A TALE OF TWO FISHIES...

allow me to introduce you to the newest residents of our house:

a fish named BILLY (on the left) and a fish named GULPY (on the right).

one summer evening as we were eating dinner evan asked the kids, "would you guys like a fish?"
as i am giving him a dirty look across the table they surprised us by responding, "no."
what kind of kids say no to a fish? it was too good to be true.

a few weeks later they declare they would like a fish after all.
they each chose names for their hypothetical fish and with this new found motivation
(and possibly to prolong getting a new resident) we made the most complicated sticker charts of all-time.
each kid had to get 20 stickers to earn a fish. to earn a sticker five chores had to be completed each day.
you've never seen such willing veggie eaters and bed makers.

finally, their sticker charts were full and the day they would meet billy and gulpy arrived.
they went to petsmart and each picked out a beautiful betta fish
(as well as enough fish home decor to make our own house look sparsely decorated).

evan found an awesome divided tank that included its own light and filter.
i had dramatically stated i didn't need anything else to take care of,
and if we got fish i was not spending any time with them.

those were famous last words when 24 hours into being fish owners, disaster struck.
thankfully it did not strike in the form of a belly-up fish, but rather a nosey and sneaky fish.
billy figured out how to squeeze through the tiny gap between the divider and the wall of the tank.
as we were getting ready to leave to go swimming ourselves adelaide came screaming down the hall,
"BILLY IS WITH GULPY! BILLY IS WITH GULPY!"

thanks to a trusty, dainty teacup (and even more thanks to grandma chic being here to rescue the fish)
billy was returned to his side of the tank before they fought to the death.
when we returned home we found them co-habitating again and moved billy back once more.
the third time it happened it became clear fish home repairs were needed immediately.

i'm not sure if it was adelaide's picket sign stating, "BILLY DO NOT GO BACK TO THE OTHER SIDE!"
or the plastic straw i wedged to fill the gap but i am thankful to report billy hasn't wandered again.
and i've become quite fond of these beautiful, low-maintence pets ever since.

WHAT I DID ON MY SPRING BREAK...

i earned a medal.

well, technically no medals were handed out but i earned it in my mind.

i successfully drove round-trip to abilene for the first time since having kids without another adult in the car.

whew. it feels good to have conquered that.

it was worth it for extended time with family and friends that we don't get to hang out with every day. 

upon our arrival a piping hot batch of my favorite cookies was coming out of the oven to celebrate.

which was clearly better than a gold-plated medal.

the kids and i stayed four nights and four days at the relaxing luttrell hotel.

we hit up all the hot spots and filled the time with our favorite abilene things.

such as...

the abilene zoo

feeding the catfish

walks around acu campus 

digging in the dirt

gardening lessons

extended playtime

make your own cajun cones entertainment

shoulder rides

train rides

visits to great-grandparent houses

 tea parties

pajama playtime

late night tetris and movies

who needs the beach at spring break,

when you have abilene?

not us, that's for sure.

IT'S A SAFARI OUT THERE...

"on the road again,

 i just can't wait to get on the road again.

the life i love is making listening to music with my friends,

and i just can't wait to get on the road again.

like a band of gypsies we go down the highway.

we're the best of friends,

insisting that the world keep turning our way.

and our way,

is on the road again.

going places that i've never been.

seein' things that i may never see again.

and i just can't wait to get on the road again."

-willie nelson

*photos taken and memories made at the awesome natural bridge wildlife ranch.

A TALE OF TWO SNAKES and IF THE SHOES FITS, DON'T LOSE IT...

it started out like any other morning. adelaide woke up at 6am. i tried to stay awake with her but really kept dozing on and off while she played. evan got ready to go study. we said goodbye and went outside for a walk. that's when things took a turn.
as we cross the sidewalk a man waiting for us to pass says, "you might want to watch out for that snake." directly under my feet is a grayish/whiteish snake about as long as a ruler. i squealed then decided since it was just adelaide, berkeley, with me i might have to step it up and be the adult. so i did (kind of).
we continue on our way and try to stay out of the blazing sun as to impede sun damage to my newborn's skin. this means walking under trees and in the shade when possible. translation- now we are walking under hanging limbs and probably through snake dens for all i know.
about 10 minutes into our walk i am still thinking about all things snakes. like what it would be like to live in the wilderness surrounded by snakes. what it would be like to mow the wooded areas and how they probably see these creatures all the time. why i will never go on fear factor because inevitably they would make me crawl in a tube with snakes or eat bananas neither which i could pull off.
when i stop hyperventilating from all these thoughts i start thinking about how it is pretty amazing the way God made animals to blend into their surroundings to keep them safe, etc. and wouldn't you know that's when the 2nd sighting happened. right there to the left of the stroller is the brightest lime green line i have ever seen. for a split second i did admire the beauty of the vibrant color but then it slithered around on the ground and since it was at least as long as 2 rulers i kind of lost the moment of appreciation. i returned back to being the snake wimp i truly am. i attempted to be the pseudo-adult in the situation yet again and wheeled us on down the sidewalk.
just when i thought our walk couldn't get any more scary i get adelaide out of the stroller to find she is only wearing one shoe. when we left she was wearing not just any shoes but her robeez shoes that are supposed to stay put in all situations. that baby girl (turned shoe houdini) somehow slithered out of her left shoe during our walk. there's at least one reason not to hang out with snakes she already learned a bad habit from them.
i think about retracing our steps by foot but it is getting too hot and i can't bear the thought of seeing another snake (even for the sake of these beloved shoes.) so we buckle up in the car to take a look instead. i drive around at 2 mph craning my neck trying to see every angle of sidewalk we had walked. sadly we get back to our apartments and i am still holding only one shoe. as i drive through the parking lot though i can't believe my eyes. there in the gravel i see a light lime green item. sure the color isn't as vibrant as the lime green snake skin but my reaction to that patch of color is as vibrant as it comes. the lost sole was found and we rejoiced!

