MY PHOTOS ON FLICKR!

OK-I have finished downloading a fair amount of my photos (but not by any means all) on to Flickr, a photo sharing website! Check out my Flickr badge (photo collage) at the top left of my blog page! I have not, and probably will not, post captions. I love captions but it just so much work that I do not have time for. So if you have any questions about the photos just ask! You should be able to post comments right there. Just click on VIEW MY PIX and enjoy!

MAILING BABY CHICKS

Some of you may already know that both Chris and I have a shared affection for chickens. Yes, those feathery critters that crow and go peep and scratch around in the yard. We both had a multitude of chickens as pets when we were younger. So once we got set up in our house and on our land it was time to get some chickens! The neighbors, knowing we were looking, brought us 2 barred rock hens and a beautiful rooster who we named Genghis Khan (Genghy for short). The hens are ancient and lay an egg once in a blue moon but they are mellow and sweet. After a bout with a collection of "wild" chickens (yes, there is a feral population of small chickens-most descending from escaped fighting stock) which we could not tame down it was time to hit the Internet. There is a fabulous hatchery, Murray McMurray Hatchery in Iowa that has been in business since the early 1900's. You can order just about any kind of poultry and have them shipped to your post office. YES-they ship live birds USPS Priority mail. In Hawaii you can only get "day old baby chicks". No adults or eggs. And no ducks, geese, etc. Just "day old baby chicks". How it works is the moment your order is hatched (they have all the eggs incubated and timed to hatch for prime shipping times) your chicks are packaged in an insulated special cardboard box and sent out. A baby chick is hatched with a "yolk sack" which they receive nourishment from so can go a few days without food or water. In 2-3 days they arrive at your local post office and you go pick them up!

We ordered 26 chicks (min. order=25) and received a "free mystery chick" also. We got 6 different breeds-all good layers of big brown eggs (our chicken project will also provide the restaurant with organic eggs hopefully!). One breed, the Araucana, lays blue/green eggs!

So the chicks arrived right on schedule and we raised them in a giant plastic kiddie pool in the bird room for the first 6 weeks. We kicked them outside when they started to escape and run around the bird room pooping everywhere (lovely). Mom and I (and Beck and Mike) had worked hard to prepare a nice pen for the little guys but our skills were no match for the marauding mongooses (little weasels non-native to Hawaii-they are PESTS!) who got in twice and a chicken massacre occurred. We lost a total of 8 chicks to the Mongooses before I could shore up the pen well enough and they got big enough to defend themselves.

Our wonderful neighbors who love animals as much as we do (thank goodness) are going to build us a chicken house.They are both high end finish carpenters, so it may be a chicken palace. And they should start laying in about 2-3 months. Will keep you posted!!!!!

WHAT A MESS

It is always suspicious when all is quiet in the house. It usually means trouble. Here is a photo of a good example (they were having a GREAT time) and a few other cute pix.............

CUTE BABY..........

OK-this is just an excuse to post some new cute Kyle pix!

THE MOST TOLERANT KITTY........

Crux, our tiger stripe tabby is the most tolerant cat ever...........see pix!

PEANUT THE NEW PUPPY!!!

Welcome little Peanut! He's an 8 week old Jack Russell Terrier (Chris and I both had Russells before) and is just the second cutest thing (Kyle being the first, of course). When some clients from the restaurant told us they had a litter of Russells we figured if we ever wanted a dog it was now or never! I am still home with Kyle so I could take the time needed to potty train an 8 week old pup....FUN! All I can say is THANK GOODNESS FOR CRATE TRAINING! It is making potty training and the adjustment to a new home so much easier for us and little Peanut. It goes under the fact that dogs are "den" animals and they will go to long lengths to keep their "den" clean. It also serves as a refuge or "safe place" for the pup. Peanut learned to make full use of his crate for just this purpose in about 2 hours of joining our family. With 3 cats (all much bigger than he) and a toddler to deal with his crate is very important to him. He takes all his naps in it and even sleeps in it at night with little fuss. Unfortunately, an 8 week old pup can only hold his bladder for a max of 4 hours so we still have to get up to take him out to "go shishi" through out the night. We've had a few accidents in the house (to be expected and they were all my fault-I didn't take him out on schedule or on time) but we are getting the hang of it all as we ALL get on a schedule. I removed every single carpet before the pup arrived also so I am just cleaning the hard wood floors-EASY! Right now both Kyle and the pup are napping....it is wonderful! I wish I had known about crate training with Bits. It really works! Anyway, he is adjusting to the family and farm just fine. He loves to chase Kyle all over yard and tries to get the kitties to wrestle with him. Crux, our gray tabby, is proving to be the most tolerant kitty ever! He is the only one of our cats who will actively play with Peanut (and Kyle for that matter)! Note in the pictures it is the pup who is always in the submissive posture to the cat! That cat is a riot. It is nice to have a dog again!

