Christmas again.

Made an advent calendar out of toilet paper rolls.  Ivy decorated the mini tree.  She even honed her scissors skills and helped cut out the star.  I helped a little.

Trick or treat.

Halloween fun.

Pumpkin patch.

New school field trip.  Hay ride and pumpkin picking.

Avid reader.

Busy Ladies.

Ridin' the zoo train today.  Then helping with dinner.  Falling asleep during dinner.  And then rallying for a bike ride before bedtime.

Campin' Fun.

We had a blast.

Safety first.

Not that Olive actually moved from that spot but you can never be too careful.

Sister hug.

Thanks to my in-laws for this picture.  Makes me laugh out loud everytime.  I try to envision funny quips in imaginary thought bubbles above Olive's head....Priceless.

Walkin'...er, Ridin'

Enjoying the close company of sisterhood.

My aspiring dentist?

Maybe.

First walk.

First walk without Chuck.  Just before leaving we noted how he changed our lives forever - we will forever spell out w-a-l-k, just as we did every time we wanted to walk so as not to excite the dog before we were ready to leave.

Fish Day Festivities.

Another great Fish Day in Port.  Special thanks to Aunt Linda for hosting every year and helping to make some very special memories for the girls.

Active Oli.

Olive's crawling and pulling herself up...on everything.

Zoo fun.

We had the whole gang at the zoo the other day.  The Philps' thoroughly enjoy spending time with the Schreiner gals.

Kiowa Chickasaw

Kiowa Chickasaw (Chuck)
Aug 6, 2000 - July 6, 2012
Our great dog.

  You'll be missed puppy.  Curl up on that comfy couch in the sky.

Happy Fourth of July

From the Glendale Parade

Worn out.

Rough weekend of parties and water parks.

So sad.

With a heavy heart I leave for Europe for work today.

Dinner Siesta.

There is legend of a girl who once fell asleep literally in her mashed potatoes.  One generation later, another little girl narrowly escapes a similar fate from potato salad.

Yes, she's actually asleep.  Busy day at the zoo, skipped nap, and visit from the grandparents.

Commence Vacation.

Here's Olive after a quick meal in between swim class and grocery shopping.  We are officially on vacation - we'll go where she takes us.

Bees In My Pants

*Disclaimer: My flair for the dramatic makes this a slightly longer post than usual.

I am sure most of you are familiar with the idiom 'ants in my pants.'  Well, how about 'bees in my pants?'

On Friday we finally got the call that our package of honey bees would be ready to pick up on Sunday morning.  I had already exhausted my fear of the arrival a couple of weeks ago when we were originally scheduled to receive them.  So, during a week of flu being transferred from one child to another, I had enough things to focus on rather than the bees. 

Come Saturday night, however, Jason and I frantically prepared the follower board, sugar water, and hive tools for Sunday morning.  My dad was scheduled to watch the girls while we drove to pick-up the bees and while we introduced the bees to their new home.  Unfortunately for my dad, the flu train had traveled to him and he send Mom in his stead.

We headed out on our fairly short journey, reciting to each other the bee installation procedure: spray sugar water, hit bees down, remove queen, out with the cork - quick in with the marshmallow, etc. until we were somewhat confident in our plan.  Bee pick-up was pretty straight forward, but we hadn't decided on where to put the bees for the ride home.  Jason nixed the plan of having them as far in the back of the truck as possible, as a stray bump or quick turn could out the can of sugar water and release the 8,000 relocating passengers.  And so, the bees sat on the floor in the front seat between my legs.  Mind you (those of you who think me crazy) the majority of the bees, save a handful of hitchhikers, were INSIDE the box.  The ride's single notable event, however, was a single bee that took flight in front of my face only to poop on my left sleeve; then back to the box side she flew.

We got home, and, in a palpable elation, Jason and I readied for the installation by gowning up and heading out back with all we needed.  Perhaps notable at this point, is that I had decided to wear only a long sleeve shirt with veil and Jason had decided to wear a basic veil.  Neither of us hadchosen to don the full head to toe bee gear, but neither of us are perturbed by this decision.

The installation proceeded quite well.  The queen did not escape; good news.  A majority of the bees were still alive; a plus.  After shaking as many bees into the top bar hive as I could, I placed the box near the entrance and then proceeded to helping my husband brush as many as we could into the intended chamber where they were to begin their new residence.  At this point, I felt a gentle tickling near my right leg.  I looked down and saw both a bee on the outside of my pants and the gentle breeze brushing my pant leg onto and off of my leg.  No problem.  Continued with the hive preparation.  Minimized bee squish-age, covered hive, stood back and observed said new hobby.

Odd, something was tickling my left leg.  And that breeze that was here a moment ago, was no longer, yet the tickling had not subsided.  'Jason,' I stated as calmly as if I were drifting off to sleep, 'I have bees in my pants.'  I slowly began backing away from the hive, and, though my husbands first inclination was to 'drop your pants', I tended for a more subtle response, for which I am sure my neighbors are thankful, of slowly rolling up my pant legs to gentle lure the misguided ladies away from my bikini line and fragile girl bits.

Left pant leg up mid shin, bee escaped.  Right pant leg up mid shin, stinger left in pant leg became lodged in left ring finger, bee escaped.  All was well.  We brushed the remaining stragglers off our veils and headed back to the house.  Despite a complete inspection of each other, Jason and I still suffered phantom bee crawling throughout the rest of the day.

bees in my pants
Idiom.
A phrase referring to someone well composed in the face of potential pain and/or danger.  If someone has 'bees in their pants,' they are reluctant to move for fear of being stung and upsetting 8,000 bee comrads.

Honey bees are not as scary as you think.  In fact, unlike wasps or hornets, they are not likely to sting you unless you are a threat to their hive or queen.  For more information on bees, talk to me.

An Evening with Kelsey Bear.

Daycare recently asked us to take home the Kelsey Bear mascot to take pictures with Olive and create a blog for the day.  Below is what we will be submitting.

Today my friend, Kelsey, stayed the night at my house. I was excited to have him play with my sister, Ivy, and me until bedtime.

Kelsey kept me company on the ride home from school.

Then, when we got home, Kelsey, Ivy and I played on the floor while Mom made dinner.

Kelsey even practiced ‘Tummy Time’ with me.

I got a little restless on the floor, so I thought I’d take a stroll in my walker. Kelsey came along for a ride.

When dinner was ready, Kelsey helped stir up my rice cereal. Kelsey also sat with us at dinnertime, but didn’t eat very much.

After dinner, we all decided to take a family walk. I got to ride with Mom.

It looked beautiful outside, but it turned out to be a little chillier than we anticipated. So after a short ride in the stroller (my sister, Ivy, thought Kelsey would be more comfortable there), Kelsey thought we should head back home.

Even though it was a short walk, all the fun I had at school today had tired me out. I fell asleep on the walk back to the house.

I woke up just long enough for a drink of milk before drifting off into a sleepy slumber. Kelsey was there to sing me to sleep.

Thanks for all the memories, Kelsey! You’re welcome at our house any time.