our new guest...and fun Easter times

We have a guest that has made herself at home in our yard. A female mallard set up a nest at the base of a tree in our backyard, just outside of our deck door. We've had a blast watching her over the past few weeks and have enjoyed watching the egg laying process at work. Every morning for the past two weeks, she has been sitting in her nest, laying an egg and then leaving by the afternoon. She sits on the nest through rain, snow and shine. Jamie and Olivia left some grass by her nest, which she used to cover up and protect her eggs. Jamie also built a little roof over her head so she does not get wet. We have counted about thirteen eggs, although it is getting difficult to count them because she buries them so far down in the grass. Just this past weekend, she started to incubate her eggs. She sits on the nest for 23 out of 24 hours, and uses the other hour to go get something to eat. The incubation period will last about 30 days. Jamie is getting a little worried about how he is going to mow the lawn without scaring her away, but she has gone through so much work that we hope we can see the babies!!


Olivia and Violet have become fairly helpful with some chores around the house. They like to set the table and help "clean." I say "clean" because their idea of cleaning really doesn't cut it, but I am certainly not going to discourage them from trying to help! Olivia set the table for supper one night. I gave her a bowl of pears to set on the table, but she decided to pass them out on everyone's plate. Guess whose plate got the most pears?

We had a great Easter weekend. Jamie's parents, sister Jill and Chelsey visited us on Good Friday. Our daycare was closed, so Chelsey and I hung out with the girls all day while the rest of the group went to a medical appointment with Jamie's dad. Chelsey was a great help! We decorated Easter eggs, played games and even scrapbooked a little bit.

On Saturday, my sister Rhonda and her family stayed at our house. My sister Terri and her family came over for supper, so we had a great visit with everyone. It was fun to see Olivia, Violet, Emma and William play together. On Sunday morning, the kids looked out the window when they got up and saw eggs outside! They were so excited that they dashed outside in their pajamas to go on an egg hunt. Olivia, Violet & Emma had a great time finding eggs! Later in the day, we went over to Jamie's aunt and uncle's house. Olivia and Violet went on another egg hunt with Athena, Mason & Faith. The weather was so beautiful that we spent hours outside and the kids had a great time playing together.

When the girls woke up on Monday morning, they asked if it was Easter again!

Olivia: "I found one!" Violet: "This is a little one!"
Violet and Olivia:
Violet and Olivia "shaking their booties" (their idea):
Violet, Emma & Olivia:
Opening eggs at Debbie & Al's house: