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Bird Nerd

Well, the last week of June flew by in a flash. The kids both had busy weeks at their summer care, and both Scott and I were super busy at OUR summer care, aka work. Hands down, though, the kids had way more fun.

Ava had several pool days (did I mention she tested into the Green group for her swimming lessons? Way to go, kiddo!) She also went to a few different fun locations (arcade in Lakeville and dance party at another school) and is making some new friends from other elementary schools in the area. Since this will be her last year in the Summer Power program, I want her to enjoy it as much as possible. Next year, we'll bump her up to the middle school group, and before we know it, she'll be able to stay at home by herself for entire days. Personally, I have fond memories of staying at home during the summer, while my parents were at work. I read a lot and fell in love with retro TV shows like, "I Love Lucy," "Bewitched," and "I Dream of Jeannie"...there are only a few years before she'll have to start working, so I want her to enjoy the time while she has it.

G also went to the local splash pad, and then had a visit from a science guy at daycare. He brought home a bean growing experiment that will teach him all about how plants grow. Should be fun! He had a bit of a rough week with hitting his friends, but, at least we've got the potty training under control. He hasn't had a poopy pair of underwear in 3 weeks now! So, now that we've mastered that, we need to work on learning to manage the feelings a bit better. We'll get there...it just takes time!

I missed my little house finches chattering at me, so I decided to try to lure them into our yard with a new bird feeder. It's been a success...we've had several finches hanging out, chowing down on the food over the last week. Plus, I bought a hummingbird feeder and have seen a few of those buzzing around, too. I've developed a sudden love of birds, which makes me feel about 100 years old, but there's just something so fascinating about them. Love it!

We've also been spending a lot of time with our neighbors recently...and the local wildlife that has moved in. There was a turtle trying to lay eggs by their driveway, a momma duck and her babies zooming across our road (not kidding, I have never seen baby ducks move so fast), a dead baby bird on our driveway (boo...we think something pulled it out of the nest, because this thing was a brand new baby...there's no way it could have made it there on its own,) and a beautiful bird that was hanging out in our neighbor's bushes. We don't know if it was hurt, because it stayed still the entire time we looked at it, and never left. It was still there the next day, and the last time I checked, it was gone, but wow. We've had an influx in creatures invading our home area...very cool!

I sent my dad a picture of the bird so he could identify it for me..within minutes, I had my answer...a cedar waxwing! Isn't in pretty?


The same neighbors are gone on a vacation for a bit, and G is counting down the days until his little buddies are back to play with him. Every day he runs to the windows to see if they are back home. It makes me heart so happy to have great people in our neighborhood that we can hang out with!

We also had the chance to spend some time with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey last Sunday before they headed south to go home. It was nice to catch up with them and their old neighbors, and to see Scott's brother. It was a short visit, but I know the kids enjoyed their full day with them earlier in the week.

It's a rainy day in Minnesota, which is a relief from the 100+ days that we've been experiencing. We're looking forward to having a full day at home together, without needing to run a million places to get stuff done. Happy Sunday!

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