Jordan's baby bird

Being I have turned into such a bird nut lately I thought I would share this story with you. These photos and this event was 7 years ago in July of 2001. The house we lived in at the time had a little covered front porch on it. Next to the front door was a wall lamp. It was not uncommon for us to have a bird build a nest every year on top of the lamp. Back in those days I am ashamed to admit that it was more of a nuisance than a welcome but we went along with it and allowed the birds to raise their families there. The kids were much more thrilled with it than I was. I wish I could remember more of the details but for some reason one year all the babies and the mother disappeared leaving this one baby all alone. And somehow it adopted Jordan as it's substitute mother. She really did raise this baby bird!! And the bird just loved Jordan. It would just cling to her and hop all over her. Jordan fed this bird and watched it grow big and healthy.
Jordan even taught it to fly. She would take it out to the yard and gently toss it in the air, each time it would go a little farther and get a little stronger. Eventually it would fly half way down the street but it kept coming back to Jordan. It wasn't long until it flew completely away and never came back. Jordan was in tears when it didn't return but the whole experience was really rewarding for her. I'm not even sure what type of bird it was, maybe a finch or a sparrow?

South Haven

Jordan and I drove up to South Haven this afternoon. It was cool and cloudy but not too bad of a day. They have the cutest little gift shops that we love to look around in. We walked along the river that runs into Lake Michigan. Not many boats are in the harbor yet. This was the only purchase that we made. Chocolate covered strawberries!!!
They were so good we decided that we are going to make them ourselves when strawberries are in season.

Into the Wild

I snapped these photos at my parents house yesterday. I love pussy willows. Mom sent home a bouquet with me.
I had the day off work today. It was wonderful. Since we played outside all weekend I took advantage of having the day off and caught up on all the stuff I neglected over the weekend. Now I feel prepared to start the work week tomorrow.

I just put in a movie..."Into the Wild". I read this book a few years ago and loved it. I found out that they made it into a movie so I went and rented it. The movies are never as good as the books but we'll see. I love wilderness adventure books, especially about Alaska. "Into the Wild" is a little different as it is more about a disturbed young man who for unknown reasons throws it all away and walks into the wilderness of Alaska totally unprepared and ultimately causes his own death.

I'd love to go on an Alaskan adventure but I want an airplane to drop me off at a cosy little log cabin already stocked with food and firewood and then I want them to come back and pick me up before anything bad happens to me.....

Surprise

Head on over to my Viewfinder blog if you want to see the pleasant surprise that I had when I visited my parents today. Click here.

Mommy and the Girls

It's been a gorgeous weekend! We have spent two solid days outdoors doing yard work and loving every minute of it.
Now all we need is rain to green everything up.

I think Seadra and Zoe are the happiest to be outside.

Zoe's pout. She's soooo cute.

My girls.

Seadra's happy roll.

Weird Object Friday

Update: Well, I think Ben was the closest. It does have animals in it and it does float. It's Noah's Ark.
I love the ark. Can you see the worm lines and insect tracts in the wood? Many grand kids have played with this through the years.

OK, let the guessing begin. What is it? I will give you a few clues.
It is handmade. The bottom is solid wood and the top is a hollow log. My parents bought it at an art show. I'll update later this afternoon with the answer...... My hubby just walked into the room and immediately guessed what it was... maybe it's easier than I thought.

My mother's green thumb

I ran over to my parents this evening to take photos of some W.O.F. items (weird object Friday). I was having trouble finding items around my own house and Mom and Dad have some incredible things that I can't wait to show you. I took pictures of stuff for about the next 6 Friday's. Anyway while I was there I noticed Mom's amaryllis. Isn't it beautiful?!! My mother can grow anything. You'll be seeing a lot of her gardens on my blog this summer. Her and Dad both work hard on their gardens and love every minute of it. I love to garden too but my gardens pale in comparison. One of my favorite things to do in the spring and summer is to take Seadra and Zoe over to my parents in the evening and sit and enjoy the gardens. They share it all too. I always come home with fresh cut flowers and all the fresh veggies I want from the gardens. I don't have a veggie garden (I hope to someday) but last year I found some okra plants at the nursery. I bought them and gave them to Mom and Dad who planted them and grew okra for me. It just doesn't get any better, they are so good to me!!

