More bag talk, more bird talk, a science experiment, and a recipe!

Happy Friday!  

I have been up to my eyeballs in laundry (Dan brought home a ton of it with him and most of it required ironing.  Plus with both kids home there is more laundry in general!), vacuuming (Peter is allergic to our cats and when he lived here became sensitized ((or is it desensitized?)) to them. But when he comes to visit I have to  vacuum a lot to keep him from sneezing for hours on end because he's no longer used to them), and cooking (Kids are home so meals must be planned and cooked!).  

Please note - I am not complaining about being up to my eyeballs in laundry, cleaning, and cooking.  I AM THRILLED TO BE DOING ALL OF THIS!!!  I am sure there are many blog posts in my archives where I was complaining about doing all of these things.  Now I am thankful that I get to do them. 💜

In my last post, I mentioned the beloved blue bags.  Suz wanted a picture of them.  Here they are in action when we moved Peter into his dorm freshman year. 

 

That was all we needed to move Peter.  All his clothes were on hangers in those bags and all of his desk stuff, personal items, shoes, everything else. were crammed in there as well.  So handy! So convenient!  

I originally ordered two Ikea Frakta bags from Amazon to see if I thought they would work for moving.  The Frakta bag is the one you can see with the yellow zipper. After I got those two, I decided I definitely needed more for the move and when I went back on Amazon I found some non-Ikea bags that were cheaper and I like those equally as well.  The Ikea Frakta bags do have shoulder straps on the bottom if you wanted to put the bag on your back and carry it like a giant backpack.  I guess that might make it easier but I never used that function as I am not a pack mule and found that carrying them by the top handles worked just fine.

Peter opened the garage fridge yesterday and called for me to come out and look.  "What's this weird brown icy looking stuff?"

I had put a pack (still in the cardboard box) of mini Diet Pepsi's on the top shelf of the fridge.  Things have been known to freeze on that shelf but I assumed since the drinks were in the cardboard box they would be insulated.  I WAS WRONG!

One of the drinks had frozen, the ice expanded in the can so much so, that the top of the can shot off and WENT THROUGH THE CARDBOARD BOX!!!!!!

Y'ALL!!!!! Look at this...

The box was INTACT when I put it in the fridge.  Do you see the giant hole??  And do you see how the entire top of the Pepsi can looks like it was literally sliced off??  

I had been in the kitchen the day before and heard a loud noise/knock/pop sound.  I thought someone was at the door but no one was there so I just brushed it off as a random household noise.  I am now thinking that what I heard was the physics experiment happening in the fridge in the garage!

The kids have been keeping busy.  Peter went to the driving range to hit balls with one of his friends from high school yesterday. Sarah has spent a lot of time with Joe the last few days.  He got home from Ireland and heads out of town again this weekend for a graduation.  So they hung out a lot on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  She also started working at her pool.  She has been cleaning it and getting it ready to open next weekend. She sent this to to family group text...

Look under that bush!!!! EGGS!!!!

She was cleaning the lazy river (it does look filthy!) and noticed this pile of duck eggs underneath the bush.  She also said there was a mom and dad duck swimming in the big pool! 

We googled last night and duck eggs take 28 days before they hatch and she said these eggs definitely weren't there last weekend when they first started working on cleaning the pool.  And the pool opens next Friday so these won't be hatched by then.  She's working again this afternoon and her supervisor will be there so she's going to ask her what to do.  

I just googled it and found this on the US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service's website:

Mallards are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It is illegal for any person to take, possess, transport, sell, or purchase them or their parts, such as feathers, nests, or eggs, without a permit. Active nests with eggs or chicks may not be touched or destroyed without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Inactive (empty) nests do not require a permit to destroy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not issue permits to remove Mallards, eggs, nor nests that are occupying a pool or an enclosed yard.

Who knew???

It's been a minute since I've shared a recipe.  Peter loves Chipotle and when he's home, I always make homemade Chipotle bowls.  I make fresh guacamole, rice, seasoned black beans, lettuce, seasoned chicken, pico de gallo , and serve it all with sour cream and taco sauce.  

