Crawdad Rescue

I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking and thought I would tell you the story of the CRAWDAD RESCUE!

I imagine you are sitting and reading this with bated breath! :) Or not. :)

We went back up to Oglebay. I kept the kids off of the nature trail only with great effort. They wanted to do the long trail today but we didn't have water or anything. The last thing I wanted to listen to was an hour of, "MOM, I AM THIRSTY!" :) So, I promised them a hike at 10 AM tomorrow. They started planning snacks immediately (as if we are going on a prolonged journey). They are so cute.

We went paddle-boating (and based on Sarah's steering she may NEVER try for a driver's license!). :) We chased the ducks and got misted by the fountain. A good time was had by all...except maybe the ducks. :)

We visited the Nature Center and learned about area birds. The kids were very excited to see a baby chipmunk. :)

Then they went "fishing" in the creek. Matt made sure to remind us to take our "FISHING CLUBS" with us. Hmmm... Poor fish, I would say! Clubs, indeed! :) They were really just practicing casting. Tommy goes to fishing camp this next weekend and is using an open-face reel for the first time, hence the need for practice.

Now for the crawdad rescue! The kids discovered the "salamanders" we saw yesterday were actually crawdads! WELL! They were OBVIOUSLY in DANGER living in an UNPROTECTED creekbed. The van was ransacked for appropriate capturing devices. I went along because I figured the odds were REALLY remote that they would catch any. Those things are FAST. Well, you guessed it. Two crawdads are now residing on our front porch for the summer. I did warn them that I would be releasing them back into the "wild" at the close of summer. OR, using them for BAIT! HA! :) You don't want to know the horrified shrieks that met that last statement! :) Fortunately, they just eat fish food, so this will be an easy "pet" to care for. I hope.
The kids think they are just fascinating and have named them Claws and Willie.

Happy Memorial Day from the Crawdad Rescue Center! :)

Pink Socks...Doesn't Everyone Need a Pair?

Hi,

Well, in all my laundry-filled (or so it seems) life, I have NEVER pulled out anything PINK that should be WHITE from the washing machine.

OOOOPS!

Thomas is rather quietly appalled, shall we say. :) Although, being the nice boy that he is, he was going to wear the pink socks and not comment. :)

What happened was that mom gave me an "old" blanket. It was from grandma so she didn't know its history, but it did look well-worn. It is coral-colored. CORAL. Evidently, it bleeds PINK. :) OOOOPS again! I was just so sure it had been washed a gazillion times and would be just fine.

Well, at least I have a "new" blanket that makes me smile every time I look at it! :) After all, the socks can be fixed, thank goodness. At least I think they can be. I've never done this before! :)

You should hear Matt giggling over his pink socks. He thinks it is just hilarious that MOM MESSED UP! :)

How Sarah Turned Her Mom's Hair (More) Gray

or

Sarah as Soccer Goalie


First, some background...

Sarah's soccer team has only won one game all season. Today was game number 10. We were playing over in St. Clairsville and it was a beautiful but very very windy afternoon. Plus, the middle of the field was like a lake. So, there were challenges!

Sarah's team was ON. They were zipping around the field and showing some really neat footwork. I think their coach even had some voice left by the end of this game since the girls didn't need as much direction as usual.

It's last quarter. It's tied. Then Sarah goes in as goalie.

Suddenly the score is one up - our favor. A miracle! But, a sudden score by St. C. ties it back up. Sarah is REALLY bummed.

Another solid St. C. kick at the goal and Sarah blocks it! Honestly, it brought ooohs and ahhhhs from the crowd since it was a hard kick! I was so proud.

It's the last minute of the game. We are ahead again and St. C. makes one last attempt at a goal. Fancy footwork and desperate measures at the goal line! Sarah dives after the ball and SAVES THE DAY!

Oh, I was SO HAPPY for her!!!! :) I couldn't care less that they won, I was just happy that she could be happy about the last play of the game.

I hope that is the last time she plays goalie. Honestly, I have enough gray hair as it is! :)

Adam and Eve and Driving to Soccer

The things the children talk about on the way to soccer...always interesting...sometimes bizarre.

Matt (age 6): Isn't it amazing how our skin is made of dirt?
Mom: Really. Do you mean dust?

Obviously, they are talking about Genesis in Sunday School.

We then determined that Eve actually only received one RIB not an entire ribcage. This required much debate.

So, I am smiling and suddenly...

I turned onto the road going up to the soccer field and saw a HUGE SNAKE crossing the road. I'm talking 10 - 15 feet. Or so. (grin) Really. Just enormous. And it had its head up in the air like it was really going somewhere! It was halfway across the road!

I SHRIEKED! I SWERVED the car! After all, the passenger side window was OPEN! EEEEKS!

I guess I was thinking COBRA. :) I seriously doubt it could have slithered up the side of the car into the passenger seat, but I WAS NOT RATIONAL. After all, IT WAS A HUGE SNAKE. Maybe 30 feet.

All was well and I protected the young ones in the car from the snake threat. :) Did I mention it was HUGE? :) Maybe 40 feet!

Ironic that we pass a snake after a discussion about Adam and Eve! All that was missing was an apple or two! :)

Anyway, this is my semi-amusing tale for the day.

Matt's First Field Trip

We are entering the end of the school year and it is FIELD TRIP time. OH MY. It is one field trip after another. ST&M are having such fun!

Matt woke up at the crack of dawn on Friday because it was his FIRST field trip AND his FIRST TIME ON A SCHOOL BUS! What excitement!!! He got dressed REALLY fast because he had his outfit picked out and color coordinated on Tuesday. I think he was awake with the birds because he was so afraid of MISSING the bus (which wasn't leaving for the field trip until at least 30 minutes AFTER he usually gets to school, but he was taking no chances!) He also gave me explicit instructions on how to pack his lunch down to the last detail: how to write his name on the bag! Because, you know, I may have forgotten how to spell it or something. :) He's so cute.

Of course, we had major discussions on every last bit of itinerary as well. First they were going to Cabela's. Then over to Petco for a chat about small furry creatures. Then to the park for lunch and playtime. I had to admit, it sounded like fun. HOWEVER, Matt kept talking about the "stuffed animals" he was going to see at Cabela's and hoping they were like Webkinz.

Now, Cabela's is a HUNTING store. A humungous hunting store, but still, a HUNTING store. Somehow I was not thinking that they were stocking Webkinz or any other furry creature stuffed with polyester and covered with FABRIC.

Matt ABSOLUTELY did NOT believe me that the animals at Cabela's were covered in REAL SKIN. "Real skin? NO WAY, MOM!" He was SURE that could not be! Mind you, I have been to this store and seen the animals there! They really do have an enormous museum of hunted animals. Not my cup of tea, but this is West Virginia so I mostly keep my own counsel on the subject of hunting. I was really wondering what Matt was going to think after viewing all those "stuffed" animals!

Well, he came home all amazed because MOM WAS RIGHT. Ahhhhh! I do TREASURE those words! :) Maybe I should get him to say them again and tape them...for later replaying at about age 16. :)