Well, What Have We Here?

Y'all are probably going to get annoyed with me for posting The Westie Wildlife so much, but seriously, all these bugs and creatures fascinate me.

So today, when I saw this bright red spidery looking thing hanging on the net of the trampoline, I was compelled to go grab my camera.

Upon closer inspection, it is definitely NOT a spider (in fact, it appears to be dining on one... sorry!), but I have no idea what kind of insect we have here. It looks like a land-dwelling shrimp with those tenticles, but what do I know? Any guesses, or better yet, any positive ID's?

Thanks!

Somebody Give Bubo Some WD-40!

We have been out-of-control busy over the last two days! On Tuesday, I went to our summer ladies Bible study first thing in the morning, then I took the kids to the Dollar Theater. (Incidentally, local friends, on Tuesdays, not only is your movie just $1, but your popcorn and drinks are as well.)

We saw Alice in Wonderland, which was pretty good, but I really want to get back to see Clash of the Titans. I used to love the old movie with Harry Hamlin in it when I was a kid! Did you remember that? The one the squeaky metal-y looking owl named Bubo? :) I'm willing to bet that Technology gave Bubo an EXTREME Makeover in the newer one, aren't you? Hee-hee!

Yesterday, Mark, Andrew and I went to see Jacob for Family Night at Summer Camp. They are having such a great time, as evidenced in this picture:





They do some kind of "mud course" every year called Adventure Valley and they come out every time looking like this. To say they LOVE it would be a drastic understatement.

I'm really missing my kid, though. I won't keep harping on about it, but suffice it to say, I'm never so happy to see a dirty, stinky, T-I-R-E-D boy as I am on the Saturday after camp!!

But back to those cheesy 80's movies, though. :) Do your kids ever watch them? Mine do and they mostly like them, which I find hilarious, because they aren't even on the same planet as far as the cool graphics and sound and all that techie stuff goes!

They really like The Goonies and Karate Kid and... Heaven help me... Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure... <---ok, I really had a hard time admitting that last one because of how cheesy and downright annoying it is. So moving right along, they are currently on a Fat Albert kick right now... HA!!! "Hey, hey, hey!" :D

Anyway, what was your favorite movie/cartoon/t.v. show growing up? I'd love to find some more stuff on Netflix for our downtime that I'm forgetting about.

Have a good Thursday!

Sa-lute!

Sometimes, I admit, I get envious of my hubby who gets to go out to lunch on a regular basis at upscale restaurants with customers or suppliers or whatever, because it's part of his job description.

But then on days like today, I realize, upscale restaurants or not, my lunch companions are 1000% more entertaining. You just never-ever know who's going to join you at the table around here, folks.



And that makes the Chef Boyardee ravioli not only bearable, but more delightful than lunch anywhere else on this planet. :)





Happy, happy Monday!!

What if a Bug Flies Up His Nose?!

I got so tickled when I looked out the back door yesterday to see this Peeping Tom: :)



Actually, there was a gallon of sun tea steeping on the deck to his left and he was trying to figure out how to get around it in order to help himself to the birdseed that Mark put out. Ha! We perplexed the little fellow, for sure. ;) Isn't he cute, though?!

Today, after church, we dropped off one of our Boy Scouts for their annual week-long camp. They ALWAYS have a blast, but my motherly blood pressure is invariably raised, too, because:

1. It's 754 degrees in the shade out there.
2. I'm afraid he won't drink enough water to replace lost fluids (wow... that is SUCH a "mom" statement, hee-hee... nevertheless, I'm undeterred).
3. Speaking of water, I worry about the lake, and the snakes that live within it.
4. I know he'll forget to apply his sunscreen.
5. What if it storms, like badly? Who will make sure he isn't scared if it's night-time?
6. What if a mouse gets in his tent? What if a tick gets on his back? What if....

You get the idea.

I know how nuts all of it sounds as soon as I see it in print! Yet, that's my boy, and I'm his Mama, so I kind of can't help it. It's part of the job description, I'm positive. However, I'm going to just trust my Father... his Father... and recite this frequently:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in all things in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I think I'll take some of that peace, with an extra helping of guarding the old heart and mind, thankyouverymuch!! :)

Now, I think I'll go curl up with my remaining Crew and watch a movie.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Swings, Heartstrings, and Curricula Things

Well, summer vacation is here!! We've already inaugurated the pool and we've been to the beach/dear friends' house, so we are well on our way into a great season!


I woke up at an outlandish time for a Saturday (6:15), so I thought I'd pop in here and catch up a little while my Crew continues to snooze soundly.


Here's something rather mundane to tell you: I FINALLY got a new swing!! I've mentioned before how much I love to sit on a swing to read, talk, or have my quiet times. Well, I've been swing-less for about a YEAR! I had a nice little nook out on our deck that was beautiful and all that, but it just wasn't my swing. So, last weekend, while I was gone, my SWEET, SWEET hubby bought, painted, and hung up a new swing for me on (what will be) our screened in porch. I LOVE IT!!! I've been sitting out there for an obscene amount of time each day this week; even with the highs being in the 90's. I wasn't kidding about loving my swing, peeps. ;D




We still have a ton of work to do, like paint the deck and hang more screening... oh, and replace the Sterilite box end tables.. HA!!, but I'm still enjoying it right now!









This is the now poor, neglected spot where I used to sit:









Even Mikey is like "Seriously, Mama, are you on that thing AGAIN?!"









He's a hard little guy to capture with the camera, by the way. I don't think he sits still for more than 1.5 seconds at a time. But we sure do love him. We lost our Oreo (our shih-tzu) almost 2 weeks ago because she had some degenerative bone disease along with severe skin issues. It was so sad for all of us, but it was especially hard on this little guy because he didn't know where his best friend went. It's so hard when something happens to our pets. ;(




On another, not so sad, note: I signed up for The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew this year. That means that chosen vendors will be sending us products over the next school year and I will be reviewing them here on ye olde blog! I'm so excited about this!! We received all of our information this week and now I'm anxious to get started. I hope you will benefit from these reviews as well. I always appreciate another Mom who can give her honest opinion about how something works for her family than any other information. Plus, I'm a curriculum junkie, so having a steady flow of stuff to try is really NOT going to kill me. :)


I guess I need to sign off. I'm really looking forward to a great weekend with my family. We don't have much planned, except getting ready to send Jake off to camp, but that's the way I like it... low-key! What are your plans? No matter what, I hope it's a good one!