Butterfly Birthday

I got to watch our 4th caterpillar eclose on Saturday. It was a boy, which means we had 2 boys and 2 girls this time. I have 2 more caterpillars that I've brought in, but I gave them to a coworker to babysit so she can enjoy watching the whole process. Hopefully they will make it. So far we've had 5 that successfully made the transition from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly this summer. Yay!

Quite an Accomplishment!!

My brother ran in a triathlon sprint today. He's never competed in swimming or cycling, but he trained for months and did an amazing job. He struggled with the swimming, was competitive in the cycling, and really excelled in the running. My mom and I went to cheer him on...and to take him to IHoP afterward. Way to go, Ron!!

It was a long, hilly trek from the water to the transition area.

Beach view up the hills to the transition area.

Don't know how someone could get away with using a snorkel!

He swam 1/2 mile.

Even managed to jog up the hills to the transition area.

Biked 14 miles



And ran a 5k.

1:39:25 later

Heading home

For the Birds

Here are a few more hummingbird pictures I've taken this week.

It's a Girl...and a Boy!

2 of our butterflies eclosed today. One was a girl and the other a boy! The girl was happy to sit on my finger for quite awhile before taking off. They are so beautiful when they're first "born". Their wings are perfect and unblemished.

Today's Pic

Today's Pic

(This was actually last night. She was pooped.)

Today's Pic

Fall Ball

Danielle is playing in a fall ball league again this fall. She's playing with a new group of girls and for a new coach. A few of the girls are on her new softball team, so it's good she can get to know them. (The coach is not one of her new team's coaches.) I know she was a little worried about playing with new girls and for a new coach, but she handled it beautifully. She had a lot of fun and did a great job today.

We kind of look at the fall ball league as practice. There's not an end of season tournament and standings don't matter. It's just fun to play. Because winning and losing doesn't really matter, it's a good time to try new things. Danielle wants to be a slapper. Her new coaches would like her to bat left handed when she's not slapping, so she's trying to make that change. She did great today! She slapped and hit left handed and only struck out once today between two games. I am proud of her for trying new things!!

She had practice with her new team this past week, too. We have a tournament in October. It will be fun to watch them come together as a team.

Today's Pic