THE COWS HAVE COME HOME

Well, we are now officially "ranchers" or "farmers"....depends on how you want to look at it. The other day our first livestock arrived in the form of two young Texas Long Horn steers (castrated males). I was greatly amused when, after their former owner had been saying how tame they were and that they would eat out of your hand, they bolted from the corral they were supposed to stay in for a few days and headed for greener pastures so to speak. They were thrilled with all the fresh green grass and had no interest in coming back over to us at all...and so it has been. They are cruising somewhere in our pasture. I see them once in a while, but I would not call them "tame" or "friendly". They are quite beautiful, however, and fattening up very quickly on the all grass diet. Which is a good thing since eventually they will end up as burger and steaks for the restaurant.......*SIGH*.....that's what I get for marrying into a ranching family. Gotta get used to eating the pets..........

KYLE'S BAPTISM AND FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

In Hawaii first birthday parties are a very special and are celebrated lavishly. Chris and I decided to have Kyle's baptism and first birthday party together to simplify as much as possible since we wanted to invite everyone who has been so supportive and helpful to our little family and business. It ended up on April 13-a full month after his real birthday so everyone in the family could attend. The baptism was at Saint Anthony's Church in Laupahoehoe and the service was performed by Kyle's own grandfather, deacon Larry (Chris' dad). It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful service with the sermon focusing on how we as parents are "sheppards" to all the children in our lives and the congregation's youth performed a little song. Tom, my step dad, is Kyle's godfather and Lawrie Ann, Chris' sister, is his godmother. Kyle did great until the very end when he got really tired and had had enough!

Then it was directly on to the party at our 50's restaurant which is conveniently just down the road from the church. We fed about 100 of our friends and family a breakfast buffet (special thanks to mom, Carol, and auntie Myrna who spend days preparing the food and cooking) and sang "Happy Birthday" with a giant fish-themed cake....all while Kyle slept in the King's Room! That kid can sleep through a riot! The guest of honor woke up just in time to have a roaring good time with a bunch of balloons.

The kids were occupied playing outside with an automatic bubble machine (good fun at your next party!). We had friends and family come from Oahu and Kona and most of the Laupahoehoe community was there. It was a great party but boy are we glad it's over! A huge thanks to everyone who helped out with babysitting, decorating, planning, cooking, serving and cleaning up! We could not have done it with out all of you!

MOM VISITS!

In March my mom, Lisa, came back from her home in the Solomons for a month long visit. She spent about half her time in Kona with Tom and all of her friends and half her time over here with us. I had a bunch of projects lined up to keep her busy-you know mom-she needs to be active! We had a great time starting a garden in which we planted a ton of stuff and ended up having to fence in to ward off our plundering wild turkeys. Lisa also planted a bunch of flowers around the property to help liven it up. The other big project was the CHICKS! I purchased 27 baby chicks so we had to prepare for their arrival (set up a giant plastic swimming pool-sans water!) and get their outside enclosure ready and mongoose proof (took me a month to finally stop the chicken massacres going on!).

And of course there was KYLE! Mom hadn't seen her grandson since he was 2 months old....what a difference! They hit it off right away and Lisa delighted in teaching him peek-a-boo (his favorite) and "where's your tongue?" (which he does in two languages). She was amazed how Kyle is already "testing" his boundaries with us, seeing what he can and cannot get away with. She even babysat for us which was a BIG help! While she visited she got to see Kyle taking his first steps AND the start of his fabulous baby hugs! And of course Kyle's baptism and first birthday party. All and all it was a fabulous visit. Kyle's Solomon Islands grandma is sorely missed!

Cathing up with KYLE news

It was made known to me that many of you might not even know that Kyle is WALKING. Yes, he officially became a toddler March 31 when he took steps on his own! And since then he has never looked back. I actually enjoy him being able to toddle around (he looked like a drunken sailor in a hurricane at first). He is more independent and I do not have to carry him everywhere-my back is much happier!

Kyle says a few words-mama, dada, gat (cat in Portuguese) and WOOOOWWWW. He hand signs "milk" when he is hungry or tired and ready for his bottle and nap. If you ask in English OR Portuguese he will show you his tongue (thanks Grandma Lisa for that one). He waves "bye bye" when he or you are leaving, and also uses it when he is over it all and wants a change of scenery (smart kid!). He still loves going "bouncies" with his daddy when Chris gets home at night. Peek-a-boo is a favorite game-especially in the car while you are trying to drive (Grandma Lisa again!). And probably the coolest development for us all....Kyle is sleeping through the night in his own room! I was heartbroken moving him but he handled it like a pro! I didn't sleep for two nights but Kyle slept better than ever. Seems it was ME waking him at night (my snoring?).

That is about all the big catching up for now. I will post his 1st birthday party soon!

L&A to all!!

HI'Y ALL! OUR FIRST POST

Aloha Everyone!

The baby website was getting to be just to much work so when a friend of mine, Peter (thanks Peter!), mentioned that blogging was now the in thing to keep everyone in touch and up to date I decided to give it a try! Keep in mind that I am new to this and will take a bit of time to learn all the ins and outs of this new and wonderful technology (I know, blogging has been around for what, 100 years or so?). Time has been a bit limited, but I am eager to get everyone back in touch with our life over here on the crazy farm! I will start with some quick catch up news.................

PS-the baby website is still up and running until the subscription runs out at http://www.babysfirstsite.com/kyleignacio. I posted a bunch of photos a while ago...just haven't sent out an announcement!