Bye bye birdies!

I haven't posted anything in the last couple of days, because it has been super hectic around here. On Tuesday I spent the day shopping with my mom and when I got home look what I found! The baby birds finally left the nest! It was sad to see them go!
After I got home from shopping and I left my dog out, the mama and daddy birds were going CRAZY! Allie was at the fence sniffing and sniffing and the birds plus a few others joined in at dive bombing her! I yelled with fear that she got one of the birds, but luckily she didn't! They must have been nearby though. We checked the entire yard and there was no sign of feathers or the birds, so I guess it was a success! The mama and daddy birds were still coming at us angrily for a day or so, but we finally reclaimed the yard!

Yesterday we removed the nest and installed a steering wheel and telescope on the boy's play set. As we were taking down the nest one of the birds was throwing a fit for a minute or two, but finally flew away and left us alone! Maybe she was just thanking us for letting her stay over the past month! lol Next week I plan to take the nest and the photos in for the kids in Ben's class!

Yesterday Ben celebrated his birthday at school. His real birthday isn't until July, but they are celebrating it because school is out soon. I made cupcakes and stayed while the kids celebrated, and after the little party we stuck around the classroom as the kids played. Alex had such a great time playing with the big kids!

Here's Ben enjoying his little party!
This time I decided to make something simple. At Christmas I spent many hours making and decorating sugar cookies for Ben's Christmas party at school. In the end, most were not eaten and were thrown away. It was very frustrating! The cupcakes were easy, took no time at all, and they were all eaten! Definitely the way to go in the future!
Today I planted a miniature gnome garden and will post those photos tomorrow! It came out really cute! Hope you're having a great night!

Bird Nest-Day 29

I can't believe that it's been 29 days since the bird nest appeared! Look at how big they are getting! I know that it's only a matter of days until they leave the nest, and I will be sad to see them go!

They take up so much room in the nest, that I can't even imagine what it would be like with four birds in there!

What A Muddy Mess!

Today it poured outside. Ben had a soccer game scheduled, and they play in the rain. The only time they cancel the game is if it storms. It was pouring when we left the house. Luckily, by the time we got to the field it had stopped! His whole game was rain free....but not mud free!

Ben claims that he loves being dirty, but he was afraid to get muddy. His dirtiness only applies to baths. He says he likes being dirty so he doesn't have to take a bath! lol So at the game he told the coach that he didn't think they should play because of the mud. Well guess what she did? She rubbed his hands in the mud and told him to get use to it, and he doesn't have to worry about it now! lol

This is what his hands looked like after the game! And it really bothered me that they ate their half-time snack with these muddy hands!
These were his shoes and shin guards! I can't believe that we didn't think of taking an extra pair of clean clothes! lol Most parents were just stripping their children down and letting them ride home in their underwear! lol Luckily, we had a towel that he could sit on!

These kids look like they were mud wrestling! I wore my Crocs and if you own a pair you know that they make things slippery if wet or muddy. I nearly wiped out twice in all this mud! Luckily, I caught myself! Now that would have been a mess!

Ben looks soo serious in all of his photos! He's quite the player, he just needs to get in there and be more aggressive!

Here's Ben's reaction after his team scored a goal! He's so competitive and gets so excited when they score!

By the end of the game he was totally covered with mud. If you look closely, you can see the mud that's splashed all over his face! Muddy or not, he sure did have a great time!

Bird Nest-Day 24

I cannot believe that the robin built a nest just 24 days ago and look how it's progressed! As the babies get older, the mama and daddy bird are really getting protective! Just today I was outside between the garage and the house. I was probably 60 feet away from the nest and not even in the view of the birds when one of the birds chased me into my front door! I was sooo scared! lol

