The Filippini Chickens Have Arrived!!

"Our chickens are here, our chickens are here," shouted Ryder as he tore down the stairs towards the front door. He was so excited he couldn't get the door open fast enough.

OUR CHICKENS HAD ARRIVED!

They are only 2-days old, and came through the mail, in a cardboard box with holes for air. When we opened the box they were all huddled together in a cluster of downy feathers; chirping nervously. What a ride!

We decided to raise the chickens for eggs, so we selected a variety of breeds that are good layers. We are starting out with 17 hens and one roster. We wanted to have a dozen, but in case some did not make it, we ordered extra.

We have them in a box in the house while they are babies, but soon we'll move them outside to a proper pen. For now, the kids are supposed to handle them a lot, so that the chickens are used to people, hopefully making them more friendly when they are older.

The kids and I made some signs that say, "Welcome Home Filippini Chickens" and put them on the chicken's box. So far they are happy in their new home (at least I think so).

The adventure begins!

Off to VBS early this morning...

The kids are attending a Vacation Bible School this week, so they've been waking up early each morning to head out.

This morning at 7am it was already bright and sunny outside, so before taking off the boys were running around playing with the dogs.

Here is Ryder with his pup Einstein and Landin with his pup Potter.

Whatever Floats Your Boat!

It was so hot yesterday that we had to take the boat out to the lake just to cool off. We strapped the kids into their life vests and headed out from the dock for a swim.

Even Mazzy joined in the fun!


The water was so refreshing, and the kids had a blast sitting on the open bow with the wind blowing their hair.




Now THIS is the life!

Summer Shoes for the Boys

Fully acclimated to the Northern Idaho Outdoorsy lifestyle, our boys now LIVE in their "summer shoes" which can go from dirt to water and back again without skipping a beat.

Ryder, a fashionista at heart, opted for the popular CROCS. (Note that Blue was not his first color choice; pink was.)



Landin selected the rough and rugged KEENs.

He's only had these a few weeks, and already they've taken him through multiple hikes, soccer games, rock climbs, bike rides, fishing, and boat trips.

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!!

Breakdown in Paradise

After church on Sunday we stopped by the Health Food Store in town for our monthly "big" grocery shopping trip. We filled two carts and under the heat of the afternoon sun, we strapped the kids into their carseats and stuffed the Land Rover full; packing bags into every nook and cranny.

With the car full of groceries Brice went to start it up, only to find it stall out repeatedly. We putted out of the parking lot, but the car continued to die. It was clear we were not going to get far.

All I could think about was the hundreds of dollars worth of groceries that were sweltering in the Summer heat - ice cream, popsicles, steaks, chicken, frozen dinners, eggs, cheese, milk, orange juice...UGH!

Luckily the car made it across the street to a lovely little park where we parked in the shade to await the tow truck. The kids got out of the car and we opened a package of peanut butter flavored Soy Ice Cream bars (that weren't going to make it through the heat anyway) and ate them.

Our faces and hands sticky with chocolate and peanut butter ice cream, we played in the grass and swang on the giant swing.

We made daisy chains and adorned ourselves with them.

We climbed on the wooden fence and practiced gymnastic tricks.

Yes, it was a bummer that the Land Cruiser died on us, but we made the best of it and in the end the tow truck got us (and our groceries) in home just in time.

The only damage was to the ice cream bars (which we ate the majority of anyway).

It turns out the Land Crusier has an auto shut down when it gets overheated to prevent damage to the engine.

Once it cooled down, it ran just fine.

I think it was a subtle message for us to slow down, relax, and chill out.

The Fountain of Youth

On Saturday after Landin's baseball pictures we headed over to the Farmers Market to pick-up some fresh veggies (our garden isn't quite producing yet!). It was the first really hot day we've had in a long while, so when we passed the fountain in the center of town the kids were dying to jump in and cool off. So we let them strip down and join the fun!

Ryder was a bit apprehensive at first, but once he was wet he was totally into it.

Landin's goal was to run across the fountain as fast as he could without getting wet. Inevitably water would pop out of one of the holes in the ground, surprising and soaking him; whereupon Ryder would laugh at him hysterically.
Ryder tried joining Landin in the "run through the water as fast as you can " game; but no surprise - - he slipped and cut his knee open (sigh)... which signaled it was time to head for home.

Even with the cut knee Ryder thought the fountain was a blast; and both boys begged to come again soon.

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning!

Gooooooo Indians!

Landin's new baseball team is the Indians.

Here is a picture of the little allstars!

Faux "Sideburns"

So I promised to post the details of Landin's time at baseball camp last week, so here go's: The camp was a ton of fun for Landin. He made a bunch of new friends and learned a few new skills to up-level his baseball game - including a whole new batting stance which has him hitting the ball out of the park!

