Mummified chicken

We started the whole mummification process 2 days ago for our little cornish game hen (I couldn't bring myself to deal with a whole chicken - I can barely stand to cook them for us I couldn't imagine dealing with a raw, stinky one for 6 weeks straight). Tegan and Conner were completely disgusted by the entire process, but Riley got into it. He loved patting it dry and reaching into the little cavity only to pull out a juicy, blood soaked paper towel. It's in a ziploc bag covered in a mixture of salt, baking powder, baking soda and herbs (to help with the smell). We had to change the mixture yesterday and it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. We did it outside and I didn't smell anything foul, not that I really stuck my nose into it, but I expected to smell at least something. We have to change the mixture again today and then hopefully we can wait 2-4 days before we do it again. As long as the salt mix is not all wet we can leave it for another day. So far we've used 6 boxes of salt and will probably go through another 8 before it's all done. The process should take about 6 weeks and then we get to wrap it. If is doesn't smell and looks nice we're thinking of using it for our centerpiece for Thanksgiving - seriously.

Tegan had a fun birthday yesterday. We gave him some golf clubs which he got to use at his lessons in the afternoon. I also took him out to spend his birthday money that he received from grandparents. He had a great time with that. He got a good compass, some Legos and Pokemon cards. He also decided on his own to leave some in the bank and give some to church as well. It was a busy day between classes and shopping, but I think he enjoyed it. We ended the day with his planned dinner and a movie of his choice.