This & That

Danielle asked to take tennis lessons for a birthday gift, so I signed her up for 5 private lessons through the local YMCA. They had decided to stop offering the lessons since summer was about over, but when I called to ask about them, I happened to talk to the instructor herself. She felt bad because it was going to be a birthday gift, so she agreed to do our lessons before stopping for the school year. It was only $25 to add on another child from the same family so Tyler decided to try tennis, too. They had 3 of their 5 lessons this week and I have to say that this was definitely money well spent! Both kids have really enjoyed their lessons and have learned so much. The instructor is wonderful - so encouraging and patient. Tyler has decided he wants a tennis racket for his birthday, too. The great thing about tennis is that once they learn how to play, it's something they can play all their lives and we can play together as a family. I'm sure I'll have to look into more lessons at some point this winter!

The excitement in our household this week has been Danielle's extremely contagious illness. Danielle has had a cough for about 3 weeks. I initially thought it was allergies since we all suffer from them and started her on over-the-counter allergy meds. Sometimes they take a little time to build up and fully work, so I waited a good week to see if her cough improved. It didn't really, but we were busy and then her birthday rolled around. After her birthday she went to her grandparents' house for a few days. I shared a bed with her one night after our outing with Grandma & Grandpa and was up half the night because her coughing was so bad. So, when we got home, I scheduled an appointment with the pediatrician for that day. I figured she just needed stronger allergy medicine. The doctor checked her out and said she sounded pretty good other than the cough. She thought maybe it was bronchitis but wasn't positive. She decided to test her for pertussis (whooping cough) just in case. She promised to call the next day if the test was positive. In the meantime she started Danielle on an antibiotic. We didn't get a phone call the next day so we thought we were off the hook. Sadly, the pediatrician called the NEXT morning to let us know the test was indeed positive. :( So...Danielle had to be quarantined until she finished her medication, all her immediate family members had to take medicine, anyone in the family with a cough had to be quarantined (me), and I tried to call everyone who might have been exposed. Thankfully Danielle's best friend's mother was extremely understanding and gracious and their pediatrician was too - she immediately called in prescriptions for both girls Danielle had played with. Grandma & Grandpa had to take antibiotics, and so did all of us. Since I have a cough, I have to be quarantined, too. Now, I will admit that the quarantine has not been perfect, but we have done the best we can with all we had going on. She's had this for 3 weeks, I'm sure she's already spread the love. The few times we did go out, we carried lots of hand sanitizer! Her quarantine is over tonight. Mine goes through Monday. This is one of those lovely illnesses that the health department monitors, so we are now statistics. And yes, both children were vaccinated. Apparently the vaccination is not 100% effective. Wonder if I can get my money back.

It was a beautiful day today! The sky was so pretty with lots of big, poofy clouds. We went fishing after dinner today. (Lots of fresh air, no people to contaminate.) We didn't have much luck but it was such a nice evening to be outside. The sky looked so pretty reflected in the water.

And yes, Danielle got her hair cut. It was supposed to touch her shoulders but the lady cut it too short. Danielle is not happy about it.

I think I finally figured out the proper settings for capturing hummingbirds in flight. I thought this one turned out pretty good! I think a slight blur in the wings shows that it's moving and looks ok. I love the details on this female, too. I sat out earlier than usual, and the bright sun certainly worked to my advantage.

While I was watching the hummingbirds, this clearwing hummingbird moth visited my petunias. I've never had one in my flowers before, so I thought that was pretty cool!! They don't mind if you get close to them, but they hardly sit still. I could not get a decent picture of his face! I am including the blurry picture just so you can get an idea of what he looked like. His proboscis was big - much bigger than the ones we've seen on the butterflies. He is colored red and green, just like our ruby throated hummingbirds, so I can understand why some people mistake them for hummingbirds. I hope he comes back.