Reunion

This week we had a fun invitation to go visit some old friends.  Monty meet Micah at the Academy.  They entered the zoo the same year and both played on the football team.  They endured 4 long years at the Academy together.  Annie and Micah were dating for those long years Monty and I were dating, so when I'd go see Monty we all hung out.  After graduation we both went our separate ways.  Micah went to pilot training and now flies helicopters for the US Air Force.  He just returned from 6 months of training and a 1 year tour in Afghanistan.  His stories were so interesting.  Annie is an amazing Air Force wife and kept the house running for the 18months he was gone. She has my utmost respect.  In the 11 years since we've seen one another they have had 4 adorable kids.  Three boys and a girl.  It was super fun to see them again, meet their kids, and get reacquainted.  Micah had no idea we were coming.  Annie and Amelia(Annie's best friend and our amazing hostess) planned and kept the whole thing secret.  It was such a fun night and oh my goodness, has anyone ever had a Oreo Brownie?!  I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!  Two of my favorite things combined!  OH MY!! Super fun night, with super good food, and super fun friends.        

Kids Have Ears...and Feelings!

Yesterday the boys and I went shopping. I admit it's a sight to see me and 5 little boys tagging along, but still, nothing warrants being mean.  While in Sears all my BOYS were behaving (they are actually amazing when we go out--up to a certain point and with the right bribe, I mean--incentive).  Anyway, this employee at Sears says, "You have 4 boys!"  I said, "Actually, I have 5."  She couldn't count apparently.  To which she replies, "You poor thing!"  Well, for the record my kids aren't stupid.  When we got out of Sears I turned to my boys and said, "Boys, I hope you never think when people say things like 'you poor thing' I feel that way.  I don't feel that way at all.  I feel super lucky and blessed to have the best 5 boys in the world."  Tyler then said, "Yeah, when she said that I felt insulted."  Kyle said, "I felt mocked!"  I felt so bad I didn't say something to her!  I promised my boys the next time someone says something stupid I'm going to set them straight.  So, for the record, kids have ears and hear what people say.  So say something nice!

Outdoor adventures!

 Since the boys have been off school we've been spending a lot of time outside!  Lets just say they have A LOT of energy they need to burn and the fact that my house stays cleaner when they are outside is an added plus to outdoor time!  This week I decided to teach Kory how to ride a two wheel bike.  It took all of maybe 10 minutes and he was riding like a pro!  So proud of you Kory!  He still has trouble starting on his own, but today he even rode with one hand...till I told him to stop!  Come on...you can't start riding pro week one!  or can you? 

While outside Kyle said he found a family of Robin's.  He sure wasn't kidding.  When I went to check it out sure enough there was this cute family of birds.  The mom and dad are never far off and then there are three chicks in the the nest.  They are so cute and so quiet.  We've gone to see them everyday since we found them and they are always completely silent.  

 Here is momma...not so happy that I was taking pictures of her babies. 

 You gotta Love summer time adventures! 

Raptor Refuge

Tyler came home a few weeks ago from school telling us about this place called the Raptor Refuge. We took it with a grain of salt, but then decided to looked it up and sure enough there is a Raptor Refuge here in our town. They have all kinds of raptor birds that have been injured to the point that they can no longer survive in the wild. This bald eagle was shot in the chest and lost her ability to fly, then to add insult to injury she got bit by a mosquito and got the west nile so is blind in one eye. She quickly became my favorite with her majestic features. They also had a red tail hawk, a Swainson's hawk, a turkey vulture, a golden eagle, and a great horned owl!
Just to the side of the Refuge are some hiking paths. I'd actually call them walking paths, but they are right along the river bank and so relaxing to walk on. We ended up doing the longest 'hike' because we just followed Makai. Along the way we saw a deer grazing, and Kyle and Monty found this little guy. A cute little frog. Each boy had a chance to hold the frog. Even Makai grabbed it from one of the boys. Thankfully we didn't squeeze his insides out which worried me when I watched him grab him. Poor little frog probably had the scariest 5 minutes of his life, but we let him go. We had a nice adventure and didn't even have to drive more than a few miles. We love our town!