The robins and some ducklings too!

First, a little update on our robin friends. The rescued baby robins were never found after they were placed in the nest. But a couple of days later we discovered this up in our playhouse portion of the swing set:

Yup, its another Robins nest. Not in the best place mind you, but the word must have spread that we are friends to the birds and now they are taking refuge in our yard! The kids are very excited to be able to watch the robins hatch and grow. Ryan and I are just worried about being able to keep the cat and Brylee away from them. The nest is right by the top of the slide. The cat can get up to it, and Brylee has already picked up one of the eggs. They are delicious at Easter time you know! So over the course of the next month, we will have to keep a close eye out for our new friends. (Apparently, you cant move the nest, even a little bit, or the mother wont recognize it...so our research tells. So that option it out, in case thats what you are thinking!)

In other birdie news...
our little Katelin who is shy beyond belief around most of society, was actually in a play at school! I love that our school has these PBL (project based learning) groups, in addition to a great arts program. Madi has learned violin, been in orchestra and choir, marketing, newspaper publishing, and movie making to name a few. Katelin had her first chance this year as a second grader to be in a PBL group, and she chose the Theatre Guild. It was surprising to us when she put that as one of her choices, but I explained what it was, and that she would have to be in front of people...and talk at them, but she still wanted to do it. None of us had any idea it would actually lead to a big production at the end of the year! She even had the opportunity to drop it for another group mid-way, but she wanted to stick with it. She ended up spending A LOT of time rehearsing at school, and all her hard work paid off. She performed in a play of The Ugly Duckling called "Honk Jr." in front of a big crowd on two separate nights, and did an awesome job!
She played one of the ducklings, named Downy. She had about 5 lines and sang a couple of songs (as a group). It was a really cute play, and Ryan and I were very impressed at how well all the elementary students performed. She even got her own personalized T-shirt to wear!

Here are all the ducklings before the show, waiting behind the nest. She had to sit back there for about 20 minutes.

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, so here she is after in her "costume". It was pretty low budget, but what do you expect for a first time performance from an elementary school. She actually had one of the better costumes. You couldnt really tell what the other kids were supposed to be at all.

The 3 normal ducklings.

I tried really hard to upload the video's of her performance, but the Blogger wouldnt work for me. I did get them to work on Face Book, so you can check them out on my profile page. (sorry if your not on FB) There are 4 scenes she was in. It is worth it to watch them I think...not only because Katelin is in them, but it is a really cute play. You probably wont recognize her in this setting...you know, all vocal and everything, so Ill just let you know she is usually the orange one in the middle. She had a great time, and even loved it so much, shes talking about doing it again next year, and wanting to play the lead!

Who knew all she needed to be heard, was a stage and some lights!?

A little rescue...attempt.

Before I begin this post, let me just make something clear. I like animals...at least most animals... outdoor animals...the kind I dont have to take care of and clean up after. (The kids are still on their never ending plea for a dog, but Im just not ready for that yet! But thats another story.)

I hate hunting.

I dont get how people can find joy and entertainment in killing something so beautiful that God has created. Im this close to going vegetarian. I dont think Ill ever get closer than this, but I have a hard time eating meat, or eggs without thinking about where they came from, and what Im eating. But again, not my point.

We have a cat, well...lets just call him a miniature Lion. Hes big, and hairy and loves the outdoors, oh and yes- he's a hunter. So, I have mixed feelings about the cat, because on the one hand, hes an animal, and thats good, even though I have to clean up after him. But the hunting thing...major dislike. I know its natural for him, he is an animal after all. Its in his nature...the circle of life and all that jazz. Now dont freak out when I say this, but I also like mice. They are animals too. Not mice in my yard, or my basement...or garage...or near me at all. But they are cute, right? From a distance, or in a cage? Okay, you dont have to answer that. I am grateful that the cat keeps the mice under control around the house and yard, I really am-but do I really have to see them? We did rescue one once in Utah, because the Lion had just been playing cat and mouse with him for too long, and the poor little guys heart was beating out of his chest with fear. I couldnt take it anymore, so bravely I scooped him into an empty container and drove him to a safer Lion free location. Heres some proof of our heroic rescue attempt.

