Halloween 2012

Since we are the new kids in town (not to be confused with The New Kids on the Block), we headed to another family's house to go trick-or-treating (is that even a word?).  They live in a neighborhood where all of the houses are pretty close together so we just had to hit their street and a cul-de-sac and call it a night.

Here are a few pics and a couple of funny stories.

Once again, Spiderman gets the bad guy.  (Love Fletcher's face).  Most of you know that Fletcher is my typical first born rules follower.  He is not one to get in trouble at school or church (home is a different story).  We were walking through the neighborhood and a police car with its lights on came driving slowly down the street.  It was just patrolling the area because there were kids everywhere.  Fletcher's friend started yelling, "Hey!  Here's your escaped prisoner.  Here's the bad guy.  This is who you are looking for!" Fletcher was so nervous, hiding behind Kevin and telling his friend to stop saying that.  I wanted to stop the officer and get a picture of Fletcher in the back seat of his patrol car, but I didn't want to keep the officer from doing his job.  I don't think Fletcher would have wanted to sit in the police car, even as a joke.  Luke, on the other hand....

 The other family has 4 kids.  They went with a super hero theme too.  Green Lantern, Iron Man, Wolverine, Supergirl and Incredible Hulk dad.  They all had fun pretending they had caught the bad guy - Fletcher.

 It's all about the pose.

A few weeks before Halloween, Luke and I had the following conversation...

Luke (while wearing his costume):  Mom, I want to be Spiderman when I grow up.
Me:  Oh really?  That's cool.  You do know Spiderman isn't real, right?  (While I want to encourage his imagination, I don't want him living at home with me when he is 30 because the superhero thing didn't work out.)
Luke:  Yes, I know Spiderman isn't real.  He's really Peter Parker.
Me:  *sigh*

Worthy

The boys have been participating in children's choir at church. Sunday they sang in "big church." I knew they had been working on a few songs, but I didn't know they had been working on the sign language to go with it.

The Pepper Festival

This weekend Kevin's worksite hosted a Pepper Festival. It was put on by a local group here who supports what is known as the farm to table movement where what is eaten whether it be at home or in a restaurant is grown locally thus supporting local farmers and receiving the benefit of fresh, nutritional food. Wow, that was a really long sentence!  I'm thinking my English teachers would not be proud.

There were lots of booths with area restaurants all serving samples that included...peppers, all locally grown. Because I have germ issues, I am not necessarily a big fan of the buffet or "free sample" concept.  All those filthy hands touching food that I might be putting in my mouth. Yuck.  But I was ok here because the workers at each booth were either handing out the samples or they were nicely arranged in individual serving cups or napkins on a big platter.  Touching more than one was a big no-no.  The food was very random.  I didn't realize you could put peppers in just about anything and call it a delicacy.  Some were just downright weird.  Peppers in ice cream.  Peppers in chocolate cake.  RC Cola with peppers served with homemade moon pies.  Some were really good - poblano pepper and chicken soup, pepper pizza, bacon with a pepper sauce (who doesn't love bacon), pimento cheese with a pepper jelly and the list went on.  The kids weren't crazy about trying any of it.  A nice lady at one of the booths (Mexican restaurant) gave each of them a cup of plain tortilla chips and they were happy.

The thing the kids loved the most was the Bubble Guy.  Each bubble wand had two sticks with two pieces of rope attached to the end. One rope was a larger "U" shape and the other rope sort of connected the top of the "U".  (See picture).  The ropes were soft and flexible, but had a thickness to them (maybe 1/2").  All around the field were buckets with bubble solution (I saw the guy filling up the buckets and what he had looked like Dawn dishwashing liquid mixed with water or something).  Dip the wand in the bucket. Wait 5 seconds.  Pull it out.  Spread out the sticks and wait for a gentle breeze to "blow" your bubble.  When the bubble is as big as you want it, pull the sticks close together, causing the ropes to collapse and close the bubble.  The boys could have done this all day!  The Bubble Guy also had some really big wands and some adults were out there making HUGE bubbles.  Fun to see and even more fun for the kids to pop.

Obligatory festival face painting.  The kids had Awana Sunday night after the festival.  We had to go straight there and did not have time to go home and wash off said paint.  I heard them in the back of the van talking about how they were going to scare the kids at Awana.  I am sure the Awana teachers love us now.  The boys were sad when we made them take the paint off before bed because the bedsheets and school are more important than their happiness.  We are so mean.

