All Cooped Up

The coop is built, the run is fenced in, and the chickens are free to run around :) They haven't quite figured out the ramp yet. Last night I had to put them back in the coop by hand.
My good little helpers, helping me clean out the coop.

And plant and water the garden!
And clean the windows too :) that's more fun!

Andrea Ruth

Okay, I can't believe it's taken me this long. Sorry everyone. Well here's the story of little Andrea Ruth:

We had an induction scheduled for January 13th, but on Wednesday morning (the 12th) we got a call from the hospital asking if we'd like to come in that day instead. Apparently, they didn't have anything going on and we getting quite bored. :) So Jeff got his wish in that I called him home from work saying, "time to have a baby!".
We got to the hospital and settled in. After three or four hours they got contractions started. Grandma brought Hudson and Kaylee over for a visit. They had to wear special braclets


Then the contractions got really bad:
Just kidding!

Well Grandma informed me that my Grandpa Lange was born on January 12th, so I started hoping that I would have Andrea before midnight. Long story short, I got that wish! As happened with Hudson, things kinda puttered along all day, then towards the end got fast and furious. She kinda just started coming out without any pushing. One push and she was out. :)

Jeff had a hard time leaving the hospital with the kids... but it wasn't because he missed me :)

Andrea was born January 12th, 2011 at 11:45 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 oz and was 21 inches long.

Bunk Beds

We are entering into a new phase of our lives. The kids will share a room as we make ready for baby #3.

Wish us luck, and please, pray for us!!

p.s. check out the amazing quilt my neices and Mom made for Hudson's bed!! They made it out of everyone's old jeans and denim shirts. Very special!

Harvesting

This is year #2 for my garden and I'm figuring out what works and doesn't work well. We've got good soil but limited sunshine. Carrots did a lot better this year. I know they looks small but actually I should've picked them sooner. I grew the little lady fingers which are supposed to be small and sweet. Beans and peas do very well also. My lettuce grows well but I find I have no appetite for it. I keep thinking about the slugs that might have left their slime behind...yuck! Potatoes do okay. Corn, onions, berries...not so much.

My Birthday

This was my birthday present - a waffle maker! I always wanted one. It came with a recipe for "overnight waffles" that is amazing! They are light and crispy and unbelievably good.

Good call, Jeff!

Waffles are becomming a new Sunday morning tradition!

Christmas Lights

Just thought I'd share some pictures I snapped tonight as Hudson and I were playing out in our dust of snow. It was snowing a lot harder in Lynden when we were at church this morning. Kaylee and Hudson had a great time playing on the church lawn in the snow. This is the first time Kaylee enjoyed the snow instead of being freaked out by the white stuff sticking to her shoes. Hudson was delighted with the snow and seemed to have no fear.


Anyway here's the front of our house...
Our lovely wreath...

And our "red, white, and blue" Christmas tree...

We usually have white lights on the tree. Last year we thought we'd try blue. It was a little to "dark" for my taste. So this year we decided to put them both on. With the red bows and many red ornaments, it turned out to be a very patriotic tree! I love it.

Oh, and one more picture of my manly little man on his big sister's tricycle. Real men ride pink!

p.s. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just got pictures from my spontaneous trip to MN in early November and I also will be posting from our recent trip to the WA/OR coast. So stay tuned!

Fall Cleanup

We're having a nice sunny Saturday out here in WA state. Every year Kaylee likes to help me rake up the leaves. Traditionally, we get a wind storm the night after so the next day we can pretend all that hard work never happened! Our neighbors have come to use us as a weather indicator.

Kaylee's strategy is to scatter all the leaves I painstakingly gathered into piles.
I wondered if Hudson would help out. He usually likes helping me, but today he was too busy to even stop for a picture. This is typical Hudson when he gets outdoors. He's just go, go, go!
Thanks for getting that one leaf!

Cute, huh?

Then we decided to plant some bulbs for next spring. Every year I plan to do it. This was the first time I actually did (Yeah, for me!) Notice Kaylee has a new leaf in her hair!

Lets hope they grow well. I just LOVE hyacinths!

We also planted tulips, daffodils and crocuses... crocai??

And here's a treat... my little man stopped for just moment to wish you all a happy fall! (sorry, I just feel like rhyming today)

His collars go up on their own. He's just that cool!

Twin Brook Creamery

This afternoon we went up to visit a local dairy farm that is owned by friends from our church. My brother-in-law is going to be working for them and we needed to pick up some paperwork. I thought it'd be fun to go along and bring the kids to see some cows. I've always wanted to try their milk and today I finally did!

Here's a little video I found on youtube about their dairy: Twin Brook Creamery

They're a unique dairy in that they bottle their own milk from their own cows.

Jersey cows! Aren't they cute? Jerseys produce a milk that is higher in protein and butterfat than the standard B&W holstein. This makes for a better tasting milk in addition to it being more nutritious. Larry (the owner) told me that the skim milk will taste more like 1% because of the enriched flavor... and you know... he's right. He knows what he's talking about!

These are some happy cows. They are pastured in grass fields for as many months as weather allows. They raise their own calves so they have a "closed herd", greatly reducing the chance of disease. They're not given any hormones for artificial growth or milk production. So what you get is "the most natural milk a cow can produce".

Their milk is gently pasturized at low temperature to kill off harmul bacteria and is not homogenized, which alters the natural state of the milk. Because of this, the cream naturally floats to the top of the container. So you can buy whole, 2% or 1% and either skim the cream off and use it in your coffee, on your berries, or shake it up and drink it all. I think that's pretty neat!

