The blog that time forgot

 Updating this blog has been hanging over me like a giant black cloud since my last post. I have two drafts in the folder from this summer but life has been hectic and I try to respect teen privacy and honestly there are just a lot of tik tok videos to watch so I haven't made the time to write about our family.  So my goal for the rest of 2023 is one picture a day of our shenanigans with a little write-up.  Hopefully that will get me caught up.  

Lincoln is still a puppy and a big presence in our house.  Not always a nice presence - lots of chewed up stuff, he loves to dig in the trash, he's finally MOSTLY potty trained, he routinely eats the cats' food, but he's also a giant snuggle bunny and super sweet when he's asleep.  Aren't we all.  

He's made friends with the dog that lives next door and if we don't watch him closely, he'll sneak out the front door, run to their house and wait on the front porch until they let him in to play.  The neighbor dog is an older puppy too and they have a great time together.  Lincoln and Charlie are BFFs and love to wrestle and play tug.  Tootsie just wishes that everyone would shut up and let her nap.  Me too Toots, me too.  

Spring Break 2023

A million years ago, well actually three weeks ago, we packed our suitcases and headed to Los Angelos for a long spring break weekend. All four of us hadn't traveled together in a long while (pre-Covid?) but we found a great house/dog/cat/chicken sitter, rearranged work schedules and hopped on a plane. 

A few months prior, we decided that we should take a family vacation because our time all together is getting shorter (Will graduates in two years!) and we also needed some sun.  It's been a long winter.  We debated which coast, locations, etc., and then I found cheap airfair and hotel in LA so the decision was made.  Glenn was skeptical until I mentioned the La Brea tarpits - which were also what Reina was most excited about oddly.  Long story short, we had a lovely time.  It wasn't without hiccups, teen angst and crowded sleeping arrangements but we made it work.  

Look at these happy faces on the airport shuttle.  Smile for mom!  

Our first stop was the La Brea Tarpits.  It was even cooler than we thought it would be.  Highly recommend if you are in the LA area.  

We set aside the next day for exploring.  Lots of google maps and Glenn serving as the navigator (DIRECTIONS!), we found Dodger Staduim, the Coliseum, another museum and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

At a park overlooking Dodger Stadium.  Will gave Glenn a piggy back ride because he can. 

Glenn & Reina

2 out of 3 smiles.  

The ceiling outside of the LA Natural History Museum

The fastest walk through the Hollywood Walk of Fame known to man. I was the only one who was into it so it was a short trip.  

 

Our last full day was designated as Universal Studios Day.  We had a blast.  

Hogsmeade! 

Hogwarts!  We rode a ride inside the castle and it was pretty cool.  I mean, I had my eyes closed for most of it but everybody else seemed to love it.  

The car from Magnum PI!  This was the Studio tour and it was a lot more fun than I expected.  Plus it wasn't a roller coaster.  

Glenn loves the Simpsons! 

Next year's Christmas Card.  Sums up the day in a nutshell.  

On the last day, our flight didn't leave until the evening so we packed up the hotel and headed to the beach.  We picked Venice and it did not disappoint.  It wasn't quite sunbathing weather for the general public but Wyoming teens were quick to strip down and get some UV rays.  

Yes, Glenn is wearing long pants.  As was I.  We were comfy.  But look at that ocean.  

So that was our trip.  It was nice to come home and have the rest of the week to hang out, get driver's licenses, make cake pops and watch movies.  Then it was back to the grind.  Can't wait for the next one.  

Skiing

Sunday, the kids and I piled into the car and headed up to Snowy Range for a day of skiing.  The mountains have had some good snow recently and since we didn't get out at all last winter, we decided to take advantage of a long weekend and go skiing.  This picture paints a rosy picture of our day and that's how we'll go ahead and leave it.  But someday when the kids are middle-aged and possibly flipping through this blog like we do with our old fashioned photo books they might remember this as the day that mom completely lost her cool when Reina inexplicably couldn't get her ski boots on (boots that fit perfectly fine the day before), how at one point both mom and Reina were yelling and Will was trying to be the calm one and later suggested that he would now refer to Reina as "fat foot" which actually made her laugh, mom threatened to drive back home like fifty times, Reina finally got her boots on, everyone skied a bunch, mom and Lucy fell getting off the lift at least 50% of the time and the last time, the lift operator had to stop the entire lift to help mom get up and then Reina was worried mom had a concussion, Will had to ski by himself most of the time because he went down runs that were more advanced and he needs to go skiing with friends rather than moms and sisters, and a bunch of other little things.  But hopefully they will also remember a mom who wanted them to have fun doing some of the same activities that she liked to do and even a bad day on skis is never a completely bad day.  

