Birds and Bees and Tiger Salamanders

We have had great luck with pets in the past so I thought we would share our story of the salamanders. Isaac caught two salamanders and thought they would be fun to keep as pets. When he caught them, he said they really liked each other because one of them was giving the other a piggy back ride. They were wrestling and playing and having a very good time according to him. He researched them on the Internet and found out that they make really good pets. I tried to get him to release them back into the wild so they could roam free, but Tami and Isaac decided that they would be good pets. They went to Petco and bought a bunch of stuff for them. Long story short, we had the poor little lizards for about three days and they are both dead now. Again, we spent a bunch of money on something that only lasted for a few days.

One of my coworkers that has been married several times, told me that if he ever gets the urge to get married again, he will go out, find a lady that he really doesn't like, buy her a house and tell her to kick him where it counts and then he won't have to pay a lawyer. I feel about the same way with our pets. Next time we decide to get a pet, instead we should put an add on Craigslist for a free pet, buy the pet for the person that responds, get them all of the equipment and then walk away because it would at least save us some time and possibly money.

Boys Weekend

Tami went to Utah for her family reunion over the weekend. All of the boys stayed home and had a good time. I think Tami enjoyed her time away too. She did say something about being able to go to the airport "by herself", rent a car "by herself" and travel to her grandparents house, "by herself". She also mentioned how much she enjoyed visiting with all of her family, "by herself" and that it was really nice to be in the hotel, "by herself". I know she enjoyed the reunion, but I am starting to think that she really enjoyed being, "by herself".

The boys and I had a great time. We kind of had to prove a point so we worked all weekend long. We tore out the tiles in our bathroom, planted raspberries, planted grapes, made bread and ate great meals. I didn't want to admit it, but I had to go back to work because I was completely exhausted. I acted all cool and collected when Tami got home but I was pretty worn out. Silas kept saying, "we can't go to church with out mom", "we can't go to bed without mom" and other things that we couldn't do without mom. Jude didn't really seem to notice that she was gone. He is a great baby so it really wasn't too bad. I'm thinking we should have left the house really messy, ruined a few of her best things in the kitchen and made sure that the kids were completely dirty and nasty by the time she got home. Since we didn't do that, Tami will probably be ready to go on another vacation "by herself".

While The Cat's Away the Mice Will Play

Today during Church Jude was getting noisy and rowdy so I stepped into the hallway. I was able to peek into the primary room where I saw Elias NOT singing and distracting his friend next to him. I seriously watched for 5 min. and he was not behaving the way he was taught. So, after church I had him call his friend and apologize to him and his mother for distracting him and being a bad example. Then we made him come up with his own punishment. He decided to be my slave boy for the week. Chore #1... disposing of a dead mouse we found in the basement. He screamed bloody murder during the whole process. We didn't get the video camera ready until he'd just finished. Then we had him sing a solo to show Claudia (the Primary Pres.) that he in fact DOES know the words. So in an effort to humiliate Elias into better behaviour.... HERE YOU GO!!

Two Wheely

Silas has kind of learned how to ride his "two wheely". He was TERRIFIED when Caleb took off his training wheels. If the boy knew swear words he would have been using them. He was ripping Caleb up and down about the situation. He would not even TRY it. Luckily about an hour later his good friend Madison came over and he had a complete change of heart. He put on the tough guy hat and just did it. SHOW OFF!!! I must add that the boy is only 3!!

Colorado National Speedway

Here are some pix from the races. As scary as some of the die hards looked we didn't dare sneak photos of them!! This was also part of Elias' Birthday celebration.

Z-lympics! Elias Turns 10

For Elias' Birthday we had game competitions with some friends of his. Have to say that his friend, Danno, pretty much kicked eveyone's trash!!

Denver Aquarium

My sister LaDawn and her family came for a short visit from Mesa, AZ. We went to the Denver Aquarium.

Jungle Dad...

We just discovered how to use the video function on my camera.

Race Fans

I'm not normally a guy that gets into racing all that much. In fact, I will admit that I have never watched a Nascar race. (please don't pull my man card or my white trash card) Last night though, we went to our first races and had a blast. It was like going back in time but at the same time bringing a little bit of the present with us.

There were clothes that I hadn't seen in 20 years. There was more ink than there is at a pen factory. Of course, we saw our fair share of mullets and fullets and there were those that just didn't wear enough clothes. I imagine that a Nascar race is attended by people that would be considered, "White trash with money". This race was more just the first half of the statement. For some reason, I felt right at home. I don't have tattoos, I wasn't wearing a wife beater and I don't smoke or drink but everyone was just having a great time.

Tami made the comment on the way home, that the group of people that attended the race live amongst us in the neighborhoods. They don't normally stand out as much until they are all congregated in a large group. Next time we go, we are going to dress the part. Also, I am growing my hair out right now so that it will be ready for an awesome mullet for the last races of the season.

It was actually a lot of fun and the people were great. Even the ones that had a bunch of tattoos and piercings were still very polite and nice people. Everyone was there to just have a great time and I think we all did.

Silly Silas

Apparently Silas is our only child that does anything funny or blog worthy lately. Tonight I asked him to pick up his toys. After trying to convince me that he didn't know how he finally got started. Once I knew he was actually doing the job I joined in and helped him finish up. When we were done he said, "Mom, thanks for your help, I really preciate it." It's nice to know that he absorbs some of the good things we say too!

People Factories

We were sitting around the kitchen after dinner and Silas asked us a very interesting question. He said, "Does Jesus have a factory?" We didn't know what he meant by that so Tami asked him what he would use his factory for. Silas thought that he needed a factory to make new people. I never thought of it that way. People like to make jokes about some women being baby factories but I'm not quite ready to give him "the talk" yet. I still think that 3 years old is too young for that. So for now the answer is, yes...Jesus does have a factory. In fact, he has lots of factories.

The 4th!!

We're so excited that Caleb's parents and brother (Gabe) are coming for the Fourth! Can't wait for a quiet evening with family. It will be so relaxing to sit in our new backyard and just enjoy family time and not have to fight any traffic! The boys absolutely love playing quirky made up games with Uncle Gabe, board games with Grandma Sonja and doing manly things like shooting, starting fires and sharpening knives with Grandpa Frank. It'll be great for them to have some one on one. Not to mention how much Caleb loves to pal around with his Dad. I think Sonja and I would never see our husbands if we lived in the same town!