Our Silly Sam

It was 4 and a half years ago that Sam, our second Beagle, came to live with us. He was 9 months old and was in need of a new home. We welcomed him in. Sam & Ranger have lived very well together. They get along like brothers - they play, they share their bones, sometime they cuddle together. Well, Sam is a dog of a different sort. If you've met him, you probably know. He seems to be a little slower than most dogs. He is very "special". Well, the other day, Doug & I were in the family room getting ready to watch some television. Sam kept moving his mouth as if he was chewing on something. This is not unusual for him. He is constantly on the hunt for anything he can eat - or at least things to put in his mouth. We told him to stop. So, he laid down and relaxed. About 20 minutes later (and well into CSI), I noticed Sam moving his mouth again - as if he was eating something, but there was nothing to eat. So, I pulled open his lips and to my surprise . . . Sam had a staple stuck around his 2 front teeth! After Doug & I stopped laughing, I of course got out the camera. Then Doug removed the staple - Sam was very relieved. It's always something new with our Silly Sam.

Having Fun at Mini Golf

Ryan & Doug taking turns.


"So, if I hit the ball this way, it should roll up the hill just like this."


I'm not sure what's going on here! Just kidding, Doug & Scott taking turns "making music" on the pole. I think that pole is for people to write on - the ones that actually keep score. That is so not us!

Me getting ready to make my first putt.

Melissa watching Ryan on a dancing arcade game.


We decided to go play some mini golf last weekend. It was a quick, but fun game. And not as cold as one would think November would be. We pretty much had the course to ourselves (except for the group that was several holes behind us with a really loud laugher). So, we goofed off a bit on the course. Maybe that's why some people call it goofy golf - because it makes them get goofy on the course. After the golf, we enjoyed some pizza and video games inside. A pretty good night.

A Happy Thanksgiving

Getting ready for dinner.

Doug carving one of 2 turkeys.

After Thanksgiving Feast game of Pokemon.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. We celebrated with my family at my brother's house. Almost the whole family was able to come - minus one brother & his family (except for my nephew Craig that came for the weekend from College), and 2 nieces and 1 nephew and thier families. As always, there was WAY too much food. It was all very yummy! We feasted on turkey, ham, potatoes - mashed & sweet, vegetables and fruit. Not to mention the very yummy pies - Peanut Butter, Caramel Apple, Key Lime, Pumpkin Cheesecake & Derby. Thanks to everyone that contributed to such a wonderful meal and company. I must've really had a good time because I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I had.

We love Lego's in our house

After studying landforms in school, Ryan was given an assignment to create a book, a poster or a 3D model of 10 different landforms. He was given 8 landforms he had to use & then 2 more of his choice. He was given one week to complete this project. Immediately, the Lego's were pulled out of the closet, picked up in his bedroom and brought into our family room. The first night, we put cartoons on the TV (Star Wars Clone Wars) and started digging through our Lego's looking for specific color bricks to start building these landforms.

Here is Ryan at the very beginning of the project. With just a list of the landforms to be included and a general idea of what to build.

As the project progressed, it was moved from the middle of the family room floor onto the kitchen table. When I looked over at the family room, I was greeted by this bin that had been tipped over with Lego's spilling out all over the floor. Quite a site!!!

The final project! Instead of 10, there are 12 landforms included.

Included in each landform are plants, snow, people and/or animals that pertain to that area. There are mountain climbers, an alligator for the swamp, an octopus in the ocean, coyotes in the desert and much more!!!

Here is the man in his boat on the lake. Behind him is the waterfall.

Don't forget the canoers carrying their canoe over their heads toward the lake or the river.

Here's Ryan with the finished project. Tons of fun to build!

No more peep-peeps

Here are our baby peep-peeps! They are not so little any more. They have lost all of their fluffy down and have their big girl feathers. They are still quite a bit smaller than Luna (our big egg-laying hen). In about a month, we should be ready to introduce them to each other. In the mean-time, we are having fun watching our two younger hens getting bigger by the day. We haven't named them quite yet. Any suggestions?

I couldn't resist adding this picture of Ryan. Here he is, just chillin'.

Egg'stra special breakfast

On Monday, our chicken laid her first egg.

We collected a total of 4 during the week.

Aren't they cute?

The eggs didn't want to crack,

we had to use a knife:

Don't they look yummy frying in the pan?!
I can almost hear the popping of the frying eggs.







Ryan ordered his eggs scrambled.
Add a little bacon and hashbrowns
and you have one great looking plate.

Ryan enjoying his fresh scrambled eggs.

He said he could tell a difference from store bought.

Doug & I had our eggs fried. Just like Ryan, a little bacon and

hashbrowns make for a good breakfast. We had to add a

piece of bread to get every bit of the yolk! Yum!

Doug is enjoying is fresh fried egg:

Would you believe Scott slept through the whole thing? I thought for sure he would wake up with the smell of the food cooking. It must've been the late night watching 4 episodes of Kitchen Nightmares until midnight last night.

Finally - we have an egg!

Checking the Chicken Coupe:

Luna has made a nest for laying and a nest for sleeping. She is in the nest for sleeping right now. The two balls you see are golf balls - to encourage a hen to lay eggs.

The first egg from Luna on November 10, 2008:

Doug has successfully retrieved the egg:

Compare our fresh egg (on right) to a store bought egg:

Last night, Doug went out to check on Luna our big hen. She is about 7 months old. Last night was the night of our first egg! We have no idea when she actually laid the egg, but there it was - all by itself in her nest. It is a very soft brown color and is considerably smaller in size than the extra large eggs we buy from the store. We are hoping to be getting an egg a day - although I understand that they don't always lay eggs everyday. I have a feeling we will be eating fresh eggs this weekend. Let's see . . . scrambled . . . fried . . . omelet . . .

The Biggest Soap in the World & Star Wars

Doug celebrated his birthday this past week. My parent brought his present over for our trick or treat night. After the fun evening was over, he opened his present and received the largest bottle of hand soap EVER! It was intended as a refill. Well, Doug cannot leave it like that. He loved the bottle (and the craziness of the large size) that he converted it into a pump bottle. I know that it included some cutting and some epoxy or some other kind of glue! It looks great in our dalmation bathroom. Ryan walked into the bathroom later on that day and about had a heart attack. First came the yell of surprise and then the uncontrollable laughter.

We also went to a favorite restaurant over the weekend - Joe's Farm Grill. They have such great food. They grow vegetables on site. Everything tastes so fresh! Ryan brought a friend with him and they brought Star Wars toys. I think it's so cool that Ryan is so into Star Wars - just like his parents were at his age. They had a great time setting up a battle on the table before our food arrived. It was such a great evening - the weather is so nice right now. We ate outside at the picnic tables. It was a great lunch.

What a fun night - Trick or Treating

Halloween night is a night for my whole family. Everyone brings a dish to share - something warm in case it gets cold during the evening. We load up two tables with food. This year we had beans & franks, meatball soup, chili, dead mans meatloaf, garlic bread, fruit salad, crackers & dip . . . Everything was so yummy! We set up a projector and show a movie on our garage door. This year we watched Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoeonix, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and started Star Wars: A New Hope. The weather was perfect for sitting out and enjoying great company and great movies.

Dead Man's Meatloaf (notice the knife is in the heart!)




Ryan & I in our costumes (Vampire and Army)

Ryan the Vampire