A short story in four parts

 

Another week of 2021

We're still chugging along.  Will had his first basketball game last week and it was a lot of fun to watch.  He's playing on the A team this year and he got a few rebounds, a couple of steals and he took one shot that almost went in.  If his parents could've willed that ball into basket, they would have.  He has more games this week.  Attendance is limited to two visitors per player and we miss getting to see more  friends and all of the little siblings running around the games but I'm thankful that we get to watch in person. 

#43 on the court, #1 in our hearts

Reina was under the weather this weekend and stayed home today. I think she just has a bad cold but these times call for a more strict approach to germ isolation.  So I had a co-worker at home today.  Other than fighting about her needing to take a nap, we had a nice day.  She got some schoolwork completed and I had a productive workday.  

Reina had a special tutor while she did some school from home. 

Speaking of work, I finally bit the bullet and moved my desk off of the dining room table and into the guest room.  I guess it takes me about 9 months to adjust to a new reality, even it's only temporary.  It's nice to have the dining room back to normal, and by 'normal' I mean its currently covered in homework and unopened mail and cats.  My new office space also offers more privacy and another place for the pets to sleep peacefully while I labor away.  

Glenn's hand is still healing.  He's been making progress with the occupational therapist and starting to get more movement back.  We go back to the surgeon on Friday for more suture removal. 

We keep chugging along. 

How cold is it?

We are having typical Wyoming winter weather this week.  We only have about 1.5 inches of snow on the ground but it's chilly.  How chilly is it?  Well it's 9 degrees outside tonight and inside it's cold enough for Coco to tolerate a little snuggle time with Charlie.  For the record, Charlie loves the cats.  He wants to play with the cats but his version of play is not something that they are interested in participating in.  Soxy usually keeps her distance from him but Coco will let herself be nuzzled for a few minutes before she hisses, swats at him and walks away.  But not tonight.  She let him curl up on the sofa next to him and while he tried to stay awake, he eventually napped too.  

Day 185 and Quarantined for real (sort of)

 On Monday night, we got a message from the Jr High that someone had tested positive for COVID-19 and an entire core (like a really big homeroom, the school is divided into 6 cores... or maybe 8) was being ordered to quarantine at home.  Will wasn't in this core but 1/3 of the football team was.  Fast forward to tonight . We got another message from the school stating that the 8th grade football team had been in contact with someone who tested positive so they are supposed to stay home until further notice from the County Health Dept.  We assume that Will is quarantined for two weeks but we're not sure when that two weeks will start.  He's mostly nonplussed (am I using that word correctly?) but is bummed about the possible early end to the football season.  I'm not as stressed as those of you who know me might think.  One dang day at a time right?  You can bet that I'll be monitoring the heck out of every little sniffle and cough he makes, while also cataloging my own aches and pains.  As far as I know, the rest of us don't quarantine unless he tests positive or shows symptoms.  I'm still working from home but Reina and Glenn will both head to school and work.  In the meantime, I'll be placing another grocery order for all of the frozen burritos in town and coming up with ways to keep Will entertained.  Oh who am I kidding. I left his room a few minutes ago with the words "turn off the XBox, you still have a normal schedule mister..."  This is going to be an adventure.  

Day 149

This week is a whirlwind of mostly good stuff but a lot of *stuff* happening.  We are less than two weeks away from school starting.  I think - the school board was meeting tonight but I had to run Reina to dress rehearsals for dance and then decided to give my sanity a break and read the highlights tomorrow instead of listening to it.  Will had another pre-tryouts baseball practice tonight.  He wasn't happy with how he played so we spent part of the night talking about playing fall baseball so he can keep working or just focus on football.  He and I did this while simultaneously watching the Rockies who almost blew a 6-run game in the 9th inning but thankfully (for both my sanity and Will's) won the game.  Reina and I took a late evening walk with Charlie which is becoming our new tradition.  Glenn was here too - just doing chores and looking for side-by-sides online and running Will back and forth to baseball. 

