He Who Throws Stones...

...must be a son of ours!

This past week, the boys got to throw some rocks into a small stream. After they got a few good throws in, I grabbed my camera.


I asked Willard to look at me, so I could take his picture, but he was SO EXCITED that...

He.
just.
couldn't.
take.
his.
eyes.
off.
the.
next.
rock...

Here is Maynard. He was a stone throwin' fool. And he had to pee. Imagine the torment he had to go through...hold my wiener...throw a stone...hold my wiener...throw a stone...

He eventually peed on a small sapling.


Randy was "down shop" chopping wood and spending time with his Dad, and he had no desire to be stuck in a truck with me-the crabby ol' wench. I sure have been crabby these last few days! So, I asked my Mother-in-Love to come with the boys and I into the mountains while we were up for Thanksgiving. She was so patient with me!

These two shots were taken in Hannan Gulch, in the Rocky Mountains. I put more "artsy-type" (as Randy would call them) photos from the week on my Photography Blog.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love?

I like animals.

I don't consider myself an "Animal Lover", but...I like animals.

Last month was Maynard's 4th Birthday, and that weekend, we took him to Dinosaur park. He just loves going there, and it is also great exercise.

We started up the stairs and I saw something on the stairs. Randy and I were trying to decide if we should pick it up, or if we should let it go...then, the boys noticed we had stopped, and they were all inquisitive. We asked a few people coming down the stairs if they knew of a certain riddle about SNAKES...

Here is the little guy we adopted:


He is a Great Plains Milk Snake, and he is probably less than a year old.

After we got his home all settled in, we talked to the boys about the rhyme:

Red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow. Red touches black, you're OK Jack.

They both went around telling people about him, saying...Red touches Yella, you're a dead fella!

Look at this face! How adorable!


He is a darling little thing. And honestly, I never knew I would actually ENJOY having a snake as a pet. He is very inquisitive, when the heat lamp is off, and he is very tolerant of the boys. They are allowed to hold him and, honestly, I use it as leverage. If they choose to not listen, they don't get to hold him.

There are some precautions about owning one though...he is a natural escape artist, and even though he can't reach the top of the tank yet, we are going to get some clamps here shortly. We don't want him to get lost in this mess of a house! He also has bacteria on him that could make us sick, so we are very thorough with the hand washing...before and after!

His real name is Jack, but they call him Slim Cooley. (From Ghost Town at Sundown by Mary Pope Osbourne.) His favorite food is crickets (for the moment) and he spends his evenings on long stretches up the glass, that eventually end in a topple over of some sort. His favorite colors are red, black, and light yellow.

Land Ho!

Remember when I commented on how we were raising sailors?

While working on the "s" sound and the "a" sounds today, my son says, matter-of-factly, Hey Mom, "a" (the short sound) and "s" make A**.

Oh dear, what have I done?

They are Definitely Related!

*in my haste, this was actually posted on my other blog...whoops...I moved it here though!

Both the boys are very expressive. Willard uses lots of words and motion, and he can't stand still-it isn't possible. Maynard uses emphasis and big gestures and big eyes.

If you ask Willard what he dreams about, be prepared:

I woke up and I felt the ground shake (shaking his head back and forth)...I looked outside and it was a Tyrannosaurus Rex! But it was a different Tyrannosaurus Rex...it had a sail on his back. And then I went in the basement-we didn't live in this house-and I started to shiver (he shakes) and it wrecked right through the kitchen. In the morning, everyone was killed, except our neighbors (they just moved in, and he is pumped about that), and not Trace (a friend of his). Then I helped everyone build their houses back up.

Then, Maynard comes running out of the bathroom, arms spread out as wide as they can go, eyes big:

We saw a MASSIVE pider! So we TILLED it (slapping hand down), PITD (picked)it up, put it IN THE TOIWET (making a dropping motion), and FWUSHED it down!