Snake Hunt

Wanda (Todd's mom) called on Saturday and told Todd that she saw a snake in her back yard. She used to have several ponds in her back yard, but has slowly been shutting them down one by one. She wanted to see if Todd would come and kill the snake for her.

Well, let me say that Evan was all over this one. He initially wanted to take his gun and shoot the snake, but Todd explained to him why that wouldn't be a good idea, so he agreed with the shovel method.

They started breaking apart the timbers on the side of the pond in hopes that the snake would come out. After waiting a bit, they determined that the snake must have moved on. Evan was a little disappointed as he had his heart set on seeing the snake. Maybe next time!

Evan with MeeMaw ready to help with the snake!

Sorry, no snake!

Pond Chronicles Part III

Evan and Todd keep working on the pond, and it is paying off. This past weekend I saw some lovely flowers blooming and just had to take a photo. A big change after the snail destruction episode! Thus, we now have these pretty plants and one orange fish in the pond.

Evan is cleaning the pump every day and had the idea that get a fish that eats algae would help. We made our way to the pet store and got the biggest one we could find. The store clerk warned us not to expect miracles, but Evan was okay with that.

Evan putting his new fish in the pond.

Since it looks like the pond is going to stay, Todd started fixing it up with some decorative slate. I'm impressed!

Pond Chronicles Part II

Evan's pond continues to be a learning experience for our whole family. Right after we put the huge snails in the pond, we saw some eggs on the side. We were so excited because all we could imagine was the fun of watching them hatch and have baby snails.

This past weekend there was an article in our paper about the snails, called apple snails, and how destructive they are to our area. At that point, we noticed the destruction that they had done to our little pond. Thus, we were convinced that the eggs and snails had to go.

Those snails destroyed all of our plants!

Snails right before their demise.

Todd got some new plants and we still have the tadpoles in the pond, so here goes our second try at a pretty pond!

 Pond do-over!

Outside Projects

Both boys started school today and they like their teachers, so we are off to a good start this school year.

The guys have been busy outside over the past couple of weeks. First, there was the planting of two new orange trees:

Todd was in charge of digging.

Evan did the watering.

A successfully planted tree!

Evan has been going crazy in our ditch catching tadpoles:

Evan's super big tadpole.

Evan and his "mini-aquarium" for his catches.

Somehow, Evan convinced Todd that his tadpoles needed a bigger home and that we had to have a pond. He must have been quite convincing, because now we have a pond:

Evan cleaning the pond donated by Todd's mom.

Digging the hole for the pond.

Todd and Evan getting the pond ready for fish and tadpoles.

Evan putting his baby tadpoles in the pond.

The completed pond with a big fish donated by Todd's mom.

Summer Sniffles

A cold bug has been making it's way though our house. Todd had it last week, then I came down with it this week and a couple of days ago, Evan got it. He was sniffling a lot and decided to stay home from day camp yesterday. He had fun just resting, watching t.v. and playing video games in the morning. However, by late afternoon he was ready to jump out of his skin.

It had rained off and on during the day, but had pretty much stopped in the afternoon. After being cooped up all day, he was ready to head outside for some fun. He was in the ditch in no time in search of creatures. He told me to correct my post from the other day as he is catching tadpoles, not minnows. His little tank had quite a few more yesterday. He told me that he had found their secret hiding place, so he was able to catch a bunch.

He also did some shooting with his gun. All in all, he is pretty good at entertaining himself when he is outside. He is always able to find something new to explore.



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Evan and His Creatures

Evan must walk with his head down, because he is always finding some interesting creature on the ground. Walking down our driveway after the bus dropped him off yesterday, he found what I think is a salamander.

He explained that he picked it up and its tail fell off, but assured me that it would grow back. He then went and grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and put some dirt in it for the salamander. All this before he even walked in the door from school. I just kept asking, "You picked that thing up with your hands? Did you wash them?" Yuk, I don't even want to touch it with gloves on. That's Evan for you!

Farmer's Market Visit

I had recently read a newspaper article about a farmer's market that opened near where we live. After my morning work was done on Friday, Evan and I decided to head out there and see what they had to offer. We got there about 11:30 only to realize that their operating hours were from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. 

Not to waste a trip, we decided to get out of the car and look around. The farmers market not only sells fruits and vegetables, they also had tomato plants, flowering plants and fresh eggs. In back of the market is the chicken house and coop where all of the chickens are kept. Evan walked up to the coop and all of the chickens came up to him, wanting to be fed, I am assuming. He walked around the fence and the chickens followed him wherever he went. He loved it and wished that he had some feed to give them. I had to drag him away from those chickens after about 15 minutes. I had the feeling that he could have stayed there all afternoon.

Evan talking to the chickens.

"Mom, they are following me wherever I go."

On the Brink of Summer

The weather is warm and sunny and we are all ready for school to be out. Chad's last day of school was on Thursday, so he was very happy. He is going to go to day camp next week, but had a free day at home on Friday. He kept busy reading, playing basketball and playing with Riku and Leon. He even gave them a bath and they really enjoyed the love.

Chad drying off his guinea pig.

Evan's friend from school invited him over for a sleepover on Friday. On Friday afternoon they went blackberry picking and built some Lego creations. He was tired on Saturday because he went to bed late and woke up about 5:00 in the morning. He promised his friend that he would wake him up when he got up and he kept his promise. Why is it so easy for kids to wake up early on the weekend and so difficult to get up during the week? Evan has a few more days of school, so the countdown is on!

Evan brought home some of the blackberries that he picked. He wouldn't eat any, but I have been putting them in my yogurt and they are sweet and delicious.

