Life Lesson from Hunter

While shopping for a new bed for Petey - he's already outgrown his first one - I happened upon a really cute pair of shoes. Hunter, who has been wanting everything he sees lately, promptly told me, "Maybe for Christmas or your birthday!" Lesson Learned:)

Thanks Dee Dee

My mom gave Hannah (and Hunter indirectly) an unfinished table and chairs for her birthday. I couldn't decide to paint or to stain. Then, I finally decided to stain, but what color? I finally chose the color and could never find the time to stain without two little helpers in the mix. So, mom popped in for one last summer visit before heading back to school, and she stained the table while she was here - she's SUPER DEE DEE!

Thanks Dee Dee - we really appreciate your help!

Mood of the Day: Grumpy

A glance at yesterday:

Hunter(after finishing his breakfast): Hannah, let's go play in my room.

Hannah: No, I'm grumpy.

Hunter: Please, let's go play in my room.

Hannah: No, I'm grumpy!

Hunter: Let's go play in your room.

Hannah (as she forcefully closes the door to her room): NO!!! I'm GRUMPY!


Hunter resigned himself to playing with me while Hannah remained in self-induced isolation. She did emerge ready to play within a few minutes.

Later that day in the van:

Hannah (in reaction to Hunter touching her car seat): STOP! I'm GRUMPY!

Me: Hunter, leave your sister alone!

Hunter: I not bother her!

Hannah (still angry at Hunter): STOP IT!! I'm GRUMPY!


The irony: Had you asked me, I would not have classified Hannah's mood as grumpy yesterday. In no way did she come even close to what she is truly capable of when it comes to being grumpy, but when the girl says she is grumpy, it's best to leave her alone!

The Backyard Visitor

First came barking, then came shouting, followed by squealing and lots of giggling, all for one very small, unassuming turtle who was caught somewhere between confusion and fear!

Hunter was ecstatic to find this confused little creature hiding in his backyard. He looked at me and said, "Mommom, I have a turtle. I never had a turtle before! Let's feed him"

Unsure of what turtles actually eat, we decided on carrots - he clearly was too distraught to even think of food!

Hannah was speechless; all she could do was squeal and giggle.

Petey wanted desperately to get close and show dominance only to chicken out each time.

The poor turtle, which Hunter affectionately named Peepaw, couldn't figure out which way to go. Within thirty minutes of his mysterious appearance, the turtle made his way to the corner of the fence and crawled under in search of safety. Since the yard he chose is home to two, large German shepherds, I'm pretty sure he didn't stick around there for very long either.

Hunter was sad to see him go. However, he had a solution, "Mommom, let's tell dad to go get a new one at the pet store!" Let's just say we still don't have a replacement turtle!

The Insectarium

When the new insectarium opened in mid-June, Pete could hardly contain his excitement. Not being a big bug fan, I struggled to find a slight smile even thinking about such an outing; however, when the recent oil spill upset our initial plans and we needed a good alternative, what could be better than BUGS (at least according to Pete)!

The children were thrilled about going to see bugs, but I don't think they really knew what to expect. They loved the first exhibits of beetles and ants and such, but the life-size, underground replica complete with very large worms and a spider that popped out from the corner proved to be a little much for these two to handle. Though Hunter now loves to tell everyone about the big spider that popped out of the corner, he wasn't quite so thrilled with that spider upon first glance!

Check out these bugs!

So cool!
Wow!
Just prior to entering the underground section - Who knew such a surprise was just around the corner?

Hannah as a passenger in the child-friendly "beetle"

One reckless, two-year old driving the "beetle"

A see-through floor and scorpions!

One of our favorite parts - the butterfly section.

Inside the butterfly garden

The kids did have a good time; Pete left feeling slightly disappointed, apparently the bugs didn't live up to his expectations; I enjoyed the afternoon more than I expected.

In Between Showers

Lately, it rains just about every day - not necessarily for very long, but rain nonetheless. Puddles make for some serious yet cheap fun. Since just about everything floods down here,
puddles are easy to find, even in our own backyard.

Once the showers were down to a sprinkle, the kids were out the door. Hunter, claiming his pants were too wet, ditched them in the first 30 seconds. Hannah didn't seem to care how wet hers were. Petey seemed to enjoy the puddles too. The kids even let him in the playhouse.

What Petey didn't know was that once you are in, there's no getting out! Doesn't he just look desperate for freedom?

An Artist at Work

What can I say? At least she's creative!



Note: All stickers were removed without any harm to the dog. Also, the dog did not ingest any foreign objects during his time as a living art project. Amazingly enough, Hannah's toes were not bitten at all during the art session.