The Opening of the Pool

Can you tell there's water in there and Beaver isn't just pretending to float in a yellow boat on the bottom of a mud caked sand box lid?

They lack for no ingenuity.  I can say with all certainty, that having a mess of a yard has contributed to the imagination of my children.  That water bottle was left over from the team that did our roof and lay dormant under the snow until spring's thaw, and now, wallah!  A raft!

And did you know a trebuchet doubles as a car?  It kind of reminds me of Fred Flintstones vehicle.

Incidentally, "trebuchet" was NOT in my spell-checker when it indentified it as a mistake. I had to go to dictionary.com to see if I spelled it correctly.  And I'd like to know why a word defined as: 

a medieval engine of war with a sling for hurling missiles,

is NOT considered pertinent for today's readers?

Every year when the snow is (mostly) melted and the sun can warm your back, they break out the kitchens. 

Each differs in design depending on what's available for confiscation.

Let's take a closer look at what's for dinner:

Dinosaur soup.  Or a hot tub.  

You decide.

Those aren't freckles.  

Remember the herd that was only thawed out yesterday?

Here they are, conspicuously apart from the pool scene.  

"What about those animals?"  I asked Sawyer.

"They aren't invited.  They have to make their own place," he returned dispassionately.

I'm telling you, our backyard is a hard land.

How to Use a Baseball Bat

Get a firm grip.

Because we all know what can happen...

When you're trying to free frozen animals.

And if a bat won't work...

A stick can usually do the trick.

I'm suddenly reminded...

It's a delicate operation, and it's time to call in Stage 3.

And when your kid comes in and says "Mom, I have to fill this with really hot water.."

You don't ask questions.

Because there's always a good reason.

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeee,  just in time for spring frolicking! Scampering! And general springtime scuttling!

Disappointed!

Suddenly, Tristan thought if he had freed one animal with hot water, spraying it haphazardly around the yard was bound to yield more.

And uncharacteristically for a hair-brained idea, it worked!

"What--what just happened to me?"
"Welcome to the herd.  Get used to it buddy, this is as good as it gets."

What Have We Here?

Can somebody go get the towel laundry?

 Woops.

Sorry, Charlie.
Nevermind about the laundry.


 Hey, go grab that bag of clothes for Goodwill.

Whoa! I beg your pardon.

Really, I didn't know anyone was in here.

How can I make it up to you?

 

That ought to do it.

A little more, right on top.

You're welcome.

Somebody, let the cat out of the bag.

Introducing...

Juliette.

Our smallest bunny yet.

Someone saw our ad for a Standard Rex and really wanted a good home for this Mini Rex.

So we decided to make room for her. She is just a wee bit of a thing.

How to Confuse Little Minds

"What's that say?",  he said, gesturing towards the window with the "H-o-p-e" sign.  Trisha had given it to me as a Christmas ornament years ago, but I'd hung it in the window over the kitchen sink where it stays all year round. That way I am reminded daily to hope.

 (Incidentally, I discovered the best camera setting to enhance a dirty windows effect)

I was surprised he'd never asked about the sign before.  Maybe it was new to him because I'd cleaned all the cobwebs off of it. (there's a picture for you, the word "Hope" covered with cobwebs).  I'm not good at dusting window hanging things, they can collect dust for years before I notice.  Anyway,  Sawyer asked "what's that say?" and I answered "Hope" and then he said in a puzzled voice, "What does it say 'Hope' for?" and I answered, "Because we can have Hope that Jesus came to earth when he was a baby--"  but before I could finish, Kiki pointed out that Sawyer was really talking about something a few inches under the Hope sign.

 Sitting on the windowsill was his potted basil plant, that Kiki was so kind to have made a new sign for.

If I were him, I'd be intrigued what hoping in Jesus had to do with growing basil too. 

 So I nixed the story and said, "Oh, that. It says, 'Basil'".  And that was that.  Although it's not a bad idea to label my potted plants with the word 'Hope'. At the rate that they expire in this household, I'd say it's a pretty accurate classification.

When Typos Make SEnse

I've never been a very good typist. I can still hear the drills Mr. Shuffleburger made us do in 7th grade--asdf space  jkl;--and I can type without looking, fingers flying. But if I left my emails completely uncorrected you'd see they are even worse than what shows up in your inbox.  Lately, a few of my mistakes could have passed for real words.
When talking about my mom's heart condition that has to be controlled before she can go into surgery I said, "She has to get her heart murmur under control with medication or it could cause a stork in the operating room."
When making a list of party foods for Todd via email I typed:
  Super bad ruggles  (big bag of ruffles potato chips)

and for a post on breakfast I typed:
Bluberry muffins?  (I was all out of blubber, so substituted bacon fat, instead) shedder shedder, which is another typo because i meant to type, shudder-shudder  but you could use those terms interchangeably, because shedding does make me shudder if it's left all in one pile on a surface meant for humans.

Morning Routine

Hey, Sawyer...

 What do you want for breakfast?

Blueberry Muffins?

he's thinking about it

Oatmeal?

he's disinclined

 Cookies?

automatic eye-contact for cookies.  try it, it works with any kid.

You knew I was just kidding about the cookies, right?

But we just might have some bran bud cereal left.