introducing

"RosaBella"

"Nibble"

"Wobble"

The ducks are...well...messy to say the least. They are quickly out growing their box in the house. It is just not warm enough for them to be outside for any length of time. We are keeping our fingers crossed for warmer weather. If the ducklings stay with their mom once they're born, the mom secrets an oil which helps them float until they are old enough to secrete their own oil. So, obviously it is still a little difficult for them to swim. We filled the bathtub up and it was so fun watching them play! Talk about instincts! But they didn't last long. Their down was getting so wet they started to sink. Speaking of instincts... we had them outside the other day and they seemed interested in the other ducks and geese, but once a hawk flew over they scrambled to find a hiding place and huddled together. Cool huh?

In other news, Brett and I donned hairnets and gloves and went to the cannery with the YM & YW Friday night. It was interesting to see how it was all done and we walked away with a couple of cases to get us started with our food storage. Yeah! In between snow storms these past couple of days we got to take our paddleboat on its maiden voyage. It was a little windy, so when Megan and Savannah took over duties we got blown into a mud flat. We eventually worked it out and got a workout of our own coming back up the lake.

baby ducks

There were three little girls who pined for a pet

But their parents said "Not now. Not yet."

So they fussed and they sighed,

They pouted and cried-

"We're the only kids without- on the whole westside!"

Soon their daddy's heart softened and he got creative

Maybe he could find a pet that to the Lake was native.

"That way they could stay, but then go away."

(a pet that would leave by Labor Day!)

"Flying mallards. A beautiful choice!"

And three small voices sang and rejoiced-

"We love you Daddy! We'll take good care!

They'll have plenty of love, food, water - fresh air!"

So our journey begins, but how will it end?

Migrate and fly free? Or, stay and depend?

happy birthday Sheila

It was so nice to get away and see everyone in the Boise area last week. As always, it was a whirlwind of a visit! While there, Ryan treated us to dinner at P.F. Chang to help Sheila celebrate her fabulous 27 + 10 years! She told me she really wanted a nice make-up brush...nice...the kind that won't fall apart and shed as you are trying to use it. Since it was a crazy weekend of garage sales, I asked Brett if he would pick it up for me before her birthday dinner Friday night. I wrote the information down and sent him to the Lancome counter. Once on the road he realized he didn't even know where the Lancome counter was, so he called me I directed him to Macy's; easy enough. Long story short: once Brett got there he was quickly schooled in the choices we make when buying make-up and their applicators. I got a few phone calls and finally told him to just make his best decision. When he got back he was carrying a bag of sample goodies from several of the counters (along with his "best decision blush brush"). So thank you to the women of Lancome at Macy's for helping ease my husband's pain. Freebies seemed to do the trick.

feed our birds

This one is for Shelly. We would be in big trouble if we couldn't feed our birds.

not talking

Well, spring is here or there or somewhere...

In the words of a local weather forecaster

"spring is here and winter is here, but their not talking."


We woke up to 13 inches of new snow this morning, March 29th.

The upside to this;
Brett gets to play with his new plow that turned 1 month old today.
Kid in a candy store!

game day

On Thursday we got together at a local school to play some games with other homeschoolers. Everyone brought a favorite game to share. We met a couple of new families and all the kids had a great time. Savannah was so excited that morning. She said, "Mom, today is the big game day for the Cougars (WSU) and it's our big game day too!"

jumping, shoveling, & partying

Plans for an outdoor field trip didn't work out for us today, so I e-mailed a few friends and we met at a "jumping playground". I had never been before and thought it was worth a try. We had the best time! It was very clean, there were lots of different things to play on, and we had the place to ourselves for an hour! I somehow got talked into being the tickle monster and chased 9 kids through tunnels and up and down slides. It was all fun and games until somebody got hurt; just a minor bump though!

Stopping long enough to strike a pose.

Maddie and Megan jumping in the pool.

We were all outside the other day soaking up some sun. Brett and I were shoveling snow into the lake and raking out the leftovers in an attempt to get the snow off the our lawn before it gets moldy. Savannah came over with a shovel and starting helping. She was at it for about an hour. What a trooper! Her comment to me; "Mom I feel good when I'm helping other people".

We are friends with a family who found out their baby had cancer about 9 months ago. This meant that their family basically had to go into seclusion during all of the chemotherapy. Such a difficult time for them and hard for their other two kids because they couldn't be around their friends for fear of getting sick. Their baby is now finished with treatment and her immune system is back up. On Monday we got the o.k. to come over and help Isabella celebrate her 7th birthday!