Thursday, May 09, 2013

Taking One For the Team

The time finally came for the event Luke has been waiting for...
 
BOY SCOUT CAMPING TRIP!
 
Aron took Luke camping with his Boy Scout troop group tribe friends last weekend.  He had a blast!  (And by "he" I mean Luke!).  There were s'mores, campfires, tents, sleeping bags, hot dogs, fishing, Star Wars flashlight wars, and all kinds of other little boy excitement.  Apparently, it is a tradition for the entire troop group tribe bunch of scouts to camp together at the local state park. They swarm into the park en masse at 5:30 and have a "leave no trace" policy when you're done.  You know, it was like Burning Man but with scouts instead of hippies.
 
Aron and Luke's humble home for the night.

Luke with the clump of camping tents in the background.


I have taught Luke well.  He is master of the selfie just
like his mom.

Yup, still doing the selfie.

Not sure why he took this pic but that's
his grubby little hand by the water thingy.

Not sure why he took this one either.  That's his finger, though.

It's always exciting when you get your own clip.

He apparently really enjoyed this water thingy.

Luke's in the middle getting hands on instrux.

They practiced how to fish for 2 hours.  Seriously.  2 HOURS they practiced yet
the kids never got bored.  Luke is in the foreground with the blue sunglasses and brown
 t-shirt on.  He stayed with the group in the beginning but was then placed into remedial
casting with special one-on-one attention.  Only the "special scouts" got
this extra help.  "Special"

After the 2 hours were up, the boys were allowed
to fish.

Ella got in on it a little but I can't say she loved it.

Check out his tongue (click to enlarge if needed)

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

I wish I was a little bit taller............I wish I was a baller..............

This guy was born a rocknrolla.  We were in the car the other night waiting for Ella to finish up with her softball practice and he asked to turn on the radio.  He hopped up into the front seat with me and started dancing around.  This guy certainly knows how to entertain his mom.
 
"This is my rock and roll pose,
Mom"

"This is me playing my guitar, Mom"

"Hey, get a picture of my butt
while you're at it."

Hazel update

Readers may recall that on Valentine's Day 2013 we had a new family member arrive in our home.  I'm glad to say that Hazel has been fitting in well with us.  Her limp from the injured leg does not slow her down at all.  She can usually be found snuggling on a lap or right beside you while you're on a couch.
 
Her only drawback is that she likes to root around in the trash like you would expect from a dog.  She always has food available in our house so I would guess that her previous owners either didn't care if she found her dinner in the trash or that scraps were her dinner.  Poor Hazel.
 
She was also recently spayed by our vet.  Hazel and Ella were both displeased about her lack of uterus/ovaries and reduction in baby kitten making capability.
 
Seriously cute.

Yup still cute as a button.

Kitties love clean laundry.

Cute-tastic.

Remember the sewing class Ella took?

Wel, I forgot to post about the second session.  For the second session, Ella made a pillow case.
Here's Ella sewing her pillow case.
 
Here's her buddy, Kaylene, along with her Mom, Kortney.

The finished products (Kaylene on left, Ella on right)

Kaylene and her mom!

I can guarantee you this pillow case
will go with her to college that's
how much she loves it.

Somebody turned 5!

That's right!  Mr. Chase (aka Chasington, aka Chasey Bear, aka Chasington Bear) turned 5 a couple weeks ago.  We celebrated at a restaurant and enjoyed chocolate cake.  One of his favorites.  I only got these two pictures so you'll just have to make due with these.
 


Monday, April 29, 2013

Book review episode 6

It's that time again...here we go!
 
 
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:  I decided to reread this classic.  I remember having it read to my class when I was in the 4th grade.  It is frequently referred to in religious settings and I wanted to give it another go around as an adult.  I enjoyed it.  I definitely felt more capable of interpreting the symbolism within the storyline.  My only issue comes with the proper order of this series.  I always thought this book was the first but there is some controversy about the chronological order vs. the publication order  of the books.  I enjoyed it enough to read the rest...I'll probably go with publication order.
 
