Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Unwelcome Shower Guest...

So I am getting out of the Shower this morning...
I've just washed my hair.
I reach for the hand-held Shower-head
(You know, to rinse all the bubbles down the drain.)
.
Something moves...
Not just anything, but something ALIVE!
I jump a million miles into the air and grab for a towel...
My heart is racing... POUNDING!
I can not see the "something", it is covered in bubbles.
.
"A Cricket?", I think.
(We feed them to Spike, the pet Lizard.)
But they are tiny... 1/4" at biggest.
I insist that the boys are careful, but one must have gotten loose.
Someone is DEAD MEAT!
This one seems BIG... Has it been loose for long? Living and growing?
I shudder at the thought...
.
I douse it... (literally DOUSE it!) with water, thinking I will wash it down the drain.
It scuttles across the floor... I am mortified!
It's not a cricket... it would have hopped, or wobbled if it was wet.
.
Matt's not home...
The boys are at school...
It's just me and the biggest EARWIG I have ever seen.
No one is going to believe me.
.
What to do?
.
In a moment of utter insanity, I RUN, dripping...
Downstairs in the Kitchen, clad only in my towel,
I grab a Rubbermaid and a Butter Knife.
(I know... I admitted... it was insanity...)
"They HAVE to see this!"
.
Back in the shower, I locate the earwig in the corner.
It is almost the same color as our tile.
I am NOT getting closer. No way!
Again, I try to rinse it to the drain.
Instead it scurries UP the shower wall.
I can not believe it's strength as it clings there, despite the dousing.
.
I concede.
I place the Rubbermaid on the wall between me and the earwig.
I use the Butter Knife and all the courage I can muster
and flick it into the container, shaking, as I hurriedly seal the lid.
.
I breathe for the first time in minutes...
Matt and the boys will be so proud!
.
I step out into the better-light of the Bathroom to get a better look.
I look through the clear lid and realize what I have...
.
That's NO earwig!
.

.
I have a freakin' Scorpion!
.
That's right! A SCORPION!!
.
I call Matt.
He's doubtful... (told you...)
"Are you sure?"
"Pinchers, curly tail, beady eyes... YES! It's a scorpion!"
.

.
So many questions...


Where did it come from?
Do they live around here?
How did it get in our UPSTAIRS Master Shower?
How long has it been in our house?
.
.
How BIG is it?

(I had to talk myself into taking the little guy down into the studio for a little one-on-one Photo Session... ICK!I took these photos with the penny to give you an idea of scale)

.

Maybe 2 inches?

(Which, if you've seen the new Indiana Jones Movie, you know, is bad news!

Apparently, according to Indie, the smaller the Scorpion is, the deadlier it's sting.
It's venom is more concentrated and thus more potent...)
Phew...
(By the way, I will accept your sentiments about how narrowly I escaped death
in the comments section of this post!)
.
Anyway...
Soooo... If it's a BABY, does it have a MOTHER?
Then is there a nest, or eggs, or... are there MORE?
I can' t even think of it...
.
I am in a rush to get to Lunch with some friends.
No one will believe me!
(It's not like we live in Texas, afterall...)
Unless...
I toss the Rubbermaid in my Purse.
.
Oh, they'll believe me... with their own eyes!
.

(Thanks, Janey, for this Fab Photo from Lunch!)
.

Now just wait until the boys get home!

They'll be so excited!

Yeah...

What was I thinking?

I am the mother of... BOYS, after all?.

Little did I realize we'd be keeping it... as a pet.
Aye...
He now lives here indefinitely.
('Til death do us part...)
.
In a clear Bug-catching Jar with a magnifier lid
so that all the neighbor kids can get a good view...

.

.
In the GARAGE!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Happy Birthday, Johnson Girls!

Thanks to our good friends Emi & Summer for a super-fun afternoon...
. .
Their Backyard Birthday Bash had it all...
.

.
A "Water"-Slide...

.

.
(Just perfect for "dousing" other Party-Go-ers...)

.


.
A Slip-N-Slide...
.

.

A "Sprinkler-fied" Trampoline....

(as Trevan dubbed it)

.

.

Super-Soakers...

.

.

Yummy Cupcakes...

.

.

Plenty of Otter-Pops...

.



(Even for the "munchiest" Little Guests...)



.
Presents we just couldn't WAIT to see them to open...
.

.
Even Dirt & Rocks... to EAT!
.

So Thumbs up, Ladies...

It was just how we like it...Wet & Wild!



Handsome Little Sluggers...

Kade & Trev both had Baseball Games this morning
along with their Team and Individual Portraits...
.
.
Check out these cute brothers!
(Yes, I was the annoying Mom who had to bring my camera and make them pose for more photos...)
.
Love these handsome Little Sluggers!
.
. . . . . . .
.
Trev plays T-Ball with the Westridge Lions...
.
.

Kade is in the Coach-Pitch League and plays with the Westridge RedSox
(although sadly, their jerseys are blue...)
.
.
.
And watch out for this guy... he'll be a pro someday!
(Remember, you heard it here first...)
.

