Avritt on Cloud Nine

Avritt got his Christmas present early this year. We found a good deal over the weekend. He is completely geeked about this board and all the gear to go with it! Now we just need the snow...

Halloween

Mexican Bandit

Army Officer

Skeleton Army Officer and Mexican Bandit

Homecoming 2009

Emily wore the light gown amongst the group.

It's hard to tell, but her hair was pulled to the side and curled in ringlets. I can't believe that I didn't get a shot of just Emily that day! I was hosting my sister's baby shower, and left the shower to deliver Emily to a friend's house where these pictures were taken. I had a lot going on that day, so I guess it's excusable...

The big group.

Football Players

Isaac's Football Debut

Isaac is a left tight end (the end of the offensive line).

On the sidelines during defense.

First Day of School

I had some handsome boys on the front step waiting for the bus!

Isaac Turns 9

Isaac's Birthday Party

Family Shots

We dont' get too many of these shots...I'm glad a friend of mine was up visiting and took these pictures.

The family around the fire.

Camping

Our screenhouse in the foreground, tents behind.

Avritt ready for the beach.

This was the scene of 10 days of relaxation this summer.

This was the scene of 10 days of great campfire food.

Memorial Day Weekend at a Horse Ranch

Bird Pics

The three birds right before they flew the nest.

This one stayed in the nest for a couple of days after the others. The parents stopped feeding it (for the most part - they came only occasionally) and we suspect that was a motivation for the baby to leave the nest.

I ended up startling this one out of the nest when taking a picture. The mother bird (Roberta) had been pestering this one all day - we swear it looked like she was trying to push it out of the nest. After it left, the mother was busy cleaning the nest, including getting rid of the one egg that didn't hatch (someone found it on the ground later) and the poop from the two days this bird stayed in the nest beyond its siblings. Since then the mother has done some nest remodeling, including lining it with mud and then placing a fresh layer of grass/twigs over the mud. It's now a little deeper and more reinforced. I haven't seen any new eggs over the last two or three days, but the mother is sitting on the nest this morning again.

The baby has returned to the deck a few times to sit in the sun. We have also seen it in the trees in the yard. I haven't seen the other two birds in several days - their fate is unknown...

The Mother Bird

We have named her Roberta - pronounced "Robird-a"

Avritt Catching

Three Baby Birds

Three eggs out of four have hatched.