Splish Splash Dudley's takin a bath!

Dudley loves his new pool!

SLIPPERS

Oh...and I just have to show you my new summer slippers. They are are dearfoam massage slippers and they are sooooo comfy! You want some don't you?

Thanks Easter Bunny! Quack, Quack!

So my roomate thought it would be so funny to give me a baby duck for Easter. I think she thought I would be mad, since we already live in chicken mayhem.

Her little joke backfired becasue I LOVE HIM! Meet Dudley! He is already so spoiled! He's dyed orange for Easter.

Bradley and Dudley face off! (I love this picture)

I also watched some of my nieces and nephews over the weekend, as a payback for my brother in law doing my taxes. We had fun. They loved playing with the duck all weekend. We went on a nature walk, dyed easter eggs, played with chickens, went to see Alvin and The Chipmunks, and just hung out.

It was a full weekend. Good times were had by all...including the mom and dad who got a nice break!

Sunday Reflections

Yesterday, my friend Laurie ,from work, and I went on a mid morning hike in the Superstitions.

The weather was perfect and it was so beautiful. It's the time of year when the desert is in bloom! Now...let me preface this by saying that it has taken me a few years to be able to say that the desert is pretty. I still concur that the mountains in Utah or the rolling hills of California are far more gorgeous than any blooming desert but I do appreciate it more now than I did when I first moved out here. Anyway, it was a perfect day for a hike. There was a nice breeze and a cloud cover so it didn't get too hot. There were tons of 'Blue Lupens' and 'California Poppies'! Is that weird or what?! California Poppies in Arizona! I was simply a beautiful day. (Oops, there's my shadow)

Laurie made the comment, "How can you NOT talk about God out here." It has caused me to reflect the the last couple of days on God's power and all that He has done and can do. We know that He created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy, which in and of itself is amazing, but even more amazing is that he created us in His own image. We are literally His children and He knows us each individually and personally. Knowing this brings me peace, and knowing that no matter how hard things can get, He is always there to help us reach the amazing potential that He knows we have.

(Made it to the top!)

This is the story of a young piano student. His mother, wishing to encourage him, "bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son found their seats near the front of the concert hall. While the mother visited with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.
"Suddenly, it was time for the performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'
"His mother gasped, but before she could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, 'Don't quit. Keep playing.' And then, leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.
"In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, 'Don't quit. Keep playing.' And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, 'Keep playing.'"7

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHAY CHAD!

Holy Cow! Can't believe you are THIRTY! It makes all of us feel very old. I sure do love you and am grateful you are my little bro!

'TAG' You're it!

My friend Leslie tagged everyone who hasn't been tagged and that includes me:

Ten Years ago....

I was living in Salt Lake City, UT with and old roomate from college. We lived in half of a duplex that her grandparents owned...rent free! (What a blessing!) Very 70s'! My bedroom had bluish, green SHAG carpet! We were the party house. There were always people coming over! I was working at Tel America doing data entry for less than $7 per hour. That was also the year I bought my first car! Very exciting! I was starting to get the itch to move to Arizona to be close to my family.

5 things on my 'to do' list today

1. Stay late after work to decorate Ryan's cubicle with 210 marshmellow peeps for his bday tomorrow. (He hates peeps with a passion)
2. Go to the gym (didn't do)
3. Clean the kitchen (still need to do)
4. Wash my hair (I'm serious)
5. Guess I only had 4 things on my list today. (It's a lazy evening for me...so nice)

Snacks I enjoy: (don't get me started on food....I LOVE food)

almonds mixed with craisins
bowl of cereal
Nutri Grain Fruit and Nut bars (Berries and Almonds)
cheese and crackers
whole wheat toast with butter and honey
a really good banana
apples with peanut butter
Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cookies! (of course)

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?

Sooooo many things...Quit my job! Pay off debts, pay off vehicle and buy a different house. Buy a home here for my older brother and his family so they could move back to Arizona and be with us. Buy a cabin in the White Mountains. Take my entire family on a cruise. And many, many other things.

