Suzie The Duck

On May 27, 2014 I was in our front yard wandering around with the dog and kids when I noticed the mulch under the Bradford Pear tree by the new plants I put in looked rather funny. As I walk toward the flower bed I see its actually a bowl shape with a beautiful ivory colored egg in it! I call the kids over and we are all about as excited as a kid at Christmas over the discovery. The kids instantly thought it was a goose as the Canadian geese are everywhere here but I knew the egg was too small. A quick Google search confirmed it was a Mallard duck egg and we were off. We got our lawn chairs set up in the shade of the garage and read about Mallard duck egg laying habits and here is what we found out:

Day 1

The female will lay 1-2 eggs per day up to 15 eggs (some sites said 12).
She will spend about an hour a day at the nest during the egg laying time.
Once she is done laying, it will take 25-29 days for the babies to hatch.
Once the babies hatch, they will only spend around 10 hrs at the nest before mama duck takes them to the water and food source which can be up to 3 miles away from the nest.

We felt like we had a mission. The kids named her Suzie The Duck and we kept a watchful eye out for her. I have to say, she pretty much did what we had read to a "T". She would usually be around for her hour of egg laying early in the morning and be gone by 7:30am. She really chose herself a pretty good spot. Under a tree, behind some iris and under another shrub. She blended perfectly with the mulch and if we didn't tell you she was there, you probably never even saw her. I say this because while it was a great place, it was also a very busy place. The bed lies along our driveway, behind a neighborhood area mailbox about 15 ft from the street. She sat so still and didn't mind the mower, the trash/recycling trucks, the neighbors getting their mail or the mailman loading it in the boxes, or my dog (I did keep my old curious lab from getting too close) or my kids.

She laid for 9 days and on the 10th day, stayed put and sat on those beautiful eggs. She sat literally for what seemed like 23 hrs a day on those eggs. Of course I don't know what she did at night but she would leave for an hour to an hour and a half during the early evening and then be back at it. I tried to take pictures of her and then the nest when she would leave just to document her behavior. I was able to count 10 eggs at one point when she didn't have them covered up very good. The kids were really enjoying watching her and being little informants with the neighbors. They even told a couple to be quiet by Suzie!

Day 2 Suzie was pretty good at covering them up on some days!

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6 Very good cover up job Suzie!

Finally got a good glimpse of Suzie on Day 7!

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10 Suzie was here to stay!

6-12-14 Ten beautiful eggs!

 Last night about 10:30pm my daughter (yes she was up due to a nap she took earlier in the day) and I took our dog out one last time before bed and I checked on Suzie. She looked funny and upon further inspection I saw broken egg shells everywhere. You could see a little bit of a baby sticking out from under her here and there and Lorelai and I were super excited. THE BABIES WERE HATCHING!!!! We left them alone and then I worried a bit they would be gone in the morning when my son got up and he would miss them. Luckily my kids are early risers so as soon as they were out of bed, we headed out front to keep an eye on them. There were 10 babies!!!! I was a bit worried they would try to head toward our neighborhood pond and there are a lot of streets and cars between here and there for a little bitty duck so we got the lawn chairs out, had breakfast and watched the new family. They kind of went around the tree trunk a bit at first. Stumbling over each other and trying to stay as close as possible to Suzie. Then all at once she left the flower bed and headed east toward the neighbors backyard. Just then, he pulled up in his car and she headed them back to the nest. 10 minutes later at 7:40am they tried again and this time kept going. We followed them along as they trekked through the neighbors backyard and into the grassy field behind our house. It was really all over so quickly and Wyatt and I looked at each other, a little disappointed. They were just there! And now they were gone! I shared with him that this was actually the best case scenario for Suzie and her little family as they weren't crossing streets to water but going to the area behind the house with a water source. It made us feel a bit better but the front yard is pretty empty without Suzie there. The remains of all the hatched eggs are still under the tree and the kids are having fun showing them off to the neighbors.

Tucked under mama's wing

Its getting crowded in here!

Back to the nest! Back to the nest!

Try, try again

Off they go!

10 little ducks all in a row

Almost to the field!

One thing I read when we first started this adventure is that she may come back again next year if her nest was a success. We are all hoping to see her back again. Until then, we are going to find some new duck jokes (the ones about the duck eating quackers is getting old) and make up stories about their adventures at the pond. This was such a great learning experience for my kids and me!

We are now empty nesters ;)

Kemper's Visit!

My brother and his family live pretty far away from the middle of the country. I say that when it is ONLY 14 hours as the van drives but that's 7 hours farther than he used to live from us. So, it feels like they live far away. We used to be able to pick some random three day weekends and drive down and visit but that isn't possible now. So, we look forward to their once a year trip back to Kansas with the entire family and soak up as much of them as we possibly can!

