The summer is proving to be quite busy here in Smallville. Actually, I’m the only one left. The rest of the fam is in Oklahoma for wheat harvest. I hope to have lots to talk about here in a few days, but for the time being, I’ll just post some pics of the kiddos.

	Riley Coyote turned 8 last week. And then he caught a fish.
After years of begging and pleading, Jacob Jingleheimer is finally old enough (read: tall enough) to drive a combine. He’s totally addicted now. But he’s a natural. Farming is definitely in his blood.

Meet Lexie. She is the newest addition to our family.

Lexie’s owner, Shea, is a friend former coworker casual acquaintance fellow blogger (alright, I barely know her) here in Wichita. Shea is moving to the island of St. Maarten in a matter of days and is not able to take Lexie with her. I volunteered to adopt her cat under the condition that Kendal and I have a place to stay in St. Maarten should we ever end up in the Caribbean.

I am so selfless, aren’t I?

Today, Husband took the boys and I out fishing in Cheney.

I had the first catch of the day: (I was apologizing to the fish the entire time he was on my hook.)
Husband had the biggest catch of the day:

The boys weren’t left completely empty-handed. We all managed to catch sunburns!

I’ve been a fan of Courtney’s blog for almost 2 years now. I have linked to her post about the spider on her face before. It’s funny. Dr. Pepper squirting out the nose funny. But her most recent encounter with a spider just about had me falling out of my chair. And now Husband is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Of course, it’s only funny because it’s her and not me. And I’d send the poor girl some bug spray, but clearly the arachnids are drawn to her. Far be it for me to stand in their way.

I like to think of myself, my husband, and my boys as reasonably intelligent individuals. And yet, our lives have turned upside down after installing screen doors on the French doors in our dining room.

It seemed simple enough. We’d be able to have the French doors open to let in the breeze and not the bugs. But yesterday, just minutes after helping Kendal install them, I tried walking clean through them. And not just once, on several occasions. Kendal admitted to nearly walking through them a few times as well. And, of course, the dog smacked her nose against the screen at least once. Kendal and I joked about spray painting a big orange “X” on the door to maybe, I don’t know, remind us that there is a door there.

Then this evening rolled around. It was getting stuffy in the house, so I opened the French doors to let in the evening air. I went outside to get something out of my car, when around the house comes Riley Coyote, tears streaming down his face. He had forgotten about the new screen doors, walked through them, and knocked one completely off the tracks. As in, the entire door was laying on the deck. He was so embarrassed.

There was some minimal damage to the screen, but Kendal was able to reinstall it.

And the big orange “X”? Not a joke anymore.

Get your mind out of the gutter! THOSE are NOT the THESE I was referring to!!!

Things are rocking and rolling, slicing and dicing, wheeling and dealing as far as the selling of the old house goes. But Kendal wants to keep it all on the down low, so I can’t talk about it. Instead, I give you these little gems that the kids and I frequently entertain ourselves with:

No, I didn’t forget that I have a blog. And I didn’t forget that the purpose of a blog is to, you know, POST once in a while. I’ve been busy.

It’s a sign
For a good 3 weeks in March, Kendal and I were over at the old house nearly every day getting it fixed up and cleaned out so that we could finally put it on the market. Last week, the “For Sale” sign went up in the yard. Can I get an AMEN!!!

It’s here somewhere
The 3 weeks (the last 3 months, actually) in which I was “purging” boxes o’ crap at the old house, the new house somehow managed to accumulate several boxes o’ crap of it’s own. Now I have a basement full of boxes (o’ crap) that I need to sort through, and unfortunately, no handy-dandy second house to pawn them off on.

Clueless
I “chaperoned” Jacob Jingleheimer’s first Sock Hop at school last Friday. When we walked into the gym, we walked into utter chaos. The kids were literally running around and screaming. They couldn’t hear the music at all, so, naturally, they just ran around and screamed. The event was only for the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, and I have to say, those kids are just way too young to know what to do at a Sock Hop. Fortunately, I was asked to play gatekeeper at the door in the cafeteria where the concessions were being sold and was able to escape the pandemonium.

I feel blue
We took the kids to see the Blue Man Group last Sunday. It was…different…but good. Really good. And the kids liked it. And, while the Blue Men don’t sing (or talk) themselves, their vocal acts were amazing.

Livin’ and a workin’
That’s right, I’m working again. I’m back at my old place of employment, except that it’s under new ownership, new management and has a new name. I’m only part-time for now, because I have boxes o’ crap to sort through several other projects for several other people that I need to devote time to. I’m still not sure what to think of my newly found employment. My first day was an extremely productive day, and every day since? Not so much.

So glad school is almost out for the summer
I’m in the PTSO (Parent Teacher Student Organization) at the kids’ school. As if the 2 hour long meetings aren’t torture enough, I continue to volunteer for things (like chaperoning at Sock Hops). We’ve got a big carnival this weekend, which will be several hours of my life that I will never get back. I’m up to my eyeballs in Box Tops and soup labels, and I recall there being something about a trip to Oklahoma City next month. Honestly though, I love the school that my kids attend and I adore all the teachers. And I even secretly love it when my kids’ classmates recognize me and say “Hey Riley Coyote’s mom” or “I like your hair, Jacob Jingleheimer’s mom”.

It’s therapeutic
I somehow managed to collect seasons 1 through 3 of Grey’s Anatomy on DVD. And I somehow managed to sweet talk my husband into watching them with me. So, most evenings, once the boys are in bed, Kendal and I will curl up on the sofa and watch an episode or two of Grey’s. We’re closing in on the end of season 3, and I’m afraid I’ll soon be forced into watching the James Bond Ultimate Collector’s Set or something next. Someone needs to hurry up and release Grey’s Anatomy Season 4. Seriously.

On the horizon
We’d like for our old house to sell quickly so that we can finish the improvements we’ve started on the new house (in other words, Kendal wants to build a workshop).
I’d like to get some of my freelance projects completed so that I can make a million dollars (yea right).
I turn 33 29 in exactly 2 weeks (I’d like to stay 28).
Kendal has vowed to have more Bar-B-Q’s this summer (you’re all invited).

So that’s it. That is everything that has been keeping me so “busy” for the past few weeks. And really, when I type it all out, it sure doesn’t look like a lot. Not exactly worth the wait, now was it?

I’m a huge fan of the Ganier® Fructis product line. I’ve got the hairspray, the mousse, the fibre gum, the frizz gel and on and on. This morning as I was combing Jacob Jingleheimer’s hair (because it’s a freaking rat’s nest these days because HE STILL WON’T CUT IT), he noticed one of the Fructis containers that Riley Coyote was playing with. Jacob Jingleheimer grabbed it and started reading…

Jacob Jingleheimer: “Fructis Style brilliantine shine water-based shine wax…”
Riley Coyote: “I have no idea what any of that is.”
Jacob Jingleheimer: “It’s just wax that you put on your head.”
Me: “Actually it’s wax that Mommy puts on her hair.”
Jacob Jingleheimer: “Oh. I thought it was wax that Daddy puts on his bald spot.”

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

…but this commercial reminds me of Husband over the past few days (I think he has a sinus infection).