germains

one of those weeks i was missing in action was because i was at my parent’s house.  they like to get their hands on my children every once in a while and rough the city off of them.

this is uncle reuben’s colt, sassafras.  the kids love having a “mini” horse.

jael is the one who seemed to like it best.

gideon was the least impressed.

hey now!

my mother took the kids mining a few times.  there is some place out in the middle of nowhere where you can dig up marble sized garnets.

harkens back to the good ol’ days of child labor.

little mine slaves.

i sense an uprising.

jael saw a bumper sticker there that said, “even good girls get dirty.”  true, true.

later they went camping.

which was also dirty.

cousin hadassah.

swimming in the nasty.

makes you wish you were still five and didn’t have a conscience.

reuben was just excited to have someone to shoot guns with him.

trying to get me to not look like a retard.  “why do you keep sticking your butt out like that?”

and there were just heaps of flies.  i would try to aim but then i would break out in the hokey pokey.  shaking it all about.  it’s a wonder i didn’t shoot anyone.

it’s a work in progress.

look at those babies.

and that’s what grandma does to you.  runs you into the ground.  no mercy.

there’s jehu with gideon sweating like a stuck pig next to him.  turns out gideon picked up a fever somewhere and passed on the nastiest bug to everyone  in a mile radius.  except, of course, to grandad.  who is invincible.

and here is my sister sarah’s adorable little thug.  reuben often points out my children’s genetic inferiority.  i mean, there’s mister chievous in his skull beanie and under armor, sporting a crowbar.  meanwhile my white bread is laying comatose with his two stuffed animals, and accompanying security blanket.  …next to his brother who just polished off his personal copy of “little women.”

mister chievous beats up boys who read “little women.”  bwa-ha.  actually, this little boy got accepted to logos last week.  tell me he’s not going to rock it in a school uniform.  kindergarten girls, eat your hearts out.