A Duck Infestation

I was feeding Quinn lunch and going about our regular routine when all of a sudden I heard some obnoxiously loud chirps. I didn't think much of it until it was becoming annoying. I looked out the window and what did I see?...a mama and her baby ducks!


If any of you know Mike you would know that he would loves these. He would become like a child and get all excited. I had to call him. He immediately came home.

I had cornered two of the baby ducks and picked them up. I knew the mama duck wouldn't go too far without all of her babies. I wanted them to be there when Mike arrived.





I went and got the neighbor kids since I thought they'd like to see them as well. I warned them to not go close to the mama because I was afraid she'd take off. Luckily, they listened to me. Mike was able to see the ducks.


Mike went and got some bread and tried to lure the mama out. It didn't work. She didn't want anything to do with him. She got afraid and did take off (like I thought she would). She ran next door into where two very big mean dogs live. The one saw the duck and thought of it as a play toy. One of the baby ducks immediately died.


Mama came back into our yard but went into our backyard. This time she and her babies got stuck in our window well. We had to rescue them.


Mama duck went into the schoolyard. When each baby was rescued we just put them through the fence where she was.


I thought I would see the last of them forever...


But later on, I heard them chirping and when I looked to where they were; they were trying to cross the road. By this time, the other neighbor girl was over at my place. She felt the need to rescue them. I decided to help. It only took a few minutes to gather them all together.


Well, she had this great idea to try to catch the mama. She wanted to take them to the greenbelt where it would be safer for them. I told her she could use my backyard (since her backyard had the two mean dogs). She spent almost all afternoon catching her.


Here's the pen that we made for the baby ducks. The mama kept coming into our yard but didn't come close to the pen. Finally, she gave up and we decided to put them in some bushes over at the front of the school. We decided this because apparently this is where they usually live. Mama duck somehow disappeared. We had hoped that she would find her babies like she did before.



We thought they were all safe at the schoolyard but one little girl riding her bike came upon them. I don't know the full story here but somehow only one was to be found. We didn't really know what to do with this baby duck so we asked neighbors if they wanted to adopt it. We called Cal-Ranch and Peaches but there were no takers.

I was surprised that Mike wasn't willing to adopt the duck. He's always wanted one. When we were living in Rigby, he took a duck from the duck pond and "borrowed" him for 2 weeks. At the time, I wasn't happy about it. Now, when I think about it, it just makes me smile. It's Mike. He just kept saying that he doesn't have the time to take care of a duck because they are a lot of work. He reminded me how he has to go to work, has a kid, and a wife, etc., etc., etc.


But...He did decide to buy some feed. He thought it would help with finding it a home. Nevertheless, when he was rounding the corner, he saw the duckies brothers and sisters crossing the street. They were on the other side of the schoolyard where we had left them previously. By this time, we had quite a few neighbors with us. They helped gather the duckies.


We put them in a box. I was able to call Mike to let him know that the Mama finally decided to show. We didn't need to buy feed. We let them go again in the schoolyard. This time we didn't follow and didn't want to know where they were going. We still don't know where they are. Every now and then we have a few report that they can still hear them.


For some people trying to help; I think that it just made matters worse. They should have been left alone from the start. Oh well, it was a fun day with the duckies.

My little stud

Mike and I went to McDonald's during Mike's lunch break. We were eating and Quinn wanted a fry. Mike gave him one with ketchup on it. He watched me dip my fry in ketchup and then watched Mike do the same thing. Then he dipped his own fry in ketchup. He did it repeatedly. He also would get his own fries. This is a man who knows what he wants and what he likes. What a stud!


Quinn and I went to the park. I put him on the slide and had him go down. He didn't want any help. I let him go down by himself. Then he turned around and started climbing up on his own. It was an easy day at the park. He did all the work. All I did was sit there and watch him. What a stud!


Quinn gets so many comments on his crawl. It has many names such as the bear crawl, monkey crawl, stink bug crawl, etc. He doesn't like his knees to touch. I love it. It kind of defines him. It's so different.


I told Quinn that we needed to put on his shoes so that we could go. He saw me put on my flip flops. He found this pair and put these on. It took him a while but he got them on. I thought it was so funny.

This is Quinn with his buddy Jacen. He came over to play while his parents went to a sealing. They loved their bike ride.

Quinn uses a walker to walk down the street. He goes from our house to the church. He basically uses this as a crutch. He could walk if he wanted to. He has taken a few steps. When he realizes what he's doing he gets scared and makes himself fall. He'll stop to tell a story. He's standing all on his own. He'll also stop to "check his engine." I cannot believe how close he is to walking. If he wants something bad enough he'll walk to it.


Quinn loves to push anything. He likes walking on his own and being independent. He hasn't quite mastered walking without using something but is almost there.


We are at my mom's house for the 4th of July. This is what Quinn was interested in doing the whole time. There were also eggs on the bottom and he loved playing with them. He even found a few yummy surprises. I was impressed that he was able to push the stroller on the grass.

Boating, Pirate Party, and 40th Anniversary Party

Boating...

I'd have to say that Gina is the one that got the party started. Without even thinking or consulting; she just dived right on in. I was impressed because this isn't seen a lot.

