Farewell

Sadly, the ducks are no longer with us. Last week the kids came running inside yelling that one of the ducks was dead. On closer inspection he was not dead, but was definitely not doing well. I'm pretty sure birds aren't ever supposed to lay on their sides, it just looked wrong. So we got some food and water over to the duck and he perked up and waddled on his way. But as we then started counting the herd we realized that one was missing. We found him floating in the pond. At this point Thad and I realize that something is going wrong and we need to move the ducks to the park, where; even if the extra space and feeding ground don't improve their health, at least they won't be dying in our backyard. So we planned on trapping and moving them in the morning. A few minutes later Thad watched as another one of the ducks started freaking out and running in circles and then had what looked like a seizure and flopped on it's side like the other duck had. At this point we realized that they needed to go that night, so we loaded up the ducks and took them to a park nearby with a pond and said our good-byes.

The kids were pretty sad to see them go, but after finding the dead one they understood why they needed to leave. We went back a few days later to the pond to visit them, and though we didn't find them all, the ones we saw had grown so much. The kids were happy that they were getting their grown up feathers and doing well.
Thad has been busy working on the floors this weekend and it is so close to being done! I'd post a picture, but we still need to get the fridge moved back into place. Right now it's basically living in the middle of the dinning room. Even with the fridge out, and no baseboards, I love the floors!
In other ridiculous news, I have proof now that when I talk, all my kids hear is the Charlie Brown teacher voice. Wah wah wah wah wha. I told Sammy he could take off his shirt and play with the hose out back, and I looked out to find this.

Really?! I guess this is his interpretation of what I said.

Recital Week

The recital is over and I feel like summer can really begin now. There was just so much going on last week with tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and then the shows that we are just vegging today. Recital week is always a bit hectic and stressful for the parents, but Andi loves it. She loves hanging out at the theater for hours on end, because she has lot's of playtime and lot's of little girls to play with. She did really well in both her dances this year and loved all the "presents" she got from her adoring fans. (Flowers, trophies, jewelry, goodie bags).  Here is her ballet class back stage getting ready. They were the Lullaby Munchkins (this years ballet was the Wizard of Oz).

Remember those little hand games with all the different rhymes. I think the rhymes have changed, but they still play those games!

With her tap class waiting to go on. Notice no one is actually looking at me, they are watching the action on stage. Loved those costumes.

With Cathy right before the show. Love her!

Recital week always brings back so many memories and I love that I get to share them with Andi.
In other news, the ducks have doubled in size. Momma duck never came back and we were worried for a day or two that they'd be lost without her, but they seem to be thriving. They are also becoming a little more confident. They still don't like to be alone, but they don't move as one solid huddled mass anymore. It's more of a casual line going in the same direction. They have almost completely wiped out our snail population, which we love, and we have not tracked in a single mulberry from the yard because the ducks eat those too. They are kind of like mini cows. They really just wander around the yard and eat all day.
The heat is here to stay and I am counting down the days till this little one arrives. Seriously, any day now would be fine by me. Fathers day was yesterday and though I have no pictures it was a nice day. The kids and I made Thad waffles for breakfast, which is a big deal because I don't eat cooked breakfast, and it's hot. Then they gave him a funny new t-shirt and BBQ tools and we headed to Church. Sammy fell asleep on the way and we just laid him on the pew once we got there to continue his nap. But once the primary kids started singing to the dads toward the end of the meeting he shot right up, almost falling off the bench, and was so irritated about being there that Thad had to take him out and then home because he would not calm down.
I also taught my first Relief Society lesson yesterday. Teaching adults is so different than teaching primary. Primary is much less intimidating ;)

Wildlife

So a couple of weeks ago some friends of ours noticed a duck in their backyard. The duck wouldn't leave, and then one day the duck was swimming in their pool trailed by 8 little ducklings. Apparently she had made her nest in their yard. Well, a few weeks of ducks in the pool was doing a number on their pool pump, so Thad decided we should take them off their hands. Here they are at 3 weeks old in our yard.

They are really cute, for now. The theory is that at about 16 weeks Momma duck will teach them to fly and they will just fly away. So they are temporary pets, more of a nature science experiment for the summer. They were all over the pond and waterfall last night, but today just keep hiding behind bushes. Also the Mom is gone this morning. I'm really hoping she is just out scouting around and will be back to take care of them soon!

Swimming and Floors

I'm a little late on the Memorial Day post, it's been a busy week. Thad started the long weekend by finishing the last bit of demo that needed to be done before the floors could be installed, so for the last week it's looked like a serious construction zone around here. On the plus side, I do not have to mop concrete.
Monday we gathered at the cemetery as usual with Thad's family. It was a much smaller group this year, but we had a great time as always.  Andi all set to head out.

Sammy and the traditional pilfered flag. We made some progress this year though, there were no screaming fits when we took the flag away, and we actually got it back in the right place!

The little group this year.

Then it was off to the Richards and straight into the pool.

After several hours of swimming and eating too much, we headed home for a rest before the next BBQ began that night.
Thursday Sam and Steve came over to help Thad set a couple rows of flooring and figure out exactly how to make this magic happen. Here's what the entry  looked like that night, with the new half wall Thad built.

And here is what things were looking like about noon today. It's moving along!