a few things before the summer ended

i couldn't believe it was september 1st yesterday. i figured that meant it was time to post another catch up blog about the end of our summer. i'll start with the hardest bit of news, to get it over with.

we had our sweet little birds, tumnus and lucy, for five years. they were as loyal and cuddly as dogs, full of personality and attitude, and were certainly a part of our hearts. the closer we are to having this baby, however, is making us re-evaluate the type of environment we'd like to have for him/her.

about 2 years after getting the birds, i developed an allergy to them--everything from sneezing, itchy, runny nose/eyes to itchy welts on my skin where their talons broke through/scratched. although david wasn't allergic to them, he does have asthma, and any sort of allergen in the environment isn't the most conducive place for him to be. we figured we were pretty much in the ballpark in terms of passing something on to the baby, and we didn't want to be responsible for worsening a condition because we didn't want to get rid of the birds.

then looking ahead, all i could see was the baby toddling around, putting the birds' food remnants in his/her mouth, picking up dried bird poop, etc. yuck. we also weren't sure how the birds would handle a baby. they don't do well with children in general; tumnus always sounded his alarm squawk when he saw a stroller, baby, toddler, etc. lucy's been a little nippy lately, too, and we definitely didn't want the alarm squawk waking up the baby, or having one of the birds bite the baby.

so, as hard as it was, we found the wasatch avian society, an adoption agency for birds. they act as a rescue society for maltreated birds, but also take in birds that the owners want to surrender, and readopt them out. they treat it like a human adoption--home visits, strict adoption screening, etc. they would do the sort of screening we would do for our own birds. it was a very emotional couple of days for us after jim came and picked them up. they are very healthy and happy birds, and we were assured they would stay together in the adoption process (it's too traumatic to break up a bonded pair), and would keep their cage/toys/etc. we trust they will be placed in a loving home.

phew. it's still hard thinking about them...

my dad came to visit and helped us with a couple projects around the house. we started with the baby's room. i painted the room before he came, and he helped us put up bead board while he was here.

before:

after paint and awaiting bead board:

pretty much after:

we are still waiting to hear back from the builder so we can paint the bead board the same tint white as the floorboards. we've primered it, but it still has to be painted. we are very pleased with the project! and by the way, just because the room is blue, doesn't mean we think we're having a boy.

project #2: kitchen backsplash.

before:

during:

after:

again, we are very pleased with the end result. we'd like to tile the master bath next! thanks, dad, for your help! we learned a lot and felt like good homeowners able to improve our home.

we took a week off and went camping with david's parents in montana. it was beautiful and cool at 9,000 feet, and we had a good time. i will never forget watching david fly fish in his floater on the lake. he said it was the most relaxing thing in the world, just floating along and thinking of nothing but the cool water and peace surrounding him.

a few more photos of the lake/site we camped at:

we went to a neighboring lake for more canoeing fun, and i caught and released my first rainbow trout! i am very glad i didn't have to clean any fish guts.

and of course, we couldn't skip going into yellowstone, as we were camping right outside its door!

a beautiful waterfall hike:

a grizzly searching for some sort of treasure he'd buried...

as always, lots of bison

i quit working full-time and now just work a few shifts a week doing after-hours clinics. it's nice to take the mornings slow, and nap during the day if i need to. it's been nice getting back into our routine, and we are eagerly awaiting this little person to join our family...6 weeks and counting!