Biker Girl!

Our little biker girl says, "Lots of new spring posts below, keep reading! You don't want to miss the 'bee hunter post'"!

Coloring is Such Hard Work!

Chloe crashes again!

Beware Evan's Fireball

 Or you might end up with a big, fat shiner like me! Evan does not want to play baseball this spring. He is afraid of getting hit with the ball. In an effort to help him overcome this fear, we have been throwing baseball with him in the yard. My plan apparently backfired. He is now REALLY afraid of getting hit with the ball. I am now REALLY afraid of getting hit with the ball. And we've decided to let him sit this season out. Evan is pretty proud of himself, however. He's definitely got an arm on him!

5 days later... worse than ever. I definitely get some strange looks in parent-teacher conferences... but they don't mess with me!

Killer Bees or Bee Killers?

 We have been invaded by (what we have now determined to be) carpenter bees. The good news about these bees (according to the Internet) is the male bees do not sting. And it is the male bees that you normally see out and about dive bombing anyone who comes near. Never-the-less, they are big, loud, and they dive right at your head. Throw a few wasps in there as well (that do sting) and you've got some terrified children. So, Matthew and the kids had to do a little bee hunting. It seems badminton racquets were the weapon in season right now. And boy, did we hear some funny comments during this adventure!

 Evan was standing on the screened porch when he suddenly starts screaming wildly and swatting at his neck. He then begins hysterically crying. Thinking he has been stung by something, I am frantically trying to find a sting mark, looking for the bee he threw off his neck on the ground, but I can't find anything. Finally, he calms down enough to say,

 "There was a poisonous spider on my neck! It was terrifying!"

Again, I search his neck, no bites. I search the ground and find a teeny, tiny deer tick. Now, I'm not saying ticks are not gross. But as I've mentioned before, they are a way of life around here and are not in the same caliber as a poisonous spider.

A few minutes later he and Chloe run screaming hysterically away from the pond. Evan, panting in fear, said there were two yellow jackets swarming around the pond and he thinks they have a nest. Matthew goes to check it out and reports:

"Flies"

 Later, as they began their hunting adventure, a bluebird took flight from a bluebird house on a phone pole near our fence. Evan ducks frantically, "Whoa! What was that?!" Matthew says, "A bluebird." He responds, "Whew! I thought it was a bald eagle!"

 While hunting, Evan and Chloe come running around the playground screaming. 

Evan: RUN! We're outnumbered!

Chloe: RUN! They've outsmarted us!

After we had done some quick Internet research and determined the bees most likely would not sting them, Matthew told Evan to get out there and play and that the bees wouldn't bother him. Five seconds later we heard Evan screaming. A big carpenter bee had cornered him against the fence and was hovering less than an inch from his nose. Apparently what they don't have in stingers, they make up for in intimidation.

Chloe: Mommy! There's Mr. Crazy Wasp and Mr. Cranky Bee! Hurry! They don't look happy!

Evan: (Again frantically swatting at his upper body.) Aaah! A spider is trying to make a web on me!

My favorite:

Matthew: Go on and play. They won't bother you.

Evan: Dad! We've murdered most of their family! Of course they're going to bother us!

The Mighty Bee Killers!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

from two tuckered out little leprechauns!

Cause and Effect

Because the time changed, it is now still daylight when Chloe "should" be going to bed. Because it was daylight on the first night after the time change, Chloe had trouble going to sleep and stayed up until nearly 11:00 (yes, I realize that is way past dark). Because whoever made our school calendar obviously didn't think about the effect of the time change, we had to start back to school from spring break the next day. Because I wanted her to be exhausted and go to sleep that night, I asked the Grandparents to try to keep her awake. Because she was exhausted, she asked to watch cartoons while I made dinner. Because I was distracted making dinner while she watched cartoons, this happened:

between 5 and 6:00 p.m. Because that happened between 5 and 6:00 p.m., we had an extremely grumpy, whiny child on our hands at dinner time. Because I too am exhausted from the time change and my first week back at school (and generally much more lazy when it comes to raising my second child), I did not feel like fighting over dinner. Because I did not feel like fighting over dinner, she ended up with dinner on a towel in front of the TV (as in directly in front, like "bad for your eyes" in front).

Because she was eating dinner in front of the TV, she felt like she needed popcorn. And I believe I've already covered why I didn't fight it, right?

Because I didn't fight it, Chloe ended up with the dinner of champions: tuna noodle casserole, corn, green beans, cooked carrots, grapes, milk... and popcorn!

Yum! Yum! And by the way, because Chloe crashed from 5 to 6:00 pm she did not feel the need to go to sleep until around 10:00 that night. And chances are, if she doesn't go to bed until around 10:00......

Take a Hike!

 We visited Moppy and Poppy in South Carolina and went on our first family hike. We were hiking in Transylvania County, NC, so we kept on the lookout for vampires and werewolves. Luckily we didn't see any. Evan was disappointed that we did not find Big Foot on the trail either, despite the many calls he and his daddy made to try to lure him out. What we did find was lots of fresh air, exercise, and family fun!

 Chloe carried the map for us and made sure we stayed on the right trail.

 I have to say, these "little" hills on the trail looked much larger when actually climbing them.

 Triple Falls

 High Falls

 What's wrong with this picture? Does he not see the sign?

What I did not take a picture of (probably because I was too tired myself) was Matthew having to carry Chloe the last 1/2 mile or so of the hike while she sacked out on his shoulder. When we had finished I felt like maybe we had found a new family hobby, Matthew felt like Chloe was going to have to get a little stronger before we hiked again:).