That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Noelle (or “Two L’s” as my dad calls her) graduated fro
You know I can’t help putting some oldies but goodies in here.
These are from back in Berrywood. I think the one on the left has to be around 5th grade? And the one on the right is from our Middle School farewell dance. I’d finally stopped perming my hair. We didn’t have dates. We wore the same shoes in different colors. It was awesome.
John and I met my Mom and Dad down in Boca Raton FL for a few days earlier this month. Dad received an alumni award from his college, Florida Atlantic University! Gus and Leigh came to stay with the kids and John and I dug out our shorts, bathing suits and suntan lotion for a rare getaway. Florida, however, has some strange vendetta against me and John (Noelle and Scott can attest to this) so of course there was the worst storm just circling around our part of the state most of the time we were there. But we kept busy, didn’t let it get us down and eventually the sun came out.
We got to see Mom and Dad’s old condo – where they lived while they were “yung’ins” in Boca. We gawked at the mansions in West Palm Beach, visited some antique shops, got massages, rented a very chic beach cabana and ate way too much.
One really cool thing we did was to take an airboat ride in the everglades. We saw a bunch of alligators and had the chance to see a nest (nest? is that right?) of babies who were very interested in the Cheez Its our captain fed them :) Afterwards we toured the little zoo and saw this amazing peacock who was quite intent on catching the eye of a lovely lady peacock. I won’t attempt to make a comment about the turtles but how often do you get a picture like that? Classy. And somehow in the misty rain that day, I managed to get a sunburn on my knees. Double classy.
Thanks Gus and Leigh for staying with the boys and thanks Mom and Dad for an unforgettable trip!
John and I couldn’t be blessed with better Moms. We love you both. Happy Mother’s day!
I know most babies are really flexible but Dylan takes it to a whole new level, dontcha think?
Anyone who has been to our house over the past month and half knows about our baby birds – 
I’ve been a bit “enthusiastic” about it, you could say. A very nice Carolina Wren couple decided to entrust our Geraniums with their modest (yet effective) nest made of all sorts of random things. They thought they were pretty smart building their nest up on our deck where the wind and rain couldn’t get to them, but that was before the weather got really nice and we started spending more time outside. But I think they got used to us, and perhaps even liked the fire table and weekend movie nights :) Let me tell you, my motherly instincts sure kicked in with these little fellas, and when they actually hatched I was so excited I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’m proud to say that (as far as we know) we helped raise 6 fine looking baby wrens who are undoubtedly having a grand time dive bombing Polly and pooping on our cars. haha. Here are some pictures I took over the past month…
April 2nd – 5 eggs! (when we first noticed the nest there were only 3 eggs)
April 3rd – Mommy Bird sitting in the nest, likely getting ready to lay another egg (it’s hard to see her but you can make out her left eye and tail if you look closely)
April 4th – 6 eggs!
April 6th & 8th – No major changes
April 8th – a picture through my bathroom window of Mommy bird laying on the nest. For about a week she sat tight almost all day and night.
April 20th – BABIES! They can’t be more than a day or two old here. They hatch with no feathers and are blind.
April 22nd – Feed us! [~4 days old]
April 25th – Starting to get some feathers [~7 days old]
April 27th – Getting bigger [~9 days old]
April 28th – Mommy or Daddy bird leaving after feeding the babies
April 29th – My last picture. Look how they’re perfectly placed 3x3 [~11 days old]
We think they left the nest around May 1st which would have made them about 13 days old (they typically leave around 12 to 14 days and are said to do so quickly). Carolina Wrens mate for life and stay together even when they’re not breeding. I’ll tell you, after watching the Mom and Dad I’m convinced that every new parent on this planet says to their mate “What were we thinking?? All they do is eat and eat! I’m exhausted!” Those parents were busy…
But it’s all worth it in the end. Here’s to the newest additions of our extended Ward family!