2005I just dont get why the Lion cant just politely ask the mice to find another location. This one is taken. He doesnt even eat them 90 % of the time! He has his fun killing them by torture, and after hes done with them, he leaves them for us. I guess its some sort of friendly gesture from beast to master. Its like an offering to us. But sorry Lion...I dont want your offerings! I dont like walking through the nice lush grass, only to come upon a dead mouse, or stepping out on the patio in the morning to another one of your victims! Is it really too much to ask that he just dispose of them himself when hes through with them?

Well, just when I thought the mice thing was bad, the Lion took it to a whole new level! I dont think I can get past this one. The other night, when I went to let the Lion in the house, I noticed another one of his offerings on the patio. It was dark and I figured it was just another one of his mice so I called the man of the house to clean it up (hey, I have poop duty!) Well, it was bedtime, and we had to get the kids in bed first, so the offering had to wait a minute. While the kids were brushing their teeth, I snuck another look and decided to give the Lion the benefit of the doubt. It looked more like a hairball...or two hairballs? So I got closer to investigate. Definitely not a mouse...or a hairball! It was two very newborn baby robins! They werent in good condition, but they were alive...barely! It was pretty cold out, and they had some abrasions from where the Lion sunk his teeth into them. Neither Ryan or I had the heart to put them out of their misery (or the guts, whatever you want to attribute it to). So I decided to scoop them up and try to save them. I know these pictures dont make them look very cute...they are hairless and their eyes arent open yet, but very newborn humans arent all that either. They look dead, but they were breathing, moving around, and opening and closing their mouths. I could imagine them screaming for help whenever their mouths would open. I couldnt take it! I brought them in the house and Ryan and I contemplated whether or not to tell the kids. Sure...why not! Its a good experience and they are kinda cute. Kinda. They would want to see. We were right. They loved them! My motherly instinct took over and I went worm hunting, while Madi held a flashlight over them to help warm them up. FYI-crushing a worm up is not as easy as it sounds! When I thought it was small enough for the birds to swallow, I put it in their mouths with a skewer. It was tough for them to swallow, and I hoped they wouldnt choke to death! Eventually, they got them down. I dripped tiny droplets of water in after to help wash it down and wash off their injuries. Then we were stuck. Now what?

"Is there an animal rescue center close by? Its too late to deliver them tonight. What if they dont make it through the night?" Its amazing how quickly we all got attached. Katelin thought maybe they came from the nest in our neighbors yard. She was positive they looked just like the chicks in that nest. We let the kids say goodnight, and sent them to bed so we could figure out what to do next.

Zack loving the chicks, and saying goodnight.

We decided to take them over to the neighbors nest. It was 9:00 at this point, as I walked down the sidewalk with a box and a flashlight. I felt a little like I was out on a robbery or something. Especially when I walked up the the decorative tree on the neighbors porch, where the nest was. I saw it immediately after the mother bird flew away as I approached. How could she leave her babies like that? So close to humans? The light was on inside. I could see the neighbors. I couldnt just stand there, flashlight in hand and snoop around their porch, so I knocked. I told them the whole story and they showed me the nest. Nope, not these birdies home. They did look the same, but this nest was already full with 4 other, older and larger chicks. Now what? The neighbors talked me into just putting our chicks into the nest with the other chicks, and hoping the mother bird would adopt them and take care of them. I thought it was a long shot, and worried about my babies, but I felt pressured, so I did it...against my motherly judgement. The other chicks were going crazy! I thought one tried to eat my chick as I set him in the nest. Oh, what have I done!? Its too late to get them out now! The other chicks were stepping all over them. These newborn chicks should have been in the NICU, not thrown into a nest of 4 toddler birds! I apologized, and thanked the neighbors at the same time, and walked home. I felt bad all night. I couldnt wait until morning to go check on the babys. The kids were upset with me when I tucked them in and told them what I did.

"But you promised I could see them first thing in the morning!" one said.

"You can" ...hopefully..."their just at the neighbors house."

So the first thing Madi did after she was ready for school was head down to the neighbors porch. Katelin decided not to go. She is a little mother herself and I dont think was ready to face them if they didnt survive. I had Madi take the camera to take a picture to show us when she came back. Heres what she got.

Do you see my babies anywhere!? Me either. After school, we went over to check on them again. I got an eye witness account that they could not be seen. I dont know what happened to them. Either they got totally smashed, smothered and buried by the other birds, or the mother bird decided that 4 noisy toddlers was all that she could handle, and tossed the babies out on their bottoms. Thats the probable thing.

Now my preferred version:

While all the mother birds were getting together for their morning worms and coffee, they discovered that poor Mama Flitter's baby chicks had been violently stolen from her nest the night before! Mama Tweet peeps up and says she mysteriously found two baby chicks in her nest last night...at which point Mama and babies are reunited.

OR...

The toddler birds take to the new babies right away, and take them under their wings and protectively gather around them to keep them warm. Babies, toddlers and Mama live happily ever after.

And maybe someday, in the near future, a robin will come land on my shoulder and twitter "thank you" in my ear, for saving her life once upon a time on that cold spring night!

Hey, I can dream!

Easter

First things first...the Easter dress pictures.

These were actually taken after church last week, since it was Conference on Easter. Surprisingly, they responded to my threat of not messing their hair up during church and still looked pretty well groomed for the picts. If I had been more on top of things, I could have gotten them ready in time to take pictures before our 11:30 church, but even late church seems to be a challenge for me to get there on time. But in my defense, I have to get them all ready to go on my own (Ryan has meetings), and it takes even longer with 5 girls hair to do in the morning. To make things better, Brylee skipped her Sacrament meeting nap, so she wasnt really in the mood for pictures, and Zack just wanted to go play. Anyway, getting to the point...

heres the best of what I could get!

Madison

Katelin
Alissa
Zack
Brylee
The whole gang

Now for the details.
Early Saturday morning, Ryan and I went out to put up the big Easter surprise...a new trampoline. The old one got its use and was definatly worn out. Plus we needed a bigger one with the 5 kids and the neighbors always coming over to jump (not that they all jump at the same time, but it makes me feel better for them to have more room to not run into each other!) Unfortunatly, it rained a good portion of the day on Saturday, so they didnt get to enjoy as much as we hoped. The next item on the agenda was the egg painting. I found a cool kit this year to make it easier for Zack, that included tiny paint rollers. He did an awesome job painting it all on his own! Then we tried another new approach with sticking the egg in a whisk and using it to dip it in the color. This didnt work quite as well, since the color in the cup wasnt high enough for the whisk to get into it; so I had to help more by tipping and turning it. The egg actually turned out looking pretty cool as well though. Next year, I hope to find some smaller whisks and it should work better. More kids coloring equals less eggs per kid to color. Usually they get about 4 to color dwindling from 6 with Madi and Katelin, but this year they each got 2. Daddy was nice and gave up his two, so some got 3. We almost finished in time to watch conference, but overlapped it by a few minutes.
Sunday morning the kids woke up early again, and headed down to see what was in their baskets. The Easter Bunny must have been on a tight budget this year (with the trampoline buying and everything), so they mostly got candy filled eggs, but the older girls did get a special Easter Webkinz, Zack got Fillmore (from Cars), and Brylee got a big spinning light up easter egg. Brylee also felt the need to take everything out of her basket and hand it to Daddy. It was a fun game to see how much he can hold without dropping anything! Since I neglected to take pictures of the kids finished painted eggs on Saturday, we included those in our easter basket picts as well. After breakfast, we read the story of the ressurection, and then headed outside to do an egg hunt before Conference started up again. It was a little chilly, but who cares when you are having fun, right? Then another attempt at an actual Easter day photo, which didnt turn out too well either. Alissa was afraid of the bugs in the grass, Brylee kept putting the basket in front of her face, and Zack just wanted to go play again. Mix all that with at least one kid making a funny face in each picture and you get the finished product (which you'll see it in the slide). Afterwards they finally got a chance to play on their new trampoline, Brylee included, which surprisingly, she loved! Throw in a few eggs with them, and you have a new jumping game. Dont let the eggs touch you! The rest of the day was conference...tramp...conference...tramp...dinner. And thats it, in a very large nutshell.
Now finally, the slide.

Our little boy is 3!

