Let me begin by saying that I had the most wonderful weekend.  I got to spend time with my daughter and son that were meaningful to both of them.  It is not often that kids respond to you in a way that shows admiration and love, but I think I got it this weekend.

Friday was an evening of Halloween trick or treating.  Since we live out in the country we drove into the local town.  One of Sarah’s best friends joined us since her mother was out of town and father is on dialysis and could not take her.  Taegen is such a nice girl and always respectful.  I may have mentioned it before but Sarah dressed up as a Spanish Princess and Spencer was Elmo.  All three kids had the program down pat and Spencer even figured out how to say “trick or treat” but mostly understood that every house brought him “MORE CANDY MOMMA”!  The amount of candy collected was limited but they also did not have the expectations of pillow cases full like when I was a middle schooler.  They were more than satisfied and actually really tired by the time we got home.  We got Taegen home by 9:00 and all of the kinds in bed by 9:30.

Saturday morning was a work day at the church so I took both kids with me to allow Susie to get some homework done.  Sarah watched Spencer and played with him while I helped install a new stainless steel sink in the kitchen.  Others were cleaning out the junk piles that seem to accumulate in the area behind the stage.  These workdays are just a part of keeping things in order but tiring at the same time.  I had to leave by 11:00 because I had to get to the co-op before they closed for some turkey feed.  We finally got home around 12:00 and got the kids fed and Spencer down for a nap.

The weather was fantastic and I really did not want Sarah to sit around and watch TV so I enlisted her help moving the chicks from the basement to the transitional brooder in the garage.  She helped me spread the wood chips, fill the feeders, and fill the waterer.  Next we put all of the chicks in a plastic container and moved them to their new home.  All of the chicks seem to be adjusting well.  Next we tended to our normal chores of feeding and watering the turkeys and layers followed by collecting eggs.

Once the chores were completed Sarah asked if we could just “hang out” together.  She really did not have anything to say but just wanted a little more daddy time.  She even said she would get me a beer for while we talked.  How could a dad say no to that?  I think we sat on our lawn chairs in the garage for over an hour just talking about life and the things that she was looking forward to.  It was just too precious and one of the best uses of time I have had in a long time.  We agreed we would do that more often in the future.

We were invited to our friend’s house for chili, hotdogs and beer Saturday night.  It was a great time for the adults and children alike.  After a few beers it was time to play silly games that resembled charades in an electronic form.  We had a whole lot of laughs and great fellowship.  Sarah was invited to spend the night at the Geiman’s which was nice for her but she never sleeps well on the floor.  We got home around 10:30 and I was in no mood to sleep so I watched some dribble on TV until I could not keep my eyes open anymore.  My thinking was that I would get another hour of sleep because daylight savings time started that night.  I woke up before 5:00 am anyhow on Sunday.

Susie decided not to go to church on Sunday so she could get a couple extra hours of uninterrupted studying in.  I took the kids to Sunday school and church and celebrated communion.  It was a very nice and relaxing time.  After church I told Sarah that we would be going on an adventure when Spencer took his nap.  Sarah always likes the adventures since I don’t tell her what we are going to do and she looks forward to a big surprise.  I had secured an above ground swimming pool from Freecycle.  It was 16 feet across and 4 feet deep.  It was pretty well drained but still had an inch or two of water in the bottom which was my responsibility to get rid of.  When we pulled up to the house I could see the pool in the back yard but Sarah did not nee it yet.  When we got out of the car she was still trying to figure out why we were in front of a stranger’s house.  I pointed to the back yard and asked if she saw anything she wishes she could have.  She immediately saw the pool and jumped up into my arms knowing it was for her.  The look on her face was priceless.  We spent the next 2 ½ hours draining and folding the pool so it would fit in the back of my truck.  At around 4:00 I got a call from Susie reminding me that she had a reception at the church she was hosting.  I told her to take Spencer to the nursery as we had a lot of work to get done when we got home.  The pool was a muddy mess and was in need of a cleaning before we could put it away for the winter.  Sarah and I set the pool back up next to the house and hosed off the inside getting all of the dirt and leaves out.  We also talked about the rules for using the pool like no swimming by yourself, no diving, etc.  She is so excited and can’t wait until spring when we will refill it and have some fun.  By sundown we had everything cleaned up and drying out.  Tonight I will try to disassemble the pool and store it for the winter.

When I put Sarah to bed last night she gave me a big hug and said she had so much fun.  That just made it all worth it.

Since it is the end of the month, I have my October chicken raising data ready.  This is the first full month when all of the hens were laying consistently.  I was able to get a 97% efficiency rate which I am real happy with.  Below are my data tables and graphs.  I am also still looking for study participants.  I got a response from one person this morning that I will be corresponding with to see how interested he is.  Get your names in soon so we can get the best data to share with everyone.