Swamp creatures!

Every weekend we just look at each other and say "lets go somewhere" and proceed to list a number of places we'd go if we had the time. Yesterday evening Tim looked at me and said "let's go." So off we're going. First to the swamp to see aligators and then we're headed East to the beach.

I love love love last minute surprise vacations, the kids were very excited when we told them where we were going today. Hopefully we'll have lots of fun photos to share when we get back on Monday.

Secret Agent Max

Max is obsessed with the Spy Kids movies. He loves them. He'd watch them all day every day if he could. I just love this shot that Tim snapped of him with his cool spy glasses on.

My poor head!

Every Thursday morning we go to story time at the local library. This week it was packed - as it usually is when the older children are out of school - and they had a visitor. A lady with a guitar and some boxes. Great, I thought, they will have a bit of a sing and we'll read some stories. Oh no. No stories. The boxes were filled with percussion instruments.

40 children (and some Moms too) were yelling, singing, banging cymbals, tambourines, shaking bells and maracas and using those hideously loud clappy wooden things. All at the same time. It's now a full day later and my head is still ringing and I can't seem to stop clenching my teeth. But they had FUN! lots of fun.

For Denell

Thought this might put a smile on your face Denell! The kids found my wig from all those years ago in the drama and Lily put it on.... well, you can see the cuteness for yourself.


Lily and Denell

Tim's new grill

Tim is over the moon with his present - the perfect charcoal grill that he's been eyeing for a while. It has baskets that raise and lower the coals so you can control they heat. After he put it together Sunday, I cut a chicken in half and he smoked it over green hickory and pecan logs. YUM! We also grilled some of his mutant zucchini (I've been trying to find the photos of the squash and zucchini but after installing Vista nothing is where it's supposed to be....)

Chickadees

Brandon Stapleton, Tim's Cousin, has a few beautiful chickens. The Sunday after memorial we ate at Brandon and Johanna's. The kids spent hours feeding the chickens, collecting eggs and petting the bunnies named Roger and Jessica (lol). They couldn't get enough of hunting for eggs and their faces when they found some were priceless!

Unconventional gardening techniques

Max and Lily LOVE being outside and "helping" with the gardening. Lily in particular is Daddy's little helper and knows which plants are edible (she loves spinach, mint leaves and cilantro) and you can often find her singing and talking to plants. Max is usually climbing a tree.

Sometimes though they will disappear to the back of the house and this is how I found them the other week. Tim had dug a drainage trench from under the house and they had got their watering cans and were filling it up and playing in the mud. Happy as two little piggies, how could I have stopped them? They were just having such a fantastic time and well, little children and clothes can be washed, right?

From Mud Pit

From Mud Pit

From Mud Pit

From Mud Pit

From Mud Pit