Mostly Outside Things

Del has started a little tradition. We invite the neighbor kids over to make S'Mores in the back yard. They come, it gets a little crazy, and they eat,and eat, and eat, and eat. And get really sticky. And have a lot of fun! And then we all smell like fire smoke for the rest of the night!

We had our first S'Mores night a couple of weeks ago. The kids do not let us forget when it has been a while since we did it, so I see another invite going out in the very near future. Sometimes we get a few parents along with the kids, and sometimes they throw in a backyard game of hide and seek to work off the S'Mores they stuffed themselves with.

Del learned the hard way not to be goofy with the marshmallow roasting sticks. Playing along, he took a bite off of one of them when it was held out to him by one of the kids, and burnt his lip! Ouch! That was a nice little lesson to the kiddos though!

Del got a riding mower because we have more yard space in the new house. The kids hound him for rides.

I was straightening up in Georgia's room, when I found a surprise here in her bird cage.
I knew Georgia found an abandoned birds nest outside. She was carrying it around the yard one day.

But when I took a look inside the cage while I cleaned up, I saw that not only had she brought it inside, but there was a small blue robin's egg sitting inside.
When she got home, I asked her about it, and she told me that she had convinced Will to climb a tree, and steal an egg from a nest so that she could be its mom and watch it hatch.

I had to explain that now the egg would not hatch because it needed it's bird mom to sit on it and help it get ready to turn into a baby bird.
I am sad that nothing will come of this egg. I hope Georgia got the message, and remains an observer when it comes to nests in the future.
Oh boy, this girl is too curious for her own good.

Our turtle friends have returned! Georgia spotted this guy sloooowly working his way along the fence line, trying to get to the pond on the other side of it!
We had this happening last Summer too, after we put the fence up between us and the pond, we realized that it was a barrier to these turtles. They are not smart animals by the way. You actually can get around the fence at the edge of the property line, but they will stop and turn around inches away from the stopping point.
We have to scoop them up and give them a ride over the fence on a shovel. They are snapping turtles, and they live up to their name! Best to keep some distance between the turtles and your fingers!
We are on a roll when it comes to disrupting the local wild life this week!

Speaking of animals, Walker makes the perfect pet doggie for Georgia. She loves to boss him around. She is really good at it! I think this dog and owner relationship is bit more complex than the norm however. When your dog talks back it adds a new level of complexity. At least the game kept them playing while I tried to get rid of a headache by taking a rest on my bed.

I swear the hose runs from the moment the kids get home from school, until I call them to get ready for swim practice. They are always drenched before they get to the practice pool.

Along the lines of nature and the outdoors... Wally's class built a rainforest in their classroom at school. They were so excited to show off their handi work! So they invited parents to come and eat lunch in the rainforest with them. This is not a flattering picture of me, but it is all I have of the rainforest, so for the sake of my son, here ya go!

These boys chase each other, wrestle each other, laugh with each other, and are pretty much as close as two brothers can be. This brotherly relationship runs deep!

I was called on Sunday to teach in Relief Society. It has been so many years since I attended Relief Society on Sunday's because I have been serving in Primary and Young Women's. I have taught before, years and years ago. So I will be interested to see how I do! Ha! Keep a good thought for me as I prepare my first lesson!