An Adventure

Last week, we let the kids know what we were going to do on Saturday.  Lucky kept re-asking, "What are we going to do?"  So we just told him we were going to go on an adventure.  Each time he asked we'd tell him about going on an adventure.
Now I'm going to tell you about our adventure.

Saturday morning, we headed as a family up to Squaw Peak for hawk watching.  It's migration time so HawkWatch International again welcomed birders for watching the raptors fly by.  Last year just Jeremy went but this year we were all able to go.  It was nice and we did get to see some hawks and eagles fly by.  Some far away, some up close.

They again had the Swainson's Hawk and Western Screech Owl there to learn about so the kids got to see them up close.  Nichole had a notebook out and was sketching the screech owl.

We saw other birds as well but we were mostly on the look out for migrating hawks and such.

After staying at Squaw Peak for a few hours, we headed to Strawberry Reservoir to the fish trap to see the kokanee salmon just like we did last year.  We missed most of the salmon watching activities that we saw last year, but we did get to see the salmon which was the most important part.

After watching the salmon we headed back to our neck of the woods to visit friends for a birthday and to celebrate the Fall equinox.

Some of the leaves are starting to change color so it was fun to see the variety of colors along with mostly green that day.

It was a long day but a good one.  It was a good adventure.

Hello, World

Monday, November 21, was World Hello Day.  I was in charge of Family Home Evening activity, so I thought we'd visit some world travelers who have the opportunity to say Hello to different parts of the world- birds.  We drove up to Farmington Bay in the rain, had a little break (it was sprinkling more than heavy raining) while driving around, got a few pictures before it got too dark, and drove home in the rain and rush hour traffic. 

I think we got mostly pictures of birds who stay year round in Utah, though.  Oh well.
The kids were happy to watch a movie in the van on the way home.  They did get excited about the ring-necked pheasant who was on the road in front of us but didn't want to go off into the bushes.  They were able to get a good look at it that way.

Tuesday morning, I got out and took a drive around the lake and did see some birds who travel to different parts of the world.  I saw a lot of different types of birds, including several bald eagles (who are not permanent residents of Utah).  It was so relaxing.  There was no rain that morning, so I was able to get out a couple times to get a better look at birds.

Later, Jeremy took Lucky out for a drive around the lake because I had also seen some ferruginous hawks which he had never seen before.  Lucky had a nice nap and Jeremy saw a couple new birds including some ferruginous hawks which brought his life list up to 200 different species of birds (most new birds were seen this year- it's a birding year for us).

November 22 was also Start Your Own Country Day, so at dinner the kids kept saying what kind of country they would start and what they would name it.  Apparently, Nichole would start a country of the dinner table and would name it India.  Lucky's country would be "the fridge" and "milk."  That's a 2-year old's mind for you.

Today, November 23 is Doctor Who Day.  We don't have anything major planned for the holiday this year since Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  Jeremy and Jr. went out for some bonding time this morning to go birding at Farmington Bay.  If the other children stay asleep, I might be able to watch some Doctor Who in the kitchen while doing dishes and making rolls.  Shhh.  Don't wake them.

So You're Sick? How About Some Fresh Air?

Jeremy went to a Hawkwatch event this morning up Squaw Peak Road.  He saw lots of raptors flying by.  He even saw a new life bird in a tree- a Northern Goshawk.

They had some injured birds there for education purposes as well.  Always great to see birds close up, isn't it?  But sad at the same time because of the circumstances.

Ho Ho.  That's so funny.  These pictures make the Western screech owl look bigger than the Swainson's hawk, but if you look at the birds in relation to the glove, you can see how small the Western screech owl really is.  It can sit on one finger, but the hawk uses the whole hand.

Jeremy came home and picked us up and we drove out to Strawberry Reservoir area to the fish trap for their salmon viewing day.  The timing was just right this year.  Last year, we did see the kokanee salmon swimming up the river and to the fish trap, but we weren't there for the event.

This was fun... and educational.  The kids even got to feel some of the fish.

Jr. Jr. was excited to let me know, "I got to touch both a male and a female fish."
They also had free hot dogs and cookies at the event which made the kids happy. 

Don't worry.  They washed their hands after touching the fish.

After the event, the kids watched a movie in the van, while Jeremy and I drove up the road a little bit farther and got to do some birding.  We got to see quite a few mountain bluebirds.  It's no wonder people go searching for the bluebird of happiness.  I couldn't help but smile at those beautiful birds.

It was a nice day.  It was beautiful to drive through the fall colors- well, the leaves are just starting to turn- but they're gorgeous.  The kids had a good time and so did we parents.

Yay for fresh air.  Now we just need to get through the rest of the colds that people have and we can celebrate a lot more.

One more thing.  Jr. Jr. was bummed that we missed Collect Rocks Day yesterday, so he and Lucky picked some up to carry today while we were walking back to our van.  As usual we let them know they had to leave the rocks behind, though.

Hooray for traditions, too.