3 more days. there is an end in sight.

I took the kids this morning to my great Aunts house, I live less than an eigth of a mile from her and her sister and never get to see them. Its my fault, but I hate to just drop in on someone. Its one thing to go over with a kid to visit, but when you have 4 people just have to be in the right mood to accept you and your brood and enjoy you. They called, so I went. my cousin was in and visiting with them and my other cousins wife. They were all impressed with how Bow had grown, and how he was picking up and playing with toys, and Rayley was her usual charming self, loving everyone and saying "I know" when they told her how cute she was. She picked a real cute satin evening dress to wear that my mom had made her to play in. It was chilly and the dress is short, but she was happy.

The boys came in, hugged everyone and all 3 went right back out the back door. Aunt Jean has a house surrounded by trees and flowers and lots of nooks and crannys. I can remember playing there as a child. How we never bit a snake I dont know. Ignorance and lack of observation were our saviors I reckon. And if this is the case, my kids should be safe as at home in the bed. The only thing hollered at them as they walked out was NOT to hurt the lizards, they could catch them, just be careful. Brett has to be the best lizard catcher there is. He has no fear and no hesitation. He has been catching them since he started walking. Matt is almost as good, but heistates sometimes, resulting in a loss of the lizard. Rayley tries, but she just isnt fast enough. I told them NOT to put a single animal or insect in their pockets. Rayley just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders and said "I dont have any pockets" I really hope she never becomes scared of bugs and lizards. I think its better to not be. And I hope she doesnt belive anyone when they tell her they are 'icky'. She went through a stage not to long ago where she decided they were. She didnt even want to go out and play with the boys. It was sad. Luckily she got over it. I just wish folks would keep their prejudices to themselves. Let her play with them if she wants. It doesnt hurt anyone. I'm the one doing the laundry.

Rayley came in one time, she wanted ice cream. Aunt Jean ALWAYS gives them ice cream. Today she got a coke float. She really enjoyed that. Brett came in a little while later and was yes ma'amin and no ma'amin, talking real low and way too freakin polite. I asked what they broke. He got wide eyed and said "nothin", Someone asked where Matt was. He got even more wide eyed and said "playin".

Fearing the worst, (snake bite, broken bone, lost in the woods again) and hoping for the best (broke a branch on a prized flowering tree, fell in a mud hole, stung by a bee, broke a potted plant) I decided to go and check. Brett asked where I was going. I asked him again what they broke. "just a pipe", Oh Hell. "not much water came out" OH HELL!

I went out and called for Matt. He stuck his head around the corner. I told him to come here. He asked if he was in trouble. I asked what had he done. He said "nothin, am I in trouble?"
I told him not yet, but if he didnt show me what they broke and fast, he would be.
"stupid Brett ratted on me and told you he was innocent didnt he?"
I told him Brett hadnt told me anything, I just KNEW when they screwed up.
To Please show me what they had broken.
"today or the last time we were here?"
Today will sufice for now..

He took me to the end of the yard, where a retaining wall has a pipe run out from under it with the laundry water draining out. It drains into a gully. they had jumped off the retaining wall, into the mud hole and hit the pipe. breaking off the end. "But it was cracked anyway"
I knew it was cracked. I had cracked it about 6 months ago when I was building the retaining wall.
I told him I was not mad, they just had to be more careful, and next time just tell me what they did, they would get in less trouble that way. And to please be a little less hard on those boots. I wasnt buying anymore this year.
Then he asked me what happened to that tall pine tree over there. It was busted about 1/2 way up, all the bark gone and with a big split in it.

I told him that was the pine tree that tried to kill me back in the fall.
BR and I were building up Aunt Jeans yard. Putting in a retaining wall and moving around loads of dirt. Between the Huricanne that never was and some other heavy rains the yard had just decided to fall off. it was a good 15 feet lower than the house, a real steep drop. Aunt Jean couldnt even walk around out there with out falling. And so she got some railroad ties and dirt brought in. BR brought over his tractor and we got to building. Landscapers we are not. Engineers we are not. He would use the tractor, drive over to the ties and I would chain them on the bucket, then he would drive to where they were supposed to be and I would wrassle them into place and he would let them down. We set out about 2 dozen ties. It was hard, hot work. Of course it didnt help that I was about 7 months pregnant and big as a house. Not near as limber as I once was. But there was no way BR could do it alone. And I am sufficiant with the tractor. Not proficiant. So our roles could not be reversed. I'da ran over him on accident. the idiocincrisies of the bucket confuse me a wee bit. pulling it and pushing it to tilt it and such. You can tell a man designed it. It would have been much more efficiant if a woman had.

Anyway, we were about done, only had a few more to go, and it was threatining to rain. We were trying to get the last ones in place before it did cause we knew that a good gully washer would wash away the last two loads she had brought in. about 10 feet away from where we were laying the ties was a pine sapling thicket, badly overgrown, with a few real tall pines.
It was sprinkiling and finaly starting to cool off some. BR had a tie chained on the bucket and was lined up, I was holding one end and trying to manuver it into place while he slowly set it down. Those things are HEAVY. well over 200 pounds. He didnt have a cab on the tractor so he was getting as wet as I was, and all of a sudden pine straw started raining down on us and less than a split second later the loudest boom you have ever heard was right over our heads. Lighting had struck a Pine Tree not 20 feet away. Bark and needles were all over us. BR shut down the tractor, jumped down and we ran for the house. I couldnt hear for 5 minutes.

WHen I had Bow I checked him all over for a lighting bolt birthmark, or a tic, or something, but apparently he came through unscathed. I on the other hand lost 10 years off my life. We decided to wait out the shower before we went back to work. But we did get it finished.
At least this time I didnt get a shock. But I am gona stop hanging around BR where electricity is around, natural or man made. You'da thought I would have learned with the electric fence.

Anyway, Matt was impressed that I had survived the lighting strike. Heck so was I. I have honestly never been that close. And dont want to again. And I think I am going to start trying to drive the tractor more and play foreman, make BR be the hired hand. I am tired of being the one to keep the fence strait while he pulls it, or place the auger while he pushes buttons, walk behind the disk while he drives. Its really my own fault, Its just easier.

I told Matt that he should come on in and take off his boots, get some ice cream. (his GOOD boots, the ones I am trying to make last the rest of the school year.) Naw, he wanted to play. I think he wasnt convinced that he wasnt in trouble. But then again, he does love to be outside, and these woods are differnt from ours.

When I got back in everyone asked what was broke. I told them nothing and Brett tried to