Spiders

I hate spiders. I dislike them even more since it is believed that I was bit by a brown recluse last summer. They just aren't my friends.

That being said, Will, the bug enthusiast, came to Allan and I and told us that there was a Black Widow spider in our water meter. I obviously was not about to check things out. Allan gave Will the old "OK, we'll check it out later" response. To be quite blunt, neither of us believed the child.

The next day, after hearing about this Black Widow in our water meter a million times, Allan decided to go take a look see. Given that Will IS a bug enthusiast, I have to ask myself, "WHY did we not believe him and check it out immediately?" Lo and behold, there really was a Black Widow spider in that water meter. Scary! Allan disposed of it and life went on.

No joke, not two days later, I was working in the flower bed, donning my flip flops, when I caught something out of the corner of my eye, down by my feet. I moved on, but then came back. What I saw freaked me out. It was ANOTHER Black Widow, with an egg sack tucked into the bottom of a tree stump!!!! I quickly used an entire can of wasp spray trying to make that nasty thing die.

Now, here we are, a couple of weeks later and Will came running like a lunatic, requesting that I check out the spider on the zip line. I should have learned my lesson the first time. I didn't and put him off once again. It just happened that I went to use the zip line and found this gigantic orange, black and white spider hanging from it. Will and I did some research and found that it was a type of garden spider. It looked like the picture below.

I know spiders do good, but I wish they did it in someone else's yard.

I Played Football!

Tonight was an absolute riot at Will's football practice. As usual, I parked my chair alongside the other mom's and started up our usual mom banter (yes, I admit that it is banter). Not long into practice, the coach pointed at myself, his wife and another mom and requested our presence on the field. We women, along with about 5 dads, played against the kids. All I can say is, Thank God I wore my sneakers tonight!

We had a BIG time and the boys just LOVED it! I feel that it is only right that I divulge all information about my playing abilities - or lack thereof! I managed to knock a ball away from a receiver, miss a ball that was thrown directly at me, and lunge at a boy that only came up to my kneecap to take away his flag. The kids got a lot of giggles out of a mommy being laid out on the grass to get a flag!

This was, by far, the most fun football practice that Will and I have ever been to. And we both concurred on the way home. You bet kids keep us young!

Football Season.


We are finally into the football season (pee-wee flag football at the YMCA that is). Willster is on the Blue Bulldogs team. He is number 10, not number 4 Bruno (inside joke). Emma is on the Cheer Leading squad. Both groups are for kids from 4 - 7 years old so it is quite a hoot. This weekend Tanna had a sewing class so Dad hit the Y with the 3 munchkins. During the game, Will ran the football with an illegal quarterback sneak. He said that a boy on the yellow team, who he calls "fast legs", caught him from behind. At the same time he was colliding with his blocker and a different kid from the yellow team. Will refers to this incident as the kid explosion. Emma was as cute as ever cheering on the sidelines.

Will and the other boys involved in the kid explosion.

The Cowpokes

Today was cowboy/girl day at Emma's preschool. Luckily, we had most of the gear already. Aunt Janet had given her the boots a couple of years ago (yes, they STILL fit) and she got the bandanna from Vacation Bible School this past summer. We ran out at the last minute to buy the hat and it was the only one the closest store had. Better than nothing!

To be sure, there really isn't anything spectacular about cowboy day at school, other than it gave me a great opportunity to shoot some pictures of my little birds. Emma had the whole posing thing going on. I am beginning to wonder if she hasn't been sneaking up at night to watch that Tyra Banks model show! I sure as heck don't have those moves (anymore!).

As with all other things in life, if Emma does it, Jack has to do it. So, the hat went on him and up on the twisted tree he went. I know they are my kids, but they really were cute! A neighbor even caught us during the photo shoot. Luckily, he knows what a nut I am, so he didn't question the fact that I was taking pictures of my kids in a tree.

Here's what we came up with:

The arm in the air is Emma pretending to be throwing a lasso!

I'm a Sub!

Yesterday, Emma's teacher pulled me aside and asked if I would be her sub this year. It just so happened that she had a funeral to go to today and needed me. How could I say no?! It was tough saying "no" to the fall cleaning that I had planned with all kids out of the house, but I did it.

What a blast! Emma is part of an incredible class. They were so mannerly and fun. We had such a grand time talking and getting to know each other that we were late for the group activity! There were three beekeeper who came to visit and give a presentation. It was really cool! We saw real bees in a hive (behind glass), a smoker that is used to calm the bees and a beekeeper's outfit. We tasted different types of honey and saw products made from the beeswax. For snack, they had biscuits with butter and honey. Have you caught on that it is "B" week yet?

Anyway, it was fun and the kids and I got along great. One little boy was even holding my hand every chance he got by the end of the day. For them, I would put off cleaning any day!

My Little Chefs

There isn't much that I enjoy more than a good day of baking! The weather here has cooled down to the mid-80's and Emma decided that it was time for making some cookies. Making cookies in Emma's book means using a rolling pin and cookie cutters. In my excitement, I pulled out all of the fall themed cookie cutters that I could find and decided we would take these cookies as a treat for Will's football team on Saturday. Well.....according to Miss Emma, leaves are boring and don't make good cookies. Instead, we had to pull out the butterfly, tulip, heart and Pooh. Probably not exactly what a bunch of football players would enjoy, but hey! it was all about having fun (I did sneak in some leaves). Emma and Jack had a grand time of rolling, cutting and decorating. Don't worry! Jack's dough was simply for having fun. None of it actually made it into a baked product, thanks to the cup of drool that was mixed in. :)

It was a fun time and the football guys gobbled them up!

Princess Emma has to get the dough just right

With his mouth hanging open like that, how can you not get drool in the dough?!
That is the look of a sugar high - check out the eyes!

A Video For Jonner

This video was made by Will especially for Jonner. Will just LOVES the fact that Jonner's team suffered such a miserable loss during their first game of the season against Appalachian State. This loss has been dubbed "the Mother of All Upsets" and has been the butt of many a joke in our household. Hence, the following video...

Please note that the video and all of its contents are soley the idea of Mr. Will. Enjoy!