Wyatt was still in school the week they were here and I was so sad I thought I would miss them but they were sweet to drive out of their way to our house so we could get some snuggles with the boys. We Skype with them often but we haven't seen them in person since last July when we made the trek to their house! 

We had so much fun just letting the kids play. Wyatt and Brayden are almost exactly 2 years apart to the day and both pretty competitive kids. Okay, they are VERY competitive but it gives us parents something to do when we are trying to keep them from killing each other. We had bike rides and football games and races up the cul de sac. And Landry just motored around it all!

There was dinner for the kids at the little table (and Aunt Sandra who had to corral Landry) and bedtime stories with Grandma. Visiting with Grandpa on the truck and a park visit too.

On the last day they were here we got to take them to our favorite place for lunch, Stearman Field. There were some showers that moved through so there was only one plane that landed but they had a blast running around and playing on the swing set while we all got to visit a bit more. 

I'm hoping its not another year before we get to spend some time together. The kids grow up too fast for that! Maybe I can move WV closer to KS :)

Shelby Crossed the Bridge

I have always loved animals. I got the gene from my Grandma Kemper who pretty much made friends with anything that had four legs and she could just "talk" to them. No one else in my family got the blessed gene and I know if you don't have it, it can be a bit misunderstood. But when I got out on my own I wanted a dog. And I'm guessing much to the sighs from those without the gene, I got myself a puppy and 14 years later, she is laying at my feet and we are mourning the loss of her dog sister together.

Thirteen years ago my husband, sister and I were running errands and I ran into PetSmart for dog food. It was adoption day and several rescues and shelters were there. I wandered around looking at them. Sad little eyes begging you to take them home. In a big crate toward the back of the group was a little yellow lab and a Pointer puppy. I don't know why, but I couldn't leave that store without her that day. So off I went with dog food, another crate, a collar, leash and a puppy. Happy as could be we loaded all of us into my husband's Camaro (yes it all fit but barely!) and with my poor sister squished in the back we headed home.

She was adorable and I was in love and my Katie girl had a playmate. She had a rocky go at first, surviving Parvo but was pretty healthy after that.

Shelby turned into a long legged deer of a dog with a tail that swept up. She loved to point birds and rabbits and would try to catch flies that made their way into the house. All you had to do is ask, "Shelby! Where's the birds?" and she would instantly go into hunt mode looking this way and that.

Birds!

Rabbits!

Birds!

She didn't like the cold and loved a good sunbeam. She could amazingly wriggle her 65lb body under my bed for a nap or just to hide. She was great with my kids and they loved her to pieces. She didn't mind the foster dogs we had in and out of our house over the years. She was picky about her food and her treats and loved a good chewy bone. When we took her on walks, she had to be in front, leading the way. She had super soft ears that she could shake so stinkin fast they made a flapping sound on her head and oh my that whip of a tail! And she HATED cameras. All I had to do was bring the case out of my room and off she would go to hide, usually under the bed.  She did not like having her picture taken at all!

Because of Shelby, I got involved with PointerRescue.Org in 2005. Working with these dogs has been so rewarding. They are more than just hunting dogs, they are wonderful family members. High energy, yes. But they are also major couch potatoes! Please check out their website at www.pointerrescue.org.

All was well with Shelby until the first part of April. It seems overnight she developed a large mass on one of her hind legs. It was ugly and she couldn't leave it alone. I wasn't sure if it was there because she was licking (which she has been known to do) or if it was actually a mass so our vet put her on some meds and we headed home for some observation. Because the good Lord built her with a long neck and even longer legs, she could get to the sore regardless of what I put on her head or over the leg. She was Houdini! I was beside myself trying to get this thing healed up so we could get back to normal. It wasn't happening so back to the vet we went. Her doc and I decided to take the mass off and had pathology done. She felt it was just inflammation. It wasn't attached to anything (bone) and felt very smooth. In the back of my mind I had a bad feeling and it was confirmed through pathology. She had a very aggressive mass cell tumor. Her mitotic index, how fast her cells were changing, was 26 (anything over 5 is not good) so our vet felt it had spread already and only gave her a couple of months at most.  I was sad. Very sad. Two weeks post surgery, I was walking her in to have her sutures removed when I saw another growth on her leg. And found two more as I sat with her in the exam room.  It was spreading fast. The growths kept coming and she became increasingly uncomfortable.  I was getting up every hour or two at night to take her out to potty or she couldn't hold it. We were both exhausted.

