Update

The coop is on it's way!  I heard from my brother last week and the coop might be here this weekend!  Yay!  I know the girls and Rudy will be so happy to have a complete home.  Plus, the girls are getting close to laying age, so I will be happy that they have a nice play to lay their eggs where I (hopefully) won't have to search for them.  The oldest is about 16 weeks and the youngest is about 13 1/2 weeks- they should start to lay between 18 and 20 weeks, so we're getting there!
My brother has sent me some progress pictures of the coop as they build it, but I'm not posting them until it is here and complete, then I will post them all from start to finish.  We've had to make some adjustments along the way, and he didn't use my coop plan- he had some architect interns draw up their own plans, so the coop is a lot different than I had planned on, but it will be home for my chickens and i the end, that is what I need.  I'm so excited to have it here soon!  
In the meantime, S built me a wonderful new watering system for the chickens.  I was using the waterers that you fill, then turn upside down and the water comes out into a base, but the chickens dust bathe near them (no matter where I put them) and the water turns to mud within minutes of me cleaning them.  Not ideal.  So, I went online and bought some chicken water nipples, then we looked at some pictures of other waterers people have built using the nipples and we chose one that we liked.  We used a 5 gallon bucket, a lot of pvc fittings, some hose and a length of pvc pipe with the nipples in it.  Hard to picture, I know.  I'll get some pictures of it soon and let you know how the chickens like it.  I left their old waterers in yesterday when we installed the new system, but I removed them today after I saw a few of the girls drink from the new one.  If a few of them can figure it out, they'll all drink from it soon.  Oh, and Rudy is in with the girls!  Yesterday when I let the girls out to free range, I decided I'd let Rudy join them and after a few little "pecking order" scuffles, they all seem to be doing fine.  I went ahead and let Rudy in the run with them when I put them away and all was well.  I went down to check on them again last night to make sure there was no issue with finding roosting spots and they were all cuddled up, roosting together- with Rudy in the middle of all his girls.  I love it!  This also solves my problem of the goats wanting in Rudy's bachelor pad... now they can have it!  Although with no more chicken feed in it, I'm sure they won't want it.
Also, to finish up the "to be continued" from my last post, we were contacted by the dog rescue and they let us know they had, in fact, chosen us as the adopters of the dog we had met with.  I was very glad to hear that we passed their test, but S had changed his mind.  He is in the running for a position at work that would involve some changes that may not make this the best time for us to be adding a new dog into the family.  So, we told them that the timing had become and issue and we could no longer adopt the dog.  : (  I was disappointed, but agree with S that it isn't the best time.  I am crossing my fingers that he gets the position, not only because I know he wants it, but also because I know he'll be great at it!  Then sometime down the road it will be a better time and we'll find ourselves another great dog.
The countdown continues to the first day of school!  One week from today we will officially have a Kindergartener and a Pre-schooler!  They both have the same first day, which I'm wondering if I will regret, but they are both SO excited!  I am nervous about it in all aspects possible, but it will all be fine and we'll get the hang of it in no time... I hope.  B has also recently started soccer and games will start the second week of September and be every Saturday after that until mid-November... and, yes, they are usually at 8am.  Really people?  Saturday?  8am?  Ugh.  O has joined B's dance and tumbling classes as well, and she is loving it.  We tried this about 6 months ago and she decided not to stick with it, but this time she asked to go, so hopefully she's in it for the long haul... at least through one recital this time.  : )  Wish us luck!