I can be so far away and they'll just fly at me! So I had to send Chris out for today's photos! lol It was a funny sight watching them chirp and chirp and fly at his head! lol It's hard to believe that they hatched just 6 days ago! They'll soon be able to leave the nest!
He tried getting some action shots as they were flying at him and he captured this action shot.
Here's another shot of one of them sitting in the tree above his head. He's a lot braver than I am, and I'm thankful that he takes these photos for me!
Oh and I forgot to mention that whenever the bird chased me inside the house I was in the kitchen talking to my mom on the phone and the bird landed outside the window and was making a huge fuss! I guess it doesn't like me any longer and only seems to do this to me! lol Chris jokes and says it's because I didn't get their permission to post these photos online and they're mad! lol

They don't seem to bother my little dog Allie. She can get close to the playset, and even bark at the birds and they don't care. I can't wait to see their reaction in the next couple of days when Chris has to mow the grass! That will be exciting, I'll be sure to post photos of that!

Movie Monday-Brooklyn's Finest

This Monday I'm going to review Richard Gere's latest movie "Brooklyn's Finest." I saw this movie when it was in theaters a couple of months ago. To be honest I like "Chick Flicks" and not "Man Movies." lol But I sucked it up and went anyway. I'm not missing the chance to see Richard Gere in a uniform! ;)
Besides Richard Gere this movie also stars Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, and Ellen Barkin.

This movie takes the place over a weeks time and revolves around 3 New York City police officers. Richard Gere plays the character "Eddie," a police officer who is about to retire in a week. Over Eddie's career he has seen it all, and wants nothing more but to end his life. He is a very "weathered" police officer.

The movie is mainly about an undercover cop, who is trying to bust Wesley Snipes character in a large drug ring. Then the movie gets interesting when Ethan Hawke's character, who is a narcotics cop, would do anything for his wife and family, even stealing drug money! Through the coarse of the week, the three police officers lives intertwine.

In the movie Eddie, played by Richard Gere, visits a prostitute regularly and their "intimate" scenes are very graphic and very much is "implied" if you know what I mean.

As much as I LA LA LOVE Richard Gere, the movie was very graphic, violent, and there was a lot of profanity. So much so, that if it wasn't for RG, my husband and I would have left the movie halfway through! It is not a movie that I would want to see again. Sorry RG! lol

Here is a little clip of Richard Gere from the movie. Pause my music player so you're able to listen to it. He is H-O-T in a uniform, and the older he gets the better! Love his wrinkles and full head of gray hair! lol

I give this movie a Richard Gere hotness rating of a 7! The profanity and violence detracts from his hotness!

Have you seen this movie? What did you think about it?

Bird Nest-Day 21 & A Marathon

Today is day number 21 of the bird nest. I didn't check on them yesterday, I just assumed that the third egg would be hatched. When we checked up on them today the third egg was not hatched. I was a little disappointed, but the two babies are growing so quickly, it's really amazing!

I went outside for a photo and Chris talked me out of taking my umbrella with me for protection. He said "They're not going to hurt you!"

Well I thought I was in the clear because I didn't see the mama or daddy bird, but out of nowhere they headed straight for my head! I screamed and screamed and ran straight for the house! lol

So, I asked Chris go out and take the photos for me. I wasn't happy with his first set (they were blurry), so I made him risk his life again for a clear photo! lol So this photo is courtesy of Chris! Thank you sweetie for risking your life for my daily photos!

Aren't these babies just precious? They are finally starting to look like little birds!

Yesterday Ben's school had a marathon. They blocked of the roads around the school and let the kids run around for four hours! They gave each child a ticket and each time they made it through the course they would get a punch on their ticket. Four punches equal one mile. I figured it would last about a half hour or so and then the younger kids like Ben would get tired. But that was not the case. Guess how far Ben ran in four hours? He ran just over 12 miles! It's hard to believe, but I witnessed it with my own eyes!

He just ran and ran. He never gave up! It was a really nice event. They had booths set up with popsicles and drinks to buy for a quarter. It was a really fun day and I bet they raised a lot of money for the school!

