Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from our home to yours. We are counting this as our card this year. We once had a list of friends with addresses and such but have no idea where we put it in our move AND we are attempting to simplify (and maybe--just maybe--we're a tad lazy too).
All the same, we are grateful for all that we have. For wonderful family and friends, for our home, for good jobs, for our beautiful world, for the holidays, for the gospel, but especially for our Savior. May your holidays be bright and wonderful.

Seriously Happy Holidays!

At the 10th

Ryan has been looking forward to his birthday like all kids do. This year however i have said a few too many times to him that he can't get older or bigger. So for a while he would say when his birthday came in December he was going to be "another five." We decided we'd better correct that so that he really did know he was going to be six. So as his birthday got closer he would say "it's almost my birthday and I'm going to be six, right mom?" and wait for the confirmation. So as much as i tried to keep him from getting older he just did it anyway. He tried to not get older for me, but even he couldn't help it. He's told lots of people his birthday was coming and that it was in December but when they would ask what day his response was "at the tenth."
For Ryan's birthday we let him pick what he wanted to do in the afternoon with just Blake and i (since Blake had to work that night). He helped me make brownies since he wanted brownies and coco puffs for his dessert (it's because we like to have coco puffs with peppermint ice cream). He had a good day and loves that he is now six. He comments all the time that he is six now just like his cousin Dallin and his friends.Last week as we were sitting down to eat dinner Ryan said in his prayer "bless Heavenly Father to know that i am six too."

Abracadabra and hocus pocus!

Ryan, lately, has not gone very far without his trusty cape. He has it on himself, or on his stuffed dog (Toby). And since we won't let him sleep with it on, it is hangs above his bed on a cowboy hook. He loves it. Some days he's batman and some days he's superman. Perfect for a little boy who loves to do the super hero thing. A few weeks ago he came up with an additional use for his cape. Actually it goes back to Ethan pulling out his magic stuff that has been boxed up since the move. In the box of magic stuff is a hat. One that you can pull a rabbit out of. Ryan just happens to have a small green rabbit (also named Toby) that fits just perfectly for the magic trick. So one afternoon while I was cleaning in the kitchen Ryan came down the stairs with the magic hat and his cape and said "look mom, I'm a gician." I said a what? and he replied "a gician" (like magician with out the ma part). Silly kid. Then he proceeded to pull the rabbit out of the hat all proud of himself. After that i asked him if i could take a picture of him being a gician and he said yea. Then he posed with the cape in front of his face saying I'm a bad a gician as he wrinkled up his face behind the cape. I just asked him again if he was a bad guy and he said no i am a good guy with a mad face. Silly me.

All guts no gore!

It has tried to be a tradition with the males in my family to go fishing around conference time. Tried is the key word. When trying to fit that many schedules it gets pushed off from time to time. This time around was no different and the trip was just barely made the week of thanksgiving. Better late, then never right? Blake and Ryan (and Bill and his boys) were the only ones to miss it this time. This was Grandpa's first time to make it. Because Blake had to work Grandpa offered to take Ethan and Sam with him. They were stoked from the moment i told them they could go if they wanted. The only problem with going this much later means that it's that much colder. At the same time it adds to the fun right? Plus it means there has to be a fire, and boys and fire mix--it's totally in the dna. They left far earlier than the crack of dawn. I think mike calls it dark thirty or dark thirty one.

I went over to Orem to meet up with the male folks at my parents and to pick up the boys after the fishing was done. They all came home about 11 or 12 smelling like fire and fish and smiles on their faces. I'm sure my boys imparted wisdom and that my brothers imparted wisdom to them. In all reality I'm not sure which one of those statements worries me more.

When they got to grandma and grandpa Priday's house they started an additional lesson. GUTTING. yuck!!

