Makin' Muffins

Today was a lazy, nobody-home-but-us kind of day... so Maddox and I decided to bake some blueberry muffins!

 ...sweet anticipation!

 That's a good-lookin' batch if I do say so myself!

The best part is that they're gluten-free, so Mom's able to partake as well... and they are quite delish!

Too bad no one else is here to help us eat them!! ;)

Morgan Turns 15!

These boys are growing up so fine and handsome! ...but it's a little too fast for me! In any case, Morgan turned 15 today. Our first priority was to get his drivers permit!

For presents, Maddox picked out some special candy for his big brother... he knows Morgan's affinity for sugar. ;)

Mason got him a charging station/alarm clock for his phone.

Michael got him an "extreme" pogo-stick... just what this Mom needs - something else to worry about!

It can go much higher than this, but I had to leave the area. ;)

And his "big" gift was a certificate to pick out his own custom Tenor Pad so he can practice his tenors at home! We are so proud of him for making drum line this year, and this was what he wanted so he didn't have to lug that huge instrument home.

After presents, we picked up a friend of his and all went down to the Alamo theatre - it's one of those dinner/movie places. We watched "Malificent." Good movie!

Now the driving and drum practicing begins in full "Force!" Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Our Turkey...

Here was something new for us... in all of our years here, we have never come across a wild turkey in our yard! This little girl came and visited us every day...

She originally started coming by to partake in any chicken scratch that was left on the ground by the chicken coop. I must say, my hens were all a bit perplexed by this strange, new "chicken" that kept coming around!

 Our little gobbler continued to get more and more brave. She wandered all the way up to our patio a few times, but the most entertaining time was when she decided to check out our portable chicken run. This is simply a cage that we use to let the hens "graze" safely when we can't be out there with them. The turkey examined it...

 ...and then went right on inside! We joked that if we had a string tied to that little door, we could've caught ourselves a wild turkey!

We were all quite used to this old gal hanging around (she came every day for about a week), but on one particular day, Abbey (our dog) happened to spot her go inside the cage JUST as I spotted Abbey. Chaos immediately ensued with the dog CHARGING toward the cage, me YELLING at the top of my lungs for her to stop (the dog is mostly deaf), and the turkey bouncing around in that cage trying to figure out how to get OUT! It was highly stressful, let me assure you! Alas, the dog was called off, the turkey escaped, and I'm sad to report that we have not seen hide nor hair... or feather... of her since. I suppose she decided our property has a little too much excitement for her... that, or else she met a coyote somewhere in her journeys.

Training Hike

Michael and Morgan went on a training hike in preparation for the older boys to go to Philmont in a couple of weeks (Mason couldn't go on this hike as he was away staffing the Big Horn leadership Scout camp). Here are a couple of shots from their weekend...

This hike wasn't for the claustrophobic, that's for sure!

Whatcha Readin'?

One of my favorite things to do in the afternoons is go out and give my chickens a "recess." I sit in a nearby sky-chair and watch all of their silly scratching antics. I have a couple of hens that are particularly nosy and oftentimes jump right up in my lap to see what I'm doing. Here's Milly, checking out what I'm reading!

"Well, Mom, that doesn't look too interesting to me..."

And up comes my Dixie-chick, to check it out for herself!

...I love my hens.

My Guys...

We had a lovely Sunday night dinner, followed by some scrumptious brownie sundaes, and then the boys all went out in the front yard to play some football... I love evenings when we're all together!

...and here's a glimpse of their impromptu game:

A First for Morgan

As Morgan will turn 15 this month, and because he wants his driving permit the SECOND he turns 15, Michael took him to a parking lot to get him behind the wheel for the first time!

...and we haven't even gotten Mason legal yet!! (we will within the month, though),