Mudder Mania

A couple weeks ago, Ken completed his first Tough Mudder race.  Since the summer, he has been training for the Toughest Race on the Planet with two friends, Jay and John.  I've always loved Ken's intensity, his dedication, and his passion for doing things well, so it was a proud moment to see all his hard work pay off!  

The greatest thing about the Tough Mudder race, though, is that it isn't about individual success, it's about teamwork and getting through the course together.  As a spectator, the best part for me was watching all the various team members helping each other and cheering for each other along the way.  When all is said and done, it seemed to be an "experience," not just a race for the participants.  Weeks later I'm still very proud of how much Ken, John, and Jay accomplished as a team, and how much love and support they showed each other, not just during the race, but through the whole training process.  God really has blessed us both with wonderful friends in our lives!

Go Mudders!

We waited about 2 hours just to get this sighting of them!

Mud slides!

The mud is oddly flesh-colored.

Lots of kissing going on.

This is the "Everest" obstacle.  The pictures do not do it justice.  Perhaps a movie will help.

Apparently something was really funny.  

FINISHED!  Shiny blankets and headbands to show for it!

Ken's shoes. 

The shoe grave.  I think they clean them (in industrial washers?) and donate them.

Birds and Eggs

Our bird ladies have been busy.  We've been keeping careful track of our chicken egg count for the past six months, nerdy bar graphs and all.  Here are the totals:

By month:
March: 115
April: 255
May: 257
June: 249
July: 233
August: 234

By breed: 
3 Leghorns (white eggs): 473
3 Auracanas/"Easter Eggers" (blue eggs): 365
2 Silver Laced Wyandottes (dark brown eggs): 262
2 Speckled Sussex (buff eggs): 243

Six Month Total: 1,343 eggs

All that laying tuckered them out!

You probably wonder what we do with all those eggs.  We eat a lot of them.  I make a lot of quiche.  But we certainly didn't eat 1,343 eggs in six months!  We gave some away and at the height of summer I took a regular supply of eggs to the food bank in town.  I'd love to be able to donate more, though, and think that at some point I will expand my flock (new coop and a whole new set of chickens) to be able to feed more of the needy in our community.  The reality is that the chickens have peaked in terms of their laying life.  This is probably the best that they will ever lay, and not only the colder, darker months will affect their lay rate, but their age as well.  But for now, we will bask in their fertile glory...

And speaking of birds and basking in glory...It's about that time of year, when we get a little crazy for our favorite birds---the Baltimore Ravens.  There was serious disappointment in the girls' faces yesterday when they realized there was no football on today.  But they know it's coming, and we are all ready and hoping for a good football season.  We are stocked up on our football favorite foods: Sunchips, brie with fig spread, crackers, peanuts, etc.  I am anxious to listen to Caeley talking about the games weeks after the fact, in way more detail than I could ever remember.  I can't wait to watch her and Meara imitate the Fox robotic icon dance during commercials.  I will chuckle to myself, as always, when the girls comment on the "inappropriate" cheerleader outfits or walk around the house belting, "We are FARMERS, Bum-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bum!"  (If you watch a lot of football, you know that jingle...it's right up with the fame of the e-Trade baby in our house.)  But most of all, I think I'm looking forward to each of us having our OWN spots on our new, bigger couch.

Five people don't have to fight for three spaces anymore!

Let's go Ravens!

 ps: Ray Rice, please get as many rushing yards in six months as we got eggs!