Ducks & Kites

we went to a friends house this weekend, and a couple blocks away is a duck pond, so we went to feed them

the geese were like big old bullies, just shoving their way right thru the ducks...

the funny thing was though that they were really gentle with people, and would take the bread right out of our hands!

so here is how the story begins: the kids wanted to feed the geese, but they were nervous, so they would throw the geese the bread....

and then make a run for it!

the story ends with me feeling like kind of a bad mom, but laughing at the same time at the situation. i was standing on one side of the pond, and the kids had wandered to the other side (it was decent sized, but not so big that i was nervous about them being on the other side - it's small enough that they could hear me talk to them if i spoke loudly). so kyle starts screaming, and we look up and a goose is all over him poking him in the legs with his beak (i really love how zachary is screaming at the goose!)

so then kyle runs away just bawling...

and i am not joking even a little bit when i say that after kyle got away, that goose stood there AND LAUGHED!!! NOT KIDDING! i heard it! you can see him doing it in this picture!

so the reason i felt kinda bad is that i took pictures instead of running around the pond. but in my defense, there was no way i could have got there fast enough to rescue him, and the goose wasn't going to hurt him (he did get one little red spot, but there's no way that goose was gonna hurt him unless it was attacking his face or something). so poor kyle was traumatized for about 10 minutes, i feel a little guilty, but also happy (not at my boy being scared, but i have the pictures of the experience!) don't make me feel bad - i know there's other parents out there who would have done the same thing! lol

this is also my opportunity to show off some of the cool bird pics i got...

today it was windy, so we went out to fly kites.

here is zachary trying to figure his out...

here is kyle trying to help dad get things started...

once they did get it started, kyle took over and kept his kite going great!

zachary got his figured out really well also...

oops! if you look close he is running not because the kite fell, but because he dropped the whole thing and it's blowing away! lol he caught it, and got it right back up in the air.

Fun Stuff

the kids have been having great fun on our trampoline. here are a few of my favorite shots. they are from two different days, and one set is kind of blurry. sorry, i had the camera in the wrong setting! and it's so frustrating, because i coudln't tell on the display screen that they were fuzzy, so as i am downloading them, i ended up getting rid of nearly all of them. but they are still funny to me, so enjoy!

this first one makes me the most sad - i want to cry because it's not in focus. but i couldn't bear to get rid of it even though it is so blurry, because it was too good. if it had been in focus, it would be up on my wall! these two were just full on laughing, and it was so funny!

do you have any idea how priceless a picture is when i can get all 3 of my children smiling in the same shot?!

the boys doing a flip together...

i just LOVE this shot with the shadow!

zachary "isms"...

kyle "isms"...

The pure joy on his face makes me smile!

and of course jordan "isms"...

this one cracks me up!

recently i have discovered how to turn the pictures to black and white in my camera. i love this feature, as i really think that some photos look so classy in this mode!

here also are a few shots from our latest trip to disneyland (you know, home away from home?! lol)

jordan gets a ride without even having to wait in line!

klaus came with us on this trip. here they are coming around the bend on mulholland madness - i prefer to stay away from the madness and behind the camera instead!

klaus opted out of grizzly rapids, but was so kind to take some shots of us coming down the big drop & getting soaked!

i love the horses!

so at least kyle knows how to keep himself amused while we waited in line at the refreshment corner! (mmm yummy cream cheese filled pretzels!)

someday this poor kid will learn how to drink a gatorade bottle without getting the huge red mustache!

jordan getting driving lessons from a well trained official lol

that well trained official should have read the vehicle code a little more carefully - no cell phones while driving! lol

another thing i prefer to stay off of - and i think others appreciate this since i would throw up on them if i did go! the guys got their teacup going so fast that their arms were wore out by the time it was done!

look in the background on this picture - that guy is hilarious! (you may have to click to enlarge it to really see)

and on that note, i will leave you with one final thought... i am LOVING the black and white feature (oh, i already mentioned that, but it's true!)