogtown)

(Del Oro High School)

Son #3- 8th Grade

Weeklong School Trip to Yosemite-

He was one of the more experienced campers because of scouts.

Wonderful memories for him to have with some amazing students and teachers!

Lovely Daughter- 2nd Grade

and

Very Involved Mom- Instructional Aide 

(and Art Docent)

for Montessori Grades 1-3

Parts of animal using watercolor

             Still life using oil pastels           Bridges using torn construction paper

 Flower using oil pastels                Birds using cut tissue paper

ALSO
Hard Working Dad

He had a wonderful opportunity to do an art/literary assembly at an elementary school in Arizona.
Some dear friends of our family remembered that he had done these assemblies in our area and wanted him to do the same in this remote city.  He felt like a rock star!  Usually at these assemblies only students and teachers attend, but here... the whole community showed up!
The pressure was on for him to do a good job.

He had a great visit with our friends as well as  his parents who were able to come down from their home town in Utah to visit.  It turned out to be a nice, relaxing get-away for him.

Bustling Byrds

Building birdhouses is always fun!

Constructing Marble Factories for high school Physics class 

can be an adventure in team work and creativity.

Celebrating 7th Birthdays are a Blast!!

Volunteering at the Muddy Girl Fun Run to help 

raise funds for Cross Country Team for next year 

and supporting Breast and Cervical Cancer is always rewarding.

Byrd Family Christmas 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BYRDS!!

Jumpin' July

We went to the drive-in to see the double feature of Monsters' University and Iron Man 3. About 3/4 of the way through the first movie, our car battery died (that was how we were listening to the movie)!  We tried to use the battery recharger from the drive-in, but our battery was completely DEAD!  So, we called the tow truck.  We realized that the tow truck could only hold 3 people.  We needed 4 more spaces.... so we called Uncle L who happened to still be awake at midnight.  By the time our rides came to get our family and our van, it was about 12:45 AM and we got to see (and partly hear) a little over half of Iron Man 3.  

Such is the "Byrd Luck", but we learned our lesson.... 

BRING a BATTERY OPERATED BOOMBOX to  the DRIVE IN!!!

On Independence Day, we celebrated with a the CP Ward walk, flag ceremony, pancake breakfast and bike parade.  We then went to our local town parade that lasted... about... 20 minutes with only about 10 groups.  Sad... but at least there's an effort, right?!

In the evening, we had a BBQ and fireworks at Uncle L and Auntie C's home.

They were fabulous hosts!  We had a great time!

Grandpa and Grandma B came to visit.  We had fun with a water shooter and cotton candy maker. While they were here, Grandpa B assisted Hard Working Dad and My Three Sons with pulling apart our backyard patio.  

These grandparents love to shop at some of our unique thrift stores around town.  Grandpa B purchased a photo for $25 called "Dogwood Blossoms" (not an original print but one of Ansel Adam's apprentices' printed it from the original negative).  It sold on Ebay for $295!  So Cool!!!

 {photo taken by Warren Coulam}

Finally, we are so grateful for the dedication and service of our local church/scout leaders.  We knew that Son #1 would have an experience of a lifetime if he went on the High Adventure which was a 200 mile bike ride from Sacramento to San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. Including training a grand total of 700 miles!

{photo taken by Warren Coulam}

With various challenges (illness, multiple flat tires, etc.), we wondered if he would make the trip.  But thankfully, for a loving and encouraging scout leader, Son #1 decided to go and truly had wonderful and inspiring stories to share when he got home.

What a great adventure!!!

{photo taken by Warren Coulam}

May Movings

First let me clarify the post title.  WE ARE NOT MOVING from our house!

BUT  we are always on the go aka moving!

Yes, that is our humungous, out-of-control back/sideyard mulberry tree.

We noticed about 3 months ago that our branches had beautiful, intricate designs.  We called a pest control specialist and found that Powder Post Beetles were making the creations on all of the dead wood surrounding the tree... aka "the Fort". 

Hard-Working Dad and the kids had spent hours on creating this makeshift fort.  Now due to the infestation of these beetles... it was time to either trim the tree or chop it down.  (The specialist suggested we take care of it asap before the critters hit the house and then cause marital problems.  He was speaking from experience.) We opted to take the whole tree out. 

We'd been wanting more gardening/lawn space in the back and this was a good time to start the process.  Someday, maybe we'll even be able to post a lush backyard but for now, it's super sunny... perfect for tomatoes and horrible for the 2 ferns and maple that were once relishing in the shade of the mulberry.

 Spring Carnival at the local school was fun for the family and one friend.

I was surprised the snack bar provided "no sugar" sodas!  Yayyy!

Thank you Zevia!

The end of the school year means the end of many fun, educational homeschool classes!

Here Son #2 is performing Grumio's Grumio in the Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew.

Very Involved Mom was the Room Parent for April and she was concerned that this play may be too challenging for some of these students.  But when we saw their performance, we were so impressed with their abilities to improvise when things didn't quite go as practiced as you can see in this scene with Grumio's Grumio (Son #2), Grumio and Curtis.  Bravo!

Son #3 completed his Lego Engineering Class.

 Son #1 worked on making an aircraft carrier which correlated to the Korean/Cold War and his reading of "The Lord of the Flies"for his final English Project.

Jog-a-thon at Lovely Daughter's school!

Father and Son Campouts are always great together time!

 Son #3 and Friend D find chickens in a bush.

Campfire with other fathers and sons from the ward.

Outside Fun in the Sun

 Lovely Daughter and Friend L playing in a jeep after completing Poetry in the Park with other homeschool families.

Here is the poem she wrote and recited:

The Cat- What and What is it?

I am a cat.

I like to chase a bat.

I am fat.

I wear a hat.

I know a lamb.

And I eat ham.

My legs can bend.

This is the end.

Here was Son #2's Poem:

Peanut Peg and Peanut Pete by Jack Prelutsky

Here was Son #3's Poem:

The Duck by Ogden Nash

Very Involved Mom wanted a simple birthday. 

So we went to a nearby park with Aunt R (she was celebrating her birthday too).

On Memorial Day, we received free tickets to the Zoo.

 After the zoo, we headed to the Veterans' Cemetery in Dixon, CA.

We checked the Google Map app on our iphone to see how long it would take.  Well, there were 3 sections on our route with red dashes... meaning.... accidents or delays.  Hard Working Dad has little patience for sitting in traffic so we decided to take the scenic back roads.  It probably took about the same amount of time, but oh so much more beautiful!  We saw farms, but also since we were so close to the wildlife preserves, we saw birds that we would never see in the city (egrets, herons, vultures, hawks and birds we could not identify).  Much more of an adventure to be sure!!

We then placed flowers on Tutu A's grave.  

We miss him!