Separated at Birth?

You be the judge.

En Fuego

What do you think when you see this:

A- He's using psychological intimidation on the chickens by wearing the Buffalo Wild Wings hat.
B- Maybe he likes his eggs to be as fresh as possible.
C- Few things are as special as the relationship between a boy and his chicken.
D- Who lets their kids bring chickens in the house?
E- (Add your own in the comments)

Craters, Critters, Camping and Cousins

What's the best part about camping at Crater Lake?

The Scenery

Picture a startlingly blue lake.

Yes, it really is that blue.

The Water

Swimming in 1900 feet of water?  Stick close to your buddy.

Strike a pose for the ladies.

The Wildlife

Here's a cool salamander, found by a boy after sunset.

This boy can find crawdads in places most people wouldn't even think to look.

The Dirt

Bryn spent many happy minutes with her cup o' dirt.

Beautiful scenery? Who cares. Look! I found some dirt.

The Snow

Not usually desired when camping but in late August a patch of snow can provide a welcome diversion.

The Food

Be sure to control access to your s'more.

That's better. A two handed grip helps keep s'more thieves at bay.

Use caution when eating directly from the roasting stick.

Cole covered with dirt and marshmallow residue

Family

Here's a couple of little girls with dirty faces and plenty to talk about.

This photo brilliantly depicts the difference between boys and girls.

And, of course, the obligatory family photo. My, don't we look happy?

Thanks to John and Laura and the girls for accompanying us.

The Joys of Literacy

The boys have taken their first steps on the voyage of discovery that is READING. They love to practice writing their favorite words, which they can spell backwards and forwards.

We're hoping they move on to the non-palindromes soon.

Lost and Found

Notice anything unusual about this photo of our computer table? (...Other than the fact that it was unusually clean when I took the picture.)

Let's see:

CPU

Keyboard

Monitor (with flamingo screen saver)

Printer

Phone

Cell phone charger

Calculator

Sunglasses

Tape measure

Assorted USB drives

Scissors

Mouse

Snake

What? You don't keep your snake under your keyboard so it can jump out when you're innocently checking your e-mail and scare the megabytes right out of you? Well, you should try it sometime. It'll wake you up more effectively than any artificial stimulant. And if your family is anything like ours, it will provide a measure of relief to a five-year-old who somehow misplaced his snake.

Happy Hallowearly

Hey, if stores can put out Halloween paraphernalia in August, we can certainly choose to carve a Jack O'Lantern in September.

Grant found this one in our garden and the stem "somehow" broke off. He asked to be allowed to carve it and, after only hearing that request about a hundred times in an hour, we acquiesced.

The face is entirely his design. He says he was going for a "sad" look.

Maybe the sadness was just a counterpoint to his obvious joy.

Kindergarten Kids

All set for the first day on Sept. 9, in front of our house, with their school, Pleasant Valley, in the background.  They're still getting over the fact they don't get to ride the bus.  Sorry boys!

In front of their classroom with Dad and Bryn (she made sure she had her pack pack and snacks, too.)

I didn't really feel like crying, though.  Is that bad?

How did Bryn cope with the absence of her bros? Just fine.

We spied on the boys during recess.  Thanks to our handy dandy telephoto lens, no one even knew we were there (stalking the kindergarten class).

When the boys came out, they were all proud.  It was cute.  Then I gave them each a hug, without even thinking, and got the first (of many, I'm sure), "mo om" - with the embarrassment in Grant's voice.  It was a sweet experience for me.  Our boys are growing up.

Well, we'll just stick with high-fives on school grounds.  I can control myself.