The Salem Duck Pond

The twins recently had their Spring field trip.  We went to the duck pond in Salem, followed by a nearby playground.  They had a lot of fun, even though the ducks were a bit overfed by the 20-some preschoolers and didn't eat much of the bread we brought.

This duck was bathing himself, and did the head-swoop underwater.  I caught him just as he came up, with water splashing over his back.

 

 Ugly Duckling?

 There were tons of cute babies swimming around.

And a few ducks showed off their feathers.

Reid kept tossing in bread.

This duck had a fancy cap on her head.

And Cort tossed in some leftover rhubarb cake.

Ducks are really fun to photograph.  I think we should go there more often.  Especially since neither child fell in (something I was worried about, at times, as they walked along the edge).

 

Especially if it leads to a miracle nap on the way home!

 

Readers, any of you find it fun to watch ducks?

World Book Night 2013 #wbn2013

Some of you may remember last year when I blogged about participating in World Book Night to promote reading in my community.  Well I applied again this year and was excited to be accepted.  I chose the book Still Alice, which is written from the point of view of someone with Alzheimers, and which haunted me for days after I read it. 

Once again, I went to the local Subway restaurant to give out copies of the book in my little town.  This year I took Pierce with me, because the kid LOVES to talk to strangers, and I figured he'd enjoy giving books to people.  Plus, at the age of six it's time for him to start being active in giving back to the community too. 

People in my community seemed much more receptive to Still Alice than the book I gave out last year.  Everyone seemed really excited to read it, and it seems to make people feel warm and fuzzy to get something for free.  I also think most of us have experienced the tragedy of Alzheimers in our lives at some point or another, so most folks can relate to the topic.  I hope that those who took a free copy of Lisa Genova's wonderful book will find it as poignant and touching as I did. 

If you'd like to share the love of reading in your community, this is a free program and you can sign up to get on the mailing list for next year by visiting the World Book Night website.  They are always looking for more book givers! 

I am Still a Runner

I just haven't been doing my monthly running updates.  Mostly because I've been kind of disappointed in how things are going.  I am out there running, but I'm slow and sluggish and don't feel right.  It's hard.  Here is a recap of the past 3 months.

February:
I started February strong.  The first two weeks of the month I ran 51 miles, did Shred 5 times, yoga 10 times, abs 8 times, and rode my horse 4 times.  Then the vertigo hit halfway through the month and I didn't do anything the rest of February.

March:
The first week of March I was still battling the vertigo.  But after the first week I started forcing myself to run again.  I could barely eek out 3 miles, and it felt rough, but I kept making myself get out there.  I ran 68 miles, and towards the end of the month lifted weights twice.

April:
Ran 95 miles, lifted weights x 4, hiking x 1, yoga x 3, abs x 1.

It's still a struggle.  I'm not sure why I haven't bounced back.  I've been running for ten years, and I've never felt this bad running for this long.  I guess it it is what it is, and all I can do is suck it up and keep trying, and hope that, eventually, things will get easier.  I'm still a runner.  I'm just not a sleek and racing runner right now.  But I'm still getting out there, and for now, I need to be content with that, because it appears to be the best I can do.  I guess even people who have been running for over a decade have bad stretches. 

Readers, in what areas of your life does your determination and heart show? 

Petting a Possum

1.  There was a pet possum at the Earth Day festival the other weekend.  Pierce and I got to pet it.  It was so calm, considering all the stuff going on.

2.  I have been trying to find a pair of those ballet flats everyone wears that are comfortable.  But they kill my feet.  Do they just need extensive breaking in?  I've tried several different types.  Maybe I'm just better suited to flip flops.

3.  Speaking of flip flops, my mom bought me a pair of Fit Flops when I was pregnant with the twins.  I wore them constantly, year round.  Most comfortable shoes ever - I'd walk miles in them.  Sadly, last month they broke.  I'm so bummed - and I heard they don't make them anymore!

4.  Last week I picked off my first deer tick of the season.  I think we need to order more guineas!

5.  I need to update my blog header (which is almost a year and a half old) and I'm thinking the above picture is a definite contender for the new header.  Readers, how often do you update your headers?

Linked with Random Friday at A Rural Journal.

Earth Day Festival in Grandin Village

Grandin Village is a little part of Roanoke that is near and dear to my heart, because as a kid I lived in that area and used to ride my bike down to watch movies at the Grandin Theatre (which was a dollar theatre back then) and buy candy at the Revco drugstore.  Today, it is still a thriving part of Roanoke, and each year it hosts an Earth Day festival.

 

There were snakes to examine.

Art to draw...

Vikings.  I'm not sure what Vikings have to do with Earth Day.  Ideas?

A hoola hoop area, along with bouncy houses.

Cars with wind mills

Cars with electricity.

And of course, plenty of veggies and fruits for sale.

Always one of my favorite Roanoke festivals.  Readers, do you have a favorite festival where you live?

Toy Story Buzz Lightyear Pencil Case Giveaway

I think it's time for another giveaway!  This is yet another goodie I crafted when I had such terrible vertigo.  It's a Buzz Lightyear pencil case, and it is stuffed with school supplies.

The back view:

Inside there are school supplies from your favorite Toy Story characters.

To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't want to wait to win it?  I have tons of fun pencil cases (Star Wars, Hello Kitty, Brave, John Deere, and many more) available in my Etsy shop, which you can find here. 

Blue Ridge Kite Festival

One of our favorite festivals each year is the Blue Ridge Kite Festival.  We missed last year, due to a conflicting event, but were happy to return this year.  It's located in Salem, Virginia, and is a free event.

 It was windy and a little chilly this year.  There were so many beautiful kites high up in the blue skies.  Kids receive free kites and t-shirts, so here are the boys coloring their kites to get them ready to fly.

Pierce had a blast running around with his kite.  It was windy enough that he didn't have much trouble at all getting it into the air. 

What a fun way to spend a windy Spring morning!