It feels like we are all a little on edge.  It's almost like it was when all of this first started. I think the uncertainty of the next few weeks is affecting us.  Will there be middle school football?  Will the kids make it through a week of school before getting sent home?  Will we all stay healthy?  One day at a time.  Tomorrow the cousins are coming over and that's what we'll focus on right now.  

I keep dreaming about going to back to the office.  In one dream I was really worried about being around too many people.  In the second dream, my boss had brought in a cat and said that we could keep it in the office.  That was super exciting (for me) especially since it was an African Serval cat (google it).  At our staff meeting the next morning (in real life), I floated the idea to my boss and co-workers.  Shockingly, it wasn't greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. I think it would really help with social distancing.... if I had an actual wild animal in my office.  

We found out yesterday that the Wyo Cowboy football season has been pushed back or possibly canceled.  I hadn't cried about COVID related stuff in at least a month but I have to admit that it brought about a few tears of disappointment. I completely respect the need to keep players safe and the uncertainty of the long term health effects that may occur but dangit. I think I needed football on Saturdays to make me feel like things were getting back to normal even though they really aren't.  I'm also mad that we as a society couldn't come together and get this thing figured out.  

So instead of ending this point on an even more downer moment, here's a Charlie story.  I took Charlie on a walk over the lunch hour.  He's getting braver about being out in public and even a little friendly with other dogs we meet.  It was warm at noon but he and I walked for a while.  Finally he laid down under a tree to signify that he was done with the walk.  The only problem was that the tree wasn't in our yard and we were about a mile from home.  Nice try Chuck.  

Day 134

Another list! 

I made my first batch of zucchini bread for the summer.  Between our home garden and the community garden we share with V and a friend, we are living in Squash Town.  We have yellow squash, pumpkins, a few little cucumbers and a bunch of flowers getting ready to produce something.  The zuc bread was delicious and surprisingly a few slices made it through the day.

Will slept-walked  (sleep-walked?) last night but none of us noticed it (including him) until he woke up this morning to find a tote of old legos and toys on his chair next to his bed and his Harry Potter wand on top of his desk. Glenn thinks it's his inner child trying to play with more toys. 

This afternoon, I was getting off of a work call when I heard Coco start to gag nearby so I zipped over there to try to put a kitchen towel under her and instead I caught her barf in my hands.  That was fun. 

Reina was feeling a little under the weather but is better tonight, fever free and all of that good stuff.  She at an entire container of cherry tomatoes yesterday so that might have had something to do with it.

Wyoming has 2,520 cases and 25 deaths as of today.  Most of the big retailers in town are requiring masks and you definitely notice more people wearing them all over town.  I don't know what to do about school clothes shopping. I think I'll try to order some stuff for pick-up here in town but we'll probably have to do some online shopping too.  Reina wants a Hamilton tshirt - so do I!

Day 122 and how I know I don't have COVID-19 today

Glenn is back at work so the dining room (home office central) is quieter but I still like to escape to the basement because it's cooler down there and since it's not right by the kitchen, no one asks me to make them ramen.  For the last week or so, the basement has been a little stinky but I brushed it off to normal basement funk, we've had some rain, the dogs sleep down there, etc.  Finally today I couldn't ignore it any longer.  I threw all of the dog bedding in the wash, which is no easy feat because there's enough dog hair on those old towels and blankets to make another dog. I even threw some of the older rugs away.  I smelled everything and it mostly smelled of dog.  But I thought well maybe that'll take care of everything.  I resumed my spot on the couch and the smell was just as bad.  It hit me what I was smelling.  Something was rotting.  In our basement.  I knew it wasn't animal because if the cats had caught a mouse, they wouldn't have been able to keep it to themselves and I have no doubt it would have been paraded through the kitchen like a trophy.  It hit me.  A giant bag of potatoes, one that we bought in our more desperate "we'd better stock up on stuff" was literally turning into liquid on the basement carpet.  I threw the pre-vodka potatoes (is that how they make vodka?) into the trash (I couldn't even carry them to the compost because it was really gross and there were already bugs) the garage and sprayed the carpet with every cleaner we had in the house.  There's still a slight rotten-y perfume but I'm taking the steam cleaner down there next.  So, yes.  We've been in the house for 122 days straight and still didn't notice a bag of potatoes turning to dust.  Well not dust, I'm looking for a metaphor that won't make anyone gag more than they are already. 