It was really quite funny to watch. Ethan was all kinds of excited about it and fascinated with the whole process. Sam on the other hand was as far from gutting as possible. And even Ryan went over to take a look at what was going on (see picture) but he followed it with a big Yuck. Ethan successfully gutted his own fish that he caught, with Darin's tutorial. Unfortunately that evening when Blake was grilling up the fish he found that the poor fishes back had been broken/shattered in the gutting process so that it meant that every bite would have bones in it. Maybe next year he'll have a little more finesse. Thanks grandpa for taking the boys and thanks to the brothers (and Casey who counts as a brother) for bringing them home and getting the tradition planned.

IT's time to PARTAY!!!

For Sam's birthday Ryan made him a card. I thought it was quite good.

Sam's birthday is Nov. 12th, Ryan's birthday is Dec. 10th. So this year we decided to have a combined party since they have a lot of similar friends and their friends are in the same families etc. So a few weeks ago we had a big party of boys and one lonely girl here at our house. Blake's parents had brought 3 large (and i really mean extra large) pinatas from El Salvador 3 years ago and we've had them in the basement and garage over the years thinking we needed to use them. So for this big ol' party we broke out (hahaha literally) the pinatas. We ended up having 13 boys and 1 girl here for the fun. Our neighbors son and daughter came a little after i took this picture and i didn't think to get another picture.

note the 2 other pinatas in the back ground--Clifford the big red dog and a dalmatian. you'd be amazed how much candy fits into just one of these pinatas.So just for future reference when planning a party with 3 pinatas the kids will need bigger bags for their candy. And notes sent home with parents explaining that yes they really did get to take home that much candy. I'm sure the parents really appreciated it since they had probably just finished off their Halloween candy. Sugar highs were extended to Thanksgiving I'm sure.

Thanks grandma and papa Young. The pinatas were a hit (hehehe--sorry i couldn't help myself). And happy birthday to my boys!

Happy Birthday To ME!

I wouldn't normally post about my birthday but this post really isn't about me.
I started working at the boys school on Halloween. I am an aide in the resource class. I love it. I go to school with the boys in the morning and then when Ryan is done with kindergarten he walks down the hall to my class room and i am done for the day. And we get to go home together. And some days when we want to we can stay and have lunch with Ethan and Sam. It's really the perfect thing for me. Last year the secretaries at Sharon kept telling me i should just get an aide job since i was there so much and then I'd at least be paid for it. So when i heard there was an aide job at the new school i thought what the heck. And i do love it. Low stress since I'm not the teacher. No meetings since I'm not the teacher. Projects that i did when i was volunteering in the classes. One on one time with some of the students. Reading and Math at levels that i totally have mastered. And the timing in my day is perfect.
Anyway, the point is that i had to work on my birthday (just like everyone else does). Blake that morning had to do a class so he was on the phone in his office when we left for school. When i got home he had left for the office in Sandy since they had meetings. But there were flowers on the table on the counter and even in our room. I thought oh that's so nice of him. He's good to me. And I will fully admit I'm easily bought since those flowers made my day. I would have just been content with that. But as the day went i got lots of calls and emails and texts from friends and family and that always makes me happy.
The boys were cute all day trying to find ways to help me and be good and kind to each other. And i would find them whispering (not very quietly) to each other about doing this or that together to help mom out or make a card together. It was very sweet of them too.
Then as the afternoon approached and i was getting ready to start dinner Blake called and said since he had to work late that night (as per his Thursday schedule) he would pick up dinner so i didn't have to worry about it. Again i would have just been happy with that. I had to run to the store to get some milk for the boys and when i got home i went to put the milk in the fridge outside and noticed what else Blake had been up to that morning. He had made me a cheesecake with a strawberry chiffon/glaze top to be topped off with chocolate dipped strawberries. AND he had cleaned it all up in the kitchen so i had no idea that he'd done anything. What an awesome husband i have! Just to make you all drool I'm posting the pics of the final product. Take my word for it, it was AWESOME! Just added to my perfect day! Happy birthday to me. (I won't mention either that he totally surprised me with my gift that i made him take back so he could get his computer but he still hooked me up with a great gift in the end.) So thanks sweetie for making my day great!

Sorry ladies he's taken.