But this time I wanted to spiff it up even more and I made a homemade version of Chipotle's Honey Vinaigrette.  I didn't even know Chipotle had a dressing but I saw people talking about it online.  And I saw people mixing it with sour cream and adding that to their bowls.  I've done that and it is delicious.  I found a recipe online and IT WAS SO GOOD!  So, if you make homemade Chipotle bowls, you need to make this vinaigrette.  Heck - this stuff is so good that you should make it even if you don't make burrito bowls at home. It's great on salads and is good as a dip when mixed with sour cream. The chipotle peppers add such a nice smokey flavor and the honey keeps it from being too spicy!  DELICIOUS!!!

The recipe I used comes from Once Upon a Chef and can be found here.

All right.  I must get to work! Dan's sister is coming for a visit this weekend and the guest room needs some attention and it's my Uncle's birthday and he will be joining us for Sunday lunch and a cake must be made! It's not a birthday without a cake. :)

Have a great weekend!

 

Full nest, full heart!

Ahhhhhh...my heart is happy!  My nest is full - for the moment and I am enjoying every minute of it!

On Thursday, Brad and Peter and I headed to Charlotte to move Sarah home for the summer.  Thanks to the big blue bags, we made quick work of it!  If you aren't using the big blue Ikea (or similar brands from Amazon) bags to move then you are doing it wrong.  These bags are life savers.  I purchased 8 of them before we moved Peter his freshman year and am not looking back.  You can pile/shove/cram so much stuff in these bags and they zip up and stack so well when they are full.  We don't even take clothes off of hangers.  We just fold them in half on the hanger and put into the miracle bag.  It makes moving a dream.  (Well, moving is never a dream but it definitely makes things run go much smoother.)

The obligatory empty dorm room photo.

 

On Friday, I helped Sarah sort out clothes from her closet and got rid of things she didn't wear any longer and helped her sort through the pile of stuff in the bonus room.  The pile of stuff being everything previously contained in said blue bags.

On Saturday, I had lunch with Jennifer at the Village Tavern. It was so nice to catch up with her. We've made a date to do it again in June!  

On Saturday evening, I put Peter in charge of the grill and as he cooked burgers, Sarah and I hung out with him and we listened to music.  It was such a beautiful evening, we ate outside.  It was so nice and the burgers were delicious.  And then around 8:00 PM, Dan got home from Ireland!!!!!  Finally, everyone was home.

I woke up to a nice little treat on Mother's Day...

Cards, flowers, and earrings! My first stop in the morning is always at the Keurig so they  put my cards and gifts there.  :)  

We went to Mass and then headed to my Mom's to celebrate Mother's Day with her. 

Me with my babies.

My mom with her babies.

Later that afternoon, Dan and I headed to Goose and the Monkey to enjoy an adult beverage and to catch up on all the things he had missed while being in Ireland.  

Yesterday was another busy day.  After I got groceries, I ran errands with Sarah.  We took a big bag of her castoffs to Plato's Closet to see if they would consign any of them.  They kept some of the items and we left with an extra $21.50 in our pockets and came back home with a bunch of the stuff they didn't want. I will try to list some of it on Poshmark and the rest will go to Goodwill. She also needed a few things - shoes to wear at the pool, sunscreen, socks, etc.. so we headed to Starbucks and Target.  Then we came home and finished sorting through all of her stuff and organizing it so that we don't have to do that in August when it's time to move her back.

And now it's a cloudy Tuesday.  I will hopefully getting in my 3 mile walk and catch up on laundry. It's funny how you don't mind laundry, errands, grocery shopping, and cooking when all your people are at home.   Peter heads back to Raleigh in two weeks and Dan heads to Ireland again soon so I am going to enjoy every last little chore and every moment spent together while everyone is home.💗 

My house has a revolving door, the birds are all grown up, a good book, and my new favorite spice!

Dan left for Ireland again on Saturday.  He will be back this Saturday and home for two weeks, then will be gone for a month.  Then home for a week and gone for two.  Then home to go on vacation then back to Ireland.  In other words, he will be gone for most of the summer.  :(

But in good news, Sarah came home on Friday afternoon as she had training/orientation at the new pool she will be working at this summer.  She headed back to Charlotte on Sunday afternoon to finish up her exams.  Peter, who is done with finals, came home Sunday night and will be here for a little bit before he heads back to Raleigh to look for a summer job. It's starting to feel like the front door is revolving...

My brother and I along with Peter will be heading to Charlotte on Thursday to pack up Sarah and bring her home for the summer.  I know she will be busy with work and friends most of the summer but it will be nice to have someone home(ish) with me while Dan is gone.

