Tweet, Tweet, Tweet....

I'm not much of a bird watcher....Actually to be honest-up until today I really paid no attention to them. I love the sound of birds chirping in the yard. I love to find a random birds nest when we're out on a bike ride....but really-I care nothing of watching them on a day to day basis....Until today.

Something caught my eye. It was beautiful and bright blue. I was watching him and all of a sudden I saw a couple of them.

The more I watched the more I was in amazement. Aaron joke around and said he felt like he was watching the discovery channel and I was the narrator. It was obvious...There was one female and three other males. They were all fighting for her attention. It's mating season, right!?!? Who was going to be the King of Kings...The Bird of Birds...

I guess I never gave birds credit. To me they were these strange, boring little things that flew around...made beautiful music, laid eggs....and were never seen again.
Watching them-It was quite a show they put on. Gosh, if only Aaron had put that much effort into trying to attract me.... ;)

It really opened up my eyes to bird watching. I truly enjoyed watching these beautiful creatures.... I found where one male has already set up house...I can't wait to see little tiny heads poke up in hopes of fresh worms.

E-baby was also in amazement. Perhaps he was enjoying watching me run around the yard with my camera...looking like a crazy woman. Either way...He was very much entertained. ;)

Spring has Sprung...and I am so thrilled.

Miscellany Monday: Our Visit with Henry

Surprise:
We had a nice little surprise this weekend. Not only did we have family come to town but we also had Henry come and visit us. For those of you who don't remember who Henry is you can check out Faith's post about Henry and one cute cute little boy named Lucas.

I am honored to be among one of the many wonderful photographers participating in this super awesome project to help raise money for Lucas.

Rain:
WOW! We got so much rain this weekend. Of course we had plans...Henry was here for a visit, the family was here...we wanted to go play at the doggy park...But of course not much of that went as planned. We went and checked the rain gauge this afternoon once the sun finally made a visit and in a weekend we got 2 full inches!! Since we couldn't make it to the doggy park the doggy's only did what was next best in rainy weather....Sleep!

Sun:
Once the sun finally decided he would also visit for the weekend we had major cabin fever and knew it was time to go play outside!!! Tire swings and bike rides...playing with friend galore! ;)

Henry's new sock friend, Sally Sock

Peek-a-boo, Flower Power Style:

Muddy Waters:
Our outside time didn't end with a simple swing and bike ride. Grilling and playing in the yard were on the agenda. Of course Keagan finds the muddiest spot in the entire yard (our future garden) and within minutes he was a muddy mess!

...and thank goodness Henry decide to sit out and watch Keagan during this adventure!

Thank you:
Thank you Henry for giving us the honor of sharing your weekend with us. It certainly made the rainy days shorter....Hope you enjoyed your stay! He is now off to his next adventure.

Miscellany Monday: Camping

Camping: Camping should be a member of our family. We love it as if it is one....

First Camping Trip with a Child:
I remember our first camping trip after we had K. I was scared to take him and I remember waiting until he was 2 years old. I'm not sure in my mind what made 2 the magically number but it was. We went for Mother's Day 2008 and it was far from perfect. I'm actually surprised I ever went camping again.

Day 1 was beautiful! We enjoyed fishing, hiking, and just relaxing by the fire. Our campsite was not the best, to say the least....That night we had severe thunderstorms to the point that we considered sleeping in the truck. I swear before the storms I heard animals outside the tent trying to carry the grill off. We packed up in the pouring rain and then stopped at a Waffle House on the way home for a much needed meal just to lock our keys in the car. We were stuck at that waffle house for 2 hours while we waited on a locksmith.... Happy Mother's Day to me!!

Camping Trip #2:
Somehow that dear husband of mine convinced me to go camping again. It actually wasn't that hard to twist my arm. Just as you forget how painful childbirth is....I believe I blocked out how awful that last camping trip was too. I'm glad I went. It opened up a whole new light on staying in a tent, being one with nature, and forgetting all the stresses and reality back at home!

Camping Trip with a Pop-up:
We did it!! Finally after several camping trips in a tent we decided to break down and buy a pop-up. We found a great deal on one from a family who only was selling it so they could purchase a bigger camper. They had great memories in the pop-up and I had no doubt that we would soon start creating those same memories with our family in it too.

We went on one very fun camping trip in that pop-up and then on the Sunday we returned we found out the great news that we were going to have another baby! Amazing but scary! I panicked and we soon sold the pop-up to another family looking to make memories. Even though we didn't have the pop-up for any longer than one trip it turns out the doctor E had while he was in ICU was the Dad we bought the pop-up from originally. It's amazing how small the world is.

Camping Trips with Two Kids:
It's spring....Beautiful weather! No need to wait until E is two years old. We decided to go out camping in a tent...with both boys. I don't believe the camping trip could have turned out better. We found one of our favorite campgrounds. We actually have plans to go back there this year! It was gorgeous.

So What's the only Next Logical Move:
Yes! We bought a camper! We decided after camping in a tent over and over again, watching the weather channel like a hawk to make sure we weren't in a tent during another severe thunderstorm, and proving to ourselves that our family is indeed a camping family...the next logical move for us was to take the plunge.

Our first trip out in it is this weekend. K is so excited he can hardly stand it and I must admit I am too! We'll never forget where we came from and we still plan on doing some tent camping also....especially when it's just going to be the husband and I. In the meantime though we're going to enjoy the most of our new "Vacation Home." Already for this year we have 5 camping trips planned. It's time to get the fun started!! :)