Skeeve

(verb) to gross out; to digust; to make your skin crawl

As I was sitting on my bed this afternoon, I noticed something moving along my comforter. I took a closer look.

A SCORPION.

Oh, shudder.

I HATE scorpions. God's creature or not - I HATE them. I truly believe they were a mistake to be created. And if Noah had to collect scorpions for the ark, well then, I also blame him for allowing their existence to continue.

So, I gathered that little abomination up in a cup - whilst shuddering the entire time - and took him outside and plopped him onto our patio. He tried to bolt. Oh, he tried. But he didn't make it far before he met the bottom of my shoe.

I squished the heck (I used a different word earlier) out of him.

One down . . . how many more to go? And how did it get into my house? And now I can't sleep in that bed anymore and I can't walk anywhere without my shoes on. And now I'm constantly looking behind me and around me wondering where another will show up. My skin feels like it's crawling with them.

They're everywhere! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(another reason to hate Arizona)

A Day on the River

To make Spring Break more than a week of watching tv, I decided that each day we would do SOMETHING. Tuesday we went to a movie at the dollar theater - complete with popcorn, drinks and candy. Wednesday we went to the Mesa Southwest Museum and then met Chris for lunch at Pete's Fish and Chips. Thursday I decided to take the kids up to the river - 10 minutes away. We went after breakfast and just hung out and played. It was beautiful! The kids (except Jonathan) got right into the river and soon were scooping muck and rocks and river shells from the bottom.

Proof of a good time: dirty bums

Jonathan thought the water was too terribly cold, so he found his own fun with a stick. He found all sorts of treasures digging in the dirt with it.

Surgery Debriefing

Just to let you all know - Jonathan's surgery went well! He's now home resting, watching Diego, holding a balloon and eating a popsicle.

Superstition Farm

As I was going through some paperwork the other day I came across a flyer and coupon from Superstition Farm (Colt had brought it home earlier in the school year after a field trip there). I looked it up online and was sold! I wanted to get us out and about this weekend - prior to Jonathan's surgery since I have a feeling that we'll be laying (lying?) pretty low next week.

What a great farm! We started off in a barn area where we learned about what the cows there eat. Then we went on a tour of the farm - hayride style. When we got back we fed some goats, a horse, and a donkey. Then we got to pet some rabbits and hold some roosters. We then ambled over to a "milk bar." After we chug-a-lugged some different flavored milk, the kids had fun running through a hay maze. It was all a lot of fun. It was really simple - not too commercial.

I also learned that they give horseback riding lessons - so I'm looking into that for Carena. One of the nicest things about this place was that it was about 12 minutes away! A farm in Mesa - who knew!!

It started with a cookie in the car:

Here are some of the pretty ladies:

Waiting to feed the animals:
On the hay ride:

A new friend:

Petting the bunnies was a hit!

Colt, especially, dug the bunnies:
Who would have known you could cuddle with a rooster?

I think this is Chris's favorite critter:

I swear I'm not pregnant - just fat.
Fun in the hay maze (it was small, but the kids had a blast):

Another Surgery

::SIGH::

Jonathan has to have yet another surgery. This time it's for a hydrocele. Don't know what that is? (I'm always amazed at how many medical conditions there are that I've never ever heard of). Here ya go: "a hydrocele is a fluid-filled sac surrounding a testicle that results in swelling of the scrotum, the loose bag of skin underneath the penis." http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hydrocele/DS00617. So, Jonathan is having a hydrocelectomy: "removal of a hydrocele may be performed on an outpatient basis using general or spinal anesthesia. The surgeon may make an incision in the scrotum or lower abdomen to remove the hydrocele."

I've gotten to talk an awful lot about testicles and scrotum these past few weeks . . .

ANYWAY . . . the surgery is scheduled for Monday at 9 am. It should only take an hour. He gets to come home the same day.

My favorite part is the post-op instructions that state he should not run or jump for 3 WEEKS. Jonathan's favorite words are, "Big Jump!"

