Where does the time go?

Ramblings here for you to read and check out...it has been a while since I sat and typed out some of the happenings of our home...

I have been reading lots of things lately from books, to blogs and magazines to recipes. Words are everywhere...yet there never seems to be enough time to read all I want to read. On another note, I am ever so thankful for the invention of recording. Nights I am too tired or just want some me time I can pop in a CD and the boys can listen to someone else read them a bedtime story. Little Man A has read over 140 nights this school year. He follows in his brothers' footsteps and likes to have books on his bed each night. There are a few of us in the house that agree that it takes forever to settle down at night for bed without a good book to read.

There are currently two little starlings in my backyard with yellow beaks and specked feathers. They are in mid change from their winter colours to their summer colours. I love feeding the birds and seeing them visit my yard. Even the piggy Stellar's Jays are welcome and the noisy demanding crows. I feed them the crusts of bread out the back door. The little birds; Finches, Pine Siskins, Sparrows and such eat from the feeder in the front yard and my neighbour feeds the Hummingbirds and we see them perch in the backyard trees each day. They are so fast and I love to hear them buzzz around the yard. The Golden-Crowded Sparrows have arrived a little later than years past and will be here for another couple of weeks on their pit stop to northern breeding grounds.

Sports is a big thing here in the Neilson home. From Gymnastics and Trampoline fun to Soccer and now Rugby we have lots to keep us busy and active. Both Carter and Dexter did very well at the Provincial Gymnastics Competition in Vancouver in March. They both placed in the top 8 in their level. Carter is looking forward to getting certified as a coach. He is also working on becoming a certified life guard. He had an interview this week for a job at the local outdoor pool. He finishes his class the second Sat of May. Dexter played in 2 school soccer games yesterday and was too tired to go to the community soccer practice. He practices 4 times a week between the 2 teams. Hyrum and D are on the same U 15 team this year and this makes me a very happy mom. I only have 2 teams to juggle this year! Little man plays on a U 10 team and is happy with his newer bigger cleats. He has out grown the ones from last year. He had the first game of the season last Sat and he scored a couple of goals!

Scouting also keeps some of us busy. Yesterday we had a visitor from Victoria come up and present our little Beaver Colony with the Council Commissioner's Adventure Award. We worked on it last year. We had to do a couple of service projects, outdoor adventures, joint activities and campfires with another Beaver Colony, and linking activities with the Cubs. It was a lot of fun and well worth the effort. It took us from Novemeber to May to compete all the activities and I sent in the scrapbook in June. I will be hanging up my Beaver hat and moving on to Music. Hyrum continues to go to Scouts and is looking forward to attending a Summer Scout Camp on the Island in August. They have a camp planned for this weekend, including a bit of caving I think. Little man A loves Cubs. They recently had the annual Cub Car races. One of the leaders is VP at the high school and has taught in the shop class. So the boys did their cars at the school and used the facilities to modify them and change them from a block of wood to be a cool looking car. He was very happy with his car but didn't get to paint it because he was at regulation weight. He proudly told me he came in third.

Drew has applied for the One year VP position at Sunset next year. We will be finding out soon. He is looking forward to the possible opportunity of trying out the adminstration hat. Our Principal is taking a year off to travel with his wife and volunteer at the Winter Olympics in Whistler. The current VP will be Principal.

Drew built me a cloche for the garden. It looks like a little mini greenhouse made from PVC pipe, rebar and thick clear plastic. Our garden doesn't warm up very well so I am excited to get gardening again. I have started radishes, carrots, peas and beets. I see the radishes and beets but not the carrots or peas. The slugs have spotted them too. :0{ Eggshells. I am trying eggshells and death. I squished 2 of the little monsters. I am going to sprout the peas and then plant some more. Hyrum helped me build a scarecrow, with some of the leftover wood from the grape arbour. The arbour was rotten at ground level and Hyrum and a friend hacked it down. All the scarecrow needs is a head, Hyrum thinks we should use a football. Hopefully this weekend we will add it to the body and complete our little project! I am contemplating getting a few chickens to eat the slugs and wood bugs that plague our backyard as well as give us a few eggs! First we need a place for them to live in....Town laws say we can have 7 adult animals including turkeys, horses, cats, dogs, fowl, reptiles....so who knows. If not chickens maybe a couple of ducks! I love birds remember!! I should sign off for now, I will be stopping by the library on my way out....books and birds.....oh and boys, boys, boys..........that is my life for now with work as Mother Goose tossed into the mix.........love you all!