BabyGirl

Rockin the 'fro.

Countryside

Needless to say, I woke up yesterday morning looking for the fox again. The whole thing has intrigued me to no end. What's funny is that the fox had been "busted" a long time ago. Back in December when Virginia thought it was Vermont and kept dropping snow like it was a ski resort, I found all kind of tracks in the snow. The first thing that I told Venesa was, we've got a fox! But a week later, I saw the neighbor's rolly polly feline moseying through our backyard, and convinced myself that I was wrong about the fox... even though I knew that the snow was far too deep for a cat to make sense. But now I'm feeling like I deserve a new boy scout badge. Like I tell my students, I should've stuck with my first guess [ choice a, fox ] because now it's looking pretty obvious. That fox was probably here way before we were.

It's also obvious now that our new zip code can be classified as country. Days before the fox siting, I had to swerve the riding lawn mower in order to not hit a rabbit. Then the fox. And then, the next day, while looking for the fox; Justin and I made a new friend. Tommy the turtle.

Between the new backyard obstacle course of toys and wildlife encounters, I think it's time to put up a gate and start charging admission. $5 a kid for 2 hours of fun. A dollar off for each additional sibling. Play at your own risk. Oh... and lunch will not be provided.

Summertime III

Um... Ok... I just saw a fox in the backyard. Ignore the previous two entries. We're giving everything back and moving back to Norfolk. It's been fun, but the wife says it's time to go.

That was crazy... and cool at the same time. I think I'm still dumbfounded. Check back with me in an hour.

Summertime II

Just call us the hand-me-down family; because if you've got it, we'll take it. Here are two more toys for the backyard collection. We scored the outdoor easel at the same time as the picnic table. It wasn't a hit at first, but it has recently been converted from a chalkboard to the world's smallest clubhouse (you've gotta love their imagination). Since then it has officially been put into the play rotation.

And then the whopper of them all: Venesa has been eyeing the neighbor's two trampolines since we moved in; optimistically figuring that their kids were already too old to take advantage of it. And as of yesterday, one of the trampolines has finally made its way to our backyard (no, she didn't steal it). Until we get a net to go around it, I might need some heart medication for this one (all I see are visions of little casts and broken arms)... but the kids couldn't be happier. How someone can spend 45 minutes just bouncing up and down is beyond me. For me, it would be like, up, down, up, down... cool. I'm done. But then I guess those are the things about being 2 and 3 years old that we simply never get back: Simple pleasures at their best.

Summertime

The semester is officially over! And consistent outdoor-play-weather has been in effect for a couple of weeks now. Compliments of a coworker, we scored some nice backyard goodies (a cube slide and picnic table) that the kids have fully enjoyed. Couple that with a few cans of play-doe and we, my friend, now have a live-in babysitter. Suddenly I feel like a genius for making the move to Chesapeake... that is, until the swarm of flies, gnats and mosquitoes swoops in. And as I stand there spitting out bugs and swatting flies like a mad man, that genius feeling that I had a second ago starts to evaporate faster than a puddle in Texas heat. It's all a quick reminder that (a) we live way too close to water (hence the bugs), and (b) nothing in life is without its pros and cons. But for now... I'll take it. Pass the play-doe.

Appreciation

Parental Invasion

When the twelfth moon of Jupiter aligns just right with the hole in the ozone... watch out! Crazy things happen... like both mother-in-laws converging into town during the same weekend, unplanned. And if Saturn's eighth ring is tilted just right, you might get PopPop, too. The kids were so excited that they didn't know what to do with themselves. And as if their raw energy wasn't enough, leave it to my parents to bring them lollypops that were bigger than their heads. I never knew they made them that big (the lollypops, that is... not their heads). You know a lollypop is too big when you have to put it in the refrigerator in order for your child to finish it tomorrow. That's a lot of lollypop.