Birds, Bees and Barking

I recently posted a short video clip on Instagram of one of my favorite animals, my little Maltese, Emmi. She is such a funny little dog.  I do believe that she feels her main purpose in life is to keep all birds and squirrels out of our yard.  And she takes that responsibility very seriously!

This winter, she has been especially diligent about keeping all birds off of our deck, which is easier said than done most days. Although she gives it her best barking effort (much to my dismay), and patrols the perimeter of the area, some of the sparrows have found a way to outsmart her.

In the flowerbed next to the deck, there is a miniature rose bush that once lived at my mama's house many years ago.  While this time of year, there are no blooms, and sparse leaves, the sparrows have discovered that they are generally safe within the thorny branches of the bush.

Emmi, and even Joy, try their best to scare them away, but there are a few brave birds that know their bark is worse than their bite since they can't actually reach them.

In other news around the backyard, new little buds are popping out all over the yard with the spring-like weather we've been experiencing. There are tiny buds on the fig tree,

and the blueberry bush I planted last year has the prettiest little blossoms on it.

Even the bees are out, taking advantage of the record-setting temperatures.

Grandy Camp

The last couple of weeks have been super busy with family visiting and a bit of traveling, so I'll begin catching up the blog now.  Adellelyn, Michael came to visit for a week while their parents chaperoned a church trip back in Texas.  Tyler was here at the same time.  We picked up the kids in Terrell and headed back home where Tyler was waiting for us.

Thankfully, their visit coincided with the children's Art Camp at church, so they enjoyed that in the mornings while I got a few things accomplished around the house.

The afternoons were filled with water,

popsicles,

bare feet,

a couple of movies on rainy days

making puppets and a puppet show,

a little babysitting,

an "Uncle Tyler pile" or two,

and a few creepy crawlies---I mean, what visit to Mimi and PaPaw's house would be complete without worms, lizards and a spider spinning its web?.

That $10 I spent on a Slip and Slide at the Dollar General was the best money I've spent in a long time.

By the end of the week, the hose connector had torn, so we taped it up the best we could and used it one last time.  Baby D came over to join us one afternoon.  Up until this point, he had not been too fond of swimming with his parents, so we weren't sure how it would go.  We turned the water down very low and let him ease into it.

With the added enticement of a water bottle, he was soon crawling through the water and splashing with the kids.

They were so sweet and gentle with him.  Trying to get the three of them to pose for a picture was rather tricky.

Between baby D crawling away and Adellelyn not looking at the camera, Michael was getting pretty frustrated.

After a face full of water, we finally got picture of the three of them together, looking at the camera.

Well, almost.   This one is better!

Ron and Tyler finished our new swing set as well.  I'd had the old one since Jana was a year old, so it had seen better days.

The new one was a hit with everyone!!!

Baby D loved being between his big cousins and squealed at the top of his lungs with delight!

There were dinners on the deck,

waffles for breakfast,

and ice cream for dessert.

In between rain showers, we played with Callie's doll house,

Started a paint-by-number,

and banged out a tune or two on the piano (this one was wishing Jana a happy birthday).

Michael and Adellelyn had to go back home on Saturday, but were able to wish Papaw a Happy Father's Day first.

The week  was filled with craziness and chaos at times, but it was fun and I wouldn't trade it for the world.