Sarah got home on Friday before I did. I was out running errands with my mom and as soon as I walked in the door, Sarah  said, "Are those new glasses?!"  I knew she would notice my new (and totally different looking!) glasses!  :)

Peter sent me this photo on Saturday...

He was telling me that the parents are spending less and less time with the babies.  And then on Sunday, he sent me this one with the caption of "My babies are all grown up."

And let me tell you, I felt that caption. I responded with some crying face emojis and saved him from a discourse on how hard it is to watch your babies leave but that they have to because it's how life works - it means the parents have successfully done their job. I also failed to mention that Empty Nest Syndrome is real and will leave you feeling a little sad even though you've done your job well. 

We are both wondering if the birds will come back to the same spot nest time they have a brood.  I was googling and doves attempt 2-5 nestings a year up until September. He may get to see another set of babies as doves typically use the same nesting spot if they had a successful brood there.

I just finished Defending Jacob, a book that was recommended to me by Gigi. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was well written and there were a couple of twists and turns at the end that I did not see coming.  My only issue with it (and I have this issue with a lot of books) is that 90% of the book is the basis of the story and then the last 10% is twists, turns, wrapping things up, etc and you are left reeling a bit.  So I needed some time to process the last couple of chapters but it was a great book and even though it was long, I read it in a week. Thanks, Gigi!  

Before I go (I need to get my walk in before it gets too hot - it's supposed to be 84 today), I wanted to share this spice with you...(Sorry for the screenshot.  I'm too lazy to get up, go to the kitchen, take a picture, upload it to the computer etc....)

This stuff is so good!  I enjoy salads but have trouble eating them without a ton of dressing so I've started putting this on my lettuce and it adds so much flavor that I hardly need dressing.  

The ingredient list is as follows: Salt Crystals (Earth and Sea), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein (No Added MSG), Soy Granules, Mellow Toasted Onion, Nutritional Yeast, Garlic, Orange Powder, Dill, Kelp, Horseradish, Mustard Flour, Orange and Lemon Peel, Celery Granules and Powder, Sweet Green and Red Bell Peppers, Parsley Flakes, Celery Root Powder, White Pepper, Turmeric, Rosehips, Summer Savory, Onion Powder, Parsley Powder, Mushroom Powder, Coriander, Fenugreek, Basil, Cayenne Pepper, Spinach Powder, Cloves, Cumin, Ginger, Marjoram, Oregano, Thyme, Tarragon, Cinnamon, Safflower, Paprika, Tomato, Rosemary, Celery Seed Ground. 

Have you guys ever used it?  Does anyone have any other tips on how to eat less dressing on a salad - because to me that's the best part!

Bird babies (plural!), new glasses, new salad, new word games.

On Sunday, Peter sent this picture to the family group chat and said, "Proof that it's a couple!  I just watched them switch shifts." 

  And then minutes later he sent this picture with the caption "The babies grow fast!"

To which I screamed, "BABIES??? PLURAL???" And then calmly texted back, "I thought there was only one!"

How dare he not mention that there were two?  When I was googling researching doves it mentioned that they typically laid two eggs so I thought perhaps this bird had a bit of a malfunction.  It also mentioned that the mother and father take shifts sitting on the eggs and tending to the babies.  It's good to know that this little family is doing things by the books. But I was a little perturbed that my onsite ornithologist in Raleigh son failed to properly document the nest to his bird-loving mother. Although the fact that he continues to watch them and send me pictures makes me happy.

I would also like to add here that my brother is now feeding birds as well and we are both happily enjoying our daily visitors.  I also feel the need to add here that I have a hummingbird visitor but I rarely see him/her.  I'm wondering if perhaps the hummingbird feeders are too close to the other feeders and the bigger birds are scaring them away.  I am considering moving/adjusting my feeders.  I am also considering therapy for my obsession....  I will keep you all posted.

In non-bird related news, I got new glasses:

 

Dan failed to notice them upon his return from Ireland.  As I was giving him a hard time he tried to defend himself by stating that his not noticing them meant they looked great.  He also said they look exactly the same as my previous pair, another weak defense if you ask me.

For proof, here's a weird and random selfie I found on my phone from a month ago:

I think they look totally different. The color is definitely different, the shape is different, and the size is different.  The true test will be when Sarah comes home to see if she notices them.  If I were a betting woman, I'm going to say that she will notice them immediately. I will also keep you posted on this riveting information as well.