.
Kade's best pal, CJ, doesn't mess around...

he's a die-hard Boston fan, just like his Dad, Coach CY!
.
. . . . . . . . . .
.
Don't ask me what this has to do with Baseball,
but Trev had a great time practicing his "Mad Skillz" ...

.


.
And loves reminding us he is the biggest kid on his Team!
.

.
(Seriously, though, by like a whole head!)
.
. . . . . . . . . .
.
The RedSox all played well!

Kade made several GREAT runs...
..
.
(Sorry this shot could be better... but note the ball in the hand of the Catcher
trying to tag him... he ran around and made it safely Home!)
.
AND he hit a Home Run!
.

Woot-woo...Woot-woo!

.


While Little D found a bat and made up his own game...

.

.

T was glued to the action...
.

.

Way to go RedSox!

.

.

...Can't wait til next Saturday!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Heaven...

96 degrees today...
.
The boys played outside all morning...
.
Our wonderful neighbor's opened their fabulous pool for the afternoon...
.
It is just after 7:00 pm...
Here is a view of the back-seat as we wait for our Curbside Dinner pick-up...
.
.
Sigh and smile... We are all in Heaven!
(Grateful Mommy of 3 very exhausted Monkeys included...)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day Dinner...

We arrived home just in time to unpack and make it to
Mother's Day Dinner
up at Mike & Mauri's...
.
I pulled the monkeys out of the dirt (literally!)
long enough to pose for our traditional Mother's Day Portrait.
.
.
(Seriously... LOOK at those shirts! You don't even want to see their hands!)

.
.
And here's a quick shot with all us "Moms":
.
.
(Left to right): Jean (Cody's mom), Mindy, Me, Mauri & Peggy
.
Thanks, Dads, for all the preparations and yummy food! Mmmm.... mmmm... mmm!

St. George Weekend for da Mama...

Just what I needed...
.
A few absolutely un-scheduled, fun-filled days to decompress and just RELAX!


.




We swam,

realized we left the battery-charger for the camera at home
(thus, no more photos... oops!),
.
launched a rocket at the park,
.
rode bikes up in Snow Canyon,
.
went to the Wildlife Museum
(way cooler than we expected!),
.
stayed up too late,
.
ate too much Cold Stone,

.

watched old Home-Movies of our family,

.

and laughed... and laughed... and laughed!

.
...Good times!

The One & Only Princess!

SoooOOOoooo... Drum-Roll please....
.
Here's the news...
.
I am keeping my Tiara!
.

.

I will remain the sole reigning "Princess" of "Castle Staker"

for at least the forseeable future!

(Fitting since the name "Sara" is actually Hebrew for "Princess"... so maybe this was destined to be...)

.

The Ultrasound showed an unmistakable view of Little Monkey #4...

.

That's right...

He's a BOY!

We also saw his handsome little profile

.

All 10 fingers...

.

and his little spine!

.

I know it's not the earth-shaking news you were all hoping to hear, but please be assured that there are no condolences necessary...

We are sincerely excited about the idea of adding another Handsome Little Man to our Collection and are just happy to see his healthy little heartbeat and all his little parts developing just as they should be!

Matt & I feel like Little Boy Specialists, so it's not nearly as overwhelming a thought as throwing a ruffley-bummed "foreigner" in the mix... (although that would have been fun, too!)

Our home has become accustomed to little bodies climbing onto and jumping off of everything, ,

constant wrestling-until-someone-gets-hurt,

gross unmentionable body noises (and odors!),

a consistently whirling arsenal of everyday weaponry (swords, sticks, kitchen utensils... you name it!),

crumbs, dirt and other miscellaneous and "mysterious" smudges and oozings,

Super-hero capes made out of any/everything,

blanket forts and scary stories,

Sports for every Season,

cars, trucks, airplanes, tractors, boats, choo-choo trains and anything else that goes,

holes (seriously, in everything!),

balls of every variety rolling and bouncing off of things that they shouldn't,

selective hearing/attention spans,

and LOUD-ness & chaos at least 5 decibels above the norm!
.

This is our life and we LOVE it! We wouldn't trade a single one of them... REALLY!

.

So I guess I must be enough "Girl" to handle all of them, even though I am going to be more outnumbered than ever!

(...Which just means that I will be looking for lots of excuses to get out with the girlies for a good GNO, a pedicure, an afternoon shopping, and or a good old- fashioned Chic-Flick!)

Friday, May 9, 2008

Shhh! It's a secret!


We went...
.


We saw...

.


We know...
.


And we are EXCITED!


But guess what?

WE"RE NOT TELLING!


At least not until after our Moms open their Mother's Day Gifts!

Sorry, but they deserve to be the first to know, don't they?
And don't bother looking for clues in these photos... we made sure there weren't any!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Stay Tuned this Weekend...

Big weekend...

We are headed down to
St. George
tomorrow afternoon

for a little
Mother's Day Getaway...



...right after our
Ultrasound!
.
We can't wait to keep you all in suspense, so keep an eye out here until we share our News!


(For the record, I'm prepared for and betting on a boy!)