Precocious

Today while driving in the car, we had this conversation:
Friggs: Mom, who were you talking to?
Me: I just got off the phone with your dad. He's on his way home for lunch.
Friggs: And he's already driving in his car, I presume?

Snake business

The other day at Landa Park the kids and I noticed a snake. No, I'm not scared of snakes at all due to my upbringring, although I run away from roaches. I didn't say it was logical. Anyway, we kept a respectful distance away, well out of striking range, but I did point it out to Seth and we talked about it. It cracks me up. I'm sure most of the kids there will grow up terrified of snakes because of their mother's reactions. They were shrieking and making their children get back about 20 feet. Like it's some kind of amazing uber-snake that leaps great distances at people, away from its habitat, the water. Anyway. I couldn't tell while first looking at it whether it was just a water snake or a water moccasin - poisonous. So here's your snake lesson, you be the judge (Arwen, please have Randy look at this and give me the verdict!)

Here's the snake I saw:

Water snakes: non-triangular head. Usually long and skinny. Swims with only head out of water (I didn't get to see this one swimming). Can be banded. Round eyes.

Water Moccasins: triangular head. Has vertical slit-like pupils. Hour-glass banding. Can vary in color. Usually very thick for its length. Swims almost completely on top of water.

I know of a way to tell whether or not a snake is poisonous by looking at the underside of its tail, but I'm not getting that close if I'm not sure and it's not dead!

Diamond backed water snake (harmless)

Brown Water Snake:

Banded Water Snake:

Water Moccasin (venomous):



For the record, I am pretty sure it was just a Diamond backed water snake. We'll see what my brother Roger says - he's the resident animal expert!

Newest Niece

I'm a tad late putting a pic up of my sister's daughter, who was born in January. I drove up to Winnsboro right after she was born, but Kim and the boys have yet to meet her. She is very cute, as you can tell, and she is bound to be spoiled. She is, so far, my parent's only granddaughter. And, apparently, we can only concieve male children, so she may be the only one ever. My sister, Kali, and her husband, Justin, are very proud of her. She is doing well. In an effort to prevent wrath from my sister, I cropped her out of this picture. Hopefully soon she will send me a whole family picture. They also have a son, Carter, who is 9.

Crazy??

Last night Kyle came home from Walmart and said, in a somewhat freaked out voice: "I think I just saw a crazy person. Seriously. Not just a little off, or weird, but seriously loonybin crazy."
Me: "Why? What were they doing?"
Kyle: "She was sitting down, cross-legged, in the middle of the baking aisle, just eating a tub of icing."
Me:"What kind? How was she eating it?"
Kyle:"It was chocolate. She was digging into it with her fingers. She never even looked up."
Me:"Hmm. Could be PMS. Sounds about right to me."

A boy and his toad...

Seth found what we think is a Fowler's toad the other day so I just had to take some pictures. Having boys doesn't get much better than this.

In other news, we have had a busy month, including two funerals. My Grandear passed away and we had her memorial service on Valentine's day. She was 90 years old. She was blessed with 2 long happy marriages (my grandpa died before I was born) and had tons of grandchildren. Up until recently she remained quite active, taking trips to Texas, and even camping and fishing up until just a few years ago. While I will miss her dearly, I feel such a peace about her passing. That's the way to do it - it's what we all want: a long life filled with great love and good memories. Now, the other funeral we attended was for Brad Wims, a college friend who died of cancer, leaving behind a wife and two young children. So tragic! I know Brad is happy now, with his Lord, but I am heartbroken for those left behind. I so admire the fight he fought and his optimistic attitude.