Gibbs on the GO

Sunday, May 15, 2011

The start of a SUPER busy weekend for one SUPER special 8 year old BOY

The chorus concert was on Thursday and the days that followed are sort of a blur now. My mom came in town for Connor's baptism and it turned out that she got to be there for his party at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park as well. Grandma also made it down from Huntington Beach. It's been great to have her close by. Mike and I traditionally like to host our birthday parties at our house. We always come up with a fun theme and we have a blast planning and doing but this year we thought we'd have the party elsewhere since this was only the beginning of the weekend festivities. And since Connor's life ambition is to become an astronaut and an inventor, the science center was just the right place to have his party. Connor invited a handful of classmates to join him. The kids got to check out all the exhibits and then see an IMAX film about the Galapagos Islands. They enjoyed some cake in the Challenger Space Shuttle conference room. They had a great time and it was great for Mike and I to have a break from the clean up!

Shoal Creek Elementary School's Otter Melodies

The boys have had the opportunity to participate in the Otter Melodies children's choir after school this year. Aaron started out last fall and at the beginning of the year, the director opened it up to 2nd graders, so Connor got to join in as well. They just had their concert where they performed Destination America. I was really nervous and worried about Aaron. He struggled at the dress rehearsal at school but he did amazing at the night performance! It was like night and day. I was proud of both of them. I guess the promise of 5 marbles each for the marble jar was enough to get the best out of them. They really had a lot of fun and the music was great. Mrs. White, the director, teaches music at the boys' school and she also is the Stake Youth Music director. She puts on a big production at Christmas time at our LDS Stake Center. We're so lucky to have her directing Otter Melodies!

Connor, Mrs. White, and Aaron posing for a "WE'RE DONE!!!" picture.

Hummingbird Update

The eggs have hatched! We see Hermoine (the kids wanted to name her, I told them it had to be an "H" name) feeding the babies quite often throughout the day but I haven't had my camera ready for a snapshot yet. Here's a picture of the baby hummingbirds less than a day old. You can still see the eggs in the nest.

Hermoine swooped in to keep her babies warm.

Hermoine will continue to keep her babies warm for a few more weeks until the babies feathers come in. We're so thrilled to be watching this amazing cycle. Yes, we've researched the process and watched several youtube videos.

Here are the babies at about 5 days old.

Friday, April 29, 2011

A surprise guest

Earlier this week, we made the most amazing discovery right on our back patio. A little hummingbird made a nest right on the palm just six feet from our sliding door. It's been exciting to see her each morning. Aaron had the great idea to see if he could catch a glimpse of the nest from above. We have a balcony right off the master bedroom. He came downstairs very excited to tell us that there were two eggs in the nest and of course we all had to see. We've been so protective of our little momma hummingbird. I'm really hoping to see them hatch and post more pictures!