Laughs from Luke

Just a few funny things Luke has said over the last few months:

Luke: "Mom! That lady is about to lay a baby." Thankfully the very pregnant lady didn't hear him. We did discuss "laying an egg" vs. "having a baby."

Luke started school on a Wednesday. Fletcher started one day before on Tuesday. At home during lunch, Luke said his blessing and prayed: Dear God, please make Fletcher not be mean to his new friends today at school and that he won't bite anyone. Oh, and help his lunch taste good. Amen.

And here is the most recent exchange from last week.  I'm still processing this one.

Luke (age 5): I kissed T on the playground today....a LOT of times.
Me (trying to maintain parental poker face): Oh...What did she say?
Luke: I don't remember. 
Me: What did her mom say? (Her mom is the teacher of the class)
Luke: I don't remember.
Me: Well, her mom and dad probably don't want you kissing on their little girl. You should wait until you are married. For now, you can save your kisses for mommy and grandmas and aunts. 
Luke: Well, I tried to kiss G too, but she ran away.

We are in so much trouble.  I knew I would have to deal with this eventually because he is a cutie pie, but I thought I had a few years...

Mid-life Crisis

So the boys started soccer.  More on that on another post.  Last Saturday we had to pick up Fletcher's friend for soccer practice.  His family was having a garage sale. Turns out, it was one of those deals where several houses in the neighborhood were having garage sales.  We had some time to kill before practice so the boys wanted to walk around and see what people were selling.  They were especially interested in the large canoe that one house had in the driveway.

Since the boys had their soccer jerseys on, an older gentleman picked up a soccer ball and said, "Does anyone need a soccer ball?"  We were just talking on our drive about the fact that we didn't have a soccer ball yet.  So we walked over to get the ball.  Most of their merchandise was on the driveway.  Kevin happened to notice a Harley in the garage and somewhat jokingly said, "Is the Harley for sale?"
His wife quickly said, "As a matter of fact it is."  I said, "Oh sure...the wife immediately says it is for sale, but what about the husband?"  The man said that it was in fact for sale.  He was "too old" to drive it anymore.  So Kevin asked him a few questions and we said goodbye.  I thought that was pretty much the end of it.

Little did I know that Kevin texted our friend Grant (Tucker's dad) who is a big motorcycle guy and has been for years.  They talked about the specs and the price and all the other motorcycle details. Grant thought this was potentially an excellent deal.  So Kevin contacted Mr. Dave.  Mr. Dave said his brother had the first right of refusal but he would call Kevin if his brother decided he didn't want it.

Sunday afternoon they sealed the deal.  For posterity's sake, I am recording the important details and I hope I get all of them right.

It is a 1995 Harley Davidson Heritage Classic soft tail with 24,000 miles.  SS Super Carb, Vance/Hines long-shot exhaust, HD whitewall tires, 80 spoke chrome wheels, chrome front end, chrome calipers, and high polished rotors.  The guy also included helmets, an extra double seat with backrest, a cover, HD tshirts, HD coffee mugs and a trophy that this bike won at the local Harley dealership.  This man kept this bike in pristine condition.  He told Kevin to get ready for plenty of comments from admirers.  Sure enough, Kevin stopped to get gas and an older gentleman stopped and commented on what a good looking bike he had.

Kevin had a sports bike in college so he has driven a motorcycle before.  This one just has a completely different feel (according to him).

To answer the questions I know you are dying to ask...

Am I freaking out?
Why, yes, yes I am.   Motorcycles can be very dangerous.  Ask any emergency room doctor.  But around here there isn't much traffic especially on the back roads where Kevin wants to ride.  He promised me he would be very safe and always wear a helmet.  I am trying not to worry.   I'm kinda worried he might hit a deer.  That would be weird.

Are the boys excited?
They think it is the coolest thing ever.  Although we have had to lay down the law and throw out various threats to make sure they don't even touch the bike.  I'm afraid it will fall on them.  Fletcher is dying for Kevin to take him to school (which will be incredibly difficult since we carpool with 2 other families and I have as many as 6 kids to drop off on a school morning.)  Right now, Fletcher will get a ride around the neighborhood and that's about it.  Luke will have to wait awhile.

