Jump Around

Alex has been asking for a trampoline for the last couple of years.  I have always steered against it for fear of injury, laziness of not wanting to move it when mowing, and cost factors.  And then the other day, I saw our neighbor had a "FREE" sign hanging on theirs.  I silently hoped they would rid their yard of it before Alex saw the sign.  No dice.  "MOM!  Mom mom mom mom mom!  The neighbors are giving away their trampoline...FOR FREE!  Can we get it?  Can we?  Please?!?!"  A nice mom would have probably just said yes.  Not me.  This is how it was handled:

Me:  If you want it, you can go over ask them about it.  Ask about what the condition is and why they are getting rid of it.
Alex:  Ok....but will you come with me?
Me:  No.  If you want it; you can go talk to them.
Alex:  ...buuuut, I don't feel comfortable talking to strangers.
Me:  Nice try.  He's our neighbor, and you didn't take a single pause when you talked to him about his two dogs.

He talked his buddy into going over there with him, and they took off.  They came back defeated as nobody was home.  Travis and I mulled it over and decided if it was in good condition, we would get it, so Travis went over on Saturday afternoon to talk to the neighbor.  Other than needing the safety net enclosure thingy replaced, it is in great condition and they are only getting rid of it because their kids don't use it anymore.  So, we decided we'd get it, and we clumsily carried it through three backyards to our house.

Alex came running out and was so excited, and then was immediately grossed out about how dirty it was.  (The neighbors had it under a tree.)  And once again, I proved just how sweet of a mom I can be when I said, "Well....you want it; you clean it."  I'm choosing to believe I am teaching him responsibility and to put in some effort for something he wants.  Whether that lesson is going to stick or he's going to hate me?  That remains to be seen.

But!  He spent a good half hour out there with the shop vac and some wet rags and got it all cleaned up.  And?  He has been a bouncing fool since we brought it home.

Another Year in the Books

It's that time of year; time for the last day of school picture compared to the first day.
Last Day of 3rd Grade:

First Day of 3rd Grade:

Aaaaaaaaaaaand Sam felt it was only prudent that he get to take a picture as well:

Young Man

Alex is playing baseball again and he loves it.  My parents came to watch a game the other day and Gramma did not disappoint when it came to pictures!  I was happily clicking through all that were sent and then my mouth dropped open and my heart just about stopped when I saw this one:

Who is this 24 year old?  He looks so. old.

But then I saw this one and all was right in the world.

The Truth Wiggles

Sitting on the bleachers watching Alex's baseball game last and Sam decides it would be cute to play the drums on my legs.  Fine.  Not fine?  Pointing out how when he smacks my thigh it "wiggles" down my leg.  Shut up ya little jerk.

Birds!

We have a bunch of robins in our neighborhood.  And they all love sitting on the crossbar of our swing set.  Last year, I put bird deterrent ribbon up there, but is SUPER reflective.  Like it was frequently temporarily blinding me while inside the house.  So while it worked to keep the birds away, I'm thinkin' my neighbors (whose house is situated slightly uphill from ours) were probably none too thrilled with that solution.

So back to the drawing board this year.  I saw the idea of using fake snakes as a bird deterrent somewhere, so I figured I'd give that a shot.  I ordered a rubber snake from Amazon and nailed that sucker to the crossbar.

Yeah....I think I might need to come up with a Plan C.

Like Father...

...like son.

Chewy Chewy Chewy Chewy

I had to mow the lawn yesterday.  Like it HAD to be done.  Out of control.  Anywho, I started before Alex was home and had Miss Lulu outside with me.  This set up is ok, but not ideal as she is not quite completely respecting yard boundaries.  So, when Alex got home, I asked him to keep her inside and keep an eye on her.  Apparently the second part of that request went unheard as soon as he and his buddy started playing WWE on the Xbox.

Travis got home just as I was finishing up taming the rain forest we were calling a lawn, and as I was emptying the last of EIGHTEEN mower bagger's full of clippings, I heard Travis inside yelling, "Why in the WORLD is there bubble gum on the dog?!?!"  Uhhhhh, wat.

Yeah, Alex and his buddy were playing video games and taking breaks running upstairs to grab pieces of Double Bubble off the counter.  During a break from shredding the legal pad I use for my work phone log, Lulu decided she needed some gum too.  Apparently she didn't like it, or was chewing with her mouth open, because it got out of her mouth, stuck to the carpet for a hot second and then matted itself into her side while also leaving a 4" string of gum across her side like an arrow pointing to the giant wad of gum that was stuck to her.

Lots of olive oil and a scissors later, she is gum free.  Alex has apologized profusely and helped me clean up the rest of the mess she made while he was so diligently "watching" her.  Sam narrated the whole thing mostly informing me he was pretty sure it was hurting her.  Even though she was almost asleep in my lap. 

Everything is under control.