They said the water was so cold that it was giving them a headache. Even though they are from Arizona and more pansies than us Idahoans are; I believed them. I waited to get in. I had to watch Mr. Crawler Pants to make sure he didn't take a dip....like Grandma Karen. (She was helping Kade get out of the water and she accidentally fell in with her clothes on...oops! I think it was good since she ended up getting in again and she otherwise wouldn't have.)

Karen was so kind to watch Quinn for me while I rode on the boat. I couldn't help but want to ride the tube as well. So, yes, I did get in. It felt great. I didn't think it was too cold at all. It just made me wish I would've gotten in sooner.

Karen was so awesome to put Quinn to sleep. He was super tired. He actually stayed asleep while we put him in the car. With it being a busy day he needed the sleep desperately. It made it so that we could stay longer as well. Our initial plan was to go when he started to get tired. He usually lasts for about 2 hours before he goes down for his morning nap. We had to wake him to get going too.

I was just getting warmed up when it was time to go. I was the last one to ride the tube so I should feel lucky.

Pirate Party...

We went over to Grandma Sharon's for a weenie roast. Followed eating was Greg and Joy's scavenger hunt. We missed the first part of it since we were trying to put Quinn to sleep in the play pen. (Mike had woken him up to get to the weenie roast on time...bad idea!) He was horrible and so naughty. Putting him to sleep didn't work. We gave up trying because now it was too late. If he did fall asleep he wouldn't sleep that night. We met up with them and saw this...

...and they were trying to hit this... I don't know why....

The craziest thing is that Joy was inside. I didn't get a picture of that. This picture is when they just finished launching their balloons and they are trying to sneak attack her.

Quinn was glad that he got a cut of the treasure chest...even though he doesn't look all that thrilled.

Next up...watermelon eating contest...

Max won out of the kids.

Now for the adults...

Mike won this contest.

Last but not least... A MINUTE TO WIN IT! The object is trying to get the cookie in your mouth without using your hands in less than one minute. The cookie starts on your forehead.

Kids...

Adults...
I won this contest...

The Pirate Party was supposed to be in part a celebration for Gene and Karen for their 40th wedding anniversary. We got them a gift basket and a gift card to Texas Roadhouse.

Happy Anniversary Gene and Karen!

Proud to be an American

I missed the breakfast. That's okay. If I wanted to go I would have had to wake Quinn up. I'm glad he got his rest...especially with a long day ahead of us.

At the parade...

Madi, Max, Kelsi, Kade, Maya, and Kamden

Quinn enjoying himself with his best people.

I went to my mom's while Mike relaxed for a bit. He then went and hung with his family.

At my parents, there was a feast. I cannot believe how many people were there and how much food. I was worried because my macaroni salad ended up freezing in our fridge. That was ridiculous.

Quinn was infatuated with pushing this stroller around. He's in the process of learning to walk (more info. on another post.) I was impressed with how well he pushed the stroller on the grass. He also loved the eggs in the bottom.

I was able to come home and put Quinn down for a nap before Karen came over to watch him while we went to the fireworks.

Taking it easy

The last couple of days events and activities...

6/29- Swimming at the Aquatic Center. The kids were little fishes. It was apparent that they were comfortable in the water. I don't think that Quinn enjoyed it quite as much this time. He was a little tired still. We were able to go outside to the kiddie pool. He thought that was cool. Although, it was cold outside since the never ending wind was blowing.

Afterward, we had dinner at Karen's and played games.

6/30- Mike had to return to work. I am so glad that he was able to get Mon, Tues, and Wed. off. For lunch, he luckily was able to join us. We went to Winger's. Grandma Karen stayed with Quinn at our house since he was napping. Afterward, we took the kids to the park. It was a lot busier than expected but it was still enjoyable.

Later that evening we went out to dinner at Billman's. It was okay. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if I never went there again. Wyatt came in the night before so he was able to join us. Joy was also able to join in the fun.

Then we went to Wal-Mart. It was actually funner than I had expected it to be. The company was great. Bryant, Mike, and Wyatt kept making dry humor cracks.

7/1- We took the day off. Mike, of course, worked. I waited for him to get off to head over to Gene and Karen's. We had dinner and goofed around with the kids. I guess earlier in the day they made some swords for the pirate party. We played around with those. Quinn even tried to join in the fun. He had a tiny baby sized sword. He took a good few jabs at me.

7/2- We had nothing going until evening. Quinn and I were able to get some good rest in. He kept me awake 2 nights ago from 2:00 until 8:00 because his molars were bothering him. They're mean and rough. I looked inside of his mouth and it was completely red, pussy, and swollen....not a good combination. The rest was much needed.

We had a weenie roast in our backyard. There isn't a lot to say about this night. There was some intense conversation. The 3 kids played Just Dance 2 on the Wii. I enjoyed watching them play. It's a funny game to be a prospector.

7/3- Gina had gotten in the night before. We went to Greg and Kristen's ward to see their little one blessed. He was so adorable in his little white outfit. Greg did such a good job. The spirit was strong. It was a testimony meeting.