Chicken Toting 101: Through the eyes of a child

Sabrena and I met playing adult soccer in our local league a few seasons ago, and, low and behold Teya, Tristan and Declan are THE BEST kids. Teya is a very sweet, considerate and helpful older sister, I simply adore her. And, since I last photographed Tristan and Declan 6 months ago I was shocked at how much they have grown!! They were always fun but this time I was having conversations with them! There were so many perfect moments but perhaps the best one came when Tristan and Teya were holding a baby chick. Declan came up and said, "Chicken?" and then walked away. All of a sudden Declan is walking towards us with yes, a chicken!  a full grown chicken in his hands! Saying, "Chicken!" The first thing he did was bring her over so she could give the baby chick a kiss, so sweet!

Other highlights include:

• Petting the pigs :) Watching them feel the wiry hairs on the pigs, when they thought they would be soft, was very fun.
• Getting to show Teya, first hand, where eggs come from. When we opened up the nest box one of our Australorps was laying on some eggs, so we reached under and pulled one out. Teya said, "It's so warm!"
• Getting to hear "cock-a-doodle-do" from Clyde, even though it was 2 in the afternoon. Loved seeing their faces when he let it ring.
• Tristan walking down our main road, gazing up at the trees and saying, "This is a jungle, we are in a jungle with all the animals!"
• Letting everyone meet Mrs. Robinson and sharing with them that she was pregnant. Teya yells out, "So is my Mom!" (which she is) and then asks, "Do you know if she's having a boy or a girl?" Of course their family had just learned they are welcoming a little girl in September, but I had to tell Teya we didn't know, with goats it's a surprise!
• Kissing sheep :)
• And for me, the best part was watching the kids run around, fall on the ground, get back up, get hosed off by Mr. Nick, and then get back to it. Of course, watching Declan tote that chicken around was pretty darn funny too. And, who am I kidding, I loved getting to tell the kids that chickens used to be dinosaurs. And they believed me! After that we spent time examining chicken feet...made a pretty strong case for myself :)