Why I Don't Do Windows . . . . . . .

What Would I Do Without Garrett ? ? ?

I was sitting upstairs watching TV when Kimberly started screaming at the top of her lungs. She had been on the computer (My-Space would be her life if I let it!) and was in the basement by herself. I didn't react right away since teenage girls have a way of emitting random screams, but her shrieking kept coming and it kept getting louder and more insistent. Then it changed from random high pitched sounds to words like "MMMOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!" and "HEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!" so I figured I better check things out. I walked towards the stairs fully expecting to encounter a real-life emergency like a huge pimple or a hangnail, but as I reached the top of the stairs I could see Kimberly crouched under the computer with her hands covering her head. Somehow (we have yet to figure out how) a bird got in our basement and was terrorizing my poor daughter. Of course the bird was just trying to find a way out and the light from the computer screen was alluring, but Kimberly was convinced this bird was going to peck her eyes out.



Now if you know me, you know that I am not the one to call for animal intruders. Ants and flies are my limit. If you've got a spider or a lizard or any other creepy crawly thing I am no help. If you have a bird or any other flying creature I'll be more than glad to crouch down on the floor and scream with you, but if you are looking for more of an intervention don't call me.



So. Kimberly screamed from the basement floor, I screamed from the top of the steps and Cynthia stood in the safety of the kitchen and laughed at us both. Thank goodness Garrett heard the commotion and once again decided to come to our rescue. After chasing the bird up the stairwell (right over my head!!) he was the only one brave enough to open the door and release the bird to the freedom of the skies.

(I might have been crouched down on the stairs with my eyes closed screaming at the top of my lungs, but I took the pictures by-golly!)

Live Your Voice

Cynthia and I had an opportunity to see Tim McGraw (and Jason Aldean) in concert for free (Thanks Karman!). This stop on the Live Your Voice Tour was a little northeast of Indianapolis Indiana, but it was worth the drive. . .

Jason Aldean was great!

Tim McGraw was awesome. I love his music, but he is such an inspirational person also.

The weather changed as the sun went down, but the cold and wet didn't bother the crowd. Our seats were in a covered area, so we stayed dry and we stayed warm thanks to the pullover Robby had left in the car.

Our seats were great, except for the 3 drunk women two rows in front of us. They spilled beer on people, stumbled around and fell over (sometimes on strangers), and were constantly climbing over people to head back to the beer line. This picture shows one of the women (they were probably in their late 20's) after a trip to the bathroom to try to rectify an issue with her inability to control her own bodily functions. When she screamed "uh-oh!" it got the attention of just about everyone in the amphitheater. So when she went on to announce that she had just wet her pants there were quite a few smirks and giggles. Her concerned (and also extremely drunk) friends took her to the port-o-pot (I'm not really sure what for either????) and she returned with a piece of toilet paper hanging out of her wet jeans! They ended up getting a police escort before Tim McGraw even took the stage.

School's Out For Summer !

Can We? Can We? Can We?

Zeke and Yana came over for a few hours to play today. I still only had four kids because Cynthia and Kimberly were gone, but there is definitely an added level of difficulty to keeping up with four YOUNG kids. I have never heard "Can we . . ." "Can we . . . " so many times in my life!

(Hey, at least they asked.) We had an excellent day, but I am so ready for bed!

One of the "Can we's" was going to the park. I told them that if they let me finish my homework I would take them. After a session of twenty questions (you know-"How long will that take?" and "Will we walk to the park?" and "How long will we get to stay at the park?" etc. etc. etc. ) they were playing quietly in the bedrooms and patiently awaiting the time-to-go announcement.

I did not anticipate the immediate attraction to the water feature at the park. Yana was the first to run through the sprinkler and she started out simply enjoying the rain-drop

effect of the over spray. That didn't last long though. . .

Within minutes Yana and Lindsay had decided to enjoy the water to the fullest.

Enema anyone?

And finally. You can't possibly leave the water without ensuring that every

inch of your body is wet!

I absolutely LOVE this shot of Yana.

Jess and Jeff are going to have their hands full with this one!
I think the peer pressure got Zeke in the water, but he quickly decided comfort was more important. He was telling me he doesn't like to be wet when I took this pic.

Zeke might not be a water-bug but he is definitely a daredevil! He spent a lot of time at the top of this climbing tower.

He also liked the spinney chairs (these things make me sick!)


Garrett found out that you can't spin on the broken chair!


And of course, he had to show everyone how cool he is.

A Game of Tag

Today I took the two youngest to the park to burn some energy and enjoy the beautiful weather while I tried to get some reading done for my summer class that starts Tuesday.

My big brother never would have helped me reach the monkey bars!
They played really well together until they started a good-old game of tag. . . While Garrett was getting frustrated with Lindsay's "rules" I saw an opportunity. I decided to make an attempt at explaining some of the facts of life to my young son who is already struggling to understand the inner workings of the female species.

We started with the basics. You know-she makes the rules and can change them at any time without any notice. And she is always right so don't bother arguing.

Then we moved on to more sophisticated concepts

1. You will never win because if you think you did it means that either you cheated, you didn't follow the rules or she wasn't up to par.
2. She is not a sore sport, she just doesn't like to play with cheaters.
3. She's not mad because she lost (because she didn't!). She's mad because you can't seem to remember a few simple rules.
4. Boys cannot call a time-out. That right is reserved for the girls.
5. When she tells you nothing is wrong while she folds her arms across her chest and frowns it won't help to call her a liar.
6. It's best just to say your sorry and get it over with.

Garrett laughed, but I have a feeling there will come a day when he remembers our conversation and realizes it was all true!

Happy Derby Day! (for humans anyway)

It was so much fun to kick the kids off the Wii and enjoy some good old friendly competition. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who makes faces when I play!

After a long day of running around outside, jumping on the trampoline and playing Wii the kids all had their own unique odor going on. It was something like Eau-de-horsey-rump. . .

Not many people would try to bowl without getting up off the couch. . .

I wonder how sore HIS arm is???

Garrett fought the swing and the swing won!

While running away from his sister, Garrett ran smack into the metal legs of the swing. This is one of the very few things that I have ever seen stop him in his tracks (and keep him out of commission for awhile).

He's going to feel that in the morning!

I also have a hilarious video of Brian playing High School Musical on the Wii, but it'll have to wait for another post. I made the mistake of using the video feature on my camera while holding the camera on it's side and I can't flip the video. Rather than post it sideways I'm going to see if Jess can rescue me with her mad video editing skills!