The past few days...

Friday was a really fun day. Our family has been tracking the progress of our little baby cardinal, shown in the picture a few posts back. Exactly one week after hatching, our little bird flew out of his nest! We spent the morning watching the big event, and I think cardinals may have surpassed hummingbirds as my favorite bird. All morning, the mother and dad hovered over their baby. They flew up to the top of our fence then right back down near the baby, I guess to demonstrate how to fly. If another bird came close, the dad went ballistic! We were still able to find the baby after school. Matthew took the picture above.

We enjoyed a busy weekend. We weren't able to go out of town because of activities, so we enjoyed a quiet Memorial Day. We did get to cook out on Sunday and eat Mom's famous sugar cookies. Mary Beth even matches her cookies!

This morning was the 2nd grade poetry reading. Matthew recited two poems: My teacher loves her iPod and Mt. Rushmore. Matthew is wearing the wig my grandmother wore during her chemotherapy! It's always nice to get two uses out of things, right?

Speaking of Mt. Rushmore, we have been in major planning mode all weekend. We will actually be at Mt. Rushmore one week from now! We have been briefed on the best security measures. Bryon is going to teach me how to change a tire this week (my biggest fear), and Lauren and I will be loaded down with personal protection devices. We are also planning the trip where we will almost never be outside at night. I feel really good about the trip, and am anxious to hit the road.

We are also trying to enjoy every minute of this week. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I have a hard time saying goodbye. I have loved this year, and I will be sad to leave our situation. Matthew is a lot like me this way. He gets really sad the last week of school. Thomas, on the other hand, can't wait to be out of kindergarten to be a first grader!