3 of my bad habits

1. I never make my bed in the morning. I get up at 5am (barely) and am out the door to work at 10 min. to 6am. No time, and I 'm NOT getting up earlier.
2. I read blogs at work (Brian if you happen to read this...I'm sorry)
3. I over analyze everything.

5 Places I've lived:

1. San Jose, CA
2. Rexburg, ID
3. SLC, UT
4. Wakefield, Mass.
5. Mesa, AZ

5 Jobs I've had:

1. AMC theaters in the Oakridge Mall in San Jose, CA
2. Baskin Robbins
3. Reservationist (Hotel South San Jose...which later became a Holiday Inn)
4. Sign Language Interpreter (Gilbert, AZ)
5. Payroll/Human Resources (Phoenix, AZ)

5 things people don't know about me

Hmmmm? I'm pretty much an open book! Can't think of a thing!

And there you have it!

Lindsay Skinner....consider yourself TAGGED!

Which came first? The chicken or the egg?

Today Diana got on my case for not blogging enough, but I don't really feel like I have anything to blog about. She told me to blog about my laundry, but I decided that the chickens are much more interesting than the laundry.

Last year, one of our hens, Little Orange, laid an egg in the food can and sat on it. She sat and sat and sat. Once we realized she was serious about "nesting" we put 9 additional eggs, laid by the other hens, under her. Three of them hatched! It was so amazing to witness the whole process.

See the little black guy off to the left? So cute!

The chicks have to drink within 48 hours of hatching so we had to get them down on a level that they could get out of the 'nest' but then get back in. Lesli dug a hole in the ground and then put the food can down in the hole and filled in dirt around the sides. Then we separted them into their own little coop within the coop. The other hens would have pecked the babies to death so they needed to be safe, and at the same time, the other chickens could get used to them.

This little guy was the last one to hatch. He wasn't quite ready to get out of the 'nest' yet but mama had to get out and teach the other two babies how to scratch for food. (See below)

Whew! What an adventure. It was so fun to watch her with them. At night when they would nest down and they would get under her wings and every now and then you would see their little heads pop out. So cute. She was sooooo protective of them.

"...how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings..." I literally witnessed this. One evening I reached down into their little area to pull out the water container and she freaked out! She spread out her wings real big and fanned them around to literally gather all three of them in under her wings. It was the COOLEST thing to actually see! That scripture means a little bit more now that I've witnessed that.

O.k. enough about chickens for tonight. Another day I'll show you how we hatched a bunch using an incubator. I know, I know...don't get so excited!

My Natural Highs

1. The smell of wet pavment after a rain.

2. The smell of Aspen Trees (Seriously, I wish I could bottle it up and smell it whenever I wanted.

3. Baking Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal cookies. (My favorite!)

4. Adrenaline high after a good workout.

5. Hugs and kisses from nieces and nephews.

6. Cleaning the kitchen (Is that weird?...maybe it's more that I cant' stand to see it dirty.)

7. Arizona Sunsets...any sunset but they are particularly beautiful here.

8. Taking a stroll through the neighborhood at sunset when the weather is just right.

9. Falling in 'like' with somebody

10. A cool breeze on a warm day. (Warm, NOT hot day)

11. Monsoons! (Crazy wind and rains storms here in Arizona)

12. Knowing somebody loves me

13. New relationships

14. Quality time with a good friend.

15. Memories (I've had a blessed life full of friends, family and purpose)

16. Laughing with family about the past. It's the best!

17. Driving with the windows down during the couple of weeks of Spring before Summer hits!

18. Feeling my Heavenly Father's love.

19. ....and so many more I can't count!

I hope you get what you want.

Yesterday was such a productive Saturday. I accomplished a lot. Yard work, cleaning, organizing. It always feels good to get things done. However, as a result I am so sore today I can't even bend over. It's all good. My sister Shanna had a garage sale yesterday. I went over there to check it out and to visit a little bit. My niece Brianna ( 8 yrs. old) made signs for the garage sale that she posted around the neighborhood. My favorite sign said, 'Please come to our garage sale. I hope you get what you want. Address 1029'(with no street name) I thought it was cute. Oh to be a kid again!