Peonies

One of the fun things about having a new house is seeing all the things that grow in the yard.  Every flower and plant is new and exciting.  My old house had lots of flowers, but most of them were roses, and I'd been staring at them for the last ten years.  Tulips and lilies and peonies are far more exciting.  And the great thing is that there will be something else fun in a few more weeks.  Hopefully, my enthusiasm will last a few years.

The Crazy is Catching

Check out our neighbor's house...

Yup, the swallows finally gave up on us, just to head next door.  They were caught within a few minutes, so didn't get much done, but I'm glad to not be the only one with plastic wrap on my porch.  I wonder where they'll go now?

Party Time

Bryn was a lot happier with today's birthday experience than the one she had last Saturday.  Apparently twenty-five friends, a multitude of gifts and spending the rest of the day with a few close friends makes up for a lot.  I still just can't believe she's eleven.  What happened to my baby girl?

Swallowing our Pride

So the swallows just don't want to give up on us.  I've googled and read and tried a number of things.  After my first attempt, they just moved a few inches past my deterrent and built again. So today I went with our personal equivalent of a tin foil hat and saran wrapped the porch using painting tape.  Hopefully, our new neighbors won't think we're too crazy.  They do want the birds gone; I'm just not sure they want to be associated with this look.

The Best Flower

The first bloom on our mini rosebush came out today.  It's right by the front walkway so it's pretty hard to miss when you're going in and out of the house.  Owen walked out the door and exclaimed, "Mom, come see!  We have a flower, and I think it's a dandelion!  That's the best kind!"  It's hard to beat the excitement and misinformation of childhood.  Funnier still, we saw a dandelion later, and he got very excited about seeing a sunflower.  Perhaps they offer summer horticulture classes for four year olds?

A New Game

Owen and Ella invented a game today.  It's called Camera Catch.  The object of the game is to hide from me so I can't take their pictures, but then they run out and taunt me with their cute faces, then try to get away before I get them on film.  (Hmm, what's the modern day equivalent of that saying, since it's not actually film anymore?  Before I get them on my SD card just doesn't have the same ring.)

Dance Recital

Dance recital: the last holdout before real summer begins!  The girls had a great time at the recital this year.  They love Miss Kim and Kristin and have really grown as dancers this year.  They both were in group dances to Hannah Montana's Hoedown Throwdown, and the theme song to Phineas and Ferb.

Unfortunately, they're rather scatterbrained mother left the memory card at home and only got it at the last minute so the pictures are all blurry and flashless from the real recital rather than cute and adorable from the dress rehearsal.  Oh well :-)