Random parts of the week

Joe (excitedly) rides with Dad on an errand

One of the beautiful mornings this week

 On the morning of this sunrise, I refrained from waking the rest of the house to watch it.  And, surprisingly, they were all glad to hear that.     I'm glad I was up for it! :)

   Now you might notice the odd part of this basketball game.  Creative...and exciting...in a whole new way! 

 We had to cut off a dead branch from the tree by the patio.  At lunch each day we have watched a bird head into a hollowed branch. So, when the tree came down, the nest was disrupted.  One baby bird (seen pictured here) was rescued into a bucket where the boys quickly gave it worms and bird seed to feed on.  (It later died.)

   Interestingly enough, Josh noticed that the birds quickly relocated their nest very close to where the tree branch fell by moving the nest into a crevice in the rocks where we have landscaped. 

   In other bird news, Jake and I got to see some baby sparrows in their nest in the barn.  We didn't touch them, but the momma still didn't trust us b/c she relocated them by the next day.  (Maybe it was the flashlight Jake was shining at them trying to see them in the dark corner!)

 The garden plants got planted.  However, the seeds did not....which was a bummer. But with all the rain we got, maybe they would rot!  Anxious for fresh garden food though...

 In between all the other excitement, Josh has been working on the final phase of the deck.

And, of course, the boys have had soccer and swimming.  Today was the last game...each participant received a medal. Jake scored 1.5 goals today (his second goal hit the dirt divot and stayed out of the goal...3rd time it's happened for him this season ;().  But the boys played well and have enjoyed the time on the soccer field.
 

  On Friday, during swim practice, Josh took the high schoolers out to play soccer.  It was raining...and after all the rain we have had, there was standing water (some places 2 -4 inches) on the field.  You can imagine the sight of swimmers...out of the water...still splashing each other and laying down--yes--laying down in the water.
   During the last 10 minutes that Josh let the high schoolers play, I finally let the boys out of the car so we could play with them in the chilly rain.  It was well worth the 4 sets of wet shoes and clothes that came home.  Fun times!!!!

   And we had a beautiful (thick) rainbow after the rain, too!