Swan Park? Take 2

Note to friends looking to go to Swan Park...do not go in the afternoon...THERE ARE NO SWANS. Not one. Not on the river, not in the yards, nowhere to be seen! Feeding time is in the morning around 10 a.m. and that seems to be the only BEST time to be there. Probably between 10-11 a.m. to be safe. There were other ducks and geese, but not quite what we came for, Riley was bummed! On the plus side, this duck seems to be there a lot...there's a pair...and they are called Swedish Blue ducks? A friend of mine identified them for me...they are likely domestic "pets" that maybe got away or live nearby.

Arboretum Birthday!

So there were no birds out and about to test my zoom, so we didn't get the pics I really wanted at the Arboretum, but it was such a nice day outside and a perfect day for a hike in the woods and dinner with my family for my Birthday. It was nearly the perfect day...great weather, great company, Packers lost, Patriots won...And my kids were even pretty darn well behaved all day! Thanks everyone who made my day super spectacular! Reviews of the family style dinner at the Arboretum are mixed...it was PACKED and they were overwhelmed so some of that might have been because of the overload. Food items was not terribly warm, and they ran out of some stuff...but since they started it a few weeks ago, attendance was almost quadrupled...still some kinks to work out, but the food tasted great! And the views were beautiful :)

The whole weekend was really great, actually...Date night with Josh on Saturday...crab legs and Mocking Jay in the theater...the actually movie theater, like not my couch! And today the kids and I went to the dentist (while Josh stayed home and cleaned!) and we had no cavities! Then I baked banana bread and Riley and I are off to Feed My Starving Children after dinner with her church group. (I realize the irony of feeding starving kids right after eating...and baking...just makes me appreciate it more.) Thursday night Riley gets to go to FMSC again with Josh and his work group. Happy she has that opportunity and that she's excited for it!

Happy Birthday Meg...and Mom ;)

Still my favorite pic :) Happy Birthday!!!

Swan Park

So we didn't stay long at Swan Park because the little one's were cold, but I will go back and do more practicing with my camera! Here's some of the shots I did get while we were there!

I feel like my camera is taking square pictures? Still need to work on that...but loving it so far :)

Stay tuned...

Be prepared for lots more posts coming soon. Josh bought me a new camera for my birthday so there's going to be lots of playing around to figure it out. Probably going to the Arboretum and to see the Swans soon so, maybe Meg will not be mad at me for a while ;)

1st Confession

Riley celebrated the first of her firsts this weekend. Step one: First Confession...coming soon, First Communion! 2nd grade is such a big year!

New Years Goals

I don't make resolutions. But I do write down plans for the year...Last year I started a reading goal. I planned to read 30 books for the year. I had never really counted how much I read and I was curious...I hit 36 this year! For 2015 I saw a Reading Bingo board on Pinterest that sounded like fun. So I am shooting for Coverall on my Reading Bingo...and maybe two different boards if I finish one fast. Which got me thinking that it would be fun to run a contest with my Little Free Library friends! So starting Jan. 1st I invited people to print a board and join me playing Bingo. Here are my first three winners...look familiar?

There are boards on Pinterest for all age levels. The kids boards include things like, read in a tent, read with a flashlight, read to someone who can't read, read a book and give it a new title. Some of these kiddos are going for coverall too...we will see how long THAT takes, but it's motivating them to read and that's what counts!