Future Bach and Beethoven

Halloween morning the boys had a piano recital (again happy they were healthy in time, cause they had worked hard to get ready for it). This was Sam's first recital and he was so excited. He played his pieces perfectly. The boys were doing one solo and then a family duet. Which means that they were doing one piece with a family member. Some did piano duets, others did singing and piano, and another did a quartet. I was supposed to do the duet with Sam but i will be totally honest i didn't get as much of my practicing done before the boys got sick and i certainly didn't get done when they were sick. So i know I'm horrible. Sam was fine with it. He got to do his duet with Anne Cox his piano teacher and friend. That week was our last lesson with Anne so i think it worked out just as well (at least that's how i justify it in my head). Sam was a natural performer. He played them perfectly and then bowed the most gracious bow ever. He was very happy with himself after it was done. And he should be, cause he did do very well.

Ethan's duet was with Blake, Ethan accompanied Blake singing. They did Josh Groban's Polar Express song "Believe." Both of them did great. Blake wasn't sure about it when he got his cold earlier in the week because he wasn't being able to hit the notes like he had practiced. He was worried but for no reason. It was wonderful. I love that the boys are doing so well with piano. After the recital we went to lunch at wingers with grandma and grandpa Young. (grandma and Grandpa Priday were out of town visiting my sister). The boys thought that was pretty awesome too. I know Ethan and Sam loved doing the recital but i also know they were happy to be going on to new songs. Especially since it's time to be getting Christmas music out. Great-Grandpa Leland Priday would have been proud. There is some musical talent in our family.

Halloween

This year we were not sure if we were going to be able to celebrate halloween with the usual routine. Sam was just getting better from swine flu/h1n1, and Ryan was starting to cough some here and there. Luckily that's all it was for Ryan, just a few coughs. So Thursday night (Oct. 29th, the night before the halloween parties at school) we had to scramble to get the boys costumes decided. We usually have it figured out weeks in advance since its such an exciting day/event for kids. Lucky for us we have our stash of costumes. Friday the boys had their parade at the school and then that night our ward/neighborhood did a trunk-or-treat and chili cook off. I love the trunk or treats, get it all done in 30 minutes tops. Kids are happy, mom/dad are happy, and still lots of fun and less time in the cold. Then Saturday morning the boys had a piano recital in Orem (more to come on that). So off to orem we went. We figured since we were going to be there we'd do the trick or treating at grandma and grandpa Youngs a little earlier. They came to the recital and then we all went to lunch and headed back to their house. The boys put on their costumes and loved being out of the house for the first time in well over 10 days. Glad that they all were healthy again. Happy we got to celebrate and enjoy the fun of halloween. That night our neighbors that live just one street down did a big fire (in fire bowls) and had the street decorated with lights and music playing and games going for all the kids. It was a blast. Yet another great way to celebrate halloween.

Blake was a "bone-ified" chef, Ryan and I were pirates, Sam was an indian, and Ethan went as Swine flu. Ethan carried around germ-ex hand sanitizer with him. You'd be surprised to know how many people really liked that. Happy Halloween.

Yep, we got it.

Well, Sam did anyway. We are now a part of the statistic of one in 5 kids in the states having swine flu right now (at least that's what the doctor said). Sam was home being sick all of last week. On Friday morning I called the Dr's office to see how many days i let it go before i come in. Sam had been coughing all week--lots during the day and lots during the night. I knew his throat had to be pretty raw. They said bring him in and we'll see what it is.

That mid-day while we were passing the time waiting for our Dr.'s appointment, we were all out on the front lawn basking in the sun and enjoying the fresh air. I was explaining to Sam what they would do at the doctors (check your throat, listen to your lungs and heart, etc.). He understood. Sam then asked me if he had swine flu if he would die. In shock i said no, no of course not. Poor kid thought he was going to die. I explained that the people that he's heard of dying from swine flu had other health issues. And that since he was a very healthy boy before he got sick he would be fine if we listened to what the doctors told us and we took good care of him. He was quite relieved of course.

