Saturday, March 29, 2008

Here comes Peter Cottontail...


... to the Ballard household! Our family now has four little ducklings and four baby bunnies! We have quite the little animal farm beginning! A few months ago my husband brought home some adorable, wild bunnies he had caught - and that must have been a sight to see a grown man running around after fast, fast, fast little bunnies! Unfortunately, the bunnies were too young and did not make it - our family called the local bunny specialist and she took our sick bunnies and tried to nurse them back to health; but to no avail. Yet, through that experience we met our friend, Cecilia, and she has tons of bunnies... because they proliferate quite quickly (as you may know)!

So, the day before Easter our little bunch visited Cecilia's home / bunny farm and chose the most adorable little rabbits! Our little man had to have a boy, 'Vader' (and he had to be a black bunny to match Darth Vader). The girls are all pictured holding their bunnies and the names change every few days for their bunnies... right now they are Sasha, Mancha and our little Strawberry's bunny doesn't have a name yet.

We have already had the adventure of our bunnies crawling into a tight space and I, thinking that they were in a life - threatening situation was up after dark with flashlights, poles and a really scraped up arm trying to 'save the bunnies'. Then my cute husband came home and told me that bunnies prefer those types of areas and if they can get in they can get out... so, sure enough, we placed food and water in their sight and they eventually climbed out. As soon as they did so I quickly blocked all entrance to the hole - because, all truth told... I was out in the yard late into the night until the bunnies came out... waiting, without moving a muscle (so that they wouldn't hear me) until they ventured out of their hole and I could catch them and put them into their safe cage for the night!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Make Way for Ducklings!


A couple of weekends ago our family visited a Mexican "mercado" (market) and there were many different types of animals for sale - dead or alive! Next to a fruit stand was a 'carniceria' with pig heads hanging from hooks for purchase - and across from that area was the live animals. Well, my sweet husband decided it would be fun to purchase four little ducklings for our little ones! I often have called our little children 'my little ducklings' as they have followed me around from one place to another! Now, we do have our own little ducklings to care for and we are having quite a wonderful time with them! When they grow up my husband wants to try duck pate! - I told him we'd have to settle for duck eggs!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

A day at the 'Parque'


Our family enjoyed some time at a beautiful park hidden away behind some neighborhoods. There were riding trails, a lake complete with an island and paddle boats, a large playground area and (of course) five soccer fields! We decided to have a picnic in the park and enjoyed some time outdoors together.

The regulations for safety are not quite what they would be in the U.S.A. - notice the half-pipe type 'ride'; a person holds onto two chains and the platform can move under his feet up and down the half-pipe! It is really fun and takes coordination... but I am not quite sure we would see that in the U.S.A. - it's a bit too dangerous!

We hope you enjoy seeing the pictures - we enjoyed taking them.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Cleaning Day in 'La Capilla'


Today our family assisted in cleaning 'la capilla' the church building. We had fun with the Mexican members signing songs and cleaning (although they had no idea what we were signing - they were all smiling and enjoying watching our children). Many members took pictures with their cell phones of our little family and I decided that I would take some pictures as well! We had a fun morning cleaning all the tile floors and putting the chairs up for church tomorrow!