Picture Update

We have had so much going on that I cannot keep up!  Time is just zooming past me and try as I may, I can't seem to slow it down. So...I will update in pictures! :)

I had almost forgotten about this first event until I went searching for pictures of some of our house updates.  April 1st...yes, April Fool's Day...I was getting ready for a date night with my main squeeze that had already been postponed two weeks prior when the kids all got sick.  I was standing at my dresser in my bedroom picking out earrings with my back to the bed and Squeaky D and Gokey were both giggling and lying there.  They weren't being particularly rambunctious or anything, but I heard a small bounce on the bed and then one of those gut-wrenching, sickening thuds.  I turned around to find Gokey on his feet and stumbling toward me with his hand over his brow.  I exclaimed how loud that was and asked him what he hit.  He apparently had launched off of the bed and smacked his head right into a space heater that was 5 or 6 feet from the bed.  It's not a very aggressive appliance...it has nice curved edges and had never bitten before, but I guess this time it had had enough.  

I peeled his hand away from his forehead and expected to find a big ol' bump as is normal to find on Gokey's head, but instead discovered a gash that ran the length of his eyebrow and could see the gray muscle that would normally not be visible on someone's head.  I maybe didn't handle it so well, since I was totally unprepared for such a grisly discovery.  I stuck his hand back over it and started  saying something like, "oh no...not good.  Really not good."  This was met with panic from Gokey, "WHAT, MOM???  JUST TELL ME!  WHAT IS IT???????"  I rushed him into the bathroom, grabbed a wash cloth, stuck it over his eyebrow and shuffled him downstairs yelling for J.  Upon examination by Dad, we quickly determined that he needed to go to the ER.  Keep in mind, this was about 4:20 on a night when our date was supposed to begin around 5:15.

After they left, I texted my aunt (the intended babysitter), mom and sister to let them know what was up, but mentioned that if the ER was quick enough, we would still be up for a delayed date night if Nana was still up for it.  Turns out she was up for it and the ER was super fast.  Seven stitches and less than an our later he was out of there.  J returned with him, I showed Nana where the ibuprofen was and we ran as fast as we could.  Later, when we got home, she joked with us about how 8 years ago we would have immediately cancelled our date and hovered over our injured child.  Now we race him to the hospital, get him stitched up, dump him at home and then escape as fast as possible before another injury occurs.  My, how time (and a few extra kids) changes things!

Waiting at the hospital

Couldn't resist the gruesome mid-stitch pic!

All fixed up!

Progression from immediately after returning home from the hospital in the upper left corner to stitches out a week
later in the bottom right pic.  There were lots of colors and a ton of swelling, but it looks so good now!

J and Jilly Bean got to experience their very first Daddy Daughter Dance  and it was quite the event!  J even painted Jilly's nails for her...what a guy!  I'm pretty sure he will be the only first date she ever has that does that. They exchanged flowers, posed for pictures and then J took her to her favorite Chinese buffet for dinner followed by the dance.  Sounds like they all had a great time.

Such a gentleman!

Have you ever seen a more beautiful couple?

Pam Weaver Photography took pictures at the event

Next up...Gokey turned 8!  He is my Cinco de Mayo baby so he decided to have a taco bar with a few friends followed by strawberry shortcake.  It was a beautiful day and it was the perfect occasion to break our new patio in (details in the next post).

I love this age...they are so fun to just listen in on.

He said he wanted strawberry shortcake and I delivered and his brother was on
standby to deliver the bunny ears.

Gokey insisted on bobbing for apples...any excuse to get drenched!

Got it!

The big kids had their last day of school on Friday.  Squeaky D finished up preschool the first week of May, so he's been in summer mode for a while already.  I am still shocked that this school year is over with, but summer is my favorite time and I love having everyone home...mostly.  There is still a lot of working out of the new hierarchy to be done now that they are spending 24/7 together.  I find myself praying for patience for a good part of my day already!

Ella Forever insisted on getting in on the last day pics.  Poor
Jilly Bean woke up puking at 4:30 that morning, so she had
to stay home from school on the LAST day.  What a bummer!

Poor sick girl who wasn't actually sick...she was fine the whole rest of the day

Gokey...why does he suddenly look so grown?

And this one...only one more year of elementary school!

The obligatory silly pic

Ducks and Chickies and Kitties...OH MY!!!

Big things are happening at Kneuper Acres and our newest arrivals are here with webbed feeties!  Waaaaayyyy back in February after doing a bit of research and deciding on a breed, we ordered 10 Welsh Harlequin Ducklings.  Since ducks are seasonal breeders, our potential ducklings wouldn't be shipped until April and we were told that we would get a call mid March to let us know when we could expect them.  Now, I feel like the last 3 years of my life have flown by, but that month and a half from ordering them to "the call" must have just crawled for poor Gokey.  He came home from school every day and the first thing out of his mouth would be, "did ya get the call?"  This child wears every emotion and I am sure everyone who knows him can envision the fallen shoulders and forlorn expression when I would tell him no.