During our visit Debbie (the other owner) gave us a pint of chocolate milk. What a treat! It was so good!

And my little Kaylee who NEVER drinks milk - even chocolate milk - couldn't get enough of it!

This gets me excited about the possibility that I can get her started drinking milk. With Uncle B working there, we can have him be our own personal milk man! Or else I can go to the Co-op to buy some of course, but I like the idea of home delivery. (They don't really have a home delivery service, I just mean on account of the above mentioned family member working there... just to clarify)

Behind Kaylee is the delivery truck Uncle B will be using...

So after getting all that sweet chocolate milk running through our veins, it was time to burn off some energy. Ever the thoughtful hosts, Larry brought out a tricycle for Kaylee to cruise around on.

And Debbie showed us the swing set in the back yard.

Disregard the chocolate milk and dirt-smudged face below, and notice the look and gestures of the next two pictures. Is it just me, or does Hudson look like he's in a play?

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon..."

To top it all off, they even had horsey rides!

Larry heard that I was really anxious to try the milk - and of course I could just go to the Co-op and get some (but that means getting a membership and ya-de-ya-de-ya), but he wouldn't have me go home empty handed. He sent us home with some fresh milk to try. What a generous man! This milk is so good. I highly reccommend it. Not only because it's local and owned by friends of mine, but because it's healthier too!

Now if only I knew someone who raised chickens...

What a Morning

I LOVE this state! I love living here. Here's another reason why:

This morning our kids were up again in the lovely hour of 5:00. Since we have house guests that I didn't want to disturb I decided to load my kids up in their pajamas and go for a drive. We stopped for a latte (for me) and a muffin (for the kids) then headed off. For some reason I was drawn to the border town of Blaine. It's only about a 15 minute drive, so we cranked up the Miss Patty Cake CD and watched the sunrise as we drove.

We headed down to the public fishing pier. It's a rustic looking pier that you can drive onto. From there you can see the Peace Arch at the border crossing, Mt Baker looming large to the east, the beautiful resort community of Semiahmoo across the water, and of course the water itself and the seagulls.

As we walked around the pier (of course we were the only ones there this morning) I was thrilled to see a bald eagle fly right over my head. Now bald eagles are not an uncommon sight up here in the PNW, but I've never seen them near the ocean (or more precisely - Puget Sound). They're usually fishing the rivers - just not often by the water.

Anyway he landed on a small outcropping of rock not 50 feet from the pier. I watched him for a long time and wished and wished I had grabbed a camera on the way out the door. But I resolved to burn the image in my head - the golden morning light glinting off the gentle waves and that regal head looking about. Hudson and Kaylee were not impressed.

Eventually a van pulled up and a man got out. He proceeded to start taking pictures of the eagle. I went and told him how glad I was that someone was able to capture the moment! He offered to email me a copy of his pictures and I cannot wait to get them! He also told me that the Lady Washington was in port. That was another amazing surprise! This famous replica has been in two movies that I know of - Star Trek Generations and Pirates of the Carribean (the HMS Interceptor). How could this treasure just be sitting there in plain sight with nobody around oohing and ahhhing?! So we stopped to see the boat on the way back through the marina. I did some reading when I got home and found out that they're giving some kind of sailing tour this week -first in Blaine then in Bellingham. Jeff has some time off and with the grandparents here, I'm thinking this is something we HAVE TO do!

What an amazing place to live!

If you click this picture and enlarge it, you can see me standing on the dock on the far right side near the telephone pole.

Random-ness

My Dad used to (and maybe still does) refer to me as "the Random Child". So, true to form I will post some random pictures and report some random happenings in our lives recently.

Sometimes Kaylee likes to brush teeth just for fun. Fun... brushing teeth? I like how kids open our minds to finding fun in just about anything!

Hudson is counting to 30 while Kaylee and I go hide. Um... okay, just kidding.

Jeff and I have been doing some major outdoor springtime projects. I got the deck and one section of fence power washed and stained. We got dirt for the garden and mulch for the flower beds. Jeff got that all spread out and it's looking really nice.

I got my garden planted. Some things I'm staggering so that I'll sow more seeds in two week increments. I've got strawberries and blueberries, onions, carrots, corn, watermelon, pumpkin, potatoes, brocolli, asparagus, lettuce, sugar snap peas, beans, cucumber, tomatoes and bell peppers! WHEW - I never realized how much could go into one small garden! Now I just need to build the trellises.

Oh yes, I forgot I also have one pot of chives and garlic, and another of sweet peas (the flower, not more peas!)

Progress (Updated*)

We're making good progess at getting our garden set up. This spot along the back of the house gets the most light. I'm anxious to see how well things will grow here. The next step is to get some good soil filled in mixed up with compost. I'm also planning on putting up a nylon trellis supported by metal piping. It's a design I'm copying from my friend Jen who has it in her garden and looks really nice.

Jeff got me some old railroad ties for the border. I just LOVE them - they're so rustic looking and full of character. It looks like they've always been there.

Look at all that character! I love wood. I am so excited to start this garden!

Yesterday I got all my hanging baskets planted. I have two in the front with fuscia (because it's mostly shaded there) and this one in the back. I love small, trailing flowers!

I am also starting some sweet peas from seed. They're from a mixed bag so it'll be a surprise which colors come out.

The black birds have been making progress on their nest as well. Look how well it's coming along!

* Let's just zoom in there...


I see the pair hanging around the neighborhood often these days. It's fun to watch them. I'll have to come up with some names. I've taken some video of the pair up there in the nest, but it's hard to tell what's going on from down here. Maybe if I climb up on the roof...