So I know I don't have COVID-19 today because my sense of smell is still very intact.  Ewwww. 

The Weekend and Day 106

Saturday, we had a break from baseball so we packed all of the humans and the dogs into Glenn's truck and headed to Guernsey, a small town about an hour and half from Cheyenne. I've driven through it many times for work but I'd never stopped at the reservoir. The kids were excited to swim so that's where we headed first.   

I posted this picture on instagram with the caption "who are these giant kids following me around?"  But seriously, who are they?  It's like actual teenville around here.  

I tried to work on my action photos and got this blurry gem of Reina jumping in.  Now I just need to work on focus.  

Trigger had a best day ever.  He loves water and retrieving stuff out of the water, swimming after kids in the water, etc.  I have a picture of Charlie on my phone who was not having his best day.  Not a fan of the water but we got him to swim a few times.  

Hubba.

After the kids swam for a few hours, we headed over to Register Cliff and then drove a few miles to see the Oregon Trail wagon ruts that are carved in the sandstone.  It's pretty amazing to think about traveling across that country in a wagon while we are cranking the air conditioning and drinking a root beer float.  

It was a nice Saturday.  It felt nice to get out of the house and out of town, even for just a few hours. 

Day 41

Today marks the end of the 5th week since I've been working from home and 6 weeks since the kids were in school.  Wow - it some ways it feels a lot longer than that but other times it feels like the blink of an eye.  We've had a slightly better week.  The kids are figuring out how to manage their work time (for the most time) and the weather was nice enough to get outside.  Glenn and I both had a lot on our plate work-wise but we've been productive.  I finished up a two week workshop that I was co-teaching via Zoom and it wrapped up this afternoon.  It was fun interacting with people every day but I won't miss having to mute my microphone every time someone walked by the house and the dogs lost their ever-loving minds. 

Speaking of pets, Glenn accidentally left the back door open after letting the dogs out for their bathroom break in the morning.  Both cats quickly discovered this oversight and made a break for freedom while the rest of us were getting out of bed.  By the time we noticed the back door, they'd probably been outside for 15 minutes.  I figured they'd come back when they were ready but it was chilly this morning and we had some rain last night.  I looked at the front door and they were both sitting by the window screaming to come in, with muddy paws and wet legs.  They've slept most of the day.  I guess a cold, wet adventure sure takes it out of you. 

We are headed into the weekend.  It is supposed to be sunny and gorgeous so I'm looking forward to some yardwork and Vitamin D.  Happy Friday!

Day 31

Today can be summed up thusly:  while I was giving an important presentation online and Glenn was working in his office in the basement, Will enlisted Reina's help in shaving his head. That went about as well as you would expect from an 11 yr old and a 13 yr old who had never used a pair of clippers before.  Glenn finally came upstairs to help repair the damage and Will briefly allowed him to shave a scalp lock, which Glenn then adorned with turkey feathers and proudly proclaimed that he finally had the warrior son that he always wanted.  By the time I finished my presentation, Will was fully shorn and completely regretting his haircutting (head-shaving?) decision.  As luck would have it, he has both an online Spanish class tomorrow and an online meeting with his baseball team.  Hats and hoodies will be worn. 

Day 2

We all made it through the first day of no school, well homeschooling, well more like barely contained chaos with lots of electronic time.  I worked in the morning, Glenn is still under the weather so he stayed home. I came home after lunch to make sure things weren't dissolving into full-blown anarchy.  It was a slightly warm, sunny day so Reina and I took the dogs to the big field for a run.  Charlie (more on him later) found a dead vole and raced around with it until I could pry it out of his mouth.  So Reina had a little bit of a science lesson.  She and also looked at the teepee ring that's still on the prairie, so we added in some history too.  Back at home, Reina dove into math games online and Will grudgingly stopped shooting baskets to work on a spanish website I signed him up for.  Glenn hung up some elk antlers (just what this house needed!) and moved some artwork around.  Reina made a shamrock for the front door, Will shot more baskets and read everything he could find about the first day of NFL free agency.  That counts as reading, right?  

Glenn was worried that there might be a run on dog food, so I headed out after dinner only to find out that the dog food store closed at 6:00 p.m.  I opted for an online order instead but I zipped into Target which was next door.  I grabbed some dog biscuits and a few other essentials - well mostly Easter candy because who knows when I'll go to Target again and even though Easter is almost a month away, we have to have our stash ready.  Walking around Target didn't help my nervousness, it's so strange to see empty shelves where the kids' ibuprofen and cold medicines usually are, plus the tissue, cleaners, paper towels and toilet paper are long gone.  Even the dog food aisle looked a little bare.  I know we are fully stocked here but it's hard not to get caught up in the frenzy.  

