Work Perks

Ron was at a conference in Orlando this week. He had a rough start to his trip. He flew into Miami and caught a connecting flight to Orlando. His flight was delayed over 3 hours, though, so he didn't get into Orlando until 3am. It was close to 4am by the time he got to his hotel room. When he got to his hotel, Ron was talking with the receptionist while she was checking him in. He told her all the trouble he had had getting there and laughingly said, "At least I have that king size bed to look forward to!" The receptionist frowned and explained that she had to give away his room since he was so late. He was disappointed but joked around with the receptionist about finding him a closet or something to sleep in. We all know Ron just has a way with people. She finally found him a room. When she handed him the key, she said "I think you'll really like this one." He thought she was just joking around with him...until he got to his room and realized that it was one of their executive presidential suites. Check out these pictures:



This is the hallway INSIDE his room.



The guest bath



We thought it was kind of funny that he was there without kids but still watching Spongebob!

When I looked it up online, room prices for the executive suites starts at $650/night and can be as much as $2700/night! I'd say he got pretty lucky. And this, kids, is why it pays to be nice!

One evening after their conference they went to Universal Studios. Ron ate at the Three Broomsticks and tried butterbeer. He also brought home chocolate frogs for the kids. (Excuse the crappy cell phone pics.) The kids thought they were pretty cool. Tyler got Rowena Ravenclaw's card, and Danielle got Albus Dumbledore's.

Our Little Visitor's Siblings

Yesterday afternoon I watched a momma squirrel scurry down the tree in our backyard. She was closely followed by 2 smaller squirrels who stopped about half way down and chased each other around the tree trunk. I guess at least one of the squirrel nests in our trees was indeed being used! I think these are our little visitor's siblings. Normally I encourage the dog to chase away the squirrels when they visit, but these little guys are so cute and fun to watch. I think maybe I'll pick up an ear of corn for them to enjoy. Maybe they'll leave the bird seed alone that way.

Here are a few pictures. I know the one to the left and on the bottom branch is a baby. I'm not sure about the other one because it stayed scrunched up while I was outside and I couldn't see its full body. Its tail looks a little thicker and it wasn't as flighty, so I'm thinking maybe this is the mom. If so, the other baby must have been taking a nap.

As far as the little guy we found last month, we still haven't heard anything about his outcome. They did warn me that they were really far behind in their phone calls, so I'm still holding out hope that he made it.

Life Lesson

This picture was being passed around on Facebook last week and it made me look twice. I saw a very good life lesson for my kids, especially Tyler, in this cartoon.

He isn't big and showy, and most people probably don't see it, but there is so much going on under the surface. When he compares himself to other kids, he isn't always seeing his "big carrot", just their showy carrot top. But I know that some day he will be a great, Godly man and he will do great things.

And Danielle, who is the only person I know who really cares about other people's feelings, even the smelly boy in class that everyone makes fun of. That may sound insignificant to others, but it's not. And she's only 9. Some day she will be a great, Godly woman and she will do great things.

If only I can help them remember this as they survive school and the input of others who don't always have their best interest in mind!

More Volleyball

Danielle and I went to watch the jr. high teams play volleyball one day last week. I thought she might enjoy watching an actual game so she would better understand how to play. We had a very nice time together, and I do think it helped her some. Of course, she always puts her all into whatever she does, so it's always fun to watch her play.

The Mustangs

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

Yesterday was Tyler's 11th birthday. I made camouflage cupcakes for him to share with his class. I couldn't get the icing to cooperate, so I improvised and ended up with these. Tyler was very happy with how they turned out, so that was good enough for me. He said they were a big hit, too. Ron had the day off, so he picked Tyler up from school early and took him to a movie. I can't remember the last time the boys had a day out together, and they had a really good afternoon.

Tyler picked to have his birthday dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It's always yummy. Do you think they sanitize that hat between birthday guests?!

We returned home for cake and presents, and then rented a movie until bedtime. Tyler decided the morning of his birthday that he wanted a bakery cake, so we had to go with what was available at the grocery store. He liked the relighting candles, but, note to cake decorators: putting ribbons on a cake - that will eventually have fire on it - is not the best idea! We survived, though.

Later in the evening Tyler thanked me for everything I did to make his birthday special. I thought that was pretty thoughtful and just one more sign that he's growing up. I miss the simple days when he was little and all mine, but I am so impressed with the person he is becoming. Slowly but surely he is maturing, and he is so stinking smart. Like every mom, I worry about what his future holds, but I'm also kind of excited to see the great things he will do. There's so much potential behind those beautiful brown eyes.

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

How did we go from this...



...to this so quickly?!

I can't believe he's 11. I didn't have a problem turning 40, but my son turning 11 is bothering me a bit! Our children are little for such a short time. (And yes, I sold out and went with a bakery cake this year. It's what he requested.)