I am impatiently waiting for my avocados to ripen so I can have my chickpea salad for lunch again (now that I've purchased more feta) so I had to have  a different salad for lunch yesterday.  This was pretty good:

I made a creamy balsamic dressing for the spring mix. (The dressing was fine, nothing to write home about so I will not be making it again.)  I topped it with salmon (that I cooked in the air fryer), black berries, goat cheese, candied pecans (I put these in a frying pan with butter and tossed them with Splenda instead of brown sugar in an attempt to keep the sugar down in this salad as balsamic is pretty sugary), feta, and a little balsamic glaze to finish.  This was excellent!  The only thing I would do differently is to use a different dressing next time. 

And finally, before I go - do you guys play Wordle?  I have been playing for well over a year now and enjoy it thoroughly.  However, recently I have added Dordle, Quordle, and Octordle to the mix as well because I typically get the Wordle in under a minute. Some days it's longer but usually I'm pretty quick with it. If you are not aware, these games are like Wordle except in Dordle you are figuring out 2 words, Quordle 4, and Octordle 8.  I usually get the daily Dordle and Quordle and recently have been getting the Octordle although it's pretty hard to get all 8 words in 13 tries (and that's 13 tries total for all 8 words). 

I am justifying playing these games as brain exercises - hopefully they are keeping my brain firing on all cylinders.  In the meantime, it's time for me to go to the park and get my 3 miles in so my body also continues to fire on all cylinders! 

A recipe, another bird picture, and what I've been watching...

 Two posts in one week?  Look at me blogging like it's 2013!

I saw a recipe on TikTok for a salad earlier in the week and tweaked it a little and made it my own and ate it twice in one day - it's that good - so I thought I would share.

Here it is before I mixed it up so you could see all the lovely ingredients:

Here it is after I dressed it and mixed it:

 

Ingredients:

• Greens of choice (first time I made it I used spring greens, the second time romaine)
• Chickpeas (drained, room temperature)
  
• Avocado
• Feta
• Pickled Onions
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
• salt, pepper, Tajin

I just threw everything into the bowl, added a generous amount of the olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and then added salt and pepper to taste (the chickpeas need the salt) and because I absolute love Tajin, I tossed a little of that on top as well to give it a little kick. 

This was so delicious that I didn't need any other dressing.  That's huge for me because normally I like a lot of a creamy (usually Ranch) dressing on a salad to make it palatable. But this was delicious without a creamy dressing and healthy. I'll be eating this again...I'm just out of feta.

In other news, LOOK...

The mama bird is feeding her baby!  Isn't this the cutest thing???? (Although, at first glance, it appears that she's eating her baby...)

Before Dan left on his trip we watched a couple of episodes of Jury Duty. It's on Amazon Prime/Freevee.   It's a staged/reality show.  The premise is that there's a trial but a camera crew is filming everything to show people what it's like to be on jury duty.  Everyone is an actor except one person who is just an ordinary guy who thinks he's actually there for jury duty.  So far it's pretty funny and I'm ready for Dan to get back home so we can watch more.

And also while he's been gone I have finished up season four of Love is Blind.  I really do enjoy that show!  I used to really like the Bachelor but this show is so much better.  And now I'm just waiting for season 5 - which won't air until the end of the year.  I guess that gives me something to look forward to.

Happy Friday everyone! 

A concert, the beach, and a baby!

We've been busy-ish around here! Last Friday, Sarah came home after class because she hadn't seen Joe in three weeks. She originally planned to go to Raleigh on Friday because there was a big end of semester party called Wolfstock planned.  Lots of events, bands, food trucks, etc.  But the father of a friend of Joe's passed away suddenly so Joe came home to attend the funeral.  They did manage a late dinner together on Friday night and then they headed to Raleigh together late Saturday afternoon after the funeral.  They made it in time to see the closing band which is the band they were most excited to see.  Sarah sent me this picture of the two of them at the concert:

Last Thursday after class, Peter and his fraternity brothers headed to the beach for their formal but before they left, they had a fundraiser for the Raleigh Boys Club.  It was called Dunk-A-DEK. Students paid money to dunk the guys and all the money raised went to the Boys Club.  

Here's Peter doing his part:

And here's his view from last weekend:

Not going to lie...I was extremely jealous but he had a blast and I got to live vicariously through him.