Here's a close up of the amaryllis. Tune in tomorrow for W.O.F. I'm going to play a guessing game with mine.

The sun is shinning

I don't have to be to work until noon today. I wish it could be that way everyday. I ran some errands, took Jordan to an appointment, put dinner in the crock pot, did some laundry, fed my birds and snapped a few photos.
The sun is shinning and it's suppose to get up to 49 today... I'll take it. Have a great Wednesday!

April 1st 2007 or 2008

I would like to say that this photo was taken of Zoe and myself today but it was taken exactly one year ago today, April 1st 2007. I remember it well. It was a beautiful day, the lawn was already a lush green, buds were sprouting on the trees, flowers were getting ready to bloom.... What a difference from this year. We are so behind compared to last year. The lawn hardly even has a green blade in it. And it is still so cold and drab outside. Where is spring??? And the 7 day forecast isn't anything to brag about. I guess I'm getting impatient. Remind me of this when it's August and I'm complaining of the 10 straight days of 90 degrees.

I hope your lawn is a lush green and that your flowers are blooming!

What's wrong with him?

What's wrong with this poor Robin? I just finished stalking him around the yard for the last half hour trying to get a decent photo of him... these are the best that I could come up with. He didn't feel like posing. At first I thought he had weird coloring but it became evident that a bunch of his feathers are missing. Poor baby.
Even the feathers on the back of his head and neck are gone. I wonder if something tried to get him and he barely escaped with his life. He was hopping around happy and eating so I think he's OK.

I didn't want to do it

The last thing I wanted to do was activate comment word verification. I've had my blog for nearly two years and never once have I had a problem with spam comments and things trying to download on my computer from them until the last month or so. I keep deleting them and saying "OK, one more chance" and then another will come and then another. I even got another one today. I'm sorry to have had to activate that feature but I hope you will understand. I always wondered why people used that option when I'd never had a problem.... now I know. I hope that doesn't deter you from leaving comments.... I love hearing from you.

This is it... I promise

We just got home from closing night. The kids are at another cast party tonight. I held out pretty good until Caleb came out and hugged me after the show. That's pretty good for me. I'm sorry if I've bored you to death this week with all my Guys and Dolls postings. It just consumed us. I'll be back to my regular blogging now......
The whole cast and crew (click photo to enlarge).
The whole cast and crew including the orchestra pit.

Cast Pizza Party

It's tradition that after the Saturday night show the whole cast goes out to Pizza Hut for a party. The pictures speak for themselves.

After the Show

Opening night was great. Tonight is when all the extended family comes, including Craig's parents who came all the way from Florida just to see the musical. I am so proud of all those kids. Caleb (Sky Masterson) and Jordan (Hot Box Dancer & Mission Girl)Caleb and Lindsey (Sarah Brown)Caleb and Trent (Nathan Detroit) Caleb and Bethany (Adalaide)
Caleb and Mrs. Yo (voice and music instructor)Jordan and Lindsey... best friends

Jordan and Shane... Jordan's biggest fan.

I slept until 8:00 this morning!! That is late for me and it felt so good. I am still trying to get over this nasty cold (two weeks now!). Work was crazy busy last week on top of everything else! The house is a mess and I have piles and piles of laundry to do. There is no food in the house. My list goes on and on. Today is catch up day. But..... I still had time to post pictures of the kids..... you know, priorities!!

Sneak Peak 3

Caleb singing "Luck Be A Lady". It's my favorite song he sings.
Hot Box Dancers.... "Take Back Your Mink".

It's opening night tonight!! Wish you could all be there.

Sneak Peak 2