Status Update

1. I try my hardest to keep anything creepy, crawly or with scales out of my house. Warrick brought in a Woolly Bear, but it was slightly mutant. It had white spikes coming out of the black parts. One of the other boys said it must be poisonous. He quickly tossed it to the desk right next to me. Perfect. 
2. We found a tarantula in our front yard. We transplanted it to the mountain behind our neighbor's house.:) The releasing procedure consisted of lots of jumps and squeals and adrenilin spikes.
3. We have been having more than normal amounts of candy corn and caramel squares. When Stafford goes potty, we all celebrate. "Take one and pass it around." 
4.  Porter's teacher, Mrs. Jarvis, is trying hard to encourage the good kids. She gave him a special signal that she does for him so that he knows he's doing well. She also gives little notes every now and then. I appreciate the extra effort she is trying to put forth. 
5. We are so excited to have a back yard. The highlight is a sandbox that is shaded for 23 hours of the day. 
6.  Our front yard landscaper was "let go" due to thinking that telling a lie isn't a lie if it benefits him. And due to the fact that we have different opinions about cutting corners. Who needs sprinkler heads on their sprinkler system anyway?  That's bonus, right?  What??? You actually wanted your drains to work?  You didn't tell me that!
7.  Christian is playing football and the fiddle. I enjoy watching both.
8.  Porter is playing soccer and piano.  I love watching his soccer and I'm teaching him piano.  
9. Stafford sometimes will come out of the bathroom and be proud that he did his business in the dark.  I can't put my finger on it, but I feel very uneasy about that accomplishment.. 
10. I like to see dogs running with their owners without leashes. It reminds me of the days when there were less restrictions. 
11. I like Mitt Romney. 
12. I'm holding out hope that our cat or another larger variety of cat will not poop in our sandbox. 
13. I can already tell that the rocks used to make our yard look pretty are going to be thrown at people more than they ought to be. 
14. I love Christian's fiddle teacher. 
15. My boys both have good coaches this season. Thank you!!! 
16. Warrick just used air quotes when he said his Kindergarten teacher's name. I'm not sure what that means. 
17. I fund our library with late fees. Springville taxes are lower thanks to me. If I ever run for office I will make sure I mention this. 
18. I'm thinking of ways to not dread winter and to "embrace" it instead. A winter sport? 
19. One of my favorite things is watching my kids play together. 
20.  I feel blessed to have a dad that believes in me.
21. We found two baby pheasants in our garage, one dead and one pecking at the window. Porter and I tip-toed to the outside of the window and popped up and pounded on the window and roared to scare the poor little thing.  It flew/jumped onto a high ledge. Turns out it was too young to fly. We found this out later, after we scared it down. We then herded it out of the garage with a make-shift shepherds crook.