one down. two to go

we successfully turned one of our tadpoles into a frog. it's not like we really did anything anything magical. just kept it alive long enough for the transformation to happen on it's own...but that is truly a miracle in this house. since a frog actually needs food to survive, we decided to set him free. his chances of survival are much higher in the owl, snake, duck, muskrat, beaver infested stream by our house than home with us. Mclayne thought it was quite an adventure setting him free.












we do still have one tadpole that we caught IN MAY that seems to be frozen in time. and once again, the fact he's still alive after four months is quite amazing. and...

we now also have another frog from our walk last night. he/she is sticking around only because it is LETTER "F" at preschool this week and Mclayne wants to show all of her friends. i actually bought crickets at the pet store for it today to keep it alive for the week. it will be nice to be animal free soon!

froke out

{yesterday's} word of the day...

froke out - the past tense of the verb freak out

use in a sentence - Mclayne having a conversation with Santa Clause on the phone yesterday said, "Don't give Cole any toys for Christmas because he froke out this morning."

{two} little dancers

mclayne and three friends {hope, jane, and carmen} went to their first dance class today with miss muffie (that is the name she actually goes by). she chose quite the outfit for the first day. but since i spent the time making the skirt, i'm glad she likes it.


as you can see, cole also got in on the action and put on a pair of tap shoes...he'll use any excuse he can to try on girl shoes.

Schareeism

I have passed on another schareeism to my kids. I only clean my shower while taking a shower. And even though I'm pretty sure I've never done it while they were showering with me, i caught them doing this in the tub a few days ago...

i love the cleaning, but my favorite parts are cole's little {cheese} at the beginning and mclayne's song that makes no sense.
now i need to go and do some REAL cleaning, so I'm ready for our labor day trip to utah! GO UTES!

Man, I wish we were still here...

Here are the pictures from Steve-o's camera. Our McCall posts just wouldn't have been complete without them. He got the closest thing to a family picture, our trip to the fairy island to get treats, our clay masterpieces, and mclayne's rainbow trout that Grandma's later cooked for her.

more video

i really should be taking and uploading video with our actual video camera, but it's so easy with my little 5 megapixel point.and.shoot i think i'll overlook the bad quality.

Dinosaur Ridge

Yesterday we decided to forget about unpacking and take the kids to Dinosaur Ridge. We liked it and decided next time we'll take the guided tour so we can learn even more about everything up there.

I took a little video with my camera accidentally, then I thought why not take some on purpose. So here is my first video upload. Now that I know how easy it is, I will be doing it more often. {Except next time I'll try not to use my loud, gay pre-school teacher voice.

random pictures taken before mccall...the one of mclayne was a hurried attempt at a first day of school pic. she is doing her best not to squint in the "bright" {not really} morning light. I'm sure next year she'll wear sunglasses!

I almost stepped on this snake while picking up the yard. It slithered into our neighbors yard at a safe distance from the fence...or so it thought. Mclayne poked it with a stick trying to catch it and it disappeared. phew.

McCall 2009

and last, but not least, my favorite pictures of the trip...
you may be asking yourself why one of my favorite pictures is of mclayne crying...well, it's not. believe it or not folks, mclanye is SMILING! Clearly, Laynie's chandler syndrome is at an all time high! Love it.











This one is a little better.:)

a nice surprise...

i walked in the living room and found this...



















hmmm...i don't remember folding those today. when did i do that? wait...
"laynie did you fold these?"
"yeah"
i couldn't believe it. not only at how perfectly they were folded and stacked, but that she actually cleaned up something without being asked! it won't be long now until I can dust of my folding board and let her have at it. nice!

then later at the park, she asked a group of three boys {who looked 9 to 12 years old},

"So, who wants to play hide and seek?!"

The only response was the oldest one rolling his eyes at me like it was a joke. Mclayne couldn't figure out why they didn't want to play, but kept following them around trying to strike up conversation. It was so funny, and at the same time a little sad. It gave me the first glimpse of what it's like to see your child face rejection. Luckily, she was oblivious to the fact that they were boys. more that 3 times her age. that wouldn't be caught dead playing with her {even though they thought she was pretty dang cute}. She was disappointed when we had to leave, because she wanted to continue to "play" with the little punks. I think she should just forget about boys altogether and just stick to the laundry.;)