Off to bed without reading anymore news, tweets or alerts, just a concerted effort to be thankful for all of this extra time with my favorite monsters.  

Day 1

All weekend, I've had the thought that I need to memorialize this time.  This Covid-19 time.  The change in attitudes and plans from last Sunday to tonight is a little scary but I also firmly believe that we (as a society) need to do everything we can to prevent the spread of this virus.  But this blog doesn't need a diatribe from me about how people aren't taking this seriously enough.  This blog needs the weird little details of how all of the Bronco Babies are dealing with this uncertain time in our history. So let's talk about that.

Reina has been talking about the coronavirus for a few weeks now.  Coming from a long-line of worriers and worst-case-scenario-people, Reina and I have talked a lot. As the situation has progressed, I've told her as much as I've known at the time without adding to her fears and we've talked about we can do specifically, mainly washing hands and keeping ourselves healthy. When Wyoming's first case was announced last week, we talked about that.

Mr. Junior High would talk a little bit about it but *stuff* got real for Will on Wednesday night when he and I were watching basketball on tv, flipping back and forth between college and NBA games.  We had the Nuggets game on and watched in real time as the NBA made the announcement to suspend the season and pulled players off of the court in Utah.  I had to suppress a giggle as I watched the realization dawn on Will and he turned to me and said "I might actually not have school!"  Welcome to the conversation son.

We kept ourselves pretty isolated this weekend because Glenn has been feeling under the weather and we had a icy snowstorm that blew through that canceled outdoor baseball practice.  Our church canceled services and other than a trip to the library and the grocery store, we laid low.  Today the sun came out so we all got outside for a little bit. This afternoon, I read an email from the junior high detailing how they were going to limit the number of students in the cafeteria, took a nap, and then woke up to the news that all schools in our district are canceled until at least April 7.  Both kids were shocked and obviously not completely disappointed, although they are both worried about what it means for the summer and missing their friends.  They are also super excited about my plans to keep them learning during this time.  Okay fine, Reina is pretty excited to be "home-schooled" but Will doesn't think there are any online resources that accurately reflect what he's learning right now.  Because you know, the internet is bereft of 7th-grade math, science, social studies, English and Spanish exercises.  Is my sarcasm coming through loud and clear?

Glenn and I have to go to work tomorrow morning.  We don't know what official plan will be for our agencies but for now, it's business as usual.  Stay tuned for Day 2.

The rest of the week

The last week of January has been a doozy.  Relatively speaking, of course.  I started to feel puny last Saturday with a stomach bug. I was sick Sunday into Monday.  Reina started to feel yucky Sunday and stayed home with me on Monday.  Glenn and Will went to work and school on Monday.  When they walked into the house Monday night after practice, Will announced that he'd thrown up in Dad's truck 7 times on the way home.  School is about 5 minutes away so you know that was an intense ride.  Glenn looked like a man who had been through some things.  Will didn't use his backpack or bag to catch the vomit, instead he aimed for Glenn's cupholders.... that aren't removable.  So the three of us stayed home together on Tuesday.  

But it's Friday and we are back on track.  Reina is reading Nancy Drew books which delights me.  She's reading the actual books that I read as a kid that were at least a generation old at that point.  She's a voracious reader.  Her birthday is right around the corner and it's a hot topic of conversation.  

Dressed up for basketball.  They have to dress nicely on game days. 

Reina camping out with three of the four pets on one of her sick days.  I think the dogs were delighted that we were feeling under the weather.  

I received this text from Glenn over the weekend.  Clearly someone hacked his phone.  I just can't figure out who the culprit is!  

The last night of holiday break

The kids go back to school in the morning.  Mostly everyone is ready.  We've had a nice holiday but it's time to get back to the routine.  The pantry has been hit hard, every edible snack has been ferreted out.  As have the art supplies and the battery stash for electronic devices.  We've watched a ton of movies and played Trouble and Uno Flip (a great addition to the Uno family but also has led to an almost-fistfight breaking out between brother and sister). The Christmas decorations are down and even the pets are probably ready for some quiet time.  Glenn and I have been at work a few days each week so it won't be as hard on us tomorrow morning. But let's get this New Year going.

