The Annual AP History Cookout

Today, my husband and I hosted a cookout for his AP US History students. The cookout has become an annual event, and this is our third year of hosting students at our house for a celebratory end-of-the-year feast. We had a nice turnout of both students and parents, and everyone had a chance to fill their tummies to full capacity. The weather held out for us, although the humidity was a killer! Daniel worked so hard to entertain everyone this evening that shortly after the last guest leaving, he fell asleep and seems to be out for the night. I'm glad we gave him the night off earlier this week in order to gear up for this evening's festivities.

Finally There is Rest for the Weary

Being a toddler is hard work. Just think about all that is involved in a typical toddler's day. First, there is waking up the parents and pushing them along to get ready in the morning. Then, there is daycare where they have to do mandatory arts and crafts as well as humoring the daycare providers by pretending to have the time of their lives playing with other toddlers as well as with the toys and playground equipment provided. Then, as if that is not enough, it is time to go home to entertain the parents. Well, my husband and I decided that we would give Daniel the night off, and he was finally able to just kick back on the couch wilth a couple of crispy saltines and catch up on a little Barney.

Toddler Meets Frog

Daniel loves the outdoors. Indoor life is much too boring for him. Who could blame him when there is so much to explore in the outdoors...like this frog. He was captivated by Mr. Frog. I think that he was probably wondering why this 'dog' or 'cat' was so small and strange-looking (everything to Daniel right now is either a dog or cat, the two kinds of animals with which he is most familiar). If he thinks that frogs are cool, just wait until he sees cows.

The Affordable Answer to a Spa Experience

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 80's, my family found itself outdoors for most of our daytime hours. Bathtime for Daniel arrived, and my dh had the brilliant idea to give Daniel the ultimate luxury--bath al fresco. So, that is exactly what we did. Daniel was extremely thrilled with our choice. The experience combined everything he adores--bathtime, no clothes or diaper, outdoors, being within sight-range of our dogs, and hanging out with the 'rents. We loved it since water clean-up could be disregarded. Agghhh--the ultimate home spa experience!

CRIME SCENE (not for those who are faint of heart...

or for those who have a weak stomach). This is the horrible scene that I arrived home to find right at the threshold of my front door:

I don't know if it is completely evident exactly *what* is in this picture, so let me break it down. The poor defenseless being without a tail would be the casualty of this senseless crime--a lizard. The red matter on the concrete??? That would be either that poor lizard's blood or the blood of the murderer (along with a couple of undigested pieces of cat food). And that tuft of hair in the upper right hand corner of the picture? My guess is that the tuft of hair came from the losing party in the battle over the rights to the lizard. And the black matter in the picture? That would be the result of the inability of the murderer's stomach to completely digest the missing components of the lizard. Ohm, just disgusting. Now, dh and I will have to decide who will be given the unfortunate opportunity to clean up this crime scene. Nice.

And just in case you are wondering who the resident lizard killer is, she is pictured below in all her glory:

The Unannounced Visitor

You know that it was past time to cut the grass when after finally getting around to cutting the grass, you find this in a nearby bush, taking refuge from the big, bad lawnmover. Luckily, this visitor is non-poisonous. I'm glad that I didn't decide to trim off some flowers from the azalea bush today.

Here's where a Political Science degree did NOT get me...

but this is also where my husband's teaching degree got him over his spring break. Needless to say, I am green with envy. But he did have to chaperone 15 students and drive an activity bus for 6 hours each way traveling down the interstate at 56 mph...so maybe that evens things out in the end.