The birds

Eli and I picked up Stef and Alex this morning and went to Ankeny Wildlife Refuge, just south of Salem (a lot closer than I thought!)

We saw tons of geese and heard them honking and honking. We saw tons of ducks and heard them quacking and quacking. We saw a HUGE nutria in the grass. And Eli and Alex saw lots of the parking lot, which was -- by far -- their favorite part. There were rocks and puddles. What more could boys ask for?

This afternoon, after Mama went for a run with Eli in the jogging stroller and both dogs tied around her waist (holy cow that was the hardest workout EVER!), we met Alicia, Rowan, Sarah and Elliot at Minto Brown to see more birds -- mainly very friendly ducks and two bully geese. I brought some bread for Eli to feed the ducks but every piece except for one he promptly put in his mouth instead of on the ground for the ducks. Either he was hungry or he didn't believe the ducks were hungry enough...