I SAID "I WANT MY DINNER..."

NOW!!

Ok...Ok... I'm doing my best here.....

Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?



Am I the only sane member of this family?

Apparently.

Miracles Never Cease

"Someone" lost this 3 years ago (or thereabouts).




But today, thanks to his big brother who lost his glasses (AGAIN - a recurring theme in our home)



The long lost SpongeBob Game Boy has been recovered making one little boy very happy....



And one big brother still looking....



And kind of annoyed, I think. Doesn't he look annoyed?

NO MORE!

My daughter wants a new puppy.  Would someone please tell her that she has enough animals already?  2 puppies in one year's time is plenty.  

Besides, when they go from this:


To this:


In only a few month's time, and are showing no signs of slowing down their growth rate, I think they should count as more than one puppy. Don't you?


Victoria certainly does.

Canals, Cameras, Mushrooms and Bats

It's been a technologically challenging month. First I had to go through the death of my laptop.....murdered by the cats (long story), then I had to endure the drowning of my beloved camera....

It was a clear and pleasant night.... The canal was beautiful, the breeze delightful. No hint of the catastrophe on the horizon.....




It's another long story, but let's just say never try to exit a paddle boat unless it is securely anchored to its docking station (or whatever they call that place where they tie them up for the night). Let's just say that my camera, attached to my wrist, went for an unexpected swim in the canal.  I can attest to the fact that the canal is MUCH dirtier, slimier, and disgusting than it looks.

After a week spent in rice, I was brave enough to turn on my camera. The good news....it worked....the bad news...permanent smudge dead center. Sad, sad, sad.......

So, please excuse and take pity on me for the poor quality of pictures. After just replacing my laptop, I can't afford to replace my camera (do you hear the little violin playing?)

I did want to show off our mushrooms. We grow them on purpose, did you know that? (hee, hee, hee)


I didn't know you could have this large of variety all within a few feet of one another....






We are soo, soo lucky!






Little gnome houses....



Too bad none are edible....we might have struck it rich....




They look much better in person..... poor camera......



Just look at them all!



I really should research this a bit more.... I wonder if the cats ate them, if they would get sick?

Here kitty, kitty, kitty!

Just kidding...


Maybe...




ON a different note, you just never know what the cats might bring you...... and leave under your bed...... with half of a wing eaten....... squeaky and squacking........


They (the cats) are on my last nerve....


Do they KNOW how many mosquitoes these things eat each night? Do they have a CLUE?


I didn't even know we had bats close by....

Till all the commotion and the rescue. Just to prove that the bat was really, truly in our house, here is a horrible picture (poor camera) of Prince Charming coming to the rescue.




No, we did not keep it.



Good luck, little bat! Happy eating!  

HELLO

It's been awhile........

But we're still here.





The spring has come and gone. The kids are growing like weeds.  Since a year ago this spring, Sam has grown 9 inches and gained 60 pounds. My little boy who I used to hold and rock for hours on end is now 5 feet 9 inches tall.

Sadie has been growing as well.



She's now close to 100 pounds. What happened to that little puppy?



We have a new member of the zoo..... His name is Joe. Joe Black Shadow. He needs a new home. He doesn't like sharing the zoo with the other cats and dogs and as a result displays some "displaced aggression." Would you like to take him home with you?

Grandma's still tucked back in the Maine Woods. Muncie is still on the look out for fresh ankles, Victoria is no longer able to jump the fence (thanks to the six foot tall one we were forced to put up...too many unplanned dates with the poodle next door).

The cats murdered my laptop a month or so ago (yes, murder it was. They pushed it off onto the floor....all my pictures, documents, school plans....) I felt as if I had lost my best friend. But you know what? It's been kind of nice not spending so much time on the computer. I can go for long walks with the kids. I can read to them for hours on end (we're in the middle of the Hobbit currently). It's been nice.

But I had a request I couldn't refuse. My cousin. She requested I keep posting. She doesn't live far, but our paths don't cross like they should. We need more memories together. We'll make that happen this summer. So, Elaine...this post is for you.  And just know....tomorrow is today, and I am thinking of you today.   

Congratulations Victoria!

3rd Place in her Doggy Obedience Class....

"And I didn't even have to bite the teacher!"

Good Job, Victoria! We love you!

Hello? Anyone there? Someone?

Well, for my own viewing pleasure, here's a quick flash back at the Holiday season.......

The season began appropriately enough with the church Christmas program. Sam had one of the major roles and he pulled it off quite well.

Christmas Day is spent at my brother's.
I think it's the first time in forever that my entire side of the family is in one picture.

Remember the days when you were so excited about the presents you received? It's kind of fun to watch the transformation as the kids become excited about what the OTHERS are receiving rather than themselves.



Besides giving gifts, the best part was just hanging out......

Sophie is always right there in the kitchen trying to soak up as much Martha -ness as she can from her big sister. I don't possess the Martha-gene. I don't even know what the tool that A2 is using is called. I'm sure Sophie does though.

Christmas tradition requires that at Auntie Tricia's we play charades.

It's really kind of cool to look back over the years and to see how much the kids have matured though the year (do you think that's fair to base maturity on their charading abilities? I think it's actually a pretty good indication. Maybe I'll expand on that in a future blog post).

New Year's we spent at Pokagen State Park enjoying the final celebration.

I remember the days when this toboggan run would have been the cat's meow. Now, I'm just glad the kids are old enough to go down without me.

This is much much bigger than the picture shows....trust me!

A4 was shocked to see how much her baby brother had grown since last we met.

Sam is now officially taller than all of his sisters.

It seems like just yesterday we were at Hilton Head for the wedding.......
It was great spending time with them over the New Year.


Sophie was able to express her true inner nature.

This is the real Sophie. (above)

I think this is pretend. (below)

Happy New Year Everyone!