Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 44

Fluffy Ducklings

So cute!I always try to make birthdays special around here but Evelyn's eighth birthday has got to take the cake. She had a party with friends, cupcakes at school, crab and steak for dinner...and some really cute ducklings happen to share her birthday and hatched while she was at school. Some of them trying to peek out of their shells!How did we get our hands on ducklings, do you ask? A friend who lives in town and has a beautiful pond behind their house had a nesting mallard nearby that, well...

Only Yesterday

We have an eight-year-old!It seems like only yesterday, Evelyn was born, we blinked, and now somehow she's recently turned eight. Children make the passage of time something incredible--one minute they're helpless, tiny newborns, the next, they're the ones taking care of the newest babies: Evelyn has a knack for newborn whispering.Even if once in a while, she still would rather be the baby. Zoey's hospital hat is pretty darn stretchy.As promised, we let Evelyn have her every-other-yea...

Land Shark

Knock knock.
Who is it?
Candygram...
(Anyone remember the epic SNL Land Shark skit?)

A Lucky Swarm

Sitting with his bees.Mowing is one of those chores that I enjoy doing. It gives me the chance to have some time to sit and think about whatever I want. If the kids are crying or bickering, I sure can't hear them. It also gives me a chance to comb over our property, to drive by a good portion of it to see how the trees are growing or if the flower beds need weeding or if the fence is in need of repair. When I'm close, I also take a quick peek at the bees to see how they're doing.
Fixing part o...

Bambi Sighting

Bambi sighting!It's been a while since we've seen any deer close to the house but today, after returning from a morning of running errands, we saw a doe leap across the road, followed by a very wobbly-legged fawn who wasn't quite sure what to make of his mother being on the run. Once I slammed on the brakes and pointed it out to the girls, they were unbuckled like they'd been ejected from their seats and were clinging to the window, screeching how cute it was and its adorable likeness to Bamb...

Vixen Cry

So cute, so cunning...
(Source)Like her siblings, Zoey has been a pretty great sleeper. I can't complain about only being woken up only once a night, usually in the early morning hours. It gives me a bit of alone time with my new baby and a chance to catch up on whatever book I'm currently reading. One night, though, as I tucked Zoey back in and got ready to climb back into bed, I heard an eerie but familiar sound outside:
Kind of an eerie noise right outside the house!
Know what that is? It's a...

Moonlight Dancer

When finishing the computer room, I happened upon Dancer's American Quarter Horse Association paperwork, something I hadn't seen for about nine years. It was so fun to look through her papers and to see her lineage (and some of their colors)...recognize anyone?
Dancer's daddy is a blue roan! And Dancer's full name is Moonlight Dancer, a nod to her mother.Yeah, me neither.
But, on one of the papers, I found a little bit of information that was pretty exciting: her birthday ! Most notably, she's ex...

Quantitative and Verbal

First day of school!Today was the last day of school and the girls couldn't be more excited. Kate is happy to have her sisters home to play with, Evelyn has great plans to continue summer school by teaching her sisters, and Claire is ready to draw gobs and gobs of pictures. And Henry? He can keep up with his sisters like a champ.
See shy Claire there in the glasses for 50's day? She won the citizenship award for kindergarten!Overall, the school year was quite successful. Both the girls got alo...

Baby Doll

I seem to have misplaced my baby...One of these baby dolls is not like the others.

Mythical Man

We love that guy!Jack, our perpetual boy-at-heart, just celebrated his thirty-second birthday!
Okay. It was nearly three weeks ago but in my defense, I was still in the hospital with Zoey and then, I got busy around the house and trying to keep up with the kids, even with all the great help I had. I did my best to prepare and had ordered a few gifts for him but really, the majority of the day was teaching Henry to gently adore his baby sister: Practicing his kisses. Not bites or headb...