Yesterday when I woke up, my Katie girl and Shelby were laying back to back, leaning on each other sleeping. They loved each other but never slept anywhere near the other. I just felt something was up. She wasn't feeling very good at all and Katie just stayed with her all day. I knew it was time for her to be in a happier place. It broke my heart but I owed her.  She crossed the bridge with me by her side.

This has been an experience for our family. My son is old enough to understand what happened to a certain extent and asks some pretty tough questions I have to find the right answers for. They see me grieve and I have tried to explain to them my sadness. We have a wonderful dog sitter who has been taking care of the girls when we are gone for a couple of years now. Not only does she nanny pets but is also a counselor and gave me some great ideas on what to do to help the kids (and me). At her urging I made a picture book of photos of the dogs over the years so they could look at them whenever they wanted. And she also recommended a book called Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant that is really wonderful. My son especially has enjoyed looking at the photo book and I think Rylant's book gave him some of the answers his little mind needed.

I owe a big thank you to our dog sitter, Miss Lynn. You know I love ya. And to our veterinarian, Dr. Cindy, at Chisholm Trail Vet Clinic who has been wonderful through all of this, thank you bunches.

Love my girls..... and I miss my dog.


This is a poem that gets passed around in the rescue that we all use to help us get through the loss of our dogs. And I love it.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.....
-Author Unknown

2013 Resolution - Books, Books, Books!

I love to read.  My parents read to us kids all the time and I'm pretty sure they gave me the reading bug.  We frequented our little local public library often and I still go there when I am back in my hometown.  This brings me to my New Years resolution.  Since my kids were born, reading for pleasure has taken a backseat.  I read tons to my kids, but not much just for me. If I am reading it is to update myself on the various volunteer jobs I have taken on. So, I decided surely I can read a book a month?  It proved difficult right off the bat but I made up those that I missed and loved every minute of it.  Here are the books I read and my impression of them.  I hope you find something interesting in the list to check out!

1.  Moneyball by Michael Lewis - Yep I read a baseball book.  I love sports and my husband and son love baseball and I don't know, it sounded interesting.  Plus there was a movie about the book so it had to be good right?  It was a pretty good book.  There was quite a bit of statistical analysis talk that I don't care one bit about so those parts read slow but I loved reading about how the drafts work. And I found Billy Bean strangely refreshing.  I am kind of an underdog cheerleader and in a weird way, so was Billy Bean. Now maybe one of these days I will see the movie.  I can't really see it covering half of what the book does but that is pretty par for the course when it comes to books being made into movies, right?  Overall, I really liked the book and recommend it to other sports lovers like myself!

2. Calico Joe by John Grisham - Okay, I know you are thinking there is a theme here but really it was a book I wanted to read and needed something quick while Lorelai was running through the library so here it is!  Very different from Grisham's other books, which I like a lot, but a good different.  Not at all what I expected.  It is a quick read but has some pretty powerful characters.  Abuse, legends, baseball code and reconciliation.  Would definitely recommend it!

3.  Fireproof by Alex Kava - So this is what happens when I'm in the library trying to pick out a book while chasing my daughter and trying to keep her from deshelving the entire place!  I really didn't look at the book much aside from the cover.  It had fire (go figure) and DC monuments in the background.  Might be interesting right?  It was okay albeit simply written.  But it is a series!  Which I didn't figure out until the end of the book when it stopped in the middle of a happening, only to tell me to tune in to the next one and that there were some previous.  Let's just say I was less than thrilled with myself over my choice. The book is about an arsonist and a murderer.  Who they thought were one in the same but somehow became two separate people by the end of the book.  There is a female FBI agent, Maggie O'Dell, who is trying to catch them at the same time they are trying to catch her. Ta-da! Now I have to read the next probably 5 books in the series to find out what happens!

4. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery - I was looking for a new chapter book to read with Wyatt when I came across this one and just HAD to read it again!  I can remember loving these books as a kid and I wasn't disappointed.  If you have a girl, its a good read for you to do with her.  There are so many good topics you can pull from here to discuss with your daughter.  The modesty of the time, how we used to live so long ago and more. This book was actually three volumes in one and I got curious about the author and how many she wrote.  I had no idea really how very old these stories are.  Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in 1874!  She wrote more than 1,000 stories, poems and other items over her life.  I enjoy her books for two reasons.  Its just plain interesting how folks lived back then and Montgomery's style of writing is very descriptive and allows the imagination to put you right with the character.  Which also makes it a great read for a young girl!  It was a good book when I was a kid and still is!

