Graduation Get-Together

Last Saturday we had a lovely barbecue at NPS to celebrate Daniel and our neighbor Chris graduating from NPS.

We had a great time with a few families from church. It was a beautiful sunny day and the kids had a wonderful time playing in the softball fields next to an outdoor pavilion with picnic tables.

 Here are a few shots from the day.

I made a peacock cupcake cake for the days festivities. I thought it was fitting considering our time here.

 

Great celebration!

Blogging out the window...

I have not made blogging a priority lately. That is all I will say about that.
Things are still going smoothly. We have loads of fun with Violet. I stay busy, but I am doing things slower these days as pregnancy discomforts have started increasing with my blatant waist expansion. Daniel is so helpful and Violet is easy to please with reading time and a few hundred of her favorite books. :)

Graduation is next week. We are hosting a little get-together this weekend to celebrate. What an amazing 2 years these have been! God has blessed us richly with this family time and Daniel in his studies.

Tomorrow I will attend an awards ceremony where my husband will be recognized not once but twice for his exemplary work here at NPS. I am quite proud of him. Now as things are winding down with his last class tomorrow the reality of our move is becoming more evident. The Marine Corps will take us to new places and the time here will be a sweet memory. We are attempting to savor it as much as we can.

Family time is approaching. Daniel's parents arrive next week for a brief but sweet visit and then we head to Tahoe to spend a week with my side of the family. We are very excited to see everyone. What a great time of year to come together when the weather is cooling and there are such worthy things to celebrate like Daniel's graduation.

We got Violet's birthday gift a little early because it was a sweet deal and a little too big to hide from her for a long time. It is getting a lot of play time.

She is learning to wash her hands thoroughly, put her "eks" (eggs) in the fridge and put her dishes away at night. We are slowly adding to the play food and accessories. For now she is learning to pretend and it is so much fun to watch.

Will try to post more soon about the family visits.

Much Love!

Bike Ride with Friend

We took a bike ride today and tried the Burley trailer out with two toddlers. They loved it!

What sweet friends!

Baby Update

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday and realized I had not updated the blog about baby number 2 in a while. We have yet to decide on a name, but I am feeling an urge to decide soon so I can quit calling her baby girl. I liked calling Violet Baby Vi in the womb, it felt like I knew her even better when she was born.

Everything is going smoothly. All my measurements are still looking like October 31st is a good date to go by. I am with the same doctor that delivered Violet so there aren't many new things to talk about because I have been through all this with him.

This pregnancy I have been getting more headaches and joint pain, but other than that I am feeling great. My energy level is pretty normal. I do still try to get a nap with Violet. I have always been a big supporters of naps. :)

Hormone changes are always a challenge because I do not want to blame them for my sin, yet I know that they are a major reason why it is harder than normal to overcome frustration and impatience. God is forgiving and gracious to this sinner.

We are excited to meet this new little one. She is an active baby. It is hard to remember but I think she is beating Violet in finding new ways to startle and kick Momma Maryn. She keeps me on my toes already.

Hope everyone is having a great August!

Make Way for Peachicks!

Does anyone remember the children's book Make Way for Ducklings? A mother and father duck decide to lay their eggs in the middle of the city and when the eggs are hatched the whole city comes to a halt to make sure the babies make it safely to the nearby pond. I thought of that this past Sunday when the day finally arrived. Three new baby peachicks!

I heard the momma squawk in the early morning hours and didn't think anything of it since she has made a habit of that lately. Later when I was up fixing breakfast I peeked outside and saw that the eggs had hatched. She had three out of five eggs make it. Woohoo! She had moved the babies to another part of our yard and was sitting on them while they got their bearings. I think she wanted to be away from the bad eggs. At this point I didn't get to see the babies, but I feel pretty confident she was nesting on them still since it was only a few hours since I heard her commotion.

We left for church and missed the chick parade as they marched back to NPS where I assume they will stay safer since there is a good sized gate that can keep out a few predators.  Unfortunately, the hosts of the peahen and eggs did not get to see the babies; we had dinner after church with a family. Our neighbors snapped a shot of them making their way across the street.

Here is the Daddy, one morning he woke us up early before the eggs were hatched. I think he saw himself in the reflection of the french doors to our bedroom. He would not stop squawking. I mean, incessant, loud, peacock squawk. It was pretty annoying. I had to see what he was doing. As soon as I walked him away from the door he stopped and I didn't hear him again. So territorial of his lady and her eggs.

This was a common sight when we would get home from errands. He often hung out on our porch. We all got so used to seeing him watching over the peahen and eggs.

The vigilant momma.

The two bad eggs left whole and the cracked eggs.

Make Way for Peachicks!

They are so cute! Even though we didn't get to see them I am still happy for this fun month of checking on them and the frequent visits from the mister. What a neat bird!