THEM!

It's hot.

I like it, but it brings out ants.  Like, a LOT of ants.  For instance-

On garbage day, I grabbed our kitchen garbage and went to put it in the big trash receptacle outside.  Much to my chagrin, it was ringed with ants.  I'm talking a quarter inch high line of ants furiously circling the lid.  So gross.  Well,  I had to throw the trash in there so I could then roll the bins out to the curb.  Not thinking, I lifted the lid, hoisted the garbage sack and let the lid slam shut.  As it shut, the force caused a wall of ants to fly directly on to my torso! Ew! I furiously brushed them off, but then they were crawling all over my hands.  I brushed my hands off, but when I looked down there was a swarm of ants scurrying around near my feet! I did the only sensible thing and started hopping around like the ground was on fire.

THE GARBAGE CAN

  Then I saw a lizard dart out behind the trash!  (I might have screamed a little, but no one was around to confirm this).  Thankfully it took off while I was doing "Hot Feet," and I bolted for the house.

So then I had a problem: I still had to take the recycling bag from our house to the receptacle outside (I hoped it didn't have ants too), and I had to get both cans out to the curb! Ugh!

I grabbed the recycling and cautiously went back outside.  The ants on the ground seemed to have dissipated a little, but they were still everywhere! The recycling bin still had ants on it, but not as many as on the trash, and thankfully, no ants came flying my way when the lid flopped down.

 I thought that if I could get the garbage out to the curb, the ants would die in the sun.  Better yet, they would all fall off during the big jolt from being dumped in the garbage truck.  I went to the back of the can to wheel it out, but when I gripped the handles, ants began covering my hands!  I hadn't noticed that the ants were all over the handles too!  I brushed them off and tried to think of a plan.

First, I used a handle in the middle of the can to pull the garbage out from the wall a little.  No ants came off so I pulled a little more. I glanced down and once again saw ants darting all over the place on the ground! Ew! I went to the back of the garbage can and started kicking it towards the driveway, which was a long way off.  I just had to do a little dance in between kicks so the ants on the ground wouldn't crawl up my bare legs. (because, of course, I was wearing a skirt and flip flops)

THE PATH TO THE DRIVEWAY

Well, the kicking wasn't really that effective and I wasn't sure how to get the can through the front path and down the slope of the driveway. I decided to start with the recycling bin.  There weren't as many ants on the handle so I was able to wheel around the path and down to the curb with only a couple ant passengers.  While I was there, I saw that our neighbor's garbage cans were lined with dead ants.  Aha! They must have killed them before wheeling them out!  Great idea!  I ran back inside, ignoring the ants partying on the ground, and grabbed our can of ant spray!

I went out confidently this time and sprayed the rim of the can with gusto! I saw the thick line of ants going down the can, across the ground and along the wall so I sprayed them with all my might! I even sprayed the ground all along the path!  MWA HA HA HA HA! Take THAT!

Then I went back inside, donned some disposable gloves and successfully wheeled the can to the curb!  Hooray! Thank goodness!

MY HERO!

(I'm really hoping the lizard didn't find its way inside during this episode)

I keep feeling ants crawling on me once in a while only to realize it's a stray hair. I hope.


And I'm really sorry because I realize that now you feel like you have ants crawling on you too!



PS The blog title is in reference to this movie.  You should see it sometime.  We watched in high school biology.

First day of HIGH SCHOOL! waa?!

Let's take a look down memory lane now that Elle has *sniff* left for school this morning

Preschool:

I had trouble scanning this so it's a picture of a picture

(lame, I know)

Kindergarten: 

Actually the end of kindergarten when her teacher took her and her friend out on a date

(Best. Teacher. Ever!)

First:

The year with her crazy surfer teacher:

Second:

She got Puppy ready for school that year too:

And thank goodness we got away from that awful teacher and moved to Seattle where there was the sweetest teacher of all waiting for Elle :)

Third

(OK so I can't find 3rd but this is the same year)

I think

baptism year

4th:

(matching shoes,coats, and shirts)

5th:

last year in elementary school

exciting trip to camp Coleman

6th:

year of the short haircut:

7th:

the year she became a beehive!

8th:

the year of the stressful move

AND

AND

AND

9TH:

Yep, this is what a freshman looks like. Drink it in.

(notice that she's wearing contacts)

(same friend from the tea party)

I'm sure she'll have a great year!

Tea Party!

Elle has wanted to host a tea party for I don't know how long! I happened to mention this to her friend's mom/my friend and she told me that she collects tea sets!  She said the girls could even have the party at their house.  Dream come true! *_*

They had so much fun decorating the tables and preparing the food!

The attire was formal, of course.

