Fire Ant Freak Out!

While driving Spicy Girl home from school yesterday, I asked her what new units they were studying. She said they were studying Living and Nonliving things. So while we drove we played the "Living/Nonliving" game. She loved explaining why a tree was a living thing. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go on a nature walk when we got home to look at living and nonliving things. S.G. was so excited. She ran into the house to get her binoculars and a snack. We started around the pond and noticed wildflowers, algae on the water, dragonflies galore, old logs, rocks with doodle bugs underneath. With each item, we talked about whether it was living or nonliving. We were having a grand time......until we found our first fire ant mound. Well, then it seemed we found mound after mound and S.G. was just sure she had ants on her shoes and climbing up her legs. Needless to say, half way around the pond, she was done.

Spicy Girl has always been terrified of ants. And out here, there are a lot!! We get them in our kitchen all during spring and summer. Daddy Spice has been treating around the house, but they still come in. Even the Ortho bag terrifies S.G.
So, last night she was in the shower. I was brushing my teeth in the same bathroom, and when finished, tapped my toothbrush on the side of the sink. S.G. screamed, which scared me to pieces, and said she thought a fire ant was knocking on the door.
Oh, the imagination!!

Spring Break!!

Spring Break has come and gone in a flash! We filled this week with as many activities as we could...on top of working at the store. We began the week with a visit from Sonja and a trip to the zoo.

Spicy Girl's first purchase (by Sonja) was a pair of binoculars. Great purchase! She used them all day.

S.G. loves the flamingos....despite their stink.

One of our favorite stops was the Butterfly Exhibit. We had butterflies landing all over us....butterflies of every kind.

I believe this was the most beautiful butterfly!

Feeding wild squirrels and birds.

Unfortunately, S.G. took a little spill and had to get "doctored" up. A nice scrape all the way down her arm.

Another fun spring break event was visits from some of our North Texas friends!

Here we are sharing samples of every Auntie Anne's pretzels.

One night, we went out to our friend's camp out and made s'mores. Yum!!

We lived in this area the first year we had Spicy Girl. We were part of a playgroup here when our girls were babies. S.G. and I finally hooked back up with them this week. The girl on the far right was one of the original girls in this group. It was awesome seeing them again. There are several more we knew, but they couldn't make it to the park on this day.

We have done so much more that I didn't get pictures of. Last night we found a carnival in our area. S.G.'s grandmother promised her a ride or two and some cotton candy. So, after dinner at Luby's we ran over to the carnival and rode a few rides...and got cotton candy..as promised.
It's been a great....but very busy week. I wish we had another!!

Texas Day

I don't want to alarm anyone...but there's an outlaw on the loose. Take a good look at this picture. It seems a little cowgirl has stolen a cow. I've seen her picture up and around, so I'm keep'in a close eye out for this little outlaw.

Could it be one of these young'ins? Hmmmm, they look too sweet to have stolen anything.

Looks like these little cowpokes are eat'in s'mores and toss'in horseshoes. No harm done here.

Uh-Oh. Now these varmints look a little shady. Does that little one 3rd to the end look a little like the girl in the poster? Keep a close eye on that one!

Somebody get my horse. She's getting away!!

Well now, you think that ranch hand is in on this. Could this be her posse?

Oh sure, charm us with your Cotton Eye'd Joe.

Wait a minute! There she is!! Somebody get a rope!! I"m gonna lasso that girl and turn her in to her Mommy and Daddy, so they can give her a good ole lick'in!!

Good clean Texas fun! Spicy Girl's Kindergarten class celebrated Texas Week learning all about Texas. They celebrated last Friday with an awesome Texas Day. After having a month of really warm, beautiful weather, a freezing cold front came through and put a kink in the original plans. But all went well and the kids....and parents had a blast.

Life at the Bunkhouse

I'm going to quote one of my favorite John Denver songs to go with the pictures:
"Well life on the farm is kinda laid back, aint much an ole country boy like me can't hack. Early to rise, early in the sack...thank God I'm a country boy.
Well a simple kinda life never did me no harm, a raising me a family, a working on the farm. My days are all filled with an easy country charm. Thank God I'm a country boy."

This is where we live. This is what we see everyday. This is the way the sun sets in the evenings outside our front door. There are blessings all around. No matter how hard life is, especially these days, there is so much to be thankful for.

Rice Krispy Treats

When I was a kid, I always chose my cereal based on the prize in the box. It didn't matter if I liked the cereal; just what toy I could get. Well, you don't find prizes in cereal boxes much anymore. You usually have to buy 6 boxes and mail in the "box top" while also paying shipping and handling. Spicy Girl found a box of Rice Krispies that had a Disney toy inside. Every time we went to the store, she begged for that cereal. I explained that it was not a sweet cereal, and she would not like it. Well, she insisted she would eat the whole box. Now, I knew how this story would end, but I got the box anyway; I knew at least we could make Rice Krispy Treats when she realized she didn't like the cereal.

Spicy Girl loved this activity. She really made these all by herself...with just a little assistance from Mommy. Now, this is the way to eat Rice Krispies!! :)