Our last weekend was pretty fun.  Glenn went goose hunting in Colorado so the kids and I watched football and finished up errands.  We celebrated my birthday on Friday before Glenn headed out.  The kids sang me happy birthday and it was really the sweetest thing. I never hear Will singing and he sang with gusto.

On Saturday, Reina and I had a list at Target a mile long.  The first thing on that list?  Undergarments for Reina that rhyme with claw.  The "claw" has been a big topic of conversation since she picked a few out.  She won't mind that I'm mentioning her unmentionables on the blog because it is Big News.  She said it makes her feel older and like a woman.  (She is asking me to type that right now!) Where did my crazy toddler go?

Bring on 2020!

Pictures from last month's holiday

I was looking for some pictures for the Christmas card tonight and found pictures from Thanksgiving that I never posted. (I actually just typed 'Halloween' and now I need to see if I ever posted those pics.  Sigh.)  Anyway, we had a lovely Thanksgiving this year.  We drove to Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt's house with a pie, rolls and some cranberry sauce and feasted on all of the trimmings.  It was delicious as always and we had a fun time hanging out.  The weather was unseasonably cold so when we came home, we curled up next to the pellet stove and watched movies and football and started Christmas lists.  It was a nice start to the holiday season. 

Each Thanksgiving with all four cousins, I've tried to snap some good pics for the grandparents.  This year, I gave up without much of a fight.  It was not the day for picture taking.  Maybe we can recreate these in a decade or so.   

Reina, the cat, Everett in an almost chokehold, Will trying hard and Ainsley.  

Okay everybody - just look at the camera for one second!  The cat cooperated this time.  

I love watching baby/preschool cousin eat with a giant spoon.  Don't bother asking if he wants a smaller one.  He's a big kid!  

I can't wait to do it all again in 10 days.  Ten! 

Sick days and snow days

We've had a wild week at the Pauley household.  (How many times have I started a blog post with that sentence?)  Last Wednesday as I was getting ready to head to Laramie for a presentation, I had a call from the school nurse.  Reina had a sore throat and wanted to come home. I zipped over to pick her up, took her home, went to Laramie, gave my presentation and drove home in the snow.  Glenn was keeping an eye on her.  She didn't have a fever so I thought maybe she was just having an off day.  About 10:30 pm, she barfed.  I thought "well maybe it's just the pain medicine I gave her that upset her stomach."  And then she barfed again and again and again until 8:00 a.m.  She's usually very stoic about being sick but this one hit her hard.  I would doze off only to be woken up by "MOM I NEED YOU I BARFED" many times. I should clarify, I'm happy to be there for her and I know these days won't last forever but boy did we both need some sleep when morning came.  Long story short, she had all of the symptoms of influenza or strep but she'd just had the flu shot and the strep test was negative and she slowly started to feel better.  So far, no one else in the house has caught it and we are hoping it stays that way. 

The day after Reina came home sick, Glenn had to endure one of those events that happens when you turn 50.  The big colonoscopy. I think it's safe to say that the days leading up to the test were harder on him than the actual procedure.  As someone who likes multiple fruits and veggies every day, being on a low fiber diet was tough.  The last 24-hours when he could only drink clear broth were even more brutal.  I knew he was hungry when he picked giant burgers for dinner the night after his colonoscopy.  He's happy to report that all of the tests came back normal and his dr (supposedly) told him that Glenn had the cleanest, most magnificent colon he'd ever seen. 

Yesterday, the weather took a turn and we started to get quite a bit of snow.  As I was driving home from work, I had a call from the school - this time with the automated news that classes were canceled for today.  There was much rejoicing from the younger members of the household who know get a 6-day break for Thanksgiving.  Just when I was wondering how I would juggle my work day and their extra day off, I received a text saying that State Offices were also closed.  I didn't necessary 'rejoice' but I was happy to not burn a vacation day.  Glenn was already sleep so he didn't find out the exciting news until 6 a.m. 

We had a fun snow day.  Glenn and I did some extra chores.  Reina played with a girl next door.  Will ventured outside for some fun in the snow and we all watched a movie.  It was a nice relaxing way to kick off this fun week. 

