It's SPRING! Wait, nope, it's still Winter...

We can't decide around here if it's still Winter or if we are finally moving into Spring. But for the next 24 hours, it is DEFINITELY SPRING!!! And my kids are enjoying it thoroughly, rallying against the forecast of more snow on Sunday, and they put up the new tent in the backyard, and are having an overnight camp out!!!

(ignore all the ugly construction next door.
The school is building green houses for the horticultural department)

HOWEVER.....

Fluffy Duckie, you're the One!

Fluffy Duckie, you're the ONE!

You make bathtime lots of FUN!
Fluffy Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you!

Fluffy Duckie, joy of joys!
When I squeeze you, you make noise!
Fluffy Duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true!



Every day when I
Make my way to the tubby
I find a little lady who's
Cute & Yellow & Chubby
(rub-a-dub-dubby!)



Fluffy Duckie, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine!
Fluffy Duckie, I'm awfully fond of -
Fluffy Duckie, I want a whole pond of -
Fluffy Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you!

Here a Quack, There a Quack, Everywhere a Quack Quack!

Meet Peanut!

My husband, David, has always had the biggest soft spot for animals. So when he found this little cutie flipped on her back in the middle of the road, he HAD to pull over! Once verifying that she wasn't hurt, he searched and searched to try to find her ducky family, but they were no where to be found. So he brought her home.

After a quick crash course on how to raise ducklings, we have outfitted a nesting area for her (a big box filled with wood shavings, a small water dish, bowl of special duck food, and a heat lamp), and we're raising her until she's old enough to survive on her own. (btw, the she is just an assumption. It's next to impossible to tell whether a duck is male or female until they are almost full grown)

In the week since he brought her home, these are the few things we have learned about her (and ducks in general)....


1. They love & need to stay warm. She was only about 1 week old when he found her, and they need to stay roughly 95 degrees during that time. Hence the heat lamp. BUT, they're very very very social creatures, so she spends a lot of time cuddled up with us. Her favorite place is up around your neck, cuz it's nice & warm. Especially if you're wearing a collared shirt!

(A little Hot Duck under the Collar!)

2. They imprint on whomever they feel is their mother. So David is finally a MOTHER for the first time in his life! LOL!

(Following Mommy around like a good little Duckling)

3. All that bread, popcorn, etc that you feed the ducks at the park? It's pure JUNK FOOD for them. It's like Duck Crack. They're totally addicted to it, but it's not really good for them.

(Sitting in a bowl full of Duck Crack)

In the meantime, we've totally fallen in love with her. I can't imagine how difficult it will be to set her free in 8 weeks, but I know we need to. We'll just treasure every moment we have with her in the mean time!

(Peanut running around at the Park)

Good News!!!

August has been good to us. To start with, David met with his neurosurgeon today, and they've scheduled surgery for the Tuesday after Labor Day. But if our insurance approves it quickly, they might move it up for us.

The back surgery is still a long shot. The chances of it being successful is about 50-60%. But considering that there is 0% of him getting better without surgery, we're taking those chances. They'll be going back in through the original incision in his back, and making it longer. They'll then basically clean out the disks that are causing the problems, put in a 'cage' along with some bone grafts, then metal plates along the side of the vertebrae. They'll be fusing 3 together.

Then he'll have a 3 month recovery period to get him back up to 80%. So we still have a very long road ahead of us, but at least we're finally starting down that road.

In the mean time, he's finding as much as he can to keep himself entertained and occupied. He started back to school with online classes last month. He's also opened a shop on Etsy for his photography. While he won't be able to take many NEW shots after his surgery, he's trying to squeeze as many in right now.

You can check out his shop at ViviDesigns. It's been a lot of fun to watch him. His excitement over his first sale, he loves listing new items, watching for new hearts, and new views. It's been a lot of fun, and he's really been enjoying it.

The Fast and the Furriest!

A few weeks ago my husband signed our kids up for Hamster Races. They were held at Animal Ark in American Fork. After being sick for a week, I went mostly to help him keep reign over the kids and because I wanted to get out of the house! LOL!

Well, I had the time of my life!

My boys each have these little itty bitty hamsters, Robo Dwarf Hamsters, named Max (short for Maxine), Robo, and Bitsy. These tiny troopers went up against hamsters of all sizes, and well, let's just say they more than stood their ground!

Robo and Max went up against each other in the first heat, and easily took 1st (Robo) and 2nd (Max) place, automatically qualifying Robo for the finals. Bitsy ran in heat 5, and if her car hadn't gotten stuck against the wall at the last minute, she'd have won as well!

We get to the final heat, and Ashton lines Robo up. He's racing against the best of the best, the fastest of the fast!

On your Mark!

Get Set!

Go!!!!

The cars are dropped, and the hamsters are running! They fly down the track and at the very laast minute, another car pulls in front of Robo! But Ashton was ABSOLUTELY thrilled to come in second place!

He's been carrying around his 2nd place ribbon with him all week, and he's been telling everyone about his hamster race and how he won!

What a great way to spend an afternoon! I think we may sign up for the August Races as well!