It doesnt seem all that long ago that we were sitting in the hospital with a newborn baby boy. We were a little panicked when he came out a nice purple shade, but soon learned that it was just bruising. If you think he looked bad, think how I felt! I had to push him down to the birth canal, which he was obviously afraid of and could never descend on his own. He just wanted to hang out up in the higher life where it was more roomy. Can you blame him? So not only did he have to come out, he had to come down as well. With a few hard pushes he was forced down and out, like being shot out of a cannon. It was so fast (for him anyway), that it left his face bruised from all the pressure. It only took a few days to clear up, and convince Ryan that he wasnt born of another race...it was in fact, his child.
It seemed like a miracle that a boy was actually permitted to come to our family, and we were all so happy to have him, and a little nervous. How can changing a boys diaper really be that much different from a girls? Oh...it was! Not only did I have a little obstacle in the way to clean around, under and in between (too much information, I know), but he also had great aim! Diaper changing was taken to a whole new level with a little boy. It became a war waged between baby and diaper changer. Who dares take on the baby boy!? The first time he beat me, was in the hospital. As soon as I took off the diaper he took his aim and hit a bulls eye. Up his nose, all over his body...all over my body, and all the blankets. Seriously, how can a little guy like that make such a big mess!? Its like he was equipped with his very own super soaker! I swear that was the first time he smiled...if not outwardly, than clearly inside. I didnt know where to start clean-up efforts first. From that point on, I knew. This was not going to be the normal diaper changing baby like I was used to. It was a must to keep guard the entire changing process, and quickly make the exchange from soiled diaper to clean one before he seized the opportunity to soak again.
As he grew, he continued to be full of surprises. He has always been active and curious, and good for a laugh. We have enjoyed the new perspective he brings to our family and the funny things he says every day. He's such a fun little boy...when he's staying out of trouble! He is a good sport when playing with his sisters, and will do anything to join in the fun, from playing the dad, the baby, the pet dog, and yes...even the princess. But my favorite thing about him is that hes such a cuddler, and a total mommy's boy. He loves to just come and sit on my lap, listen to a story and cuddle up next to me when he sleeps. Not lovin that he wants to do it in my bed every morning, but love that he wants to.
So now he's 3, and growing up so fast. No more diapers for him, hes learned the art of going on the potty. He's learned that hes not a girl, or a princess. He's learned what he likes to wear, eat and watch on tv. Its like he's become his own little person all of a sudden...as opposed to one that his sisters have influenced him to be. So what did he want for his birthday? A train cake of course. What else is there? Train toys, train track's made from movie cases, blocks, crackers... pretty much anything you can put in a straight line, gets made into a train. His train cake is all he talked about for a month. And know what else...it had to be red. What did he do when he saw me putting blue frosting on the train...drop down to the floor, and with his best whining voice cry "no mommy I wanted a red train!" He is turning 3 after all. But dont worry, the main parts of it were red, or what I attempted to turn red with food coloring. I think it looked more pink, but thankfully it was close enough. If any of you know how to make frosting completely red...pass it along.
I think he was pretty pleased with the finished train, complete with a circus, wood and coal car, not to mention the engine and caboose. Too bad after hours of work it just got cut into little pieces and demolished. -sigh- But its all about the children, all that matters is their happiness...right? So on with the birthday details...we decided to let Zack have his best friend come over to join us. He was so excited to show him the train, after which we immediately ate it. Following the cake came present time. He was of course the most excited to receive another train for for his Geo Tracks town...Old Rust, or as he affectionately calls it "Ol Radust". But his reaction to all the presents was perfect. After the present unveiling was over, I attempted to add the new train toys and tracks into his old set, which turned out much more complex than I had expected. Are kids toys really supposed to be that complicated!? After much frustration, I left the train set assembly to Ryan who fixed it good enough to let the kids play with it for the time being. Later on, after the kids left it alone for a minute, I finally got it assembled to include more pieces. That was the first thing he went to this morning...after coming down to cuddle with me for a minute of course. (:

Happy Birthday to our special little guy!

The fight is back on!

To all you followers of Team Ryan, you may remember the post I made about 2 months ago. If not, click here . Unfortunately, the cancer has found its ugly way back. We are again asking for prayers, fasting and support on this incredible family's behalf. To join in the fight, and keep updated on whats happening, click the link on the side of the blog. Thanks to everyone who has made a difference this far.

I also cant end without putting in a plug for Ryans cousin Greg as well. He too has been putting forth the fight against cancer for a couple years now, and has yet to have a victory. Cancer is so awful isnt it! Its not fair for anyone who has to endure everything that goes along with it. Please keep these two families in your thoughts and prayers, and lets get a victory for them both! You know you would want the same support if it was happening to you, or one of your loved ones!

You can also follow them both on facebook groups: "Team Ryan Hess" and "Believe in Zebras!"