By the afternoon Sam was defiantly getting worse. I was really glad i had made the appointment that morning cause i would have been trying to get him in to the after hours or the insta-care otherwise. When we got to the Dr's office we didn't have to wait long. Sam had to put a face mask on as soon as we walked in because he was coughing so much. Once in the back Sam was burning up and was really wiped out. They swabbed his nose and said it would be 10 minutes. While we waited, he just sat wrapped up in my lap so still. When they came in they said, yep, he's got it. Sam has been a trooper. Every time i have held him to help him or comfort him he's said thanks mom. When I've told him how sorry i was he doesn't feel good, he quickly says back "it's ok mom, it's not your fault" or just simply "it's ok mom." We got him into the Dr's just in time. He was boarder line going to the hospital. His oxygen level was at 90 (and anything below that they send you in to the hospital). They said after listening to his lungs that he wasn't quite pneumonia yet. But after all that if he got any worse or wasn't showing signs of improving we'd better bring him back into the office or take him in to the hospital. After getting him home we sprayed EVERYTHING with Lysol and tore all the beds apart and started washing everything. Sam took some time to start getting better but he finally did. He's gotten some better each day.

We had decided we needed to just all stay locked in and stay put for the weekend and possibly Monday to be sure we were not exposing anyone and spreading it. In some ways it's been nice to have a quieter stay at home weekend. Out side of the coughing fits, endless temperature checks, and constant coughing at night anyway it's been great. He is feeling lots better. You can tell by the smile. Oh how i missed that smile.Ryan wanted to pose with sam so he went and got his mouse nose.

YO-YO!

We have a new "yo-yo" master at our house. Ethan has been playing with his yo-yo lately and since Ryan is as cool as his big brother he wanted to play with his yo-yo too. Ryan's yo-yo is one of those balls that never needs winding and always comes back to you. He sure thinks he's pretty cool--cause he is of course. I think it's just as fun watching his face as he's doing the tricks. He's got some skills.

Livin' in Paradise

We live in a boys paradise, really. Dirt, sticks, and rocks as far as the eye can see. And bugs and lizards and frogs to catch most days. Dirt bike paths, endless running space, and lots of friends to share in the fun with. Saturday morning, after jobs were all done, the boys headed out to bask in the warm sunny day. As Ethan was getting his mitt and ball out to play catch with Ryan i was taking some boxes out to the garbage can. Just as i was passing my car, that was parked in the garage, i saw a little lizard by the back tire of my car. You'd think we were used to seeing so much wild life at this point, but we're not. We've seen the lizards a few times as we've gone for walks but not really up close. This time we got to see it right close, and Ethan was even able to catch it (much to my surprise). Sam had already headed down to the new neighbors that moved in this week to see if they could come and play. I told Ethan to go show the new neighbors (since they have boys too) and Sam. They all thought it was great. "Lizzy" is now a part of the neighborhood too. Lizzy the lizard

Just in time for pictures

For the last while Sam's had a few loose teeth. Problem is that they really have not gotten any looser (more loose, less, or lost. boxes, boxen, moose meecen). Every once in a while we'd point out to Sam that he needed to wiggle his teeth if he wanted them to come out. We'd try to keep him motivated, but he would loose interested in wiggling and we'd remind him again later. Sam being the kid that was nearly in tears 2 years ago when all his friends were loosing teeth and he was not, you'd think he'd want to get them out. I guess he's no sucker for peer pressure.

(This is Sam attempting to make his teeth loose. He tried to tie the floss to the door and it wasn't staying tied. So i told him I'd hold the strings and he could just fall back. He laughed more than anything. He was having too much fun.)We might have the genetics stacked against the boys to having healthy teeth, but the root system is amazing. I was in 3rd grade when i finally lost my front top teeth. And Ethan was the same way. So tomorrow is picture day for the boys and Sam (being in 3rd grade) had been working more on his teeth over the last week and they were getting pretty loose, but still not out. Tonight i put the boys in bed, a little earlier since they got to bed later last night, as i left their room Ethan said his tongue felt weird and Sam said something about wishing he would have gotten his teeth pulled. I said just go to sleep both of you we're all tired and we need the sleep. As per usual, Sam was up and out of bed about 15 minutes after i closed the door. When i got upstairs he said his tooth was bleeding, and it was. (Timing is everything for a kid right?) And it was not too much more work to get the tooth out. As he was working on getting the tooth pulled, Ethan came walking into the hall with a tooth in his hand. He had pulled one of his molars. Well that just motivated Sam to get his tooth out faster and sure enough it was out within a few minutes.Poor Ryan. He was so wanting to add to the fun of the evening, and he kept trying to tell me "Mom, MOm, MOOM, look my tooth here, see, it's uh, it's uh, it's flat." I said yep, it sure is lets keep it safe right there for now. Ok. He said ok.