5. The Hunger Games and by Suzanne Collins -I had to read this just because everyone else on the planet had already read the book and probably watched the movie. I don't quite know what to say about it.  I liked it and I didn't.  I couldn't put it down but I also wasn't totally in love with what I was reading. ?????? I really don't like thinking about people hunting other people and the suspense (I guess that is what you call it) that goes along with it. Maybe that is why I can't give it 5 stars. I am not seeing the movie either in case you wanted to know. If I don't love the book, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to love the movie. And yes, I realize I might be the only one who feels this way!

6. Finding Jack by Gareth Crocker - I love books about dogs. And I really liked this book.  It is a novel inspired by a meeting between the author and a Vietnam veteran. The veteran he met was a dog handler in Vietnam. The book was really quite heartbreaking and very touching.  I love a great book about a man and his dog and the military background, however novelish it was, also added a lot to the story.

7. Heidi by Johanna Spyri - This book has been on my shelf since my Grandma Kohake gave it to me for Christmas in 1986. I wanted a chapter book to read to Wyatt before bed and since I had this one I thought I would see if it kept his attention.  The language is quite different from how we speak or write today and I was afraid he would lose interest fast but he loved it! This is a great classic and I'm glad I read it again and shared it with my son.

8. No Easy Day by Mark Owen - I know there was some controversy surrounding this book but I wanted to read it and it was good. Very good. Navy Seals are amazing men. They have the ability to push themselves past points the rest of us can't even imagine. Vividly remembering 9/11 and the aftermath all the way up to the death of Osama Bin Laden, I don't really care about those who worry about the truths of the book. I do care wholeheartedly about all those in our military and thank each of them for their service. No matter their job, their stories are tremendous and important and help me better understand what they do for us every day. This is a book to read.

9-11. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - My son is very interested in how people lived way back when. We have actually been through the first six books in the series and let me tell you.  If you think you are having a bad day, read one of these. Life somehow doesn't seem so hard! I couldn't handle all the wool! It makes me itch just thinking about trying to stay warm in that stuff! Both my kids love these books.  They call them the Laura and Mary books.  Read them with your kids.  Start at the beginning and work your way through the series. It is a fantastic piece of our history!

12. A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout - I saw a small article on the author and book in O Magazine and it seemed really interesting and wow was it. I couldn't stop reading the book. I had to find out what was going to happen next. This woman lived through hell. Literally. I don't know how she did it. I kept thinking to myself that there was no way I would have survived what she did. No. Way. This woman has a spirit that is nothing short of amazing. She is a fighter and a hero. This is a great book and if you have a book club I would highly recommend it.

I'm very glad that doing this has me reading again and even reading some wonderful books with my kids. I love that I can still enjoy some of the favorites from when I was a young reader.  Happy New Year everyone and I hope 2014 is full of blessing for you and your loved ones!

Vacation 2013 - Huntington, WV!!!!

Its already been about a month since we got back from vacation and I'm just now getting around to posting about it.  But, as always, I have reasons.  Namely school started the week we got back and we have been running ever since!

My brother and his family moved from Arkansas to West Virginia a year ago and although they have had to make a few trips out this way for various reasons, we had yet to visit their new place.  The 14+ hour drive was a little daunting to us.  It was to be the longest we had ever taken with the kids but decided to break it up a bit going out and spend a couple of days seeing the sites along the way and it was super easy.  What made things even easier was having my Mom, Aunt and Uncle all back at our house taking care of the dogs and a few things around the house.  Can't thank them enough!

Our first day out we planned our overnight stop to be in the St. Louis area.  Got there in time for dinner and swimming at the hotel.  The next morning we hit the Gateway Arch.  This was totally on Wyatt's bucket list in life and he loved every minute of it.  I kept thinking as we were loading into the little pods that he was going to freak out but he just got more excited every minute of the three it took to get to the top. 

 

If you haven't ever been to the Arch (and yes, you need to go up in it to get the full benefit) it is truly a wonder.  The shear magnitude of its height from the ground leaves you awestruck, but wait till you get to the top!  There really aren't words to describe the view and how being that high up in the air makes you feel.  Other than brave of course!  Lorelai rode up just fine although she preferred to stay on the floor when we got to the top and not climb like a crazy monkey as her brother was.  This was my third trip up and I would go again.

After the Arch, we were off to Louisville, KY.  We were so excited to be headed to Louisville at the same time as some good friends and ended up at their hotel.  We don't get to see the VanLaeys family often enough so seeing them on vacation was a bonus!  There were a couple of stops we wanted to make in Louisville.  First up, baseball!  My husband and son are pretty avid baseball fans and they wanted to see the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory.  Really neat place!  There is a ginormous bat out front that can literally be seen from the interstate.  Makes it pretty easy to find once you park the car. 

