Ooops! I was allowed to kick Sam's football using his new football tee and had a really horrible first kick. I begged for a second one and Richard teased "Is this going to be the mother of all kicks?" in response to my blustering about how big this one would be. Sure enough. It did turn out to be a good kick, solid contact, soaring right over the fence around the chicken run, then RIGHT THROUGH THE WINDOW OF THEIR COOP!

Thankfully the repair was fairly easily accomplished with a run to ACE (thanks Mom and Richard!), a piece of glass cut, glazing tacks and glaze. I learned how to do it. The glazing job is not pretty – kind-of “rough hewn” you could say. But it works. They chickens were very interested in all my tools. I had to rush in there quickly to ensure they would not eat the shiny glass. They love shiny objects. One of them grabbed a piece of glazing, though – the Rhode Island Reds (RIRs) are VERY piggy hens. They are not very sharp but very attuned to finding food. All four of our brown-egg layers laid eggs today – Jersey included! All in the same nesting box. There is a lot of clucking and talking down there when they are all feeling like laying. They all like the same box. Funny to watch them wait for another hen to be done. Like the line in a women’s bathroom – very tightly packed, poking beak into nesting box, clucking a “hurry up” every now and then.

We are planning a snowshoeing outing in the next couple weeks with another family, and Sam is back in school and doing well. He works on extra math or reading at home most days of the week, is attending PREP class at church (to prepare for first communion) and is taking guitar lessons with his dad on Thursday evenings. Over break he passed two swimming levels and is ready to pick up again when we enroll in class. He’ll be a sting ray in case anyone cares or knows the Red Cross swim levels! Cousin Leslie knows 🙂

I am really missing family – cousins, brother, sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, Dave’s parents. Now that my space-a days are over and Sam is in school it is a bit of a rough adjustment. I think over the summer I will pack the truck and go on “deployments” with the boys to see who we can visit. Family – please know we love you and think of you all the time, trying to figure out how to dig up enough money to build a bunkhouse or something so you can come and stay as long as you please and be comfortable. In the meantime, we have plenty of Hawaiian-style futons we can throw down in front of the fire in the large living room, and we have a guest room/office. Please make plans to come visit. I am also thinking about a kayak/camping trip in the San Juan Islands in the summer. That would be so much fun!