Panda Bear and VBS

Panda Bear Banty 2007-2011.

We tried to keep him safe. He was determined to leave the safety of the berry garden to fight for his position as dominant rooster with three others. When he couldn't maintain the fight, he somehow left the chicken yard to take on the two dogs. How often do we try to protect our kids, but they keep wanting back into the world to do it on their own. Sometimes the odds against them are overwhelming and they don't figure that out until it is too late. Then they try to escape to only find themselves with a bigger problem.

As you know, I've hunted turkey, butchered chickens and ducks, but having to put Panda Bear down was the saddest one of them all. I miss this fiesty guy already. Two of the banty females miss him, too. They hide out in the coop all day long now to stay away from October. (see second picture for October).

On a better note. Waddles has started laying eggs again. I love duck eggs for cooking our gluten free breads and cakes.

So the changes occur in the barnyard and we keep on quacking.

VBS is in a month. I have offered to take on a new position - crafts. After brainstorming a bit, hitting the craft sites on the internet, I came up with a few ideas that we can do for all the kids. The most intense activity will be two different windchimes. They are both kits, just more work of putting it together for the older kids. I'm hoping to get some old flatware for the kids to hang below the tubes to make theirs more unique. The younger kids will have the kit from Oriental Trading. The other projects include a slap bracelet/ or faith bracelet, foam visor, and puzzle game. (I'm fogetting something). We also have picture frames if something else is needed to keep the kids busy along with pictures to color when they are done.

This will be a fun challenge to do the crafts. I'm hoping some of the ladies with experience at this area will assist me. Hint, Hint.

The boys and I had a busy week. We moved 2 truck loads of mulch - shovel load in to the truck and shovel load out of the truck. I was definitely sore the following day, along with developing a cold.  That evening after the issue with Panda - I continued to work moving bucket loads of Kansas River rock from the driveway pile to the flower garden. I'm still not done there - no energy left to do it. The boys, however, demolished the second pile of driveway gravel for me, by spreading most of it out on the driveway. That was cool to come home from work and find that job done.

T12 made it home from Boy Scout Camp. He loved it. Except for the part where we had to tell him to stop selling his Gluten Free food to the other boys. He was selling expensive stuff for a dollar, but what was worse was the fact that he was selling it and not sharing it. He found a drink at the cantene that he liked - ArizonaTea Mucho Mango. There's no telling how many of those he had to drink.
 I don't know how many merit badges he finished this week, but it was a good start to his B.S. career.

He was also accepted onto the Leavenworth United Soccer U-13 team. It will be interesting to see what this does to our schedule. He is suppose to practice two nights a week then play games and tournaments on the weekends down south of K.C.  Along with this schedule will be Hawk's schedule (he didn't want to play league ball, just rec) and Herogian's schedule of skeet, hunting, and archery starting again. Oh yeah, school will be in there somewhere. Can't forget that, now can we? I'd also like to attend Bible study on Wednesday nights, but will have to see where these other things take us... and writing the book and a vbs program.... life goes on.