Well with Sam's one front tooth gone and the other one loose and not being held back because of the first one, Sam was determined to get it out as well. At one point Sam said "I wish my hands were bricks so i could just whack my tooth out." It took another 20 minutes of old fashion pushing and pulling, since he didn't have hands that were bricks. And out it came. Funny kid. And i thought he was hard to motivate.

Live Wild Stuff

This morning because Ryan hadn't been feeling good during the night he slept in. Stayed home from school. When he woke up after getting the extra sleep we ate breakfast together. As we were eating breakfast i was noticing how much wind there was and how many birds seemed to be riding the wind. As Ryan and i watched out the window we saw lots and lots of these birds. I'm guessing it's a western meadowlark. At least from what I've been able to find on the internet. And as we watched out the window i saw a streak of a bird of prey fly by. A few weeks ago i saw what i think was a peregrine falcon or something in that family but it was too far away to be totally sure and i certainly didn't get a picture of it. this time i got a picture of this bird of prey. then i got a picture of two of them.As we were watching the acrobatics and dives and such of the birds i was running from one room with a window to the next trying to get a good picture. I was so wishing i had a really good camera that had a good zoom so that i could get some cool pictures. that way i could identify really what kind i was seeing. we have seen a few different kinds over the summer. some not to far from here, but my camera only does so far a zoom. Amazingly enough, today our house was the perch of choice. so we got to see them really close. it was pretty cool to watch. we actually saw 5 at one point. I'm not sure how many were flying all over but i know there had to be at least 5. the birds of prey were chasing the meadowlarks and getting mice and or lizards. One of the birds we saw flying up to the top of the house defiantly had something in its clutches. i did get a picture of that but it's hard to see. But as i was running from room to room to get that good picture i saw one fly around the back of the house headed for the front of the house. thinking i could get a picture of it flying away i ran into the extra room in the front. and as i came running into the room i saw that the bird had landed on the house just outside of the window. i frantically took half a dozen pictures.how cool is that? it's a kestrel. (in the picture that i got both birds one is male and one is female). sure we have snakes from time to time and even some creepy spiders and critters to worry about, but we also get these. when i showed the boys the pictures Sam said we sure get some good live wild stuff. Yes, yes we do.

wink, wink!

Today as Ryan and I were sitting eating lunch Ryan asked if he could see my eyes when they were closed. I said yeah and closed one of my eyes so he could see my eyelid.

Me: what are you looking at?

Ryan: nothin, i just wanted to see your eyes closed. Mom, did you know if you blink one of your eyes that means you have an idea.

Me: You mean wink. if i wink that means i have an idea?

Ryan: Yeah, if you whisper and talk to somebody and then wink that means you have an idea.

Me: oh yeah, that is an interesting way to put it. Can you wink?

Ryan: mmmm, i fink so.

(at this point i pulled out the camera and Ryan showed me lots of different winks..... just wanted to show you just a few of Ryan's "Ideas".)

Interesting connection. Funny kid. Here's hoping you all have some good "ideas" of your own. wink, wink!

Only brush the ones you want to keep.

