During Jeff's tenure as a student, we exist as basement dwellers. There are some advantages to living in a basement, like it is cooler in the summer, and it is quieter when there are storms. Another advantage is that our window wells act as magnets for all sorts of interesting creatures. It has become routine to check each window well each morning and see what the night brought in. More often than not, we find some sort of small animal. Levi, our mighty hunter, retrieves whatever interests him.
He was very proud of this catch. When I asked him what he wanted to name it, he said, "Alligator." We talked about how it really did look like a baby alligator when it walked around, especially in the little puddle we made for it in the garden. When I asked him if he was going to call it "Al" or "Gator" he looked at me like I was silly and responded, "Jacob, mom. Jacob Alligator." He pronounced it more like one word, Jacoballigator, and this delightful amphibian provided hours of entertainment.
Isaac would beg and beg for a turn to play with the precious pet. He was a little less than gentle with the poor thing. When Jacoballigator was finally turned loose at dusk, it must have been the best day of his life.
We were camping on Cedar Mountain (translation = most beautiful place on earth) when Jeff, Levi, and my aunt went hunting for horny toads. He came back with his pockets full...literally.
When Levi caught this frog in our window well one morning, he named it Prince Naveen. Prince Naveen was an even better playmate than Jacoballigator because he could ride in the back of the trike or the seat of the big wheel.
Little brother was trusted with a little more face time with Prince Naveen than he was allowed with Jacoballigator.
Levi was oh so excited to show his find off to the neighbors.
One of the greatest anticipations of camping on Cedar Mountain is the Pond. This is a shot of the mighty hunter spotting and sneaking in on his prey.
Success! (which wouldn't be a genuine success if pants + socks + boots + shirt were not all covered in pond scum.)
Jeff was trying to convince Isaac to kiss the frog. Seriously.
Although I myself am not extremely fond of handling amphibians, I do get satisfaction watching my boys embark on their slimy creature adventures. Seeing the excitement and curiosity it inspires in them makes me smile and remember that it really is all about the simple things, even when those simple things are 'snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.'
This was Levi's first soccer season, and you could just say it was pretty much a dream come true.
Levi looked forward to every single game. He played so hard and stayed focused the whole time.
...and so was his betrothed, Gracelyn.
He got a fab Smokey the Bear bandana at the County Fair which he chose to wear as a good luck do-rag in most of his games.
Levi is super competitive, and would get angry if he didn't score a goal. He had high expectations for himself.
He wanted to wear his jersey every day, not just on game days.
I was surprised how much he learned over the course of the season. It was a little too short lived for Levi. He would like to still be playing, but it sure was fun while it lasted!
