Happy Birthday, Pickles

Pickles turned one.  A doggie party was had and enjoyed by all.  ☺

Birding

Ever since putting up my multi-feeding system I've seen some beautiful birds.  I've taken pictures of most of them. Pops mentioned to Ron that we should get a bird book to help in identifying species.  Ron said we didn't need one, we have Pops.  We will now refer to Pops as "Wiki-Pops". 

Red Headed Woodpecker

 Sharp Shinned Hawk

(yep, that's a hawk right outside my kitchen window)

?

 Rose Breasted Grosbeak

?

I like these little birds, whatever they are...

 but it looks like the cardinals don't like them...

 he peered around then chased him off...

My first and only sighting of a Goldfinch

I think this is a Chickadee

Brown Thrasher

?

iPhone images

This morning, 4 families went in together and held a yard sale.  While we sat outside trying to sell our junk, the kids enjoyed lunch in the garage.  Although it was a little warm, I enjoyed the time with friends.

Outside my kitchen window...the county got a head start on trimming the trees before another tornado strikes.

I planted Petunias the other day.  Luke and Laney were so kind to help me pull weeds in preparation.  And they were actually a big help!

Luke LOVES golf.  So every day consists of him going outside to practice.  Laney likes to cheer him on...

The kids loved playing at the Colonnade fountain.

I bought the kids a new table and chairs at IKEA because they outgrew the other one.  They have "committee meetings" for kids only...

Herman, the bearded dragon.  He's the mascot at the Vestavia library.

Sam and Luke got their fingers pricked at the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago.  Such big boys they were!

Every Monday morning the little ones and I go to Briarwood to visit B then head to sewing group.  I let them sit in the front passenger seat while we drive from the Membership office to the Fellowship Hall.  They love it!  And I love seeing them together and enjoying their friendship!

Easter Sunday

We started Easter out with such a beautiful and thought provoking service and sunday school at church, constantly hearing "He is risen...He is risen indeed" back and forth between pastor and congregation or friends in the hallways. What a blessing.

We set off for lunch with the family at our house, filled with good food, an old-fashioned egg hunt, a treasure hunt, and even a birthday celebration for my mom.

Here are the kids, lined up from youngest to oldest, waiting to be "released" to find eggs.

Laney had a little help from Pops.

And the candy was enjoyed by all.

Helicopter Egg Drop

While Ron worked in the yard Saturday morning, I ventured up to Veteran's Park with the kids to meet my brother and his family for a little outing. Several churches in the area got together to throw a huge event with giveaways, inflatables, and an egg drop.

The kids hung in there while waiting for their chance at picking up some eggs. My SIL took this picture of Laney playing peek-a-boo with her bag.

It was hot out there, but we still got some cuddle time in...

So I mentioned the egg drop. It wasn't just any old drop, a helicopter was dropping 20,000 eggs. It was mass chaos. Hundreds of 3-6 year olds all running after eggs at the same time. I stayed with Laney and assumed Sam and Luke were together. After the eggs were all gone and the children started exiting the field I quickly realized I couldn't find the boys. Jennifer found Sam, but Luke was still missing. After screaming for him among the crowd, I heard my name over the loud speaker. "If there is a mom named Penny out there, Luke is looking for you. He's in the middle of the field." I finally reached him and threw my arms around him. He said "I went up to a grown up and said 'My mommy's name is Penny and my name is Luke and I can't find her.' " What a big boy! I was so proud of him.

After all this craziness, we made our trek back to our cars only to find that I had lost my keys in the crowd. I'm assuming my key fell out during one of the many times Laney pulled my phone out of my pocket. Thank goodness someone found them and turned them in. Needless to say, I'll stay far away from this event next year.

Bowling

We went bowling for the first time as a family with our neighbors the other night. It's hard to believe that Sam, almost 7 years old, has never bowled. Of course the boys were enamored with the game room when we first walked in.

We got a ramp and let the kids have at it.

When Laney wasn't bowling, she was climbing around on everything that she could, or lounging on the stairs, or giving me looks.

Sam got a few spares and was loving it!

And by the way, I loved the shoes. Much nicer than they were 15 years ago.

Sam's last K5 field trip

Sam's last field trip with his fellow kindergarteners was this week. I brought Luke and Laney along for some fun at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Sam was so caught up in the scavenger hunt with two of his buddies that he kept running off. I quickly saw that me and the little ones would be walking around by ourselves. At least we were able to meet up with him afterwards. The mom who was running around with Sam, Alex, and Cole said he was perfect. (Wish we got that kind of behavior at home...)

Luke enjoyed hopping on the large bunny.

Laney enjoyed getting in to things she shouldn't, like the flowers.

She also enjoyed giving me a few looks.

On a side note, in case you're ever tempted to refer to more than one Canada goose as Canadian Geese, you would be wrong. They're Canada Geese, according to my stepdad and the nice folks at the Gardens. :)

Sam and Alex chilled out together while waiting for their snacks. Good times!