The other day after Sam's visit to the dentist (with yet another pulpotomy a.k.a. baby root canal) Ryan made a few comments about his teeth that made me worry. First, it was when he asked for yellow gum (stride's fruity something or other, a.k.a. the non spicy kind for Ryan). After he had been chewing it for a minute he said "mom i only can chew my gum on this side cause it doesn't hurt." I quickly asked him if it was because his mouth was tired or was it because it hurt. He said, it just was hurt some. Great! Then later that same day when he was running around he told me if he runs too fast it hurts his teeth. I kinda laughed that that was what he linked it to. But i took what he said more seriously. I said lets go brush your teeth and take a look in your mouth. He opened wide and to my great relief he had his molars breaking through. Whew! We have talked to the boys lots about making sure they are brushing all their teeth really good. We have them doing a rinse, and they are taking their daily vitamins with fluoride. So because of all this dental work that we've had to have done over the year i think the boys get it. I had to kinda smile the next morning when Ryan prayed: "please help my teef to grow safely." Yeah, i think they get it.

(Ryan showing his molars in the back)

Sleepless in Saratoga

I'm sooooo glad we have dental insurance! We are taking Sam in for an emergency dentist trip since he woke up 4 times through the night complaining about his tooth and he woke up like this: There is nothing in his cheek either! But at least he smiled for the picture! Sad part is the boys were going to go on a "boys trip" to see the Long family in Idaho, for the reunion. When we told Sam that he'd have to skip the trip to go to the dentist he got pretty sad and said that he felt bad that he was going to disappoint his brothers. We are sad that it turned out this way, but at the same time glad that it has worked out for us to get it taken care of now, rather than having him suffer with it the over the weekend. Good thing Idaho isn't too far away so we can do a make up trip later.

I only cried a little

Ryan started kindergarten yesterday. I am having a hard time believing that my baby is in school. What happened to the years? And now that all the boys are in school, what am i going to do with myself? I have had a list going in my head and i thought i was excited for this day, yet i find myself wishing i still had some time with the boys here. Where is that pause button?

As some may or may not know, Ryan is a sensitive little soul. He definitely is the baby of our family. And as much as i try not to let him be spoiled the way all babies of the families are, we fall short from time to time (admitting the problem is a step to solving it right?). He is a mama's boy on top of that. Ethan and Sam didn't care where mom and dad where when it was time for nursery and school. They loved it and were excited to go. Ryan, on the other hand, has the equivalent of all three boys not wanting to be away from mom and dad. It has been a fight to get him to go to nursery/primary 80% of the time and even going to preschool at grandma's wasn't easy at first. I know it's only a matter of time for him to get adjusted, but it sure pulls at my heart stings to see him sad. Yesterday his first day, he only shed a few tears, as did I. Lucky for me someone had mentioned that they wore their sunglasses just so their kids wouldn't see them cry. He didn't see me cry. Blake did and he laughed at me. When we went into the school to make the changes the principle was the one that helped us. She walked down the hall with us and showed Ryan his new class room, and where his cubby would be' and where the drinking fountain is, and where a cute little window that is low enough for the kindergartners to see out. He sure liked Mrs. Holbrook. Later when i talked with the office to make sure i didn't need to fill out any other papers, Mrs. Holbrook with there. She said that when the kindergartners were taking a tour through the office Ryan waved to her and she waved back. She had told him that she would be riding the bus home with him that day to make sure all the kids knew the rules (since it's a bus of kindergartners). Ryan got off the bus with a big ol' smile on his face. Later when i was asking him what his favorite part was he said it was the bus. But he did say he liked kindergarten OK too. (Mrs Holbrook is the lady in the dress in the back ground by the bus).

