Spring break was two and a half weeks ago. The kids and I spent most of it at my parents, and Allen joined us there for the last bit of it. This is a picture I took. . . of me. . . you can see by my reflection I am sitting with the camera up to my eye. . . taking a picture of a . . .
. . .VERY patient, and odd, DUCK! Here is the original, just for proof:
This female mallard has apparently adopted my parents. Maybe she was once a pet, who knows? She sleeps under the kitchen window by the back door. She quacks when we walk outside. When the kids and I went for a walk, she got in line between Maddie and Ben and walked as if she was one of my kids, too. She really seemed to believe it.
Here are some other photos I got during our playtime. FINALLY, I got Will to smile, and he gets to be on the blog again.
This is my Ben. He loves being outside, watching bugs, playing with sticks. . . a typical little boy. But this little boy has been getting really heavy lately. . .
Could it be that ALL of his pockets are full of rocks? His pockets were so full that by the end of this hike, a hail-storm of stones fell from his sides with each step.
This is Miss Maddie proudly sitting by her artwork.
Dad and I traced silhouettes of the kids and then decorated them. It was about this time that Ms. Duck started missing us. She waddled over and clumsily hopped down the deck steps. She tried picking up a piece of sidewalk chalk in her bill, but that didn't work out, so she just rested her webbed foot on it instead. Here she is watching Jon and Will color and wishing she could play that game, too.
This duck was with us almost all the time we were outside on any given day. Once, Jon accidentally stepped on her foot and he just stood there, not realizing the duck was so close. What did she do? Quacked really loud at him. When he moved, she went back to sleep in the sunshine next to him. Another time, Maddie tripped over her -- Maddie's foot kicked the duck hard and Maddie fell forward. Ms. Duck re-ruffled her feathers, making quite the scene, but didn't do much else. It was so weird to me that the duck was so patient with the kids.
Back to chalk day. . . Jon traced her feet with green chalk. She stood there as if thinking, "Finally! I've been wanting you to do that!"
And here she proudly poses with her "drawing" just like Maddie did.
Definitely a weird duck. By the end of the week, she fit in so much that the kids quit paying much attention. They still were awfully proud that she would eat from their hands.
Fast forward two weeks. . . Last week, Will's kindergarten class put on a Mother Goose musical. He was
so excited, even though he kept pretending to be stage-frightened. Will was the cat-with-a-fiddle when they sang
Hey Diddle, Diddle. It was a cute show that my little ones really enjoyed, too!
That catches me up on a lot of the bigger parts of the month. Now that spring is warming up, we've spent a lot of time outside. We got some more trees planted or moved. I got all my annuals, herbs, and veggies put in the garden, and Allen and I picked out some vining flowers to plant during Easter break. I have been watching excitedly as my perennials are turning my garden green again, and when the blooms start showing, I'll share pictures.
Last weekend we went to Allen's parents for a night. Shelley, Maddie, and I went to the baby shower for my new nephew who will be here in a few weeks. Sunday morning, we went to the Palm Sunday service and, now that Will is starting to understand what communion is about, we let him take communion for the first time. It was hard to keep a straight face when he leaned over to whisper to me with a sense of pride and confusion, "Mama, the blood tastes like grape juice."
. . .VERY patient, and odd, DUCK! Here is the original, just for proof:
This female mallard has apparently adopted my parents. Maybe she was once a pet, who knows? She sleeps under the kitchen window by the back door. She quacks when we walk outside. When the kids and I went for a walk, she got in line between Maddie and Ben and walked as if she was one of my kids, too. She really seemed to believe it.
This is my Ben. He loves being outside, watching bugs, playing with sticks. . . a typical little boy. But this little boy has been getting really heavy lately. . . 
Could it be that ALL of his pockets are full of rocks? His pockets were so full that by the end of this hike, a hail-storm of stones fell from his sides with each step.
This is Miss Maddie proudly sitting by her artwork. 
Dad and I traced silhouettes of the kids and then decorated them. It was about this time that Ms. Duck started missing us. She waddled over and clumsily hopped down the deck steps. She tried picking up a piece of sidewalk chalk in her bill, but that didn't work out, so she just rested her webbed foot on it instead. Here she is watching Jon and Will color and wishing she could play that game, too.
This duck was with us almost all the time we were outside on any given day. Once, Jon accidentally stepped on her foot and he just stood there, not realizing the duck was so close. What did she do? Quacked really loud at him. When he moved, she went back to sleep in the sunshine next to him. Another time, Maddie tripped over her -- Maddie's foot kicked the duck hard and Maddie fell forward. Ms. Duck re-ruffled her feathers, making quite the scene, but didn't do much else. It was so weird to me that the duck was so patient with the kids.
And here she proudly poses with her "drawing" just like Maddie did.
Definitely a weird duck. By the end of the week, she fit in so much that the kids quit paying much attention. They still were awfully proud that she would eat from their hands.
That catches me up on a lot of the bigger parts of the month. Now that spring is warming up, we've spent a lot of time outside. We got some more trees planted or moved. I got all my annuals, herbs, and veggies put in the garden, and Allen and I picked out some vining flowers to plant during Easter break. I have been watching excitedly as my perennials are turning my garden green again, and when the blooms start showing, I'll share pictures.