When I called to check in on him from my trip he told me two things: First, he tattled on Brice for forgetting his glove in the car, and sending him off to baseball camp glove-less. Second, he told me about the nick name he earned at camp... SIDEBURNS.

Landin doesn't have real sideburns, but I've been cutting his hair myself over the last few months, and we've been trying to shape faux sideburns from the hair around his face.

He wants his hair to look like "Troy's in High School Musical," so that's what we've been working towards. And I think it looks sweet!

Faux sideburns rock!

Go SIDEBURNS!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Where has the time gone!? One week ago today, I set out on my first business trip with my new company, Mobility Public Relations (warmly known to insiders as MoPR). I flew to Seattle on Monday afternoon, where I was met by my two business partners (John and John). From Seattle we drove to Vancouver for a couple of meetings, after which we returned to Seattle to finish our week. I flew home on Friday afternoon.

Those of you who know me well are aware of the tradition started long ago when we had just one child and I traveled very little... the tradition of leaving a small gift for Landin to open for each night that I would be away on business. We have continued this tradition over the years, although now there are 3-kids to leave gifts for. So, I was gone for 5-days last week, and since school is out and we all know that kids' reading skills fall off during the summer break if they don't keep reading daily, the kids each unwrapped a new book for each day I was gone. When I got home they had a stack of books they couldn't wait to read with me (and in Landin's case, read TO me)... What a wonderful thing to come home to! We spent the majority of Friday night catching up on our cuddly reading time.

While I was gone, Landin attended a baseball camp in town (More on that in my next posting). Brice's high-school buddy, Patrick, arrived last week as well, so Brice had someone to keep him company. With the spa finally working, and the nice weather arriving, Brice and the kids had a wonderful week, even without Mama at home.

My inaugural business trip was a success, and our team had such a great time we decided to chronicle the adventure by starting our new company with a blog: http://mobilitypr.blogspot.com So check it out!

I could use a little more cowbell

It's raining this morning... and it's supposed to rain through the weekend.

Last night Mazlow puked too... making him the 3rd in the family to get this 24-hour puking bug.

Today is Landin's last day of school... meaning he'll be home day in and day out for the next 2.5 months.

Tomorrow is my last day at The Hoffman Agency... and I'm really going to miss all my coworker friends I've spent 40-hours a week with over the last 6 years.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not depressed. All these things have silver linings: The rain is watering my garden and lawn; the fact that Mazlow is puking now means he won't be puking this weekend for the babysitter we hired (hopefully); having Landin home for 2.5 months should be a real treat; and I'm really excited about my new company!

I guess I simply “Could use a little more cowbell."

Muggles Develop Invisibility Cloak!

I read today that some Muggles over at Duke University are in the midst of developing a real "invisibility Cloak" ala Harry Potter...

Such a cloak could hide any object so well that observers would be totally unaware of its presence, according to the researchers. In principle, their invisibility cloak could be realized with exotic artificial composite materials called "metamaterials," they said. "The cloak would act like you've opened up a hole in space," said David R. Smith, Augustine Scholar and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke's Pratt School. "All light or other electromagnetic waves are swept around the area, guided by the metamaterial to emerge on the other side as if they had passed through an empty volume of space."

And then I found this link on one of my favorite sites, HowStuffWorks.com, describing how Invisibility Cloaks work... including a picture of a real one in action, AVAILABLE TODAY, that uses optical-camouflage technology developed by scientists at the University of Tokyo.

Sweet. So not only do our poor school teachers have to deal with cell phones in class - - someday they may have to deal with invisibility cloaks!

Not bad, for a bunch of muggles, eh?

One Woman Left Standing...

So Brice is down with his broken foot... and Sunday morning Ryder comes running into our bedroom only to throw up on Brice's chest. Thanks son.

Brice hobbles downstairs to lay on the couch (and put his foot up) while I clean up the puke and change the sheets on our bed. Ryder goes down to lay with Brice - - big bowl at his side just in case he feels like puking again. Tinkerbell joined them since she likes to be wherever people are laying around.

The 3 of them fell asleep in their sick-fest cuddle on the couch.

I sent Landin to church with friends later that morning, not wanting him to miss out just because one-half of our household was under the weather. He went to church, had brunch with friends, and then attended the soccer game that Brice would have been playing in had he not broke his foot. While at the soccer game with friends Landin was overcome with sickness himself, and proceeded to puke on the sidelines. My girlfriend cleaned it up, and brought him home. Now that's true friendship. Landin spent the rest of the day in bed.