 They have a museum that has everything from life size models of professional baseball players to a pitching machine that lets you see just how fast those guys can throw the ball.  I have new respect for my sister's boyfriend who is a catcher!  They had an area with bats from famous players that you could hold and tons of other things to look at.  The tour through the factory was really interesting and I was floored by how many bats they turn out in a year.  1.8 million!!!! Who in the world is using that many bats?!  Another neat part of the museum is the batting cages.  You pay a dollar and can choose from numerous bats made just as your favorite player would use and in the cages you go.  I think Mike and Wyatt could have been in there all day!  Wyatt even hit a couple of them and the guy running the cages said he doesn't see many 5 year old that hit the ball so it made Wyatt's day when he actually did.  This is a definite must see in Louisville!


Our second stop there was on my bucket list.  As you can see, we are checking things off left and right on this vacation!  Here is the story of why this stop is so significant to me: While most little girls were probably playing with dolls or friends or whatever, I was parked in front of the tv on certain Saturdays with a pile of American Quarter Horse Journals from our farm vet, watching horse racing.  I would sit and flip through those magazines and absorb every move the trainers and jockeys and horses and owners made.  My favorite race was the Kentucky Derby.  It wasn't the hats that drew me in, it was the horses. 

While I had never been to the actual Derby, I had pretty much watched every race on tv since I was old enough to walk (or so it seems) and being able to visit Churchill Downs was pretty much the best thing ever.  This is a stop to make, even if you have never watched a race in your life.  I promise you will tune in from then on out.  Once we got our ticket, we were taken into a large room with an oval shaped movie screen above and watched an amazing video about the Derby.  The tour following took us to the paddock where jockeys mount the horses before the race. Riders Up! On the main grandstand building around the trim are the names of every horse that has won and the year.  I had to find my favorite and get a picture taken. 

Then it was on to Winner's Circle and the track.  We walked down the alleyway and when you emerge you are literally along the outside rail almost to the finish line.  I couldn't believe it!  There was seriously nothing between me and the track but the rail.  You have no idea how much I wanted to just take off running down the track!  My conscience got the best of me and just stuck my foot under and felt the dirt.  But you have no idea how close I was to running!

After our Derby experience it was off to Huntington.  The kids slept and Mike and I watched miles and miles of tobacco and horse farms go by.  We were ready to get to my brother's and have a couple of days to hang out and not stay in a hotel.  Plus, my brother is a pretty darn good cook and I knew there was going to be something on the grill or in the smoker at some point!  My brother's house is so stinking cute and Lorelai fell in love with their screened in porch which she called her green house.  Mike may have to put a screened in porch on our house just for her after this!  West Virginia is one of those states (probably like Kansas for a lot of you out there) that you just don't think about visiting.  And just like my state of Kansas, West Virginia is beautiful.  Huntington sits on the Ohio river and while the town has seen better days due to the economy, it is really a neat.  You have all probably seen or heard of the movie We Are Marshall. 

Well, Marshall University is in Huntington and where both my brother and sister in law work.  Marshall has a really nice campus and in the middle is the memorial for those who lost their lives in the plane crash.  Pretty sobering.  My brother took us down to the Ohio river which was quite beautiful.

I didn't get to do much shopping but one of the days the boys all decided to go to the Planes movie so my sister in law and I and the two littlest kiddos walked around this really great town square that is full of quaint little shops.  My sister in law bought some cupcakes at a little bakery there and they were to die for.  Yum, yum and yum!  There is so much I'm probably forgetting about now.  Really the best part of it all was spending time with my brother and his family. 

Playing baseball in Uncle Tony's hilly backyard!

Walking the stairs along the Ohio River

I have two nephews who are amazing little guys and I love them!  And if you could hand pick your sister in law, mine would be it.  We are so blessed to have her in our family.  Our visit was short but perfect and it seemed time to head home way too quickly.

Lorelai and Landry finding some shade

Brayden and Uncle Mike checking out the view on the Ohio River

Our drive home was to be pretty fast and furious with only one overnight stay so we could get home in time for school activities starting the next day.  We made it farther than we thought we would and stopped in Columbia, MO.  We found a great hotel on the edge of the MU campus and had a nice time swimming one last night and watching a baseball game and eating popcorn.  We made it home to spend a little time with my Aunt and Uncle before they headed back home and then off to Meet the Teacher Night at school.  Whew!

Vacations can be pretty stressful but I think we found the secret to a happy vacation for our family.  Don't plan too much!  We did just the right amount of tourist activities and then got to hang out at my brothers and regroup before the drive home.  When the kids are asking to stay on vacation, I think it was a success!

Hanging out in the top of the Gateway Arch!