Feather

Everyone has a memory of rescuing some sort of creature in their young life.  Whether its as big as a dog or as small as a mouse innately we are given a sense of compassion for little hurt creatures.  For me it was a tiny baby mouse and multiple birds and a couple kitties.  While many of these wayward creatures survive inevitably there are the ones that don't and as an impressionable child they are the hardest to understand.

Yesterday amidst my shower Evie came running into the bathroom saying "Mommy I scared of bag!!"  I asked her what bag she was talking about and she said "swim bag Mommy, swim bag.....come see!"  I tried not to giggle and be frustrated.  I was running late and needing to get dressed, but I grasped my towel about me and let her lead me to our big swimming tote. Before even getting close I saw.....what is that? Wings!  Fluttering wings.  Maddie my cat was ready to pounce and at first I thought a crazy bird had managed to get itself into our home.  Upon closer review I discovered that it was a wee baby bird that had somehow managed to get into our swimming bag.  Evie was spot on!  I quickly got myself dressed, removed the cat from the situation, called Lily in to see and carefully picked up this little bird.

We took him outside and put him up on our playset with some water.  I had no idea what I was going to do with a little baby bird.  Upon inspecting him I noticed that one of his wings was not working right and I suspected a break.  The girls named him Feather and instantly got attached to him.  I hoped.......but I knew.  Feather was probably not going to make it.

All day we watched him, kept him safe and up off the ground and every time he would attempt to fly that bad wing wouldn't work and he would fall.  We gave him more water, held him and loved him but Bob and I knew that it was only a matter of time before we would need to help him out of his misery.

At bed time last night after a hard day of trying to help Feather survive, he attempted to fly and injured a leg.   He was done.  He was breathing so hard and his little body couldn't even stay upright.  Bob took him out and sent him to Jesus. The girls were asleep so this morning is going to be a hard one.

Man parenting is hard.  Life is so precious and my heart is sad that the first little animal my girls and I rescued didn't make it.  It is amazing how the kindest thing you can do sometimes for these animals is end their suffering.  It is a hard concept......especially for little kids.  Bob and I practically cried ourselves to sleep over it.  Death is hard.

Rest in Peace Feather. We love you.

Bobs the Builders

When you have kids inevitably there comes a time when some kind of play house/swingset/play structure becomes a critical part of life.  We are right on the cusp of that stage.  Bob and I giggle because our girls get bored so easily.  My goodness.  It doesn't matter that we have toys galore, they just need stuff to do.....physically do. 

Well, our girls were given the tremendous blessing of a brand new, built from scratch playset courtesy of Grandpa Bob and Grandma Lynn.  The best part is that Bob Jr and Bob Sr designed it from scratch and then spent 3 days together out in the Arizona heat building it.  I was so glad that I got to play, go to the zoo and take a nap while it was being done.  There was so much to think about, but both of the guys make up the perfect team and the process when really smoothly.

It was really fun.  The girls had such a hard time waiting for it to be finished and were constantly out in the yard trying to help out.  Lily had a blast once the top platform was finished and she could stand up there like she owned the place.

This little girl loves her Grandpa and simply wanted to be around him helping out and giving building instructions.

The girls were so anxious to play on it that the guys took pity on them and got the swings up before they finished all the final structural work.  Even Bob Jr tested the swing worthiness of them.  We figured that as the girls get bigger they are going to get more ambitious and put a lot of force on those swings, better to test them with someone 4 times their weight.  And HEY, it worked!

After one 10 minute swing session the guys made the executive decision to add another structural support concreted in the ground.  The girls helped dig the hole and Evie thought it was quite funny to stand in it. 

The almost finished product turned out awesome and I can see the girls spending countless hours and campouts out there.  Since this picture was taken we have cut windows in the bottom, carpeted the top level and painted the entire structure!  The next stop is GRASS!

My girls are growing up so much and they are LOVING having somewhere to play and be physical.  So many memories are going to be made out there on that swing set and I can't wait to watch it unfold.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for our awesome and amazing swingset!  We have been so blessed and can't wait to show you all that we can do on it the next time you come out!

I'd Rather Be on 4 Legs

Back to catching up!  Our Colorado trip was so much fun.  The girls were simply beside themselves with excitement about riding the horses and seeing Memaw and Papa. Evie got a brand new suitcase to carry her own clothes in and for the week leading up to our departure toodled around the house with it all day long.  "Evie do it!"  She would say.  So cute.

Our flights got a little messed up so I ended up taking the girls by myself on the journey while Bob went ahead of us.  It worked out wonderfully.  My girls are getting so big.  I bought Evie "Hooty" as he is lovingly called and she wore him while Lily took on the responsibility of "walking Evie" (Yes, I have no shame in leashing my 2 year old!)  Lily had such a sense of pride with the job and the two did great.  That isn't to say we did have a few moments when Evie, refusing to go where Lily wanted, got literally dragged across the floor, but overall, it was a win!

Our AC went out the night before we left so we ended up in a hotel and short on sleep.  Between the hotel stay, a day of travel and no nap, Evie simply couldn't make it through dinner.  You know your two year old is exhausted when she crawls under the table, finds your lap and is sleeping within 2 minutes.

But we made it!  And we started the week with a BANG on the back of a horse.  Lily and Evie are horse women, pure and simple.  Evie has no fear and just loves to ride.  All of Lily's learning and training came back and she was only too quick to get up on Bon Bon and do her thang!

Carrots are for kids too!

So I have a picture of Lily around this age in this same helmet.  Evie LOVES her helmet and is only too quick to tell everyone about it.  You want to know about horses?  Evie will be sure you wear a "hemet!"

We got to spend 2 glorious days with my running buddy Sarah and her boys.  These guys had so much fun playing together and even though we only got in 1 run, it was as it should be....screaming kids and all!  Ahh I miss this girl!

I spent most of my days wearing the Bethany Jayne Photography hat and taking pictures, but I did manage to sneak out one morning for a ride with Mom and the girls.  Lily rode by herself and Evie sat up behind Memaw.  It was such a blessing and was such a fun ride!

Wanna know the best way to entertain my children?  A Bucket, a hose, a silly dog that loves to bite at the water and a perfect Summer Day.  Evie and Oreo played like this for about 30 minutes while Lily enjoyed swimming in the pond (she rocks!) and playing in the bucket.

My girls are so adventurous.  They are really up for anything and I love it.  We enjoyed every minute back in the Rocky Mountains and know without doubt that a part of our hearts will always be in Denver.