"GROWING BIGGER, GROWING BIGGER..."

i don't even know where the following song originated, but i do know it is a luttrell classic that i have heard for as long as i can remember. my dad can remember hearing it all the days of his life too. it is ageless, and possibly the most annoying tune you can imagine.

it goes a little something like this...
"growing bigger, growing bigger,
our sweet, sweet (fill-in-the-appropriate name)
is growing bigger,
growing bigger, growing bigger,
our sweet, sweet (fill in the name)
is growing big-ger!"

i'm sure my family broke out singing it after i learned to tie my shoes for the first time,
and i know when i made it through a few days at a new school without crying i was serenaded by the "growing bigger" song. i have had it sung to me so many times i could never count them.

over the years it turned more and more sarcastic. when i was in high school and would make some pseudo-mature decision they would start singing the "growing bigger" song.

finally i got up the courage to announce how much i hated hearing this song. it drove me crazy. the tune, the words, the cheesy smiles that my family would wear while singing it, the whole thing. announcing my hatred for the song only meant i had to hear it that much more. my family thought it was a hilarious joke.

but now i have a confession. last week i was driving to school before it was light out. i saw something fall from the rear view mirror in my car. i realized it was a spider dangling down towards me. not a huge spider, but a spider still. it was brown, instead of black which i think are much scarier, but once again, it was still a spider. i tried to swipe it away but missed and it started crawling on my skirt and then on my leg. normally i would have gone so ballistic by this whole situation that i might have gotten in a wreck, but this time i kept my cool and somehow kept driving safely as i swatted at the spider.

as i realized i had overcome the spider (and overcome a tiny bit of my fear of them) i realized there was a song playing in my mind. it caught me off guard at first but slowly i realized i was singing to myself...
"growing bigger, growing bigger,
our sweet, sweet leaper
is growing bigger,
growing bigger, growing bigger,
our sweet, sweet leaper's
growing big-ger!

and it hit me, i probably can't deny that the day will come when i will sing this to our future kid.
some family traditions live on infinitely.

"THE BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SAY A HEARTY YES TO YOUR ADVENTURE." -Joseph Campbell

some people are born brave and always ready for adventure.
i am not this person!

however, last thursday i woke up praying to appreciate the beauty of God's unique details in creation as we went snorkeling. i also prayed for peace of mind and bravery while we went for a swim with the stingrays. i am so glad God granted me His peace and and an extra large dose of bravery for the day. i wasn't nearly as brave as most of the people we were with, but it was my amazing adventure!

wednedsay i was in jamaica
safely resting on the beach...


thursday i was in grand cayman...




snorkeling,








sighting,






holding,







and kissing stingrays!

HERE KITTY, KITTY, KITTY...

i'll admit it... i am scared of cats.
on our honeymoon there were these beach cats at the resort that would appear out of nowhere and everyone else seemed to think they were cute. i would go into complete panic mode. it was the only thing about our entire honeymoon that i did NOT like. these beach cats ruined several outdoor meals. we would be eating and enjoying our food and conversation when i would spot one of them out of the corner of my eye and freak. the rest of the meal would be spent sitting with my legs crisscrossed in the chair and keeping one eye on the cat at all times while evan tried to calm me down.
well today i am trying to leave for the store when i am approaching my car in the drive and see a giant tomcat sitting under my car. my in-laws kitten, chicken salad sandwich, is evidently in heat and causing some ridiculous attention around here. i have learned to gently handle chicken. but this i cannot handle. i resort to total panic mode. a normal person would probably just approach the car and get in. i cannot do it. i could probably kill a spider easier than i can shoo away a cat.
trying to be mature about this i decide that i cannot call evan at work to ask what to do about this situation. and i cannot call my father-in-law at work about this either. of course this happens on a day when nobody else is home. i would have no shame asking my mother-in-law to come outside and get rid of the cat for me but she is out-of-town. i even debate asking a neighbor to come help but i decide asking a neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar or 2 eggs might still be acceptable but asking a neighbor to shoo away a cat is not acceptable.
so this leaves just me and the giant tomcat staring at each other. i try to say very forcefully "scat," "shoo," "GET AWAY" but none of them work. i guess standing far away and shouting these things is not very intimidating.
so then i get the bright idea to wrap a beach towel over my shorts. the less skin that is exposed, the more powerful and in control i feel. just in case the cat tries to attack me there will be less bare skin for it to claw into. so now i am wrapped up in a towel like i just got out of the shower, looking like a total idiot and standing in the driveway.
i am trying to convince myself to make a run for it and jump in the driver's seat of the car. here goes nothing... i click the unlock button and realize that the beep sound my clicker makes seems to alarm the cat (but only slightly). so i push the unlock button approximately 23 more times and finally the cat slowly drags itself out from under the car as though i am inconveniencing him. i am praying the whole while, "please don't come towards me, please don't come towards me." it goes to the other side of the driveway and i dash for the car door handle.
ah, at last i am safely in my car!

vs.

PLANET EARTH...

i am currently watching PLANET EARTH on the discovery channel. watching it on a HD tv feels like a strange twist of being on an educational field trip to the imax mixed with visiting a museum right in your own living room (or in my case in my inlaws living room). i now feel so knowledgeable about the foxes, kangaroos, camels, and snakes of the desert. all this before noon on a saturday morning. next stop i will be visiting the animals of the deep sea on the next episode. it is official i am a dork, but this is good stuff!