Here Ben is proudly showing of his ticket and all the holes that are punched! I was so proud!
Alex, who was only three, was too little to run by himself. So either Chris or myself ran with him. Alex ran 4.5 miles! I was surprised his little legs could handle that! But boy was he cranky by the end of the marathon. It was hot outside and he refused to wear shorts!
Here he is rounding the street! He looks soo tiny! Either that, or those orange cones are huge! lol
Alex was very proud of himself and all of the punches on his ticket! I'm so glad that the school lets him participate in the school's events. He won't be going to school there for a year and a half, but they treat him just like any other student.
I am so proud of my boys and how far they ran! Ben never gave up, and the poor little guy has blisters to prove it!

Bird Nest-Day 19

Today is Day 19 with the bird nest. Today has been an eventful day here with the bird family. First I noticed the daddy bird searching for worms, so I grabbed my camera and waited. When the actual worm transaction happened, I turned on my camera and the battery was dead! I waited a half hour to see that happen, and I wasn't able to capture it on film! It figures, especially since I'm not that patient!

Mama bird lets me get close and doesn't seem to mind. But that's only when she's on the nest. When she's off of the nest LOOKOUT! She's not very happy then! Here she is, sitting on her babies. I'm about five feet away from her and she's fine!
It was warmer today, and this meant she was able to spend time off of her nest. She sits a lot above the nest. And here she looks like a proud mama, looking down on her babies!

Here's another shot of her just sitting in the sun!

When I noticed the nest was empty, I grabbed an umbrella and off I went to take a photo! Yes, I said "umbrella!" When the nest in unoccupied by the mama, both mama and daddy get very very angry. I keep thinking of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" movie, and I was afraid to get pecked! So I got the brilliant idea of an umbrella, and it worked! The neighbor probably thought I was crazy, cause he saw me walking through the yard with an umbrella on a sunny day, but that's ok. I got the shot that I needed, and I still have my eyes! lol

Aren't these babies just precious? Ben said they look like furry teddy bears! I'm not too sure I agree! The boys haven't seen the babies up close, they only view them on the computer now. I don't want them growing up with bad associations of birds, and possibly getting attacked.

Since the one egg didn't hatch today, I'm assuming that the egg that the little girl broke was egg number 3. Since eggs usually hatch one per day consecutively, today's egg didn't hatch, probably because this egg was the last one laid. So hopefully this one will hatch tomorrow.

My first unsuccessful attempt to take photos today was full of interruptions. I was staying as far away as the birds let me, but yet Alex kept coming outside and yelling for me. That and each time he opened the door, he let Allie out and she kept chasing the daddy as he was in the yard searching for worms! It was driving me CRAZY! So I ended up witnessing the moment, but didn't capture it on film because of the batteries being dead.

So at my second attempt, the boys ventured outside to watch with me. They were very patient, and very quiet. Alex couldn't see the birds very well and in this photo he's saying "I can't see it!" LOL I just love that look on his face!

So as the mama bird is sitting on her nest. She opens her mouth and makes the faintest noise and signals the daddy bird to land with the worms. During my hour or so observing, there is much communication between the two. It's very interesting to watch. The daddy was out in search of worms and once he got them, he landed on the play set. If you click and enlarge the photo, you can see the worm sticking out of his mouth. Notice the mama, patiently waiting on her nest.

And he swoops in for the worm exchange. It happens very quickly, I'd say between five to ten seconds and then he flies away in search of more! This happens quite frequently!

So that was our eventful day! I've been busy crafting too, and hopefully will be able to post my project in the next couple days!

Bird Nest-Day 18

I'm a grandma! Look what I found in the nest tonight! Two little babies and one egg to go! This is so exciting! I saw a lot of activity today at the nest and it made me wonder whether the babies had hatched.

It's been really cold here lately in the 30's and 40's and my husband and I were concerned today that the eggs might not hatch. While outside on a couple of occasions I noticed the mama bird on the nest and the daddy bird would come to the nest to drop off food. It seemed that the mama bird would hop to the side of the nest and this made me curious to what could be going on!

