It was a beautiful day in Wisconsin. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the temperatures were in the high 50s. As my father-in-law would say, “It’s a bluebird day.”
It didn’t exactly start out on the right foot, however. We forgot about daylight savings time and woke up at 9:00 a.m. thinking we had over an hour to make it to church on time. It wasn’t until I checked e-mails and noticed my laptop clock had the new time adjusted. I ran to the shower and started hollering at Doug to get his butt up and ready. I knew I’d need helping getting Owen and Dawson ready, too.
We made it to Mass at 10:30 on the dot and resigned to sitting at the very back. Not a single pew was available so we sat in the gathering space (a fancy term for foyer, I imagine) and could barely hear Father speaking. All the more reason to be quiet and listen intently. I managed to catch most of the homily.
Post worship we took both cars to the gas station for refueling because we had a grocery store perk card that would give us 80 cents off per gallon. I love saving money! Two vehicles full of gas for under $40 is amazing.
Back home I fed Owen and then Dawson found a Star Wars marathon on Spike TV. He was dead to the world, glued to the TV. I had to drag him outside to ride his bike while I pushed Owen in the jogging stroller. We walked to the park and took the hiking path down to the Little Plover River. Owen loved being outside and fell asleep half way to the playground.
Once we returned home I played soccer in the backyard with Dawson. He loves to dribble the ball and shoot it into the net I got him for his birthday last September. He’s getting really good with his soccer skills. He starts spring soccer at the YMCA next month. I’m so glad it will be warmer this time around. Fall soccer was so cold last season.
On Tuesday, my husband celebrated his 39th birthday for the third year in a row. Yes, that means he’s really…. can I say how old he is on the blog, because he threatened to tell people I have gray hair at 30. Ooh, I’m scared. Considering I’ve already blogged about my getting gray hair much earlier than I’d like to admit, I figure telling the internet he’s 41 is fair game.
To celebrate Doug’s birthday we went on a family fishing trip. Doug loaded and hitched the boat and we dropped anchor on the Wisconsin River at Galecki Park near our house. After slathering on a ton of sunscreen we settled in for some line fishing. Okay, I didn’t fish, because that whole thing is not my bag. I read a book and took photos while Doug and Dawson waited patiently for the fish to bite.
The weather was gorgeous, around 75 degrees and not too humid. The sun was shining, with a few clouds here and there, and a light breeze swept the air. We had a marvelous time. And three hours later, just before we had decided to go back to the dock, an amazing thing happened:
Dawson caught his first fish, a walleye, and he was beyond excited! He was so happy and so proud of his accomplishment. Doug and I were so proud, too!
Doug helped him cast the line, and showed him how to jig, and after many long moments of waiting and a few snags, suddenly something pulled on his line. Dawson didn’t even realize it was a fish at first. He thought he had another snag. But Doug instructed him to reel in his line, and Dawson was so excited when he realized he had to fight the fish into the boat.
“Daddy! It’s a strong fish! Help!”
Doug told him to keep reeling, and once the fish was out of the water he helped Dawson get him into the boat for a picture. The smile on our son’s face was so magical, and so priceless. I was so happy for him. Dawson couldn’t wait to tell his grandpas about his first catch. We took a little video to remember the occasion:
(Please ignore my husband’s attempt to ignore the camera. He hates pictures, and always looks so crabby on video. He’s really NOT a serial killer, even though he looks like one in this vid.)
Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure of seeing several birds outside my dining room window. I wanted to post these photos ages ago, but I was too lazy to upload to flickr. I’m blaming pregnancy for that, too. Heck, I’m blaming pregnancy for a lot of things. Truth be told, bird watching sort of calms me. There’s just something about these delicate creatures that makes me happy. Here are a few of my favorite photos:
Every morning, since late March, this little bird comes to visit us. She flies into our dining room window several times (lightly so she doesn’t hurt herself) and then perches on the windowsill outside, peeking into our home. It’s so darn funny. Dawson and I get such a kick out of her when she plays peek-a-boo. She never lets me get close enough to get a good photo of her.
Cute little bird, isn’t she? (Or he? I think it’s a she…) When she’s not flying into my window, she’s playing peek-a-boo when she sits on the windowsill.
Playing Peek-a-Boo. I see you, Little Bird. When she’s not playing peek-a-boo, she flies to the other side of the house and craps on my car. I think she’s ticked that I won’t let her in the house.
Mr. Cardinal stays at a distance. He’s quite handsome, yes? I happened to get this shot while waiting for my Little Bird Friend to perch herself on the windowsill so I could get a close-up. Dawson ran to the window and scared the bird poop out of her.
After taking these photos we headed to the store for bird seed and hummingbird nectar. My in-laws told me the hummingbirds should be migrating soon, and I’ve been watching that feeder daily. So far I haven’t seen any hummingbirds, but I know they must be around because the nectar is half full. I’ll have to pay closer attention I think.
Any readers out there that are bird watchers, too?
Dana began her Mom career in 2004 with the birth of her eldest son, Dawson, aka The Doodlebug. She spends her days catering to a 5-year-old, she denies her habit of compulsive vacuuming, and just recently gave birth to Owen, aka Monster Baby. She's definitely living La Vida Loca and wouldn't want it any other way. More About Dana.
Contact: thedanafilesblog [at] gmail [dot] com RSS Feed
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