Family Home Evening is for the Birds

I actually did it on purpose: planned it out in advance, in a rare fit of forethought and long-term organization. I picked up some cheap bird house kits at the Boy Scout office, and stuffed them in my kids stockings for Christmas. Then, we pulled them all out on a Monday night, and spent our Family Home Evening hammering them together. (Actually, Hyrum glued his together with the hot glue gun, and Mark pretty much did all the hammering, but that's beside the point.) The kits are SO easy! Everything is already cut out, and the instructions are meant for an 8 year-old to be able to follow, so that meant I could understand it, too.

And the nails are included, and they're even designed in compliance with the Wildlife Conservation Department. It was great. The kids were so excited! And then, a few days later, I pulled out my Box O' Paints and let them go to town. Hyrum let Eliza paint his - partly because he didn't really care about paining it, and partly because I made the egregious oversight of not getting a kit for her, and he's a very thoughtful and caring brother
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Eliza painting the "bird barn" that Hyrum glued together.

Anyway, I didn't get any pictures of the hammering and gluing, but here are some painting pics. I've got to get them sprayed with some sort of sealer, and then we will hang them in our yard.

We're most excited about the wren house, because there is a little pair of wrens that comes back to our yard and nests each Spring. They are so sweet and so small, and sing the best song of all the birds on the block. All the Backyard Wildlife people say that birdhouses should be in place no later than March 1st, so I should get on that, huh? I crack myself up. I would have never pegged myself for a bird enthusiast, but here I am, shamelessly slipping bird stuff into my life under the guise of stocking stuffers. But, in my defense, the kids LOVE it. And they're gonna love watching for birds nesting in "their" house. Maybe it's not such a bad idea.


And then, for FHE treats, we broke up the Fatted Chocolate Bunny that's been sitting in the deep-freeze since post-Easter cleanance at Russel Stover's.