I asked him to send me the group picture of everyone all dressed up and he texted me this:

I immediately texted him back telling him that this picture is absolutely horrible.  Half the people aren't even looking at the camera and even if they were it's too far away!  He responded with a laughing until crying emoji.  I'm sure (maybe) there's a better photo of the group somewhere but if there is, I'll probably never see it. He did send me this one over the weekend but it's only a small portion of the guys in his fraternity. Oh well...

When he returned from the beach, he texted me this picture:

It's hard to see but in the left-hand corner is the BABY BIRDIE!!!!!! It hatched while he was at the beach.  I was bummed he didn't get to see it but I'm so excited there's a baby!

On Saturday morning, I attended a ladies luncheon at Union Grove Baptist Church. My friend Kim was hosting a table.  It was a lovely morning.  We had a delicious meal, listened to a wonderful speaker, and there were door prizes galore!  It was such a nice morning.  (And I say this even though I did not win a door prize.)

 

On Saturday evening, Dan and I went to Mass and then had dinner at a new restaurant downtown, Twisted Pine.  It was really yummy!  We started with the cheese curd appetizer.  It was delicious.  I've never had cheese curds so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I'm not sure if these were 100% authentic cheese curds but we ate every single one of them!

And yesterday was Jennifer's 50th birthday so I had lunch at work with her.  I took zero pictures because you know how I am but it was great being able to spend a little time with her on her milestone birthday!

Dan is back in Ireland.  He's basically going to be there for the majority of the spring and summer. Peter will be done with exams next week and will come home for a week so I'll have a little company.  He's still trying to decide where he wants to spend his summer - here or in Raleigh.  

Sarah will be done with exams the following week and she will be home for the summer working as a lifeguard.  She's excited to be able to see all of her friends regularly for the summer and she's also excited to just relax.  I'm excited for any and all time I get to spend with my kids!

And that's what we've been up to!

Emerging Leaders Program Graduation

Emerging Leaders is a UNC Charlotte program founded in 1980 that offers a select group of first-year, first-time UNC Charlotte students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, while making friends and having a great time. 

Back in September, Sarah applied to the Emerging Leaders program. After the application process, there were in person interviews in October and she was accepted!   

In November the group of 70 kids met twice before the end of the semester and then things started in full swing in January with an overnight retreat where they were broken up into PAL (Peer Advised Learning) groups. The PAL leaders were students that had previously completed the Emerging Leaders program. 

In addition to the retreat, there were 12 socials through out the semester where they got to get to know one another and for 4 months they had weekly workshops where they covered topics like conflict management, effective communication, goal setting, event planning, etc.  

And at the beginning of this month, each of the PAL groups had to plan and execute a service project that would benefit the community. After the projects the groups had to present the project to the rest of the Emerging Leaders.

Sarah's group had to create a project based on education.  (I don't remember the exact parameters.) They reached out to area elementary schools to see if they could read to the kids or help the teachers in some way.  They finally got things set up with a school 15 minutes from campus.  They went in and read to the kindergartners and also listened to them read as well. Then they ate lunch with them in the cafeteria.  Sarah said the kids were so cute and loved the extra attention and gave them all hugs as they were leaving.

In addition to the onsite volunteering they had to leave something with the school so each of her group members created brochures on different topics.  Sarah's brochure was on creating good study habits.  It turned out great!  (The brochures were for the older elementary kids.)

The main purpose of the project was to put into practice everything they had been learning at their different workshops throughout the semester. 

On Saturday, they had graduation from the program.  It was remote for parents but the students enjoyed a brunch and then awards and then got their diplomas.  Here are a few pictures Sarah sent me:

The whole group!

 

This is Sarah with her PAL leader, Salvatore. 

This is her PAL group.

Sarah really enjoyed this program and is so glad she applied.  She learned a lot, met a bunch of great people, and has even applied to be a PAL for next year. She also gained a lot of confidence in addition to everything she learned.  (I think she was really proud of herself after giving the project presentation to over 70 people. That's the most people she's ever spoken in front of before.) I'm really proud of my girl...she's taking every opportunity that comes her way and she's making the most out of her time in college.  (And in a few weeks she'll be home for the whole summer! Yippee!)

Our family group chat is more exciting than yours....

 On Thursday, April 6th, Peter texted the family group chat the following:

This pigeon has been roosting there for the past three days! He comes in the mornings and leaves in the evening.

