Butterflies

As you may remember, Darius got a butterfly kit for his birthday. As promised, about a week after he opened them, all five of them crawled up and made cocoons. We hung them in the net house, and waited.


Another week or so went by, and they all started coming out. The last one hatched a few days ago, and we decided to let them go today.



This one was not quite ready to fly. There was one that was behind all the others at every step, it was a tiny caterpillar compared to the others, it didn't make a cocoon for 2-3 days after the others, didn't hatch for days after the others. We're assuming this is the same one, and its wing hasn't finished uncurling yet. This made for some good holding opportunities, and we ended up deciding to keep it inside for a few more days (even though, really, it probably would have been fine on its own, it is supposed to hatch and live outside!)

Jim's house!

Sunday we were invited to a cookout at Jim's house, which the kids were so excited about. We had never been before, and you would have thought we were visiting the home of a celebrity. We met his family (we approve, the marriage plans may continue...) The kids had a great time just running around the yard, eating yummy food, and being fawned over (for a change.)

Baseball was a 'hit' - ha.ha.ha.

Darius thought Daddy was, perhaps, a bit far away...

Much better.

Speaking of disgusting...

Our ice cream place

Saturday Daddy treated us to ice cream at the place near our house. We like it because after you eat your ice cream, you can visit the mini horses, the donkeys, the sheep (and last year, a llama).

Way back when we first started looking at houses, Taye had a hard time with the idea of moving. He insisted he was never going to leave Nana's house, and we had to stay with him. One of the things we talked about was how we would still be living in the same town, so I told him, "we'll still go to the same grocery store, the same doctor, the same WalMart..." and Darius piped in, "...the same ice cream place!" Now, I didn't even know we had an official ice cream place, but I guess if we had to pick, this would be it.



I love the 'do:



And, if you think mini horses are cute, wait until you see a baby mini horse...they're disgusting.


I think we're all glad we didn't have to leave 'our' ice cream place behind.

What? We're playing...

He'll take it.

When we've asked if Taye likes the new house, his answer is always, "Yes, because it has snakes, and frogs, and spiders..."

His newest catch, one of many to come, I'm sure.

As promised...

I found the cable for my cell phone. Now if only they made camera phones with flash (I know, I know, they probably do, but I don't have one.) I now bring you Texas Roadhouse birthday celebration saddle riding...

Not a birthday boy...

Aah! The horror! (for Nana)

QT

A week or so ago, I was painting the boys new room. In a desperate attempt to get something done, I had brought the pack & play for Mya, filled it with toys and snacks, and put her in it. As I finished up the first wall, Taye walked in and said, "Whoa, nice baby cage!"

Oh yeah, we moved...

We moved to the new house on Sunday, Mya and Darius were a big help with the moving.


I'm not going to post pictures until we're done unpacking, so there!

Pawsox

Saturday, we went to a Pawsox game with Nana and Jim. We got there early to get a space on the lawn (thinking, correctly, that the lawn would be way more fun and kid-friendly than the seats). We brought blankets and sat watching fielding practice. Luis stood by the fence, and became an easy target for the players throwing balls into the stand. He caught three of them! The first two he gave to the boys, but the third he gave away to another little boy (sorry Mya!) I think he feared for his life as each subsequent catch brought more grumblings from the kids around us.

The boys were just a bit excited about their souvenirs.

Much of the time was spent rolling around on the grass, visiting strangers at their blankets, being dragged by Taye for long walks around the stadium, eating hot dogs, Cracker Jacks, and ice cream. Oh, and there was some kind of game going on as well.



Taye "borrowed" Nana's Red Sox hat, and proceeded to make it look freaking adorable from every angle. I suppose we'll give it back to her - as soon as we find one just like it for Taye!

Mya didn't look too bad in it either.


Nana and Jim took the boys to get the ice cream, but they brought back a couple of bears instead. We're still not sure where Taye and Darius are...

Being that they're so shy, the bears quickly started attacking some bigger boys that were seated near us. By that time many people had left, so there was plenty of room for bear attacks. The kids all had so much fun.


We left as the game entered the 10th inning, and found out later the Pawsox lost it in the 10th. But it didn't matter to us. We left sleepy, but so happy. I couldn't have imagined a better day, the kids all had such a great time, we can't wait to do it again. Thanks Nana and Jim!

Aaaaawwwww!