Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!.........

Oh joy of joys!  Ethan received an Amazon gift card from our friend Jane (from Nahant) and of the millions of things he could choose from, he had to have a real rocket!  He and Scott worked patiently to assemble it this past week, and the time of reckoning came.  We went to the nearby park for the final count-down.  After a few false count-downs, and some frustration, all their hard work paid off!  As you will see from the photo of the take off, it was fast!  The wind took the parachuted rocket away...and with a lot of luck it landed between houses and tall trees unharmed.  Ethan is looking forward to our next launch!
    Then, from that same field we launched another object!  Saturday evening we had our friends over for dinner, and the grown-ups (and Kestra who is 17, so right on the brink) were outside talking after dinner and Elizabeth remembered something she had been given before they moved.  It was a lantern that she was waiting to light until they felt settled and "at home".  So, at 10:30 pm she had that feeling and we all agreed it was as good a time as any.  We got the kids (Fiona, Ethan and Elliot) off the couch and all walked to the park under a beautiful starry sky.  Paper lantern and lighters in hand.  Such a neat memory we made.  Two families, far from home (they are from Minnesota), out in a field late, late at night creating memories in our new neighborhood, with new friends.

Happily working on ballistics.

Ethan and Elliot in the tree, with little Fiona in the background.

So excited!!!

Can you see where she took off?!

Scott and Drew preparing the lantern.

We were all very curious if it would work.

It took a second to fill with hot air.

Then ever so gently it drifted up and away.

And away, and away, and away...

When it rains, it pours, and pours, and pours, and pours....

The sun is just attempting to poke out after several days of heavy, heavy rain and thunderstorms.  My goodness!  The pool actually came close to overflowing!  We now understand the need for all the drainage around here, in the form of trenches along the roads and dams to create overflow ponds.  In all the rain excitement we noticed a new friend has come to dwell in our outdoor eating area.  I put up some hanging plants and she thought it would make a perfect home!  At first I didn't get that it was a bird causing the problem.  I kept clearing out the pine needles from the center of the plant, thinking "How on earth did those blow in there?"  Poor bird.  Stubborn though.  She kept replacing them.  Now we are careful when we look, but have counted two eggs, and think she is in the process of laying a third today!  A beautiful, hard working Carolina Wren!  Fiona has named her Carolina.  Her mate stands by singing very loud with pride.  I hope that we will be able to take some pictures of the babies in a few weeks.

Isn't it perfect?

This was the sight of the lizard daycare.

Actual backyard...not murky pond.

Fuse-beads count for math?  Right?

One of the more satisfying reasons I homeschool is I can make the kids healthy lunches that they actually consume.

Here is the perfectly inconspicuous nest location.

Ethan's team hats came in!  Milwaukee Brewers!

Lucky number 13.

My tomato plants are growing like they are on crack. Peppers too.

Lucky Thirteen? How'd that happen?

Today is our thirteenth wedding anniversary?!  What?!  I remember vivid details of the day.  It feels more like five years ago.  But alas time is tricky, and Scott and I definitely look thirteen years older.  Kids and marriage have really sped up the time and aging process.  No regrets though.  So, here's to thirteen more adventurous years.
    I have decided to let you see the advertisements that I am subjected to everywhere around here.  Truly a different world.  Some of these commercials really make me laugh.  Some just scare me a bit.

There are lots of training facilities to help you get your child ahead of the rest.  Extremely competitive in school sports around here!  Yikes!

Kinda bummed I missed "injection day".  Did you see that she is an actual patient and mother of three?  Good for her.  I could knock her out though.

Here is a handy chart to help you decide the right breast implant size.  I never did like flats and pumps...

This is pretty much the lengths you go to to pick your children up from school or go grocery shopping.  No pj pants and messy hair in a bun here.

New Ride

A very eventful weekend!  Ethan had another Saturday game in beautiful weather.  They lost, but not by as much as the last time...so I guess that means they are getting better?  Ethan's speedy little get-away-sticks stole him all the way to home for a point!
     Scott finally got a car!  He hemmed and hawed for weeks.  Researched, then researched some more.  Went to the dealerships and dickered with them for hours on end...still with no car.  Was home each night well after 8pm having gone straight from work to look at cars at peoples houses (advertised on Craig's List).  To the point where he was home right before the kids went to bed and Fiona said, "  Dad, why are you home so early?"  Then, this Saturday he returned to the VW dealership and pulled the trigger on a lovely VW Passat diesel.  She is a beauty!

Fiona's math-terpiece

How big sister's watch the game.

Each team hangs these on the outside of the pen for every game!

They also string these banners across where the spectators sit.

Ethan is at first waiting on the signal from his coach to steal to second. (Look at the size of the kid on the other team!)

Ohhhh, yeah!  Niiiiiice!

Un-bee-leavable!!!

Oh my gosh!  What a great experience!  I am so proud of the three of us!  We did it!  We geared up and stood among thousands of bees, and no one got stung!  First I have to say that we had THE best bee keeper explain everything to us.  His name is Doyle Burchett and he is the kindest, funniest, most generous fellow.  We started with a simple interview.  The kids had a list of questions and it gave us an opportunity to get to know Doyle a bit.  He has been beekeeping for 20 years.  His father and father-in-law did the same before him.  We learned all kinds of nifty facts, but I am too lazy to write them all now.  Just go to your local beekeeper and ask them...
     I feel the pictures say it all.  Just try to imagine the sound all those bees make when they get a little riled up, then add the delicious smell of the burning pine needles that you have to puff at them to calm them down, add the heavy heat of the bee suit...plus the temperature today is 84 degrees, and you can feel like you were there too!

Only in Texas!  This is Doyle's door bell.  He is also a taxidermist.

Ethan is mixing a large bucket of bee food (50/50 water and sugar).

Doyle is preparing the smoker.

Ethan was thrilled when he was asked to light the second smoker.

They are all ready.  I am in the same thing.  Tough for taking pictures, but I managed.

Here Fiona is smoking the bees as Doyle opens the hive.

Ethan's turn.

Each of the kids got to hold the sections!

Seriously...only in Texas!

Aaaahhh, Aaaaaaahhh....ACHOOOO!!!!

Holy pollen count!!!  This place is NO joke when it comes to allergies.  I am not even messing around.  Nasal spray, Clariten...gimmie, gimme!  I am warning you.  The photo of my car window may make your eyes itchy.  However, I would rather brave the pollen count than the cold.  Just saying'
     Here in the Jason house the love for lizards has not decreased an ounce.  From the first hour we arrived the kids (especially Fiona) have been capturing and releasing these patient creatures.  We now have to keep our fingers crossed that the landscapers will not step through lizard "day care" in the back yard.  It consists of a few homemade huts (crafted by, you guessed it...Fiona) and some sticks pushed into the soil (thank you Ethan).
     I finally heard back from a beekeeper yesterday.  (I have been stalking them).  His name is Doyle Brochette, but he asked me to call him...can you guess?  Mr. B.  How perfect for a beekeeper!  So, tomorrow we brace ourselves for a one o'clock meeting with a few thousand bees!

Still chipping away at those bags.

Pretty amazing block boat by Ethan.

Can you guess who is doing their silent reading?

I warned you.  This is every morning!

I am attempting some potted tomatoes and peppers.

Took me forever to trim this palm so that I could create the little garden underneath.  Did you know these plants have HUGE thorns up the length of each leaf stem?

The guards of lizard land.

Can you find the one brown lizard and one green lizard in this photo?

Kids built a hut out of thorny palms.