New: Proof that we are all still alive and kicking!

Anther third grade victory!

Okay, so I don't have any pics of her surrounded by the books yet, but Jessie finished all 7 Harry Potter books last night! Yup, she read till 9:00 to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I let her stay up half an hour past her bedtime since she was so close -- how could I not when I've done that myself countless times?). Yay!! I had been downstairs exercising and she wasn't sure when I'd be up (before or after she fell asleep), so she left me a note on her door saying, "There are two girls that live here and they both have finished the whole Harry Potter series! Jessica finished it on Monday night, May 16, 2011." She and Marina (who are the two girls in that room) both finished the series in their third grade year. It's funny to see their various styles of reading, though. Marina read straight through, and it took her about five months. Jessie read many books at the same time, so the series took her a while longer; but hey! They both did it and they're both so happy about it!

Turkey Vultures

So this morning my neighbor made sure to point out to me my five uninvited overnight guests I'd had -- turkey vultures in my already over-populated tree out front (home to innumerable little birds and at least two owls that we know of). I haven't seen turkey vultures (some call them turkey buzzards -- same thing) in the wild since Ft. Huachuca, when there were TONS of them living in this one tree up Grierson Avenue. Huh. Strange how these five brought back memories of my panicking as birds with HUGE wingspans dove at my head while I waited for my ride to seminary or the times when they'd attack my poor kites whenever I flew them on the parade field in front of the vultures' tree. So thank you, random fowl, for the flight down memory lane. And thank you for moving on and not scaring my poor owls away. =)

Spider Jessie

Ok, so this is a little older, gritty video quality, and sideways. =) Ah well, you'll get the idea! The joys of having a rather narrow hallway just sitting there begging to be used in productive ways.