When Erin started to cut her incisors I remember thinking, wow, that tooth is tiny as it poked through her gums. Just a few days later I noticed that another “tiny” tooth was making it’s way through.

I began to worry that something was wrong so I pointed it out to Rex. He confirmed what I had been thinking that these two “tiny” were supposed to be one tooth and she did indeed have an extra tooth.

Over the last six years we have fondly referred to the extra tooth as Erin’s “snaggle tooth.” I wanted to take some pictures so we would never forget Erin’s extra tooth.

A Girl's Best Friend

What happens when you mix a bored three-year old and an eight pound dog?

Brooke was swimming one day and I guess she got a little bored so she came inside, picked up Whitney and took her to the pool. Poor Whitney didn’t have a fighting chance of not getting wet. Brooke swam with her for a bit, we took some pictures and then we resuced the poor dog from Brooke’s control.

Brooke loves Whitney, but doesn’t always have her best interest at heart.

PS This one's for you Darby! :)

Baby Birds

Michael and Jacob built a bird house several years ago to hang in our backyard. Amazingly, a family of birds has made it their home. We always know that Spring has arrived when we see the mama bird move in. She lays eggs throughout the Summer. The top lifts off the house so we can monitor the hatching of her eggs. We even took some video of the baby birds crying for food this year. It’s been a great opportunity for the kids to watch the baby birds grow up and fly away.

Thanks to Sarah for this great template!

A scout is always prepared

As a Scout activity a couple of years ago Jacob went to the Rec Center pond to work on his fishing merit badge. There isn't much to catch in the pond, but Jacob's leader Fred Brown told him that catfish will bite anything that stinks. Following the Scout Motto Jacob wanted to be prepared with something for the catfish to bite. He took a hot dog from the fridge added a little water and let it sit out in the sun and heat for a couple of days. Yes, it did stink and yes, the catfish did bite. Jacob caught a nice sized catfish, but just didn't have the heart to eat him. He had a better idea! He asked his leader if he could bring the catfish home and put him in his fish tank. Had I been there, I would have said, "heck, NO!" Instead Jacob returned home with his stinky hot dog bag filled with pond water and a nice sized catfish. I didn't think the catfish would survive more that a week.

Jacob and Michael kept the catfish for almost two years. Any new fish that were added to the tank were immediately eaten by the catfish. The only other fish to survive was the algae eater. I think they became friends actually and spent lots of time together under the rock in the tank.

On April 25th Jacob decided it was time to set the catfish free. Jacob loaded the fellar up into another ziplock bag and we returned him to the pond. Brooke went along and seemed quite distraught as Jacob released the cafish into the pond. You can see her dismay in the last picture of the slideshow.

Always remember to be prepared. You never know what your scout might bring home.

She's learning to read

I haven't done a scrapbook page in months, but I was inspired today to get one done. Below you'll find the story that goes with the page in case the font is too small.

When Erin learned to read she tried to sound out every word she saw. One day Brooke was wearing this shirt that said, “Miss Bee-having.” Erin looked at the shirt and outloud sounded out the words, “MisssssBeeeehaaaving.” Brooke looked down at her shirt and ran her fingers under the words and said, “Aaaannngeel.” ANGEL. There isn’t a better word to describe my girl. I love her to death!

Looking Forward...

I'm looking forward to school starting two weeks from today.

I'm looking forward to the carpet being installed next week (cross your fingers).

I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

I'm looking forward to decorating a PINK room.

I'm looking forward to the T-Tapp retreat in October.

Just one of those days around here, but lots to look forward to and how can the song I have on my blog not make you happy. :-)

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

I wouldn't call myself completely GREEN, but I do try and recycle. I put my bins out every other week with the trash and for the life of me I can't throw away an aluminum can. I also keep all my plastic sacks and take them to Walmart periodically.

Last week on the T-Tapp forums I found this really cool site. It's a place where you can recycle the books you own and have already read. Check it out here: www.paperbackswap.com . Here's how it works:

It’s a free website where you can list your books (paperback & hardback) as well as books on tape. If someone chooses your book, you get a credit that you can order someone else’s book with. You mail the book off at your expense ($2.13 for most books and even cheaper for some kids paperbacks). When you choose one, it’s sent to you for free. You can also buy credits for $3.45 per book - free shipping. You list your books by typing in the ISBN, and all the book information and descriptions automatically load, so not a lot of typing either. When you start, you load nine of your books, and you get an automatic 3 credits free to start you off.

What fun! I've already mailed off five books and I've received one of the ones I requested. I know there are libraries, but I love this because I feel like I recycling in a way all those books I've got stored in my basement.

If you sign up use me as a referral - beksparties@yahoo.com . Let's get GREEN together.