("There" is outside of his bedroom window.)

Dan asked Peter if the bird brought any nest stuff  and Peter responded that he wasn't sure if he was trying to make a nest because there isn't much room on the window sill. 

And then being the annoying "bird lady" that I am, I informed him that it's a dove and not a pigeon (even though they are in the same family).

Then later than same evening, he sent us THIS picture:

Sarah responded with "He is a she!"

And then Peter let us know he wanted to name the bird Tony but now needed a new name.  Sarah suggested Tammy and I suggested Toni.  Not sure if Peter ever officially named her or not.

Every couple of days he sends me an update picture with the dove laying on the egg.  

I researched it briefly (and of course "researched" means "googled" but still...)

Apparently doves often build their nests on windowsills with very little nest material.  If you see in the picture about there's some twigs but nothing that looks like what I consider an actual bird's nest. 

The nesting period is 12 - 15 days so we could be seeing a baby dove one day this week.  

Typically they have 2 eggs in each clutch so I'm not sure what happened to the other one.  

I'm extremely excited to see if this egg hatches and how long it stays on the windowsill! 

And don't worry...I'll keep you all posted! :)

Easter 2023

Earlier last week, Dan mentioned that he noticed I hadn't written a new blog post lately.  My reply was that I had time to write one but nothing to really interesting to write about.  Does the internet really care about my birds or my knocking around in an empty house looking for something to do that doesn't involve cleaning anything?  I think not!

But - my kids were home this weekend so you know I have to document that.  (And while I'm here, you know I'm going to briefly mention my feathered friends.  You've been warned!)

Sarah didn't have class on Friday so she came home on Thursday evening.  She slept in on Friday morning and look who showed up while she was sleeping! My first hummingbird of the season!!

Friday was a cold, rainy, dreary day - very fitting for Good Friday I think. Sarah and I headed to the mall with Dan in tow because he had the day off work.  She needed a few spring items for her wardrobe.  I think by the second store, Dan regretted joining us.  But he persevered.  He took advantage of all the seating OUTSIDE of the stores we visited.  Forever 21, American Eagle, and H&M had lots of cute stuff and she found a few things.  It was a good trip.

After the mall, we headed to church for the 3:00 service and when we got home from that, Peter was waiting on us!  It was so very nice to have my babies under the same roof for a couple of nights!

Sarah had a big test this week so she spent a lot of time studying this weekend but on Friday night we watched Catch Me If You Can.  It was quite enjoyable!

On Saturday evening, we headed to Roar in downtown Winston-Salem.  Roar is a very cool place!  They have a food hall with a performing area.  We ordered from the burger stall (and the burgers were really good!) and they had dueling pianists playing in the performing area.  There is an upstairs with bowling and virtual golf.  There are two other sit down and be served type restaurants in the building.  Also on the upstairs level they had someone singing country music.  There's a beer wall on both floors where you can serve yourself from 25 taps once you've checked in and gotten a wrist band.  And there's a basement level that will be opening in a few weeks that is going to have Esports.  They have a little something for everyone. It was a nice way to spend a rainy and cold Saturday night.

And then of course, Sunday was Easter!  We went to Mass and then came home to enjoy a delicious lunch with my mom and my brother. Mom outdid herself as usual with a ham, hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, slaw, creamy cucumbers, green beans, black-eyed peas, and biscuits!  And I made a homemade cheesecake with cherries and homemade whipped cream.  It was all yummy!

And of course, mom had baskets for us all!

 

And then we came back to our house and the kids finally looked at their baskets from the bunny. 

I appreciate them humoring me by letting me take a picture!  :)

And then, just like that, it was time for Peter to head back to Raleigh but not before indulged  me with a family selfie!

And Sarah snapped this one with just the two of them. 💚

Sarah ended up spending Sunday night at home so she could study in peace for her test and headed back to school Monday in time for her afternoon classes.

I loved having them home but I told Dan that when they leave it always makes me a little bit sad all over again.  But, I guess that's the life of a mom with college age children!  And summer break is right around the corner.  Sarah will be home all summer working as a lifeguard again and Peter's plans are still up in the air.  He has his apartment through the summer and it sounds like he'll be home for a little while after exams and then head back and get a job for the remainder of the summer. I always tell them that they are welcome anytime and for however long they want to stay!  

That's all that's been going on around here.  Check back later for more bird updates and more puttering around the house updates.