The Wise Old Owl

While we were visiting the Newton Cemetery this weekend, the kids spotted an owl.  Pretty soon, we realized there wasn't just one but four giant owls in the pine trees at the west end of the cemetery.  Usually, I don't get quite as excited about birds as some members of our family (*Cole*), but it was really cool to see the owls.  We watched them for a bit and snapped a few pictures of them.  At least one was a Great Horned Owl; I'm not positive about the others. 

  

 

There are a lot of myths about owls.  Some ancient myths said they were good luck and others said they were bad.  Who really knows, but it was awfully cool to watch them that evening.

The Day My Heart Broke A Little

Sigh. He just keeps growing.

Last week, Ben had a "Jump Start Day" at preschool.  He doesn't start preschool until the fall, but all the kids get to go have a little tour and meet their teacher and their class and scribble on a paper and have a snack.  Ben was super excited about it.

And please note that the above sentence says he "was" super excited about it.  The excitement died about two days before when he innocently asked if I was going to stay and I told him no. 

That was not the answer he was hoping for.

Somehow we convinced him to go anyway, but things got pretty ugly at drop-off.  He cried so hard that he puked all over the driveway and in the end, his teacher invited Annie to stay with him.  Annie was thrilled and told Ben she would be one of the teachers and help take care of him.

I spent a pretty nervous hour waiting to pick him back up, but Annie must have done a good job cause he was back to smiles again when I picked them up and he was also very proud of himself for being so brave. 

So in the end, it all worked out okay...but it might be for naught, cause I'm not at all convinced that I'm really going to be able to send that little guy to school once fall rolls around.

Roastin'

 We had our first campfire of the year the other night - hooray for warm weather!  Somebody realized that sunglasses keep the smoke out of your eyes, hence the ubiquitous shades. 

 It was a perfect night - the weather was warm the S'mores were messy, and the smiles were big.  I could use a few more of those kind of nights.

 And this one, the new scout of the group, made some big-time summer camping plans.  He's a bit excited -- but then, he assigned me to a tent with Ben while he gets to share with Dad and Annie, the two people in our family who actually sleep.  I'd be excited about those sleeping arrangements if I were him too. 

As it is, I'm less than excited about sharing a tent with this little monkey.  He's not much for sleeping.