I think he had a good day. I'll post more birthday pictures tomorrow.

Time for Volleyball

Danielle had her first volleyball game today. The 3rd graders play in an instructional league, so they don't really keep track of a team's overall wins and losses. They play as many games as they can in an hour. The first team to 25 wins, and a point is scored for one team or the other with each serve. Since all the girls are learning, most of them can't get their serve over the net if they stand back all the way, so they allow the girls to move forward a little. Danielle had to move up a little, but not as much as some. She did really well and scored several points with her serves. She managed to volley a couple back, too. I don't know how she manages to do it, but she makes it fun to watch every sport she plays. None of the girls are good yet - it's like watching those first tball games - but Danielle definitely has potential, and she had a good time.

I think she had an assist from her cheek on this one.

Sadly, it won't be long before the hummingbirds migrate south for the winter. Here are a few more pictures of our young male hummer. Wish I could tag him so I can see if he comes back next spring.

Photo Sundries

Cabbage white

Viceroy

Common watersnake

Common watersnake swimming the opposite direction!!

Another Creepy Crawly

I went for a walk at the metropark this evening. I heard some birds in a tree a little way off the path and stopped to look at them through the binoculars. I was surprised to find this guy perched in the tree with them. Two birds were hopping on the branches all around him, while this snake made what sounded like a noise somewhere between a hiss & a rattle. I know it's not a rattle snake, and I certainly wouldn't have been able to hear it hiss from where I was standing, but it did make a noise. I thought this was a garter snake, but the info I read about garter snakes said they don't make noise. So, I don't know for sure what it is other than a nonvenomous snake resting in a tree.

 

This & That

We finally got some rain over night and this morning. After the rain stopped the hummingbirds were quick to return to the feeder. This is a bad picture - I took it through the rain covered sliding glass door - but I thought it was neat because they are so territorial they rarely perch together to eat. At least that's the way it is in my yard. Usually one of the males sits in the tree and tries to chase off anyone else who comes near the feeder.











Early this summer I planted 2 regular sized tomato plants and 1 cherry tomato plant. I have been drowing in cherry tomatoes!! This is what I picked from that 1 plant just today - 80 cherry tomatoes! The regular tomato plants are doing well, too, but they aren't quite as proflic as the cherry tomato plant.

Danielle has decided she wants to learn to skateboard. She has been trying to practice a little every day. She's doing pretty good. She's figuring out how to steer a little, so she can stay on the sidewalk and not run into the grass. She started volleyball practice on Wednesday. I think her first game is next weekend. I don't think any of them can get a serve over yet, so it should be interesting.

I saw this car while I was at the grocery store the other day. I had to take a picture of it for the kids to see. I didn't think describing it would do it justice.

Today Tyler went to a class at the music store to learn how to clean his trumpet. I know it sounds kind of simple, but there is more to it than just wiping it off. I'm glad we went. I think it will help Tyler take pride in his instrument, and I never would have thought to do everything that she showed us.

Although I'm enjoying all the butterflies, Clara is about to go crazy! She loves to chase anything that floats through the air - leaves, milkweed fluff, moths, bees, and butterflies. She tries really hard to obey and not chase them when I tell her "no, leave it", but eventually the temptation overtakes her and she lunges after the butterflies. She was trying so hard to behave when I took these. Although the last picture is blurry, you can see she could only be good for so long. (The painted lady made it and flew back to the bush as soon as Clara turned her back.)

Creepy Crawlies

Danielle found a praying mantis on the side of the house this morning before leaving for school. While we were admiring it (and most likely because we were admiring it), it flew into the tree beside our house. It crawled around in the leaves for a little while and stopped to pose for a couple pictures. He has something on his right eye - I can't tell if it's a bug or a piece of dirt - but I wish it wasn't there. Anyway, you can see his little black eyeball dots in different spots in the pictures, so I know he was watching me. We saw a smaller praying mantis flying around while we were outside this evening. I thought they were pretty neat until my brother burst my bubble by telling me they will catch and eat hummingbirds. I looked it up; he's right. How disgusting. I'd much rather have hummingbirds, so I hope these creepy crawlies don't stick around too long!

One More...

I had another new butterfly stop by today. This makes 12 different species of butterflies I've found just on these bushes in the past couple weeks. I had hoped the bushes would attract butterflies, but I didn't think it would attract so many different types. Definitely going to plant more next spring!

Variegated fritillary (and a painted lady in the background)

More Butterflies

I don't have anything else to post, so here are a few more butterfly pictures. :)

Peck's skipper

Another silver spotted skipper but this is a better shot

A gray hairstreak. I was excited to see 2 of these on our butterfly bushes today!