Will I be riding too?
Um no, probably not.  I won't have leather chaps or a rivet studded dog collar necklace either so don't go getting any ideas.  I get kind of claustrophobic with a motorcycle helmet on and if I wear the ones that are more open, then I have to worry about my contacts blowing out in the wind (and bugs in my teeth).

Is this a gateway to other stuff?
Um no.  I told him that this can be his mid-life crisis.  But this is it.  No tattoos, no convertible, no boat, no tricked out F150 and no perky 20 year old.

What will I get for my mid-life crisis?
Well, as I told a friend, I would prefer to think I haven't reached mid-life yet so I am not in crisis mode.  However, when I do, I will let you know.

Our friend Grant said that Kevin will quickly figure out that HD really doesn't stand for "Harley Davidson"....it stands for "Hundred Dollar"  because every time you want something new for the bike, it costs at least a "Hundred Dollar".

I Broke It!

Somehow I managed to break my blog.  When I first started this blog four years ago, I googled and found a website that did free blog templates.  I found one I liked, read the how-to-install tutorial and never looked back.  I guess that person who did the free templates decided to take them down which made my blog go all crazy.  Until I can figure out how to do something cuter or more interesting, we are stuck with this blue/green grass template.  Much better than the FORBIDDEN BLAH BLAH stuff that was up there.

Did I mention 3rd grade is kicking my tail?  We've got quizzes, spelling words, a weekly Bible verse, Latin vocabulary, grammar, math assessments and science and history craziness. We have to remember to look at the moon every night for a month because they are studying lunar phases (I think that's what it is called).  Huge props to the teacher because she is teaching the various phases by using Oreo cookies. See example below.  Of course, there will be extras to munch on while "learning."  Isn't that the best idea ever???  I hope she has milk too.


Whoa...lost that train of thought.  3rd grade.  Killing me.  Busy.  Studying.  Turning stuff in on time.  I'm trying to learn how much to let him do on his own (he's 8) and how much I should be helping.  *sigh*

A Few Beach Pictures

We went to the beach a couple of times in the last few months both at Spring Break and again this summer.  I didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

C'mon, This Will Be Fun

The boys started school the day after Labor Day.  So we met our good friends in the mountains over Labor Day weekend for one last fun filled weekend to celebrate the end of summer.

It was suggested that we take the boys (ages 8 1/2, 8, and 5) on a hike.  Fresh air.  Exercise.  Climbing.  Exploring nature.  I'm all for that.  I don't want my boys to think I'm a wimp so I occasionally need to do something outdoorsy so they will have memories of their mother participating in outdoorsy things.

Someone in the group said that the Hebron Rock Colony would be a fun place to go.

This is a picture of the Hebron Rock Colony.

 I did not take this picture.  As you can see, it is a truly beautiful place with a babbling mountain stream and lots of foliage.  Here is a shot at a different angle.

This was not the easiest hike we've ever done.  Lots of tree roots and well, rocks (thus, the name).  Let's just say I am glad Kevin and Grant were there to help all of us (mamas and boys) up and down the rocks.

Some parts were downright treacherous.

See photo.

I did take this photo when we were taking a break.

Aren't they cute?

Does this post have a point?

Right after I took this photo, it started sprinkling.  The Dads wanted to press on to the top of the Hebron Rock Colony.  The Moms were not so sure.  The Dads wanted to live a little.  The Moms were concerned.  The Dads said we were being wimps.  The Moms wished the Dads had taken the kids hiking on their own while the Moms went out for pedicures.

The Moms threw down the Mom Card and said we must start heading back to the car immediately.

Then it started raining like this.  But harder.  Much harder.  Think of words like torrential and downpour.  Or maybe monsoon and tropical storm warning.

Those beautiful rocks from the first few pictures?
Guess how slick they get when it is sprinkling?
A little slippery.  But dry enough to still be hike-able (I think I just made that word up).

Guess how slick they get when it is pouring down rain?
Might as well try to ski down a mudslide.  It's like hydroplaning in a car, but with tennis shoes and children.  And other random hikers following you because they think you know the way out.  Poor them.  They had no idea we were clueless.  The blind leading the blind.  Or in our case...the soaked leading the drenched.

Did I mention the Moms were wearing white tshirts?  Yeah, that was fun.

