Home Sweet ... HOMING PIGEON??

Oh dear, my kids have fallen in love with a homing pigeon, also called racing pigeons I hear, that has taken up residence in our back yard!

Yesterday TJ called me at work, and excitedly told me that there was a "huge" bird with "orange and green tags" in our back yard that must be someone's pet! I was picturing more of a parrot until Drew got on the phone and said our neighbor had confirmed it was a homing pigeon. They watched it, took pictures of it, Googled for info about it, named it "Gilbert" and just had a blast. I got home and it was nowhere to be seen.

Fast forward to about the same time of day today ... and Gilbert reappeared! More pictures, tonight it let us pick it up, and we were able to get the numbers off the band to try and figure out where it came from. The band ID ties to a pigeon association club in Decatur ... so I have emailed the contact and we shall see what happens. Hopefully Gilbert will make another appearance tomorrow if we find the owner and they are anxious to get their bird back! Stay tuned ...

Back to School

New school year for the kiddos ... TJ started 3rd grade, and Drew is starting his junior year of high school. Where did the years go?

Not to be outdone, Abby moved up one level in preschool this week and is enjoying her new class ... complete with music, Spanish and dance! So glad the kids are back in the routine and enjoying their new classrooms and teachers!

Peoria Chiefs Baseball

I'm posting this a little after the fact ... but trying to catch up on a new blog site.

TJ had a great time at the Peoria Chiefs game on July 16, celebrating his 8th birthday with friends and family. It was hot-hot-hot, but we had a great time! We were lucky to be in a box suite where we could catch a break in the A/C while watching the game! There was a military helicopter on display that we went over to see ... and while the kids were sitting in it and Drew was checking out the cockpit ... BONK!! ... a home run ball hit the front of the chopper and dented it. Made for a great story, and fun memories of the day! Enjoy the pictures, below, from his special day!


| View | Add Favorite

Our Trio at the River ...

We spend a lot of weekends at our boat, so I thought it would be fun to take the kiddos out for some river pictures.

This was taken by Jenny at Simply Charming Photography on July 4th weekend ... a little hot and hazy, but the pics turned out great!

If you are in our area and want to get info on using Jenny for pictures, just give me a call.