7 May
It’s a fine line between “collector” and “hoarder”
Olivia: “Is that the fuzz from when you mended my blanket?”
Rebecca: “Yes… I suppose you’d like to keep it?”
Olivia: “Well, I would like to keep it for my fuzz collection.”
6 May
Flat Ava
Ava’s second grade class participated in the Flat Stanley project recently. The resulting “Flat Ava” traveled to Philadelphia for a visit to our good friend Tom and his girlfriend Katie. Flat Ava returned to Quail Run via US Post with nearly 30 photos, a Pennsylvania state flag and a few other souvenirs. Tom really put so much thought and effort into this project, and I wanted to share a few of the photos and captions he sent along. From Flat Ava’s arrival at Tom’s front door, to a visit to the National Constitution Center and several other stops along the way, Flat Ava had quite the trip!
Ava emailed Tom the moment the package arrived. I assumed it was to tell him how grateful she was, but as it turns out, she needed to know if Flat Ava was really with the President. I think, though, “Flat Barack” just happened to be visiting Philadelphia at the same time.
Thanks so much, Tom and Katie!
29 Apr
Peekaboo!
Owen plays peekaboo by covering just part of his face and averting his gaze for just a moment. I think it’s the cutest thing ever, though I realize I’m not terribly objective.
26 Apr
Backyard birding
As Bryan and I watched a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flit about the backyard last night, we complied a list of everything we recall seeing in the trees behind our house over the last six and a half years. We recalled 48 birds in total, which I’ll list below. What’s on your list that missing from ours?
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Baltimore Oriole
Barred Owl
Black-capped chickadee
Blue Jay
Brown Creeper
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Carolina Wren
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Cooper’s Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Phoebe
European Starling
Great Blue Heron
Grey Goose
Hairy Woodpecker
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged blackbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Song Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Wild Turkey
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
24 Apr
Ava Fix
Ava and her friend Emma are working on a screenplay about two kids who sneak out of the house and travel to a different solar system (one made entirely of candy, naturally). There’s a snag, though, in that they are caught by their parents upon their return. No problem—the children just erase their parents’ minds, and everyone lives happily ever after (or something like that)…
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