Potentially life threatening encounter for me!

This week has been busy, trying to get things back in some form of order, and trying to get ready to start our Homeschool year. I also had to take SmallDaughter for her neurologist checkup at the Children's Hospital (1 1/2 hour drive), and had to go to a Library Board Meeting at our farthest library Branch, so each day this week has had an adventure. Yesterday, we had a really fun seminary kickoff. We met at a Racquetball Club and had "Seminary Olympics". Each student was issued a "mission call" that told them which country they represented, and then we had games that involved introducing the 25 New Testament "Scripture Mastery" scriptures they will learn this year as well as playing games--volleyball, tennis and water polo. Good times!

The kittens have decided they are bold explorers, so they are now "out and about", and you have to be very careful not to step on any! Yesterday, we had a bit of excitement when a bat was flying around in Big Girls bedroom.


AND NOW FOR THE DRAMA:
I like bats (outside the house, of course!)--they are cute and they eat 500-1000 mosquitoes AN HOUR, which makes them heroes in my book! I am also fine with mice, snakes, spiders, tarantulas, frogs, toads, and most other critters. My nemesis, however, is crickets. They are horrible, gross creatures, with nasty scritchy legs and basically a fattened cockroach body.

And there was a HUGE one on my bathmat when I stepped out of the shower. Somewhere between 3/4" and 4' long. And it kept walking toward me!

I am fine now.

Thank you for asking.

Fair Week

Well, we have survived another year of the County Fair All three of big kids (BigGirl, Largeboy & LargeCousin) did great on their 4-H projects. The girls both got blue ribbons on their clothing selection projects, but couldn't place in the overall competition because they (due to a conflict with Church Girls Camp, which they WOULD NOT MISS) had to have absentee judging which disqualified them. That was ok. Largeboy also got a blue ribbon on his electricity project, and placed third overall. We looked at all the animals (and felt grateful that we didn't have any entered this year!) We ate fair food. We rode rides. We physically carried a screaming SmallDaughter back to the car, because she NEEDED more carousel/car rides (after all, she only got SEVEN HOURS of continuous riding!)

We also have a DIFFERENT group of fun small people here visiting. There is a whole lot of kitty love going on at our house. The adolescent kitties are finally getting smarter and starting to run away when they see short people coming, but they are still willing to put up with almost anything for attention and love, so it works out great!

On a "happy for them, but not so much for us" note--some dear friends are moving back to Michigan this weekend. Town won't be quite so much fun, and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles DEFINITELY won't be! We will miss the Osko's.

End of the first round of visits!

Here's what summer looks like at our house:

filled with food, and kittens and small children!

(This is the kitten deprivation face!) TRAGEDY!

Also, in major happenings: LargeBoy got his hair cut!

Before:

After:

All the cousins we had at our house this weekend:

(It was MUCH harder than you would think to get this picture taken!)

Some people are better at "helping themselves" than others!

It was a great week--I am so blessed!

Excitement Central

Things are really exciting here--which (along with a complete lassitude caused by unseasonal heat) has made me VERY slow to blog.

We have the cutie boy nephews this week, who will be joined for the first few days of next week by the cutie girl nieces! The Nephews are ages 4, 3 & 2. It is very fun to have littlies around again.

The plans for playing out on the grass have had to change, since all of my grass is brown, poky and dead. Sister Rachael, who reports into the Missionary Training Center in Provo TODAY, reports that Utah is greener than Ohio & Indiana--which means the whole world has been turned upside down!

Our mama cat thoughtfully provided us with 3 brand new kittens the day before we picked up the boys--and, instead of hiding them way back in a closet like last time, she had them in a corner of the Living Room, where the boys can lean over the arm of the couch for a great view--but no touching!

Last night we went on a field trip to see some goats, which was pretty darn exciting. We are doing lots of crafts and projects so we stay really busy, and nobody has time to get homesick. It's working so far! Tomorrow I am decorating a wedding, but I have BigGirl and LargeCousin, who are SO SUPER good with the boys (and SmallDaughter)--and they have planned a day full of pirate-y goodness!