So much for all the "Honey-Do" projects I had lined up for this weekend. I ended up having to mow the entire yard myself. (Well at least that was kind of fun.) Ryder felt better by the afternoon and even joined me on the tractor.

Let's hope everyone is well by Monday night - - 'cause it's WORLD CUP time - - party at our house!!

DOWN in Blaze Of Glory

Brice had an indoor soccer game in Spokane late Friday night. The kids and I stayed home since it was so late.

Sometime around midnight I heard the sound of rocks being thrown at our bedroom window. It was Brice outside. I came downstairs to find him hobbling towards the house. "I need your help getting up the stairs," he groans.

"What?!" I half ask, half scream.

Turns out Brice was injured during the game. He thought he broke his foot. He was right.

Still, he drove home the hour and half drive from Spokane... so I made him wait to go to the hospital until Saturday morning.

I helped him up the stairs, gave him some left-over Vicoden from when Mazzy was born, and got his foot on ice.

When we woke up on Saturday, we headed straight to the urgent care. They X-rayed his foot and found it was broken in 3 places. They gave him a boot, and a prescription for crutches and his own vicoden.

I'm totally convinced he did it on purpose... what with The World Cup starting this weekend... now he can just sit in front of the TV watching soccer on vicoden while I wait on him hand and foot. Pretty good gig.

I'm only kidding of course. Brice is super bummed that he's now out for the season - and just when he was feeling good about his level of play. This injury means he'll have to hang up his jersey for a few months, and that means missing the outdoor season and the indoor season. Bummer.

You can be sure that he's milking it for all its worth.

Deep Thoughts By Landin

When I was at Landin's school on Friday I came across this drawing of his on display in the hallway.

It says: "A Landinceratops can run so fast that it can hit you in the air. You will land in a volcano."

...Deep.

Field Day at Southside Elementary School

Friday was Field Day at Landin's School. This is an all day event where each teacher sponsors an "event" like a race, parachute play, egg carry, dress-up relay, sack race, etc., and then the classes rotate through the stations competing against one another.

Landin is a fierce competitor, so these kinds of events have their ups and downs. He LOVES to do sports, and will challenge anyone to anything... but he HATES to loose. We are working a lot on this, but its an uphill battle. Landin is very talented, and he hasn't experienced "loosing" to often. We are trying our best to prepare him for the eventuality that many of the other kids will catch-up to him in terms of athletic ability, and he WILL have to share the spotlight.

At any rate, he had a blast playing all the games. I headed over to the school in the morning for the first bit, and then Brice came over to watch the rest.

Here are some great shots of Landin and his friends playing. Just look at the intensity on his face!

Thundercats Undefeated!

Landin's soccer team finished the season undefeated with 2-wins in its tournament last weekend. The whole team played great, and Landin was especially proud of a sweet header he did. This week we celebrated the successful season with a party at city beach. The parents BBQ'd while the kids played in the water.

Ryder wasn't allowed to get his stitches wet, so we put shin guards on him, made him wear his snow boots, and threatened to take him back to the hospital if he went in the water. Those of you who know Ryder already know (even if its just a small thought in the back of your head right now) that Ryder most certainly went in the water anyway. If you were thinking this - you were right.

The kids had a wonderful time, and each of them went home with a cool soccer trophy, an "Undefeated Division Champions" patch for their jerseys, and a certificate of achievement. We completed the day by eating a special "Undefeated Thundercats" cake for dessert.

Now that soccer is over, these kids will all play on the same Little League team together... Look out!

Another day, Another trip to the E.R.

Yes, we made ANOTHER trip to Bonner General Hospital last night... You guessed it... RYDER, AGAIN.

We were out working in the garden last night and sent Ryder into the barn to turn on the water. He went running towards the barn, only to trip at the entrance, slicing both his shins wide open. Brice ran into the barn to see what happened and found Ryder on the ground, blood gushing from his shins. Brice screamed to me in the garden, "We have to take Ryder to the hospital!" I came running, turnicated Ryder's leg with a T-shirt, and we were off to the E.R. once again.

The E.R. was busy, but got Ryder in pretty quick. He received a local anesthetic from a rather large needle, and barely flinched. Landin was in the corner in awe of the needle and the fact that Ryder wasn't screaming and crying. "He's a lot tougher than I am I think," Landin said. Yep - He sure is. Even the Doctor was impressed by Ryder's incredible pain tolerance.

The gaping hole on Ryder's shin required several stitches, while the other cuts were cleaned up and bandaged without fanfare. Ryder didn't cry even once at the hospital. It's a good thing he's such a tough guy... I have a feeling this won't be our last trip to the E.R. for stitches!