They *set up games for the guests to play--croquet, "lawn bowling"(bocce ball) and "archery" (lawn darts).  

*(They are just trying it out here a few days before)

They also made cute little paper flowers for a craft:

Everyone wrote down the top three items on their bucket list and tried to guess who wrote what. Surprisingly, most of the girls wrote "skydiving"! (Yes, including Elle)

 They ended with a game of charades.

The party was a success and a good time was had by all!

Good job Elle!

Holidays!

April Fool's!...

Because it's not April Fool's Day anymore; it's not even April!

Here's a recap of some of the past holidays.  

April Fool's Day:

Elle knows the best way to freak me out. She drew this icky spider which have me a heart attack! I had to crumple it up, and I couldn't even look at it in the garbage!

You are lucky that I got this picture. 

We tried to freak her out by putting a balloon head in her bathroom, but she was nonplused. 

For breakfast I gave her "toast and an egg," which I thought turned out pretty well. It's pound cake, yogurt, and a peach.   

I also switched cereal boxes. Elle had a satisfying reaction when Captain Crunch came pouring into her bowl instead of Honey Bunches of Oats!

(She's using the Captain Crunch box to get the right cereal.)

I also put googly eyeballs on things--her shoes, her lunch food, her folders, etc. 

One day during spring break we had lunch with Chris at work then went to the zoo.

We went to the tar pit museum with some friends another day, and it was just like we remembered it!

I'm sure I have a picture just like this of Elle 8 yrs younger!

Another day we went to the farmer's market for delicious crepes. 

Then we headed to the Grove. Elle wasn't as enchanted at the American Girl doll store as she was  when we first came here. In fact, she was creeped out by all the girls behind glass. 

It was nice that she understood why I didn't buy more accessories when she saw the price on everything there!  I didn't feel like a neglectful parent anymore. 

After walking around and exploring, we had a lovely lunch together. 

(We were joking that we should put all the leftover bread from lunch into my purse)

On Saturday saw the Dead Sea scrolls exhibit and movie with Chris then hung out at the science center.   We ate lunch at the rose garden and literally stopped to smell the roses.

 Star Wars day (May the 4th be with you)...

We used our new Star Wars pancake molds from Kate and Bill and ate pancakes for dinner as we watched episode IV

For Cinco de Mayo...

We had Mexican food with our friends...

Chicken tacos with all the fixin's', Chris's salsa, Mexican corn, churros, and flan!

I think that puts us up to date!

Happy holidays!

Sunday Dress and Hair

Happy Easter

Easter fun today:

(Actually, Elle made, cut, and baked the cookies Saturday during the Priesthood session)

Then we decorated them as a family:

Ta da!

We didn't get around to dying eggs, so we'll have to do that for FHE tomorrow!

Happy Easter!

Judge Not...

They say not to judge a book by its cover...

But what if you yourself are judged by the cover? 

First, Elle:

She read this book in 6th grade and said I might like it too.  So, being the kind-hearted daughter that she is, she went to the middle school library here and asked if they had the book. Because it had the word "Zen" in the title this is how it went down:

Librarian: No, we don't have adult books here

Elle: But I read it in 6th grade...

Librarian: Oh. Is it good?

Elle: Ya, it's funny. 

Librarian: Well, I guess I should order it for our library then. 

I found it at the public library. 

Then I was reading it at the Dr's office and kind trying to hide the cover so no one would, ya know, judge me for reading a kiddy book (even though that's practically all I read). My efforts were in vain, however, since the woman a few seats down from me broke waiting room etiquette and started talking to me.

Nice lady: (quietly) How are you enjoying your book :D

Me: Uh... It's not really...it's young adult fiction...

Nice lady: I am a Buddhist -Jew myself :D

Me: Um...It's about a boy pretending to know about Zen... 

Nice lady: Somethingsomething...the Four Noble Truths...

Me: Oh ya! I'm just reading about that here. The boy looked it up in the library (I show her)

Nice lady: (after reading) Yes. Exactly

Me: The kid is new to the school and because he's Asian and people assume he is Buddhist...

Nice lady: Yes, my sons are Asian (she is not) and people assume that all the time! They even try to speak Chinese to them!

Me: So...your sons are...adopted? (Well, duh. I just didn't really know how to respond)

She started to say something else but the nurse called her away. 

I'm not sure it was ever clear that I wasn't actually reading anything serious about Zen.  Oh well. 

You see?!

Don't be judged by a book's cover!

Incidentally, Chris saw a friend on the bus a few years back who was reading a giant black book without a book jacket. After two seconds of studying it, Chris was all (Insert smirk and raised eyebrows) Twilight?

To which the friend sheepishly admitted in the affirmative.  

We all do it! 

Judge not...