nature, it’s everywhere

my brother visited this weekend so we drove up to bogus basin for a little walk.  out of all the trails we could have picked we ended up on the one that meandered through the waste management site for the ski lodge.  i was waiting for the giant sprinklers to kick on and spray me with poo.

here is the princess being carried everywhere by her daddy.  he has arms of steel.  i’m ready to put her down in five seconds.  “why don’t you learn how to walk?” i say.  but everyone knows that princesses were meant to be carried.

bipedal or no, she loves to climb.  nothing pisses her off so much as when you wrench her from the spiral stairs.  (the stairs of death.)  i think it has something to do with the fact that her name means “wild mountain goat.”  you just have to watch how you name your kids.  next she’s going to be stabbing people in the head, jehu is a likely candidate.

gidoen and jehu picked me every flower they could find on the trip.  these were my favorite.  aren’t they cool?  then there was this red one that smelled like a cross between fresh picked cherry tomatoes and skunk.  someday i am going to have a custom perfume made.  there is a place here that whips them up.  they said they had some civet cat bottled and could make me something special.  civet cat with a little marigold on the side?

the bottom right are the boys rock hopping.  until marc got stuck.  don’t climb up if you can’t get down is what i say.  but they never learn.

and auntie pilot taking a turn with jael bait.  i think she’s pulling her hair.  she’s like that.

old mother hubbard

i had my china out for an airing the other day.  my cupboards still don’t have doors on them so i had to take everything out wash them down.  while i was at it washed all the dishes.  i thought i would take a picture for you.

since they’re so gorgeous.  don’t you wish you could spend all your money on dishes?

i picked up another 6 settings of my gold crown china at a yard sale for $2.  now i have service for twelve.  dinner plates, bread plates, salad plates and tea cups with saucers.  no dessert bowls though.  or any other bowls for that matter.  and not a single serving dish.  haven’t bumped into one anywhere.

and here they are all put away.  waiting to get all dusty again.  you know, i do have the doors painted and sitting in the garage…  not that that means anything.  just a thought.

table rock

memorial day we took auntie pilot up table rock.  here’s a nice shot of her butt.

the boys find everything so exciting.  they loved climbing the “big” mountain.  and gideon brought his shield and sword just in case there were any bad animals.  except he slipped on the way up and dropped it.  this also happened to be the instance where he was attacked by fire ants.  so much for being prepared.

the view from the top.

there were actually a lot of people out that morning.  gideon was an instant celebrity.  “all hail!” they cried.  one beaming blond had to come over and get his picture.  she found out his name was gideon and was excited because she was on table rock that morning praying for the “spirit of deborah” and the power to impact the city.  when i showed her baby jael she thought she was an absolute answer to prayer.  …if the lady wasn’t so cute i would have thought she was a little nutty.

as you can see, i’m still working on their tans.  they go shirtless every day when it’s cool and in ten minute intervals when it’s hot.  but they only seem to change shades of pink.  dur.

(notice wife number two trying to move up the ranks in this shot…  sneaky.)

we also found a cave.  i made the mistake of calling it a “bat cave” and the boys couldn’t wait to get out, sword and all.  (you can sort of see the petrified look on jehu’s face while violet is holding him.)

girl fell asleep, sucking her thumb, on the way down.  and the boys ran the whole way.

now it’s time to do something less exciting like organize the china cupboard and fill the bathroom door with rock putty.  yep.

scullery wench

she’s arrived!  well, she’s been here for a couple weeks.  it’s great having wife number two.  how do people survive without one?  polygamy is the only way to fly.

still, i seem to be busier than ever now that i have a license to kill.  i spent the day banging my head in the attic trying to organize things.  i sorted everything into rubbermaids and vacuumed up 50 years worth of dust.  …while wife number two made dinner and kept the baby from eating chalk or crawling into the street.  i’m all up for getting a third hottie to keep around the place.  then i will be on top of things for sure.

next on the list; painting the rocking chair in girl’s room, refinishing my new $5 coffee table, sewing curtains out of the ugliest fabric you’ve ever seen, painting the boys’ matching twin beds, fixing the bathroom door, fixing the boys’ door, putting up trim, backing jehu’s quilt, painting even more trim, painting girl’s dresser…and i don’t want to think about it anymore.  i’m just hoping i can get some things done before auntie pilot get’s a real job and her own place.  then what will i do?

it’s true

girl in her eating cap

actually, what she needs is a swim cap.  does anyone else’s baby like to style their hair during every meal?  it’s highly unappetizing.  i want to lurch out of my seat screaming “noooo!” and tackle her before she rubs spaghetti sauce all through her freshly washed hair.  instead i just angle my chair so i can’t see her.  (it’s all about strategy.)

but that’s the price you pay for a self feeder.  an adamant self feeder.  try to spoon feed her yourself and she’ll wallop you and call you dirty names.  …in baby language of course, but you get the point.

she is turning into a little expert though.  when i give her her food she’ll just look at it until i show up with her spoon.  so dainty and cute.  apart from her subliminal desire to be elvis.  she can make a great pompadour.

j-e-r-o-m-e

just another reason to love southern idaho.  well alright, i guess it’s okay in the spring.  the boys think it’s heavenly.

(tractor papa’s new 4-wheeler is an added bonus.)

and marc always weirds me out the way he blends naturally into his ancestral environment.  “honey, is it just me or are you looking a little redneck?”

i know, look who’s talking.  (don’t tell.)

we went out to set pipe and grandpa was turning the water on for the first time this spring.  the boys were waiting in eager expectation for rock chucks.  unfortunately the dog beat them to the only one and they didn’t get to pelt it with giant rocks.  although daddy did have to finish it off with the shovel…

later boy took me on a romantic motorcycle ride to his favorite childhood spot along the canal.  i told him it looked dangerous.  what was his mother thinking?  who would let their children play out here?

not to mention, someone is bound to get dirty.

an early mother’s day

flowers from my boys, my boy…

and my girl.

and mommy bought the new pink dishes for herself.  because they were on sale.  and pink.  it couldn’t be helped (at all).

going to the dentist

jehu said, “i am so excited!”  gideon said, “i don’t like it.”

i told him to be tough.  he was, but it was the kind of tough you would be if someone was sawing off your leg.  i’m not sure it counts.

jehu, on the other hand, had all the hygeniests swooning.  they would keep popping in to tell him how handsome he was in his hat.  and he would bat his eyes and look bashful.  heartthrob.

in other news the otto household has grown one.  my sister violet is visiting (the one with a sauna, gold taps and room for a pony.)  we’ve been madly moving around furniture, making schedules, adjusting menu planning.  but i think me1 and me2 are going to settle in nicely.  i’m just not sure about her cat.  today the boys marched up the stairs with their swords, shields and a bucket.  “hey violet, where’s the kitty?”