All we need is Love...and Dancing!

So I lied. Here are some more pictures, and its not even Zacks birthday yet. See how lucky you are!

First up: Valentines Day.

The kids awoke to just a little bucket of love, filled with a flower planting kit, bubbles, toys and of course what every woman needs to feel loved... CHOCOLATE! (Note: not all items included in each bucket...except for the CHOCOLATE of course!) The kids were pretty surprised and of course the next question that came was,

" I wonder who brought the buckets for us?"

A valid question from a 7 year old who has it all figured out, from Santa to the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. So who does that leave for Valentines? Cupid? No, I get the credit for this one! Gotta love that!

Zack was the lucky winner of the bubbles, along with a new bouncy ball, which he was clearly happy about.
And that left the flowers to the girls.

Brylee went straight for the CHOCOLATE. Thats my girl. She also got a frog and some Valentine socks.

Her first experience with bubbles, not quite sure what to think yet...especially when they pop in her face!

After the goodies came some pink heart pancakes, or at least an attempt at hearts. Guess which one they all wanted. It of course turned into an argument which wasnt making me feel so much love. We'll re-think the strategy on that one next year.

Still happy to have the finished product, even if they were a little lop sided!

Eat your heart out!

Following breakfast included another round of bubbles. Ryan continued his attempt to warm Brylee up to them.

It worked!

Finally, we got to enjoy the highlight of the day, my favorite...grocery shopping! Not really, but it couldnt be that bad when it ended with a purchase of not one, but two boxes of CHOCOLATES. Why? They were on sale of course, 1/2 price. Why get one when you could have two for the normal price? I'll let you guess how long it took me to ingest the 2 boxes.

Next up: Daddy Daughter Dance.

This is the second year Madi and Katelin were able to go to their school sponsored dance. Alissa of course, was upset again, but next year she will get to join in. Wont that be fun for Ryan to get to take all three of them!?

Off they go!

They were just as excited as last year, but what Katelin really had her eye on...was a prize! They came so close last time to winning the dance contest, that this year, she was not going to walk away empty...winned? They actually didnt get a prize, but the title is enough to be proud of.

Raise the roof...

and boogie woogie!

But no dancing win this time.

Ryan was down to his last option at pleasing his daughter...the hoola hooping contest.

The problem here is...Ryan cant actually hoola hoop. (Notice how its around his neck?) So instead of winning it the traditional way, he decided to be...creative.

How about letting the hoop hoola you? Run around...and around...and around! Are you picturing this?

Or you can always do it around your arm...

or leg.

Needless to say, after many different forms of hoola hooping...except for the correct way of course, Ryan actually won the contest! Leave it up to a group of young screaming (and chanting) girls! Ryan actually felt bad for the Dads who were actually doing it correctly and didnt get any support. But I think he liked the 2 minutes of fame. And Katelins prize? One sweaty Dad! Enough to make a daughter proud!

A blog fix

It was brought to my attention recently that I havent been blogging as much lately. Actually its been about once a week...hmmm. But there hasnt been any pictures since Christmas, so Im assuming thats what you are really missing (you know who you are). Im going to chalk it up to my mental hibernation I have thrown myself into to get through the winter. And possibly due to the fact that there just isnt as much going on with us during the winter time. So I just ramble on and on, kinda like right now, in hopes to keep you posted on current events. But lets face it...you really just want pictures, not to read my drawn out posts on recent personal discoveries. So here is a little Brylee fix for you!

I was going to wait until she actually took her first independent steps, but I guess she is close enough. It started out as sort of a head stand with what I can only assume was an attempt to stand up, but this is as far as she made it...

Hows the view from down there!?

Anyone up for a little "London Bridges"?

It only took her a month from that point to figure out how to do this...

No, she isnt walking, but as you can see, she can now stand up on her own and remain there un-supported for a good few seconds. Impressive right.
In case you lost track, she is now 14 months old, making her by far the longest one of our kids to take those first steps. Im not complaining the least bit. She already gets into enough stuff just crawling around. Im not looking forward to her being able to reach more things! And after all, if shes happy...

then we are all happy too!

Doesnt she just make you smile?

There, hows that? Hopefully good enough to get you picture addicts by for a few weeks anyway...possibly until Zacks upcoming birthday. But who knows? If Brylee decides to walk before then, you could get lucky!

Happy hibernating!