Yesterday, since we were changing the boys to the early schedule, we took them into the school. So this morning was Ryan's first time riding the bus to school with Ethan and Sam. He was excited all morning, and didn't seem to be reluctant at all. I was feeling optimistic that making the change for the boys to all go on the early schedule, so they could go together, was the exact thing that would help Ryan. That was until he was about to set foot on that bus. He was running up to get on the bus behind Ethan and Sam, and then it hit him that i wasn't getting on the bus with him. He turned around and instantly started to cry. I went up to him and gave him a hug and said "you gotta get going, Ethan's going to sit by you on the bus, and then you're going to be with your class." And i tried to push him towards the bus. He wasn't too keen on that. Ethan realized that Ryan wasn't behind him, and came back out to help Ryan. I walked up the stairs with him, and then said good bye, gave him a kiss, and got off. As i came home i was praying that Ryan was OK and that he would settle in. I got a single ring from the school on my phone, but no one was there, about 5 minutes after i dropped the boys off at the stop. Ethan was trying to call me since Ryan cried to whole bus ride to the school telling the bus to turn around. Ethan was trying to be a good big brother. He went into the office and started to call me but the secretary said, no don't call you mom she will just worry, and she said she would help Ryan and he would be fine. They all walked to where the kindergartners were getting ready to go in. The secretary told Ethan he could go to his class. Ethan started to walk away reluctantly, and Ryan started to cry for Ethan. Ethan went running back, but the secretary told Ethan Ryan would be OK and that he needed to go to his class. I was worried when the secretary told me all of this, that Ethan would be pretty upset and worried about Ryan. I was glad that he was so concerned about Ryan (proud moment). When i picked Ethan up from the bus stop after school he told me all about the morning. I was able to tell him that Ryan did OK. He stopped crying, and did have a good day after that. Ryan will no doubt know how many people love him and care about him over time. I am just hoping that Monday will be a better day!

snake you, snake you, snake you very much!

This last weekend we were up in Idaho for grandpa Murdock's funeral. As we pulled into the drive way Saturday night i saw a snake! Even though we were in the car i lifted my leg and yelled snake! I told Blake to back up and look at it. Sure enough there it was, trying really hard to cross the driveway. It was a rattle snake, no doubt about it. You could see the rattle on the tail. Blake backed up far enough so he could use the light from the headlights. And got out of the car and headed for the garage to get the shovel. Yes crazy, i know. As soon as Blake was out of the car the boys yelled "lock the doors!" (I'm not sure how that was going to help or why they thought they should lock the doors--the snake wasn't going to come open the door in the first place.) So there we are the boys and i in the car watching Blake go after this snake with the shovel. Adrenaline pumping and all! The snake only coiled up once and Blake was able to get it once it was trying to slither away! As Blake was getting the rattle snake we saw a second snake on the front lawn! YEAH I know FREAKY! So i quickly pulled the car into the driveway and told the boys to go into the house and just stay inside. The boys ran into the house and watched from the front window, yelling from time to time. I ran upstairs to get our BB gun (yeah, hind site being what it is, that wasn't going to work). I got back outside as Blake tried to load the BB gun with the pellets (hands shaking like crazy) we decided the other snake was gone. It took off as soon as we saw it. So Blake finished taking care of removing the snake from the front yard and i got the boys in bed.
(this picture is totally zoomed in--you can kinda see an ant by the tail. I just wanted the picture of the tail.)
By the time Blake had come back in and said good night to the boys i think our adrenaline rush had finally subsided. My theory of the evening being too cool for the snakes to be out went out the window as we discussed the event. Because we hadn't really eaten dinner we had our usual bowl of cold cereal when we don't want to fix anything and it's late. And we cleaned up a little bit more from our trip and then as we were heading up the stairs Blake said he wished he would have been able to get that second snake instead now he was going to just worry about it being out there. As he was saying this i went to the front window and was looking around. And low and behold there on the drive way was the second snake. We had just finished discussing that running over the snake with the car would have been the easier/safer way to go about getting rid of it. So i went and got in the car and ran over the snake. As i backed up further to again use the headlights for lighting Blake got closer to see if i had gotten it good enough to kill it. And it was a bull snake (or gopher snake). We had read and heard that those are good snakes to have around cause they will kill the rattle snakes and here we are killing it. I know, kill first, ask questions later wasn't the smartest way to go about it, but when i see a snake after seeing a rattle snake there is too much adrenaline pumping to pause and check the snake out! The bull snake wasn't as big as the rattle snake and we have decided that the bull snake must have been after the rattle snake in the first place. So to the bull snake that is decaying in the dirt not to far from here, I am sorry.
(the second picture here is the bull snake)