Eagle Banding

We joined Ben today for baby eagle banding at Clinton Lake. Ben climbed up 100 ft trees, sat in the nests (they are enormous!), put the babies in a bag one-by-one and lowered then down where the KDWP and Army corp folks took measurements and banded the birds. Then they placed them back in the bags and raised them back to Ben where he put them back into the nests. 

These particular babies were very close to the age where they will start flying. The male baby got very nervous when Ben got to the nest and jumped out! We watched him glide and then take his very first flight as he flapped his wings and flew into the trees. He wasn't totally ready to the fly and landed on the ground eventually. The other folks ran into the woods and were able to find him and bring him back to safety. Thankfully, the eagle didn't break any wings on his way down. 

Mike said that it had been about 20 years since he saw a baby jump out of the nest. We felt pretty lucky to be able to see this beautiful bird's first flight. 

Linkan and Palmer were totally fascinated with the eagles and asked lots of great questions that the KDWP guys enjoyed answering. They both got to pet both babies as they were banded. They got to choose the band color too! They thought they were pretty special!

Ben worked real hard a did a great job handling the birds. It was a really fun afternoon. :-)

Mini-Me

Ben and his mini-me. 

Daddy Date Night

I was invited to this week's daddy date night because it was their first movie in a theater! We saw Disney's Frozen. It was so good! The girls were mesmerized the whole time and we've been singing the Frozen songs ever since (like non-stop)....for the love! Ha

Linkan's Lovey Daddy

Tonight, Link came downstairs (she hardly ever does this after she goes to bed) and told her daddy that she just wanted to lay with him. She sure knows how to wrap him around her finger...and I truly mean that in the best possible way.  So, of course, he let her crawl into bed and snuggle for awhile and then carried her up to her room. I witness these types of tender exchanges between him and the girls every day. He plays almost non-stop with them when he gets home from work. "Daddy, let's wrestle! Daddy, throw me! Let's play princesses! Let's play tag!" Earlier this evening, he was playing with them and their Little People Princess Castle. Ben is quite testosteroney but there is nothing that he won't do for his babies...even if it's a bit on the girly-side. ;-)

I am so blessed that Link & Palm get to grow up with him as their daddy. He is the most amazing model to them....showing them every day how a man should love them. Someday, I know they will pick a man that loves them deeply, respects and honors them just like their daddy does.

And yes, I found and chose the best man because that's the kind of love that my daddy modeled for me too. :-)

Here is a pic of Ben giving Link her first skateboarding lesson last week at the lake. 

Snuggle & Tangled

Ben said that he woke up last night at 2am and noticed that a light was on. He got up and found Linkan lying with Boss and petting him. As soon as she saw daddy, she started crying and said her legs were tangled. That's her way to describe growing pains in her legs. (She also describes a yeast infection as "hippos are biting me".) :-)

I asked her about it today and she said that she was cold so she curled up next to Boss under his blanket. She giggled when she told me that. Made me laugh. 

No matter how many times we've told her that it's ok to come wake us up in the middle of the night, she still won't do it...stating that she thinks we'll get mad at her. We've never told her that we would be mad and never have been mad if she wakes up in the night needing something. Silly girl. :-)

In the end, I'm sure Boss appreciated the extra snuggle time he got from little love. 

Halloween 2013

My alarm was messed up this morning due to a software update on my phone so I woke up at 8:28 a.m. with my hair on fire! I was supposed to have Linkan a dressed in her costume and at school at 9 a.m. Linkan came down the stairs about 5 minutes later. I could have been grumpy from waking up so late but I got such an amazing response from her about my space kitten pants, it turned my frown upside down...and really, made my whole day! She was crazy excited to wear her Ariel wig. Score, mom! Palmer isn't in school but she insisted on wearing her owl costume. So, I got all three of us dressed in our costumes and out the door by 8:55. Can you believe it? Of ALL the days to sleep late! Whew!

I wore my space kitten outfit to jazzercise and it was a hit! Those pants are quite a hot item online. Thanks to some preplanning and Amazon.com, I snagged a pair. My instructor, Amy, sure was jealous! She had tried to buy a pair only to find out that they're sold out EVERYWHERE. ;-) Ben found a great "boy scout" get-up at a local thrift store. He is too much!!! Ha!!

When Palmer put her costume on, Linkan said, "Palmer!! You look AWESOME!" Too cute. They enjoyed trick or treating tonight. I walked up to the house with them (and reminded Linkan every darn time to thank the candy-givers - dang that child!) and daddy pulled Palmer in the wagon to each house. Fun times in the B'Woody neighborhood!

Surprise!

We surprised Great Granny a few weeks ago.  We got her good! It was the Valley Center Fall festival and she was over at the Historical Society giving tours for the day.  Our visit was really cool for two reasons.  We got to see her AND we got to tour the historical society which is none other than Great Granny Pat's childhood home.  What a treat! The girls were fascinated by all the things inside.  They didn't want to leave when it was time.  Their favorite part was trying on cool vintage hats with Great Granny.  The picture of the stove is the very stove that her mother cooked on when she was a child. So cool! Linkan & Palmer's Great Granny is such a doll and so much fun. She just turned 85 in mid-September but you wouldn't know it! We love her so much!

13th Wedding Anniversary

Labor Day marked our 13th weddin anniversary. Geez, has it been that long? :-D We celebrated by going on a morning canoe adventure at Clinton Lake. Linkan and Palmer had all sorts of fun finding "treasures" such a clam shells, frogs, snakes, bugs, and cool looking rocks. We got very close to a beautiful bald eagle. The weather was perfect. We had a perfect day hanging out together. I included the last two pics of Link because she was totally naked (swimsuit was making her cold), sitting in the bag seat, eating popcorn and making silly fads with Palmer. They were cracking each other up!

Ben's Broken Heel

He is the habanero to my vanilla. Life would be so boring without him. :-) Broke his heel while bouldering on the rock wall in the garage the night before Palmer's second birthday. Thankfully, it wasn't a bad break and doc hopes that he will be able to walk on it without assistance in about 6 weeks. 

 

First Float Trip!

The girls have been in our canoe before but always on small ponds. They are finally at an age and stage where we thought they would enjoy a longer float down an actual river. We started out this morning on the Delaware and it eventually converged with the Kansas river. We stopped on a sand bar to eat lunch and swim.  We all had a great time and can't wait to do it again!

Just another Tuesday

The girls and I enjoyed the warmer weather outside today. I got a kick out of them filling up this container and turning it into a little pool. Palmer was loving life. :)

We went to "work" with Ben this evening. He was working on a trail improvement project with the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club. We consider it a blessing that he has a job where it's ok for us to "tag along" sometimes. Win-win all around. 

During dinner tonight - for the very first time - unprompted and out of the blue - Palmer said, "I love you daddy". Pretty special moment. Melted her daddy's heart. It is these moments where I pause and marvel at the life that God has given me. As broken and imperfect as it is. As broken and imperfect as I am, He still affords me the most amazing miracle-moments. I am blessed indeed.