Ridiculously Hot Weather Calls for Ridiculous Measures...

Well, I guess swimming isn't ridiculous. It's actually pretty normal and fun but I like my post titles to have a little drama to them. Anyway, on Saturday it was 100 degrees outside so mom, Eddie, and I decided to take the baby over to dad's for a swim.

It's a really nice pool and we had a lot of fun. There are always plenty of characters to be found at any pool and Saturday was no exception. There was a strange fellow who got into the pool slowly (almost fearfully) and took about half an hour to walk across the shallow end to the deep end. He stroked his long goatee the whole time. He swam one lap across the deep end and back and then made his torturous journey back across the shallow end and then got out of the pool and left.

You can see in the picture below the kid behind us on the steps. He was really nice and friendly and wanted to play with us and throw the ball. Mom and I were both a little worried since he was about 8 and seemed to be all alone so we asked who brought him to the pool. He pointed out his mom who was ASLEEP ON A BENCH and stayed that way the whole time we were there. I know I don't have children and I'm not a parenting expert - but isn't it pretty important to actually watch your kid when he's in a pool full of water with a bunch of strangers??

Anyway, I've also put a little video on here of me swinging baby in the pool. Before you think I'm torturing her, look closely at her face and see that she's smiling!! If you listen carefully you can also hear her giggling. She likes activities that involve her having fun but someone else doing all the work, so this suited her just fine.

Stacy's wardrobe provided by Barbara Balmer, Inc.

Quail of a Time (ha ha)

I finally got some half-way decent pictures of my favorite little birds - quails!! When I was little I went to Quail Hollow Elementary. Along the bottom of any school correspondence and t-shirts was a silhouette of a big quail followed by a bunch of little quail in a line. I always thought that was so funny until I realized that quail pretty much behave that way!
I think quail are my favorite birds for two reasons:
1) They are so cute. They are dorky and not very clever, but they have those little teardrop shaped feathers on the top of their heads that bob with each step they take. (Libby hates those with a passion and says they're annoying).
2) They are so family oriented. I don't know if there is a cuter sight than Daddy quail leading the way, Mommy quail bringing up the rear, with babies safely in between. They go everywhere as a family and we always see Daddy quail up on the fence scouting around before he leads the family anywhere. Towards the end of the summer you can't tell the babies from the adults because they are so big but mom and dad are still herding them around.

These pictures aren't the best but I had to take them through the glass door. I couldn't go out or they would have scattered, with feathers bobbing all over the place.



There are three babies. Can you find them all?
By the way, that green stuff is sand from Gracy's sandbox. It finds its way all over the yard, the house, etc.

They come into the backyard every day and have a nice family meal together. Usually they peck around under the bird feeder but today they decided to scavenge amongst the wreckage of Gracy's play area/Eddie's fence-building area.

I'll try to get better pictures next time but it's hard to sneak up on them! Oh, how I loves me some quails.