The Bunch Start the Farm!

Well, it is official. We own farm animals, though to be fair many cities allow these farm animals. They are "in". What did we get? 10 Chickens! They are so cute and fluffy and the kids absolutely adore them. L literally spent about 6 hours in a row just watching them. As of now, they are in a horse trough in my kitchen. In about 3-4 more weeks, they can move outside to the coop. Thankfully, they are less smelly and quieter than I anticipated. My father in law swears he knows a fool proof method for finding hens vs roosters. In theory, he should have picked 10 hens out for us...though I am pretty sure at least 2 are roosters. Time will tell how accurate his method is. He might be getting a kennel of roosters in a couple of weeks!

Finished Coop

The kids helped seal the coop....about 6 hours before it poured.

So cute!

Have no idea what kind they are.

Yep....10 chicks.

This was the first year that we have celebrated  4th of July in an area where we are allowed to set off fireworks. Ironically, we did not buy any fireworks this year, but the kids and I took a bench out front and watched all the neighbors set fireworks off. It was so neat to see them all going off at the same time. It was like a 360 view of fireworks. We also noticed fireflies while we were out. I was so excited. We haven't seen fireflies in years. The kids thought they were really neat.

We spent the night at my in laws to celebrate the 4th on the 3rd. My husband's grandfather brought a 'lady friend'. He was so cute and asked for permission from everyone before he brought her. I was really happy for him. He has been really lonely the last 2 years since his wife died. However, even before that was really hard because for about 3 years prior she suffered from severe dementia and did not remember him or her children. She basically relived her life as a teenager. It was completely heartbreaking and so to see him smile and dress up in his "nice" pants was wonderful. They live in the senior home together and are able to keep each other company.

T participated in L's Fourth of July celebration.

L put on a 4th of July Spectacular...it was really cute!

Papa and his lady friend.

The boys kept getting into trouble for rough housing.

We set up chairs outside to watch fireworks.

Our small arsenal of fireworks.

He  enjoyed the show from the truck bed.

We finally found a meat market! It is this really cute store in a German town about half an hour from us. They make a lot of their own meats, jellies, sauces, breads, and cheeses. We love it.