Back It Up

I have a back log of fun stories and photos to share.  I’m going to try to catch up a little.  These photos are from the 15th.  Rob was out of town and Gideon and Elias were both awake before Gabe was due home from school so I packed them all up, met Gabe getting off the bus and took everyone to the park.

It was cold.  Darn cold.  I made sure I had jackets, gloves and hats for everyone.  They turned down the hats but seemed grateful for the gloves.  Elias even kept his on the whole time we were at the park.  I couldn’t believe it, I don’t think any of my kids have left gloves on at that age.

Look out!  Here comes the bulldog!

Swing!   Whee!

I was so disappointed to see that this one turned out blurry but I still love it.  They are mirrors of each other and it’s just too cute.

 

CHEESE!

 

Zion and Gabe like to have races.  Hard to tell who wins though.

My crazy kids, fun despite the cold.  Which I guess is a good thing since it’s not going to get any warmer for quite some time. 

Feathered Friends

I’m a sucker for critters.  No surprise to those of you that know me.  Fur, fins or feathers, makes no matter to me.  Zion wants a bird.  I’d love to have one.  I’d hate to add another habitat to the list of cleaning chores.  I’d hate more for that darn Eva to get her paws on the poor thing and dealing with Zion’s grief if it did happen.  It is a good thing that we have plenty of birds in Washington.  In lieu of a pet bird we have dozens of wild birds that we feed and now that the weather is getting colder our visitors are increasing.  They also make great photography subjects and with my long lens I can get a decent photo without even opening the sliding door (which is good because when I do open it they all dart off).  Recently I bought a field guide for Washington birds, now I actually know what I’m looking at!

The first species we started seeing in the Fall and our most common visitor to the feeder is the Dark Eyed Junco (AKA Oregon Junco).

After that I noticed we have Red-breasted Nuthatches.  They are super cute.

A Nuthatch AND a Junco:

Then on Thanksgiving as we were rushing about trying to get out the door to my sister’s I thought I saw a Chickadee.  I didn’t have time to grab my camera or take a second glance though so I couldn’t be sure.  I’ve been stalking the tree ever since.  Yesterday morning bright and early I was rewarded, finally, with a sighting and he even waited long enough for me to get my camera.  My new little field guide confirms this is a Chestnut-Backed Chickadee.  These little guys are my favorite.  So far anyway.

Yesterday I was at Home Depot buying more seed and a baffler to keep the rain off the feeder and very nearly bought a tree – a whole TREE! just because I thought the birds might like it.  Uh oh.  I may have a problem.

We Did. Did You?

We supported Small Business Saturday.  In the tastiest way possible.  A local doughnut shop.  Oh they were SO yum!  I got my favorite, a maple bar with bacon.  Oh yeah baby!  The kids seemed to enjoy theirs as well.

We may have just started a new day after Thanksgiving tradition!

Thanksgiving

What a lovely Thanksgiving we had!  In addition to having so much to be grateful for we had a chance to just relax on Wednesday so Zion and I got to do some baking.  We made a pumpkin pie and pecan tarts (later I made a rosemary chicken mix for an appetizer and the next  morning a Tollhouse pie).

On Thanksgiving day we took the kids to see The Muppets.  Rob and I both were very excited that a new movie was coming out, it was just to share with them something we had loved when we were kids.  Though Elias was a bit fidgety, preferring to walk up and down the aisle giggling loudly, they all enjoyed it.  Especially the popcorn.  It is possible they enjoy the popcorn more than the movie.

After the movie we head up to my sister’s which is always fun.  It’s small and casual, fun for the kids and the food is fantastic, what more could you ask for?

A few people heading down Turkey Coma Lane.  Must be time to head for home.

Goings On

That’s one of my favorite titles for posts, I use it often.  It pretty much covers all the bases when I’m trying to catch up on blogging.   Elias’ little face gives a clue as to what I’ve been up to lately.

If you guessed “taking care of sick kids” you’d be right.  It’s a simple cold really and I’m glad it’s not something worse but boy can they linger and get passed around.  Elias, Zion and I seem to have the worst of it and me not even that bad.  Elias’ nickname for a week or so was Snot Face and Zion was Cough Girl.  I still managed to pick up my camera at least once a day.  Once was it on many days recently though.  I can’t complain about the shots I was getting however.  I’m learning better how to make them count, that’s for sure.

This next one wasn’t a pic of the day but it’s pretty cute.  Rosie is nearly always on the couch next to me but late one night she decided to curl up with Rob instead. 

I have to say I can’t complain when the kids stay home from school sick.  It’s easier when I don’t have to worry about buses and driving to schools and I like having all my kids home with me.  And kids who stay home from school sick have to take naps when the two youngest do so I actually get more of a break mid-day than otherwise.  And I liked my sick days when I was growing up, they meant dragging my sleeping bag and a stack of books to my Dad’s recliner where I’d spend the whole day reading and watching PBS and my mom would bring me Sprite and orange juice mixed together.  It does make me feel good to nurture my kiddos too so there’s an added bonus.  I hope that this week is healthier though, sick days aren’t so special when there are too many of them.  :)