The Alchemist:  I'm not really sure what I thought of this book which is (I think) a first for me.  It's a philosophical book about finding where your treasure lies, finding your way, and the legend you leave in the world.  It was originally written in Portuguese by a Brazilian man then translated to English.  Seems like most people I've talked to about the book either really love it or really don't love it.  I can't say I really know where I lie in those two choices, though.  The book would be an excellent selection for a lit class in college where it would garner some interesting discussion.  I would say it's recommended by me mostly because I thought about the book after I finished reading it which is more than I can say for the majority of Janet Evanovich's books.  Sorry, J (she likes it when I call her J).

The Glass Castle:  What is it like growing up with two mentally ill parents?  Read this book and you'll find out. Some things were surprising, some I could see coming but it was an interesting read.  I read that Jennifer Lawrence recently signed on to play the lead in a movie adaptation.  Strongly recommended.  The end.

The Book of Joe:  Big shot author makes it big by writing a fictional account of what it was like growing up in a small town.  Author then has to return to small town where they all hate him with the fire of a thousand suns.  Somewhat cheesy and cliche in its description of life in a small town (says the person who lives in a small town and grew up outside an even smaller town).  Recommended with reservations.

The Bare Bones Bible Handbook:  As someone who did not grow up in a church, I enjoyed this book to give general information about the different books of the bible.  It's like a Cliff's Notes version of the bible.  Recommended for those who have ADHD or for those who want to jump start their knowledge.

Twenties Girl:  A chick goes to a long lost aunt's funeral and ends up being haunted by her until she can locate a necklace.  Some of the dialogue is funny.  A decent throw-away type of beach read.





 
Curses!  A F***ed-Up Fairy Tale:  A twisty turny version of every fairy tale you've ever read or heard of.  It was an interesting take on fairy tales recommended by a friend.  Expect lots of cursing and u-turns as the author unwinds a murder story.  Pretty decent read.  I'll probably eventually read her other selections but I'm not in a hurry.



Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die:  Oh Willie.  I'd like to think that you had not already rolled something up and smoked it when you were writing this book but clearly, this is false.  I skimmed it while looking at his old photographs.  Not really recommended unless you're a big fan of Willie.  Or weed.  Or Willie on weed.
What am I currently reading?
 

Sunday, April 28, 2013

I will teach you, teach you, teach you, I will teach you the E-lec-tric Sliiiiiiiiiide!

Luke is still going strong with his friends and the Boy Scouts.  A few weeks ago, they went to a local adult DD facility and had some dance lessons with a man and woman who have to be the most patient people ever (patience of Job, I tell ya).  They seemed to truly have a good time teaching songs like the Electric Slide and Cotton-Eyed Joe to a large group of little boys who had no coordination and the adults from the facility.  
 
Luke is the scout furthest to the left with no hat on.
 
Again, the he's the scout on the left (the one beside him is our neighbor friend, Landon)


This is one of Luke's friends.  He had his hands in his pockets the whole time.  Too cute!

My little man.
Need a little extra entertainment?  Click the link below to watch Luke show off his moves.  Oh and you may want to turn the sound down...I talk and cackle a lot during the video.  You should be able to pick Luke out for all the high kicking he did.

Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ozT3VdgRqSU

Jane update!

I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting an update on our former kitty aka Jane.  My friend, Jeanne, has been especially on the edge of her seat wanting to know how she's doing because she's such a huge fan of furry pets.   Long time readers know that Jane had to go and live with my in-laws a few years ago due to unacceptable behavior issues.  Why they put up with her crappola I'll never know. 
 
Jane used to look like this:
See how cute little Jane was?  So tiny and petite.
 
Here's Jane now:
She kinda looks like an overstuffed raccoon at this point.

Yup, it's hard to lift her up.

"See?  I can pick up Jane, too.  Hurry up and snap the picture, Ma...I can feel my L4-L5 herniating."  (a little adjudicator humor for Jeanne and Connie).

"Stop making fun of Janie!  She doesn't like labels like "plump" or "fatty patty" or "chubby wubby tub tub."  Use your kind words please, Mommy."

I love her.

"I hate you Annie.  If I still had my claws, I would go for your face."

"Still picking her up!  Take her pic!"

Yup, she's wider than my 9 year old.  Awwwwwkward.