What I Did Today

This post is for anyone interested in what I do during the day. It's not exciting, but I think it's kinda nice to share my day with those who are unable to see my daily life due to distance.

Today I woke up at 6:45 am with a nasty headache. I fixed Carena some breakfast - cinnamon crisp (tortillas spread with butter and cinnamon sugar and then cooked on the griddle), applesauce and strawberry slices. I also prepared her school lunch. While she was eating her breakfast I read two chapters to her of Nancy Drew. Each morning we read a chapter or two of a book while she eats. I helped Carena with her hair, had prayer with her and Chris and then off to school she went!

My head was still pounding so I headed off to bed. I slept for about 2 more hours until the phone woke me up (thank you telemarketer!). The phone woke me up in the middle of a beautiful dream in which I won $225 million. By that time Colt and Jonathan were just waking up as well. I made them cinnamon crisp served with strawberry slices (Colt made no comments about this being slop).

I checked my email, read the online news, cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast, did some laundry, and took my shower. Then it was time to get Colt ready for school. Since we had a few minutes before his ride was due to come get him, we played a little bit of Super Mario 3 on the Wii. I had prayer with Colt. His ride came, I hugged and kissed him and sent him on his way.

Jonathan and I then ground some wheat in the wheat grinder with plans of grinding some popcorn kernels into cornmeal later in the day. The high pitch of the grinder didn't do too much for my headache. I took some medicine which has now made me sleepy. Jonathan is watching Dora (thank you TV for the days when I am not fully functioning) and I am drinking some hot chocolate.

Jonathan wasn't interested in lunch - he had a rather late breakfast. Nap Time! I put Jonathan down for a nap around 1:30. While he napped I did a few things on the computer, tidied up the house (although you can't tell now) and watched a little TV. Then it was time to go to the bus stop and get Carena and Colt. I also stopped for the mail (nothing good). Carena and Colt came home, ate a snack. Carena practiced piano. I then woke up Jonathan so I could drive Carena and her friend to piano lessons. I dropped them off there and here I am!

Like I said - not exciting and quite low key! The rest of the day will consist of more tidying and struggling for a good idea for supper.

That was my Tuesday. If anything out of the ordinary happens the rest of the day, I'll let you know.

What I've Seen

A pileated woodpecker
Deer
Wild Turkey
Merganser Ducks
Flock of Geese
A single goose sitting on an icy pond
Two ENORMOUS beaver
Ring-necked pheasant
Chipmunk
Red Squirrel
Pine Siskin (a very pretty little bird)
Chickadees
Wooly bear caterpillar

Snow
Ice
An icy lake
Drifts of snow that you immediately fall through when you step on it
A rushing stream
Mud
Rain

What Memories Are Made Of

Today is my dad's 70th birthday. As a surprise, my brothers and I (my sister is here with us in spirit) all flew to Pennsylvania. We got in late last night. My dad had no idea we were coming. So, we sneaked up the driveway, positioned ourselves under my dad's bedroom window and at midnight woke him up by singing as loudly as we could, "Happy Birthday." He was floored. It was so much fun! We then came into the house and ate snacks and chatted for a while until we all headed to bed.

This morning, I woke up to wild turkeys making a raucous outside my bedroom window. We (not the turkeys) had breakfast together - my mom made my dad's favorite - creamed chipped beef on toast, strawberries and fresh orange juice. After breakfast I headed for a hike in the woods and down to the ponds. It was amazing seeing so many animal tracks in the snow. I had this feeling of not being alone on my walk, but there was the whole other animal world that I just usually wasn't aware of. I saw coyote tracks, squirrel tracks, deer and maybe rabbit. My mom is a great tracker so she identified all the tracks.

So, here I am in Pennsylvania until Sunday. It's wonderful being here, being with my family (I hadn't seen my older brother in 3 years) and celebrating my dad's birthday.