Evan got the Lego bug after playing with his friend. When he got home on Saturday he couldn't wait to build something!

Rainy Weekend

Part of the process of getting our back yard into shape included pulling out a lot of old drainage and watering system pipes. These pipes, in addition to the leaky water heater and other assorted "stuff," has made our driveway yard look like a junk yard. 

Todd's plan for Saturday was to start cutting up the pipes so that they would fit into our garbage cans. The day started out overcast as Todd got the boys to help him gather all of the pipes for cutting. Getting their cooperation was like pulling teeth and I think Todd ended up moving most of the pipes himself. He made quite a bit of progress and filled two trash cans before the weather turned rainy in the afternoon.

Junk pile of pipes.

Progress!

Tuesday is Todd and my 17th wedding anniversary, so we decided to go to our favorite restaurant in New Orleans for lunch on Sunday. It was still raining and we didn't realize that many of the streets were flooded as we made our way to the restaurant. Todd tells me that New Orleans is like a bowl and that the water has to be pumped out and doesn't just drain away. The boys were interested in seeing all of the flooded streets and we even saw some cars that had water up to the windows. We had to make a couple of detours, but finally got to the restaurant and had a great lunch.

In the afternoon we hung out with our pets and each other and had a nice, lazy day.

Evan giving Muddie some attention.

This kid loves his lizard!

Mother's Day

The weather was terrific this weekend and I had an incredible Mother's Day. The day started off with breakfast and church. Our new bishop made his first trip to our church and there were tons of people there. It was nice seeing all of the friendly faces and visiting with my friends.

After lunch I got a little nap before we went to visit with Todd's mom. Stefan is down visiting, so he came to our house to spend some time with us and our animals. Chad and Evan love his visits and all of the attention he lavishes on them.

 Stefan and Chad feeding mustard greens to the guinea pigs.

Evan inspecting Muddie's leg.

I then found out that Evan had been conspiring with Todd all week to make me a special dinner for Mother's Day. He brought home a cookbook from the school library and picked out a recipe for Spicy Chicken. He knows that I love spicy food and Indian food and this recipe covered both bases. In the morning Evan had gone to the grocery store with Todd and purchased all of the ingredients as well as some basmati rice. They marinated, stirred and baked all evening and the house smelled wonderful. Thanks so much guys for a terrific day and meal!

Evan mixing under Todd's keen supervision.

Muddie Update

We have had Muddie (Evan's bearded dragon) for about three months now. It has been incredible to watch her grow. I looked back at one of my first posts and video about her and can't believe the changes.

Yesterday we got in a shipment of crickets and superworms to feed her. This is the first time we got the worms. She loves them, but I have to be honest and admit that they creep me out a little. When did I get so squeamish? Here are some new pics and a new video of Evan's baby eating some greens:

Uncle Stefan Meets Muddie

Todd's brother, Stefan, was in town last weekend so he came by the house to spend some time with the boys and check up on all of their critters. He was amazed at how much the guinea pigs have grown. They eat a lot of fruit and vegetable, so I don't know how they are putting on so much weight.

This was Stefan's first time meeting Muddie. He liked looking at her, but wasn't sure that he wanted to pet or hold her. Evan didn't mind holding her and Stefan got his courage up and gave her a quick pet.

Thanks for stopping by...we enjoyed the visit!

 

Uncle Stefan is a little squeamish about petting a lizard.

  

Uncle Stefan gets his courage up and pets Muddie.

  

Evan loves that lizard!

Crickets in Bulk

Now that we have gotten into a routine for feeding Muddie, we were finding that we had to go to the pet store every three days to maintain a supply of live crickets for her. Thus, as a lover of Internet shopping, I found some cricket farms that sell live crickets and deliver.

This morning the FedEx truck pulled up and we got our first shipment of 500 crickets (from Fluker Farms). I carefully peeled the tape off the package, opened one side of the box and quickly closed it again when I realized that the crickets were loose in the box.

I went and got the plastic bin that we are going to keep the crickets in, opened the box with the crickets and quickly dumped everything in. I am proud to say that no crickets escaped. I was also impressed that there were only about three dead crickets in the bottom of the box. Not bad!

After getting everything back inside and settled, I even picked up a few crickets for Muddie to sample. I am okay as long as I pick the cricket up by it's leg, I just hate to feel it moving in my closed hand.




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Freezing Weather!

It is freezing here in South Louisiana. Even though we have the heat on, my fingers and toes still feel cold.


I came across this photo and thought it was appropriate for such chilly weather:

If Jesus Had a Cat

Welcome Mudd (aka Muddie)!

For several months now, Evan has been begging for a bearded dragon. I didn't know what kind of animal that was when I first heard about it, but have learned that it is a lizard that is native to Australia. After doing lots of reading, research, begging and saving up, we finally gave Evan permission to add a new pet to our family.


The bearded dragon needs a desert habitat, so our first step was to get a reptile terrarium and all of the special lights that the lizard would need. Todd helped Evan set it up and get it ready for his pet. We then bought some live crickets, because that is the primary food that the baby beardies eat. After that was done, we were ready to get the lizard. I don't think that I have ever seen Evan so excited. It is an understatement to say that he is thrilled with his new pet.


On the way home from the pet store, Evan decided that he would name the bearded dragon "Mudd," because he is brown. A few hours later he started wondering whether "Mudd" was a girl or a boy. He then looked closer at the lizard and determined that it is a girl (though I think it is too young to tell, but what do I know?), so he is now calling her "Muddie."

Evan is so happy to finally have his bearded dragon.

Evan's new baby.

How cute!

Evan loves his new pet.

Evan handing Muddie off to Chad.

Chad holding Muddie.