New Look!

I wanted a nice and colourful new look for my blog, but just couldn't get any of the backgrounds to work for me...so I'll just insert my own colourful pics for now and have fun with the fonts!

This weekend we finished a project that we've been trying to do for quite some time now...took out our bedroom window and installed french doors. We had bought the doors from craigslist last year and it took until now for it to work out that my dad could help Chris install them. Some moulding still has to go up to cover up the drywall that was ripped off, but for the most part the project is complete, which is a record around here that Chris is extremely proud of!

Grad 2011

This weekend was one of the milestones in every persons life...graduating from high school and seeing your first child graduate from high school. Christopher does not get excited about things too easily, and grad is no exception. He's relieved do be done with high school, and I suspect that participating in a few of the grad activities was for dear old mom's sake. Although school has not been Christopher's thing, we're still very proud of his accomplishment and look forward to seeing what the future holds!

Boohoo!

I was very saddened to discover the other week that someone else had discovered by babies...and enjoyed them in a different way!

This is how I found my shrub...so I'm guessing that either a cat or raccoon got to them. :(

Somewhere in the mess of the top picture (if you look hard,) you can see the nest totally upside down. So, here I am trying to find the babies...sadly, I found two of them bloodied and dead at the bottom of the deck. No pic...and I wasn't about to touch them either, so this is their final resting place. Later that day, Chris said he found one more in the grass and we don't know what happened to the last one. I guess he either made a delicious entree or, more hopefully, he survived...

I have kept the nest as a souvenir because so much hard work went into it and it's a piece of art to me! I think maybe I will purchase a birdhouse so that next spring my babies will be safe and sound. :)

It's a boy! And a girl! And a boy??

I was delighted to discover this sunny morning that the first baby robin had hatched! As I kept checking throughout the day, number 2 arrived around lunch time and number 3 just before dinner...

Here is mama, hard at work to get the next two bambinos to hatch....

Yay! Just one more to go....

Mama and Papa have not been very happy with me intruding...they've been dive bombing me and yelling at me every time I try to take a peek.

I'm going to do my best to keep track of the babies in the next few weeks, but I don't want to push my luck and have mommy and daddy abandon the wee ones...but stay tuned. :)

My new babies

A few nights ago, I went to sit in the hot tub and as I threw the cover back, startled a bird (and it startled me) that went flying out of the bushes planted along the house. I was suspicious, but it was dark out so I didn't think any more about it. Tonight, it was deja vu...me scaring bird, bird scaring me as I flung back the lid. I decided to peek into the shrub and was delighted at what I found!

Here is mama staring me down and making sure I don't upset her babies.

My guess is that they have been there about a week and a half already and upon doing some research the eggs should hatch in about 12 - 16 days.
I'll be peeking in over the next few days and weeks to see what's happening in my own backyard....

Scavenger Hunt

 

I'm not sure how many more Easters the boys will want to search for their treats (Christopher opted out already this year), so I figured I'd make Kenton work a bit for it in a different way than usual. I started by giving him a clue and then each clue led him to another clue.

Easter Sunday actually had a few sunny periods so the grand finale had to be outside...

Who wouldn't have a smile on their face after finding a basket full of chocolate?

Tuxedo Shopping

About a month ago, Christopher and I headed out to get his tuxedo picked out for the graduation prom coming up. I must say, he has a fabulous sense of style...he picked everything I would have picked! This is him trying various items on for size, but does not reflect his final choices...

More to come in June!

April Showers & Tulip Flowers

This is what Abbotsfordians woke up to earlier this week...

My mom, grandma and I braved the cold and went out to find a dose of spring time in La Conner.

Tulips are my favourite flower, so I was basically in heaven all day long!

Here are a few of my favourite pics from the day...

My grandma noticed tulips growing on the branches of one of the trees in the garden.

Loooove this old barn at the back of the tulip field...

Puerto Vallarta continued...

The grounds of our resort were great! We happened to be there the week before all the other spring-breakers showed up so we always had our pick of lounge chairs by the pool and never had to wait for drinks. We spent our days boogy boarding and playing in the waves, splashing around in the pool and just sitting around and listening to the tunes....pure bliss!

A little over to the left please....

My handsome boys....

O'Donnell Family Vacation 2011

On the bus taking us out to the plane to go home. :(

I was definitely made for the sunshine and can't wait for our next trip!

Spring Break in Puerto Vallarta

After a long hard year of studying for me and Christopher getting ready to graduate from high school, a family vacation was in order for spring break. We chose Puerto Vallarta because we found a great deal, the flight was direct out of Abbotsford, and I have never heard anything but good things about it. The weather was absolutely beautiful every day and that was my number one requirement for a great trip!

Of course, the anticipation is half the fun....the boys waiting at our local airport.

Our first night there we watched the show, had a few drinks and had lots of laughs since Kenton was absolutely hyper!

Chris played volleyball every day!

I know....I had to have a picture of it as proof...Christopher is reading a book!

Hot stuff!!

More hot stuff!!

Kenton relaxing...I know...hard to believe, right?

More fave pics to come!

Disappointment

     Ahhhh....the bitter pill of disappointment...doesn't happen to me often and I know it won't last long, but alas...here it is. We received our preceptorship placements at the end of last week and let's just say I was disappointed in more ways than just one. Preceptorship is where we buddy up with a nurse and aren't under the constant scrutinization of an instructor. Our preceptor shows us the ropes and we gradually do her workload just as if we were an employee. We meet with an instructor a few times along the way to discuss the nurse's evaluation of us. Now, I have gotten excellent grades the entire year and had glowing evaluations from all of my instructors, so I was expecting to be given a placement that would challenge me and further my learning experience. I also was hoping not to be placed somewhere too far from home, as I have a bad habit of falling asleep at the wheel....ummm....is that a bad habit or a medical condition??
     Sooo...I have ended up in a long term care facility...in Surrey! That means an hour long drive to just hand out pills...not the challenge I had in mind. Thankfully, I am a positive person and choose to believe that somehow in this God has a plan in mind. So, this will be a pill that I can swallow and will make me a better person and nurse at the end of it.