We built a Lego gingerbread house for Christmas decorations this year.  I mostly put it together but Will helped with the tricky parts.  At one point, I couldn't figure out where a piece was supposed to go and Will took a look at it and told me in a serious voice, "wow Mom, these really are big boy Legos." 

The snow out our front door this morning.  

The dogs' idea of a perfect snow day

Soxy's too 

Out big kid laying face down in a snow drift.  He wanted to jump off of that shed but Glenn put the kibosh on that before I even heard of the plans.  Phew.  

The Great Chicken Mystery of 2017-2018

I don't write about them much but the Pauley chicken girls are still racing around the backyard and providing us with a lot of company when we are out there.  They are pretty friendly and super food oriented so if you go out the backdoor and yell "come here my little chicken girls!" they come running.

Egg production hasn't been what we expected but we've chalked that up to a lot of different factors.  Over the summer two of the girls went broody - which is cute for a day or two until they stop laying and don't leave the next box and insist on laying on everyone else's eggs.  Luckily neither one was aggressive - I've read that some chickens will peck or attack anyone trying to make them leave the next.  My girls would complain and head back to the hen house as soon as they could, but no biting.

After they stopped being broody, egg production picked up a little bit until molting time.  The number of feathers floating around the backyard would briefly give me pause everyday until three live chickens came racing around the corner of the deck to see if I had brought any snacks home with me.  All three molted at different times but we stopped getting as many eggs each day and then the days got shorter as winter set in.  We don't have any artificial light for the chickens so egg production naturally drops off as winter sets in.

The last few months, as the days have been longer and the chicken girls are all healthy, we've gone weeks before we'll find a few eggs in the coop.  We blamed the cold, we gave the chickens pep talks, sometimes I resorted to strongly worded lectures (listen you slacker chicken girls!) and egg production has slightly increased over the last few weeks.  But we definitely haven't been getting eggs every day.  Sometimes there will be three eggs in there and then we'll go a few days with nothing.

Which brings us to today.  Glenn called me as on my way home and said something like "I might have figured out what's happening with the eggs but don't jump to any conclusions."  Today was cold and snowy but the snow wasn't sticking and the yard was a big muddy mess.  The chickens don't mind but we kept the dogs inside to cut down on the mess.  When Glenn got home, he let the dogs out, went to check for eggs and as he opened up the back of the coop, he was greeted by Trigger standing inside the hen house.

Huh.

"Don't jump to any conclusions?"  Yes, we should probably conclude that Trigger has been eating the eggs. 

Mystery solved?  Probably.  We tested it when I got home and with hardly any encouragement, Trigger can squeeze himself through the chicken sized door into the hen house.  Tootsie took a lot more convincing so I think she's off the hook.  Unless she's smart enough to not incriminate herself.  Looking back, every once in a while, I'd find a few tiny bits of egg shell in the nesting boxes and I'd worry that maybe the chickens were eating their own eggs (eww) but the few times that had happened before, it was a bigger mess and they wouldn't eat the whole thing.  I wondered if something small was getting into the hen house and stealing eggs but there aren't many animals out here that wouldn't just try to get the chickens. 

Furthermore, Trigger will eat just about anything.  In the past, we've caught him snacking on raw potatoes, onions and a banana that he pulled off the counter.  He can hear the sound of a chip dropping on to the kitchen floor from rooms away and he also tries to steal the scraps I bring out for the chickens.  Once he gorged on the cat food bag that he found in the garage and then barfed it up all over our bed.  That was a fun day.  AND, his coat has never looked more luxurious.  Or maybe that's only if he's been bathing in eggs, I don't know.

AND we keep finding little bits of wood shavings from the coop inside the house.  This has been happening for a while.  We'd just say man that stuff gets everywhere ha ha ha and never wonder why are the wood shavings from inside the coop INSIDE THE HOUSE and stuck in Trigger's coat?  Huh. 

Bottom line, it's a good thing that Glenn and I don't run a detective shop.  We can solve mysteries but it takes a while and it's helpful if the evidence just sort of presents itself, by standing in the hen house waiting for you to feed it an egg.   To borrow a line from one of my favorite episodes of Law & Order (where clearly I learned NOTHING about detecting, evidence, putting two and two together, etc.) "Girl you are as dumb as a sack of hair."

Kids, if you are reading this, Dad and I are going to brush up on our detective skills by the time you are teenagers.  We'd better get cracking. 

Who me?  It's not dog shaming if said dog as no conscience.