So, Daddy brought home a preying mantis the other day, that he caught at work. They're such interesting bugs. We put him in our butterfly pavilion and watched him watch us. He seems almost alien with his eyes, the shape of his head and the way he moves it to look at something. A couple days before we had already caught a fuzzy, yellow caterpillar. We were guessing what he would turn into. But the mantis moved in and the next morning the caterpillar was no where to be found. I thought I'd find the mantis a little breakfast, not realizing how disturbing it would be to watch him chow. I found a grasshopper, chased him for a bit and then made introductions between him and "Manty." The intros passed quick (we're not into formalities) and breakfast commenced. OH MAN! I'll spare the gory details and leave the rest to you imagination or a PBS Nova special, but as you can see from the picture, the grasshopper's head didn't remain intact very long. My poor son, I tried to prepare him, but I had no idea how quickly the whole ordeal would take place. He didn't want the grasshopper to be eaten, but by that time there was no stopping it. I said that I would take the bugs away so he didn't have to see it, but he opted for front row viewing instead. So, after it was all over, what did we do? Went out hunting more grasshoppers!

We had a bit of a thunderstorm a couple weeks ago, so I took the camera out for some shots. There's more on my flickr.

Memoirs of A Road Trip

My family and I just got home from a trip to the Oregon Coast a couple days ago. I hardly blog, mostly because of time issues, but I thought this would be good reason to do so. However, rather than the usual journaling approach, I thought I would share the experience with you through a list of things I learned. I hope you can catch a bit of the wonder from our first family trip. Did you get that? First family trip... we have two children that we have never had the opportunity to undergo such an adventure with until now. Plus, the only vacation my husband and I have taken together was our honeymoon, nearly five years ago. Mind you, he planned the whole thing, ie. knew where we were going, had the directions, made all the reservations, etc. Perhaps you'll understand the implications of my navigation skills, and a three and one year old on vacation as we go on. I sure didn't until last weekend.

• Forget GPS! Steph Steph and her Google.com directions ain't got nothin' on the classic, simple, INGENIUS, $5 gas station road map.
• Spend the time and money to take your children to a zoo and aquarium - God's wonderful creation on display before their very eyes - and you STILL can't compete with the thrill of pushing or sitting in that $15 umbrella stroller from Wal-Mart.
• The best entertainment for kids is usually the cheapest. For ours, it was the beach. That made it the most enjoyable for us as well. Happy kids = happy parents.
• Road signs are a language all their own, in which knowing the region and "dialect" of the signs you're following can drastically affect the outcome of your travels... such as heading south for, oh, an hour or more, when you fully intended to go north.

And now, a comparative list between the perspective of a child and a parent. Through the actions of my children I reflect on how I might have behaved at that tender, toddler age, and why it's so gosh-darn frustrating now as an adult. Here is a little section I call Then and Now:

• In the car - THEN: one more hour = an eternity, which translates into questioning, complaining, screaming, crying, etc. NOW: one more hour = "We're almost there. Want, yet, another cracker to eat? How about a toy,? Book? Just please sit quietly for just a little bit longer!"
• At the zoo - THEN: "Oh, yeah, more animals... didn't I see some steps to run up and down?" NOW: "Yeah! More animals! Didn't I see some steps I can sit down on, while I watch them for a while?"
• In an aviation museum (mind you, Isaac loves airplanes): THEN: Boring!!! "Hey, I (Havailah) think I saw some signs behind chains, designed to keep me away from stuff I'm not supposed to touch, that would make for a great stroller obstacle course." NOW: "All this great stuff, the Spruce Goose in all its hugeness shining down on us, and all you want to do is sit in the airline seats (Isaac) and play with the seat belt?!?"

We really did have a great time. The weather made it interesting, but at least we had some inside stuff planned and the rain cleared away long enough for us to have some great fun on the beach. We even got to fly a kite and watch some sea lions playing out in the ocean, not too far off the shore. Took in the severely overpriced wax works and ate at "World Famous Mo's." Delved into the depths of the sea lion caves and tried, desperately to find some tide pools without any luck. Next time. On our way out of Lincoln City, our OC headquarters, at four in the morning, I spotted a sign for Road's End; a great place for sea life observation. Again... next time. That is if we don't end up in Boise.

This past weekend, we got together and did some rock throwing into the river while Papa and Daddy flew their helicopters. Both are starting their own businesses in RC aerial photography. I thought I'd put up a couple pics from the park flight and a night flight.

So I got this cute little happy face timer for IJ (it was the one he liked) to encourage him in getting things done. Things such as eating his dinner, making his bed and the like. He was napping when my mom dropped it off (ordered it thru cheesy mail order catalog) so I showed it to him when he got up. "Wow!" He really liked it. I handed it to him so he could see it and went to get HM's ladybug to show to him too. When I turned back to look at him I saw his hands feverishly winding the poor thing beyond what its manufacturers intended and this terrible cracking sound was coming out of if. Not 30 seconds in his hands and it was broken! So, Daddy and I spent some time manhandling the plastic gears with teeth missing back together. The timing is off and, even tho the ringer works, the timer doesn't set it off. So, it's truly broken and his smile.... isn't quite right. Guess IJ can finish his dinner whenever he wants, now.

Happy 5th Anni. J & J

Happy New Year

It's strange, I usually get a sorta sad feeling once Christmas is over and especially when the tree and deco come down like it traditionally did, today being the 1st of January. But I was ready for it this time. I did nothing to celebrate the new year, just hung out with my son while sissy went to bed and daddy was with the youth group at church. Then I was in bed before 11. However, it did hit me today: it's the 1st, the 1st of January, meaning the 1st of a new year.... I didn't make my house payment!