Apparently it's been 9 months since I've entered anything on my Xanga.  Life and FaceBook have been keeping me away.  I had to chuckle when I saw that my lay out contained cozy pics of pumpkins and a warm fire with brightly colored leaves and said, "Autumn Days".  I'll just keep it up since Autumn is right around the corner.

We've had a blast this Summer.  Been here, been there...you know how it goes.  David will be starting Kindergarten in two weeks and I'll be lost without him.  My plan is to complete home projects that have been on my list for the past 8 years. 

Yesterday, Michael was in his uniform.  He was a "Safety Patrol Scout" and was very serious about it.  He "saved" the cat from an ant on the window seal.  He "protected" his little brother from mosquitos by taking the can of "OFF" out to their club house and spraying him down.  Serious stuff.  Then it happened.  David was eating a banana and spinning around at the same time.  The banana broke in half and part of it ended up on the floor.  He quickly picked it back up and took a bite, then realized he wasn't supposed to do that.  Michael took off out of the room, then came back to issue his brother a citation.  I read his note which said, "For eating food of the floor".  I absolutely cracked up!  David examined his "ticket" and quickly noticed that Michael had misspelled "off".  The kid isn't even in Kindergarten yet and he's finding spelling errors. 

My kids make me laugh.

It has truly been an adventure being a mom to two boys.  I feel as if I've been given a chance to live my childhood over with them.  Discovering such things as Hot Wheels and Superheroes has been a real eye opener.  How my sweet little guys can run out the door and be covered, not just splattered, but COVERED in mud in exactly 7.5 seconds is mind boggling to me.

One of the things I've enjoyed this summer has been the wonderment of critters.  Yep, we've caught all kinds of critters.  The boys have found cicada shells, lightening bugs, moths, a little garden snake, crickets.  All kinds of things.  You gotta love it!  Harmless little critters from nature that I don't have to worry about.  I assure them they won't harm them and yes, they can keep them in their bug houses.

In the past two weeks, I've caught two disturbing little creatures myself!  Actually, I've caught 3.  Two black widows and a velvet ant, or cow-killer.  I grew up in a house where black widows were always lurking out in the rock garden.  They aren't my favorite bug, but I do find them fascinating...as long as they don't bite me or my fam!  Most everyone has heard of a black widow.  While they are venomous, it's rare that you would die from it's bite. 

Today I saw something red running across the driveway.  It was the most gorgeous bug I'd ever seen!  If you can use "gorgeous" and "bug" in the same sentence, of course.  After catching it and being stumped by what it was, I did a little research on the internet.  I found it to be a "velvet ant" or "cow-killer".  I've never heard or seen such a thing!  It seems that his so-called ant is really a wingless wasp and they say that the sting from this creature is so intense it feels like it could kill a cow!  DANG!  I find this out after I catch it.  YIKES!

So with that said, I think I'm giving my boys a little competition in the critter catchin' olympics.  I figure they should get bronze metals for their moths and silver metals for their harmless little cicada shells.  I, on the other hand, deserve two gold medals for my finds this past week! 

BRING HOME THE GOLD, MAMA!!!  BRING IT ON HOME!!

We've been a one car family off and on for over 3 weeks now.  While we are saving boo-coo's of money on gas, I have become somewhat of a crab.  I hate being "stuck" at home.  Even if I have nowhere to go, I think I do and then I get angry because I can't leave.

We borrowed my dad's truck and I ventured out today.  Yes, out into the wide open, vast world of the Elizabethton Wal-Mart.  I had to get some groceries.  As we entered the store, there was a woman standing there with a camera and she motioned for us to come over.  To my surprise, as well as Maps & Daps, the Easter Bunny was also there.  The woman asked the boys if they would like their photo taken with the bunny, and of course they jumped at the opportunity.  A flash and a click and the session was over.  Whew!  After I got the kids back in the cart, I noticed that Daps had on his "disguise" and had not removed it for the Easter portrait.  (Yes, I let my kids go out in public wearing masks, capes, and who knows what else.)  After I had crossed off every item on our shopping list, I headed back to the photo department to pick up our free photo. 

And, with that said, here it is. 

Maps (with his Alfalfa style hair) ~ The Easter Bunny (what kind of face is that?) ~ and Daps (aka "Dash" from The Incredibles)

Happy Easter Everyone!