This past spring Ty kept telling Matt that he wanted chickens. We knew a guy in our ward that was moving and had all the supplies and all we'd have to do was take it apart and re-build it at our home. The picture above is Tucker and Ty's work (I think this was a test to see how bad the boys wanted chickens). Matt told them they'd need to dig 4 holes that would need to be about as deep as Ty is tall--if that makes sense. The boys used a shovel and their hands and had their work done in no time at all. Their 4 holes started the mess below. 
I have to say that we all LOVE the chickens, in fact, Tucker wanted a chicken cake for his birthday (I will post a picture of that later). We all fight about who's going to check for eggs--it's like a treasure hunt to see how many eggs we will find. We average about 2-3 eggs per day. Our hunting dog Gus has really decreased the population of chickens around here though. We've had 15 chickens and he's taken out 7. We are much more careful now with Gus and we always have to know where he is.
This summer we got to have Tori, Ryanne and Aaron over for awhile while Jayse spent some time in the hospital. This is the three girls addicting Tori to Diner Dash--a game Ryanne and Jaimee couldn't quit playing last December when Ryanne was over at our home while Brian and Chris went to New York.
Ty, Aaron and Tucker sleeping out in the tent. I guess the flash was too bright for Tucker.
Jaimee, Abby and Ryanne
Grandma D's birthday. We fixed her dinner and made her a strawberry rhubarb pie.
My handsome husband celebrating his 38th birthday. We fixed his favorite-- blueberry and cherry cheesecake.
May and June kept us busy with Ty in baseball. This is only his second year and he did very well. He hit a couple of homeruns and tried out pitching, second base, left field, and centerfield.
Ty has been so cute with Tanner this summer. He holds his hand and plays with him whenever he gets a chance. This picture shows Ty trying to persuade Tanner to eat his lunch at the gravel pit. His Mom and Dad tell us that Tanner is a picky eater so any help is much appreciated.
This is my boy Ty thrilled to finally get to operate the riding lawn mower like his older brother and sister. He couldn't stop grinning--even with a popsicle in his mouth! I'm sure the newness will wear off all too soon. This is one of our favorite places to go in the summer when it's hot (and little or no mosquitoes). Matt put this swing in 5 or 6 years ago at the gravel pit. Our little 4 year old Abby decided to be brave this year and try it. She loves it and squeals and squeals as you can hear on this little video clip. This is the first year Matt has really thrown the kids in the air as high as he can despite my gasps.