"The call" finally did come, though and we were told that we could expect our ducklings the week of April 24th.  It's quite the operation!  They have thousands of eggs that are set in incubators to hatch Monday into Tuesday of their hatch week.  As soon as the ducklings are up and fluffy, they are placed into boxes and shipped out all over the country, their huddled bodies as their heat source and their absorbed yolk from their previous eggshell home as their nutrition.  

We got notification that our package was on it's way from Oregon on Tuesday afternoon, April 25th and that they should be at our local post office no later than Thursday.  I called the post office to give them a heads up and was assured that they LOVE ducklings, so they should be in good hands until I could get there to pick them up. Bright and early Thursday morning as I was getting breakfasts ready for the kids, I got a call and Gokey immediately beamed.  Our ducks were here!  I quickly jumped into some clothes, called the bus barn to tell them not to pick the kids up for school, threw a pajama-clad Squeaky D and Ella Forever into the van and I was off.  

Upon arriving at the post office I was greeted by the peeps of tiny birdlings...there was another gentleman there picking up his shipment of quail chicks.  He opened the box to get a peek of his order and I got a glimpse of the tiniest balls of fuzziness I have ever seen!  I quickly opened my own box and all 10 Welsh Harlequins and 2 extra ducklings (sometimes extras are added to orders for heat) called Golden Cascades were all peering up at me, healthy, though a bit terrified.

So...3 1/2 weeks later we are the proud parents of 11 rapidly growing ducklings and they have been fantastic entertainment in the short few weeks we have had them.  Each of the kids picked a suspected female, except Squeaky D who picked a male, and named them.  X-Man's is Maggie, Gokey's is Louise (he picked this name out about 2 weeks after we ordered them...I sure hope she stays a she), Jillibean's is Rosie, Squeaky D's is Wobbles and Ella Forever's was Two (sadly, we lost Two a week ago).  The other 7 are nameless at the moment because they're really hard to tell apart unless they are banded, aside from the 2 extras.

Ella Forever and Two

Squeaky D and a lapful of ducky love

X-man snuggling Maggie

I think Gokey is whispering sweet nothings to Louise

Their first swim!!!

A ducky trio safely cradled by Jilly Bean

Jilly and Rosie

Exploring the great outdoors

Dottie is very affectionately fascinated by these new arrivals

This is one of the Golden Cascades...see the little eye stripes?  So cute...

Wilma would like a taste...

The rest of our flock has introduced themselves one by one...this is one of our pretty Ameraucana girls

They fought and fought over these giant leaves

Our strapping too is strangely very protective of his new charges

Settling in for a nap in the sun

We have had SO much rain this spring and the edges of our yard along the east pasture is a normal puddle place when we have excess rainfall.  I decided to bring the ducklings all down to enjoy some real swimming.  They couldn't get enough of it! I could sit and watch them forever, especially when they start zipping and darting which starts just after I zoom in in the following video.

And here we are 3 weeks later!  Look how much they have grown!!!

They don't quite fit in the palms of their little hands anymore
(and Jilly's hair was out of control today...wind didn't help) :)

Ducks gone wild!!!  They really aren't fans of being held...

In all of our duck mayhem, our latest broody chicken, Flopsy, hatched out 7 sweet chickies on Mother's Day!

I love the way they're looking at each other

And because we didn't have enough going on, we have also added a fierce Coop Cat
to the mix!  Meet Cooper B. StinkyCat.  We are in love with this guy!

And I have to end this little diddy with a shout out and a big congrats to my Uncle Dave and my NOW Auntie Darbie on their wedding day today!  I wish we could be there to celebrate with you guys, but know that we are there in spirit and sending wishes for many many many beautiful, enchanting forevers together!  We love you guys! <3 p="">

Easter 2017

After an exhausting week full of lots of manual labor (a story for another post), we had a great, family-filled weekend and Easter celebration.  I am continually in awe of how beautiful, smart, talented and funny my sweet family is and am so thankful for all of the blessings that have been rained upon us. Happy Easter!

Declan made me shape the eggs in a heart "because we love Jesus!" 

These two warmed up the camera for the rest of us...

Have you ever seen a cooler brood?

We told him to open his eyes and stop squinting...I can't win!

Love this guy...

Releasing them to hunt for eggs!

Very serious business...

That bunny was tricky with this egg!

counting her eggs! 

This bubble gun was in her Easter basket and was a huge hit!