MEET CALICO!

I was thinking of having this post title be, "The newest member of our family" but thought that might be a mean trick to play. Anyway, Meet CALICO! our official pet who has helped bring the requests for a puppy to a halt for the time being.
Calico has taught us or should I say me so many new things and has been quite the learning experience.

Our amazing new friends have helped us feel right at home. I have to mention, their backyard contains several ducks, chickens, a goat, a miniature horse and who knows what else providing perfect adventures for the girls every time we are there. We've already enjoyed many adventures with them but one highlight was going out to the Merkley farm (a different couple in the ward) where we had a tour of the most immaculate stable I've ever seen and were blown away by gorgeous scenery, swimming, taking care of "Cookie" and collecting chick eggs. I had the fabulous idea of bringing some eggs home since we had already enjoyed the Sorensen's chicks. Wow this could be a great pet and learning experience for Ky and when they are too big we can just bring them to our friends backyard. Kylee jumped right on this idea (so did my supportive friend Tennille) and our adventure of raising eggs began.

Ky and I took this on as our little project which had some happy and sad moments along the way. It began with getting a Styrofoam cooler in the pouring rain and having the power go out in Target. We had such a good time together and I always love how Ky gets into everything we do whole heartedly. I was soon found turning these eggs 3x a day, constantly checking the temperature, making sure there was enough humidity, tucking them in and even spent a couple nights reading books on how to raise chickens.

*Anyone know what Candling is? or Piping? or how long they need to be incubated? which end they are supposed to come out of? Lastly, ever seen a twelve day old chick that you killed by smashing the end of their egg? ALL THINGS I CAN NOW CLAIM!
After 10 days we candled our eggs (shine light up through them looking for veins) to see if we had any fertilized eggs and to our surprise we had 2 of the 4. However, my quick little hands picked them both up to turn them while Ky was at school and my stomach flipped as I smashed the end of one. Kylee later, "Oh Mom, you know we are never supposed to hold 2 at the same time." A rule I taught apparently. She handled the situation really well as I explained..."you know how we all make mistakes and when you do I forgive you quickly or say its ok. Well, I need you to do that for me." We turned it into an amazing Science experiment with our friends as we cracked 1 unfertilized egg, our 12 day old egg, and there fully grown chick that never came out. I will spare you from those sad pictures. I never realized how much of a science there is to all of this. From that time forward we used their incubator and I stopped having to do any work until the day the piping began....silent prayers were offered for this little chick to make it after all the effort that had been put in so far. AS YOU SEE IT DID! and it made for one exciting Saturday last week.

GREAT QUOTES:

Kylee: "Those are some big feet for a tiny fella"
"Now I don't have to wait forever to be a Mom and you and Dad can be its grandparents"

"Can I take Calico for a walk in the stroller?"

(which she did)
Alexis: "Hey little birdie, hey little birdie, I hold it"

Most Frequently Heard Quotes:

"How many more days till it hatches"

"Lexi don't squeeze it!"

"Calico pooped again!"

Ky says good-bye to her chick every morning and comes right home to check on it. Lexi gives it attention during the day and loves telling it to stay on the towel when we take it out. Lastly, Sky developed quite a soft spot in his heart for Calico and came to its rescue its first night when it just wouldn't stop chirping unless snuggled by Sky!

It's Sweet to Repeat!

You all know this place never gets old and yes this is another Florida post. By this point there is no need for me to even explain however this trip did have a new twist. Me and the girls left Sky behind and headed down for a couple days for a little vacay before starting school. We couldn't resist spending time with cousins (My brother Fred's crew) and grandparents who were already there. We had a fun packed condo and had an absolute blast! As always we wished it didn't have to end.

There is something about watching your kids be overjoyed, entertained, excited about life, living in a lap of luxury and staring at the beach that makes life priceless!

"Little Lexi" was hysterical to watch as this was her first time really getting into all the pool and beach activities. I can't believe how fast she is growing up and how well she kept up with the group. She of course devoured her smoothie and lived up to her reputation of loving food. In the beginning she had no fear of the water but after going under a few times she finally caught on. She quickly learned she needed her tube or Mommy to catch her but still gave it a fight at times as one of her favorite lines is, "I do it!" She was often found making silly noises as she bobbed along the ledge in the pool from one side to the other and telling anyone in her way "Beep Beep." Another favorite line heard quite frequently was, "Watch this Mommy" as my head was going back and forth as fast as possible between my energetic girls. She loved playing in the sand and the ocean had the perfect conditions for her to even swim. With all of that though my 2 year old's favorite spot was our own personal SHOWER room in the Ritz. This girl loved the shower and couldn't get enough of it. It was a gigantic dual headed shower that all 3 of us used each day and just lived it up with all the huge soft towels we needed, a mini shower head for the girls and my own for me. We had our day down to a "T"

Kylee, was busy picking up right where she left off with her cousins. It's amazing how despite how much time has passed since you've seen family you are comfortable within seconds and act like a day hasn't gone by. In this case it had been a year. Once they got over how long Kylee's hair had gotten and she realized that none of her boy cousins had any barbies they were off to the water! Kylee has taken leaps and bounds with her swimming this summer and did much better keeping up with her cousins. Just when I thought there wasn't much more to teach this Summer Uncle Freddie helped her take on snorkeling which of course was heaven on earth for Ky and then I stepped up to the plate and relied on my childhood days to teach Ky how to boogie board. We had a great time together and I love how much she trusts me. She was so brave and we had a blast out in the ocean with Grandpa, Freddie and cousins. I was wishing Sky could have seen her in action but don't worry we got some on film.

Grandma and Grandpa took GREAT care of us like always and I was sure thankful for their help! They always amaze me which I say all the time.

I had such a great time being a Mom and watching these two bond. They have become so close and Lexi is Ky's little shadow. It has been pretty difficult having Ky leave us every day for school. These 2 girls are everything to me and I hope I remember all of these amazing memories. Ky is just great at watching after her sister (most of the time) and every day Sky and I think about how thankful we are that they have each other.

This one just says it all! Another perfect Florida trip with my beach bums!

I have to add...just when you think Sky is missing out.....he had his Dad fly to VA to golf with him while we were gone. I tell ya...HARD LIFE!