I have blocked many of the details from my mind.  I think I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  For the record, I will say that had we left when the Moms wanted to leave (when it was sprinkling), we probably would have made it all the way to the car quite easily.  But I'm not one to point fingers.  Or place blame.  Or say "I told you so."  The Dads said we were making a memory.  I'm going to have to edit out the bad words I was thinking in my "memory".

Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck getting out of there.  Took us forever to get back to our car.  Not only did Kevin have to help his feeble wife, he had to carry Luke on his back while scaling slippery rocks.  Believe it or not, we made it without broken bones or major injuries.  The boys were serious troopers.  I'm glad I was wearing a hat.  We were all drenched.

And when we finally got back to the car?

The sun came out.

Of course it did.

Note to self:  check the weather report before a hike with the Dads.

Won't That Be Nice?!

Right before we moved, I had a few VHS tapes converted to DVDs.  I was afraid the VHS tapes would eventually disintegrate and all those precious memories (like our wedding video) would be lost forever.

One of the gems from that little conversion was the following video.  Some of you may or may not know that when I graduated from college I moved to Houston, TX to teach high school.  While I was there, I went to Second Baptist Church (which is where I met Kevin and got married).  Second is huge - Texas HUGE.  I mean really, really big.  It is a wonderful church and I loved going there.  But did I mention it was really big?  Overwhelming for most people when they visited there.  Not one, but two balconies.  Parking was crazy.  The campus was enormous.  You get the picture.

Well, one day a few singles were sitting around talking as we used to do when we had lots of free time before we had kids and mortgages and soccer practice and carpool duty.  We thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if we made a video poking fun at life at Second Baptist."  Now, keep in mind this video was filmed almost 10 years before youtube ever came along.  And I think that Facebook Zuckerberg guy was still in elementary school.

Disclaimer:  You've always heard it said that the camera adds 10 pounds.  Apparently, this camera decided to add all ten pounds to my face.  Yikes!  Fletcher and Luke saw this video (they think it is hilarious) and they wanted to know how I could make my eyes get that big.

Enjoy!

First Day of School 2012

Fletcher started school on Tuesday and Luke started on Wednesday.  They are both together at a new school.  (We moved over the summer which deserves its own blog post).

Fletcher said the first day was "awesome."   Luke said it was "good."

I told them beforehand that I would ask both of them a question when they got in the car at the end of the day.

"What color are your teacher's eyes?"

We are working on getting both of them to look an adult in the eyes when they are talking to them.  It is a sign of respect (as opposed to staring at the ground and mumbling).  It is also a confidence builder for them.

For the record - Mrs. H has hazel eyes and Mrs. B has brown.

Next up, Fletcher has to find out the eye color of his Latin teacher, his music teacher, his art teacher and his PE coach.

Speaking of coach, both of the boys will be playing soccer with their school through the YMCA.  Should be very interesting for so many reasons. Have I mentioned that I know nothing about soccer.  Well, except for the black and white ball and the goal part.  I guess we will all learn together.

Before I show the obligatory first day of school photos, I do have to share Luke's lunchtime prayer on Monday.  Luke was at home with me while Fletcher was at school.

"Dear God, please make Fletcher not be mean to his new friends today at school and that he won't bite anyone. Oh, and help his lunch taste good. Amen."

Ok so Fletcher looks about 16 in this picture.  

Luke was a little nervous.  But doesn't he look adorable in his uniform?

Good-bye Summer!

Hello?

Is anybody there?

I know.  It has been 6 months since I've posted anything.  One half of a year has gone by.  Several or 8 things have happened.

I made a goal to start blogging again when the boys returned to school which is today for Fletcher.  Tomorrow for Luke.

In the days and weeks ahead, I'll try to catch you up on all of our adventures.

A few things are changing though.  For starters, I'm only going to put up a post on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I used to put something up every week day.  But that gets overwhelming after a while.  I know sometimes people get frustrated when they look at a blog and nothing new is posted.  So for now, just know to check Snickelfritz Lane on Tuesdays and Thursdays for new posts.

We said good-bye to summer by spending the Labor Day weekend with our friends in the mountains.

Here are a few pictures from our weekend.  We ended up at a really cool park on Beech Mountain.  I've seen lots of parks, but never anything like this.  Things were made out of these really thick ropes.  Lots of bridge type things to climb on.  Swings made of canvas.  Rope spider web.  The boys loved it.  And the parents had fun too.

(Haven't the boys grown?  Since my last blog entry, Luke turned 5.  Yikes!  Where is the time going?)