Later I saw the nest unattended. Well it wasn't really unattended, she was perched on the railing of the kid's play set. So I ran down and climbed the ladder and saw these two cuties looking up at me! They weren't actually looking since their eyes are still closed, but they were hungry! So I ran inside and grabbed my camera and took a quick photo!

I only took a couple quick ones, because I didn't want to make the parents mad and I didn't want the babies to get cold! After I ran back in the house I saw that the mama was quickly back on the nest! She's such a good mama! I'm so glad she is keeping them warm and taking such good care of them! Oh and the boys have established names: The mama bird is "Robin," the daddy bird is "batman," the one baby is "Mr. Freeze," the other baby is "Joker," and the unhatched egg is "The Penguin!" lol Is anyone sensing a Batman theme? lol And Ben said that once the egg is hatched "The Penguin" will turn into "Poison Ivy!" lol What an imagination!

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get some photos of the daddy bird feeding the mama and babies! And hopefully egg number three will hatch! I'll keep you updated!

Camping-Part 2

We encountered a lot of cool things on our camping trip. The river had recently flooded and there was a lot of brush that washed ashore. My brother went over to the brush pile and was taking off some pieces when he came across this cute thing. He was actually pulling a piece of the pile when he nearly touched this duck!

She's so well camoflauged. Can you see her in the photo below? Look at the middle top of the pile.
Here's a closeup. She never budged just sat there on her nest patiently! Isn't she adorable?

We were visited two days in a row by some geese families. At one point there were twenty baby geese eating the grass!

So fuzzy and so adorable! I wanted to take one home with me!

I was about ten feet away, and that didn't bother them, but when a dog barked, they headed over the hill and into the river.

It's like they can't decide...should they stay or should they go?!

They decided to go!

I could spend all day watching them eat and swim!

Here are the two families of geese swimming together.

The babies bobbed up and down like those little carnival ducks that have a number on the bottom of them!

Here is a photo of the group of geese that we saw on our first day. There was a family with ten babies, two geese with no babies, and another family with ten babies. Such a wonderful sight to see!

Bird Nest update coming soon! WE HAVE BABIES!!!!!!

Camping- Part 1

Mother's Day weekend we went on our first camping trip with our new camper! It was so exciting, and sooo cold! It got down to the 30's Saturday night! Thank goodness the heater worked well! I'm going to blog about our trip in two parts.

I'm going to give you the warning as I did when I shared these photos on Facebook. Warning: Proceed with extreme caution. I am not wearing any makeup and my hair is a mess! I'm camping people! :)

Here is our first official camping photo as a family! I bought a special frame, and plan to frame it in our camper!
Here I am cooking on the new grill! I never grilled before and this little baby worked so well! I made scrambled eggs with peppers, potatoes, and onions! It was very yummy!

The boys got to participate in crafts, despite the cold temp and extreme wind! They made me Mother's Day cards and little fans. Ben's fan says "Mom" and Alex's fan says "Alex!" lol Gotta love it!

This is the best two dollars that I ever spent. I purchased these foam swords at Target's Dollar Depot! They played with them all weekend long and had a great time! However I had to yell at them when I saw one of them beating another kid at the playground when they were playing pirates! lol

Here I am wearing my crown holding the "Queen For The Day" placemat. I can't actually say that I was "Queen for the Day" because Chris treats me like that at home everyday! I'm very lucky! ;)

Here Alex is giving the queen a kiss! He told me he wants me to wear that crown when he marries me someday! lol

Here is me and my sister-in-law Judy. She is awesome and I am so thankful that her and my brother spent the weekend camping with us! We had so much fun!

Here Chris was attempting to make Jiffy Pop! It didn't seem to be working well when he realized that he was supposed to shake it back and forth in the fire! Thank goodness we had a second pack!
Here's Alex patiently waiting for the popcorn to pop! He thought he'd wear the bowl as a hat!
This is the result of Chris' first attempt to make popcorn over the fire! Looks yummy doesn't it?! lol
Here is our group photo! We've decided to make camping on Mother's Day weekend a yearly tradition! Despite the cold and wind, we had a blast!