Birthday Cake

Dallas requested a Duck Dynasty birthday cake this year, so Reba and I set out to make it extra special!

First, and most importantly, Reba had to taste test the batter to make sure it was suitable for the party.

I do believe it passed the test!

We made a white and a chocolate cake mix.  The white batter, I divided in half and colored them tan and green.  The chocolate batter, I divided and made one black and left the other brown.

I dolloped the different colors randomly into the pan, hoping to get a cammo effect

I found figurines of the men of Duck Dynasty on Amazon, and thought they would look great on the cake - along with some ducks I also found on Amazon.

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out - especially the inside!

Until next time...

Babies!

On March 12th we added to our "farm" once again!

This time, it was baby chicks (yes, we ordered them online and we picked them up at the post office)

We actually ordered 25 pullets.  The hatchery sent a few extras: 17 Cinnamon Queens, 5 Naked Necks and 5 French Hens.  Doug let Dallas and Reba each pick a breed to add to our flock.  Dallas chose the Naked Necks, and Reba chose the French Hens.

We had a rough start with the new chicks - 1 Cinnamon Queen arrived dead, and 3 of the French Hens died in the first two days, but the remaining hens seem to be doing well now.

We haven't let the kiddos play with the new hens too much, but I'm sure that will change once they get a little more size on them and don't require to be under the heat lamp as much.

Until next time...

Snow Day

On the 2nd of March, we received quite a bit of snow causing school to be canceled on Monday.  Thankfully, the temperature was not too bad and the kiddos were able to go out and play!  Julianne and I stayed inside and watched out the window.

Dallas decided he was a bulldozer and was making paths all across the yard

Reba was also making paths...or just crawling around with Buddy

Of course, the best thing about playing in the snow is to come inside and sit on the register all wrapped up in a blanket.  A cup of hot chocolate helps too!

We also practiced our letters in the "snow" (aka: salt)

Dallas was pretty proud of his "Mm"

and Reba had to show off her "Pp"

After finishing our letters, Dallas decided to make a snowman in the "snow"!

Needless to say, the kiddos slept great that afternoon for naps, went back out to play in the afternoon, and slept like rocks that night!

Until next time...

Reba's Butterflies

The other day, I showed you Dallas working on his Christmas project...so it was only fair that Reba get a chance to work on her Christmas project too!  Reba received butterfly magnets.  Her and I worked on them a couple different days as well.  I forgot to take pictures of the first round, but I did remember the second time!

A blank canvas...

She worked oh so hard to cover every spot!

Patiently waiting for it to dry so she could add the glitter glue and the gems...

Our finished products

Until next time...

Happy 6th Birthday!

It is hard to believe that 6 years ago, Doug and I were blessed to welcome Dallas into our lives.

He has grown into a funny, energetic, lovable, artistic, sharp as a tack, and sometimes mischievous, boy.

We will be celebrating Dallas' birthday with family this coming weekend, and I am still working on his "favorites" video.  Until then, here is a little of what Dallas is up to (per Momma):

Wears size 6 clothes
Wears size 13 shoes
Goes to bed at 8 p.m. and wakes up between 6 and 6:15 in the mornings
Will still take a 2-3 hour nap on the weekends
Hates to wear jeans
Can tie his shoes
Loves to color, cut, and create art projects
Prefers fruits and vegetables over meat
Loves to ride any pedal toy
Has started to read and knows many, many sight words
Loves to practice writing his words and making sentences
Easily counts to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's - working on going to 150 and counting by 2's
Knows his address and phone number
Still loves all tractors - anything from small 1/64th scale toys all the way up to the real ones
He enjoys painting and customizing his toy tractors
Loves to kick a ball or toss a ball
Enjoys helping clear the table after supper
Loves to hug, kiss, and hold Julianne
Can't wait to get home after school and play games with Reba
Loves to wrestle, give wedgies, and play tricks on others
Even with all of his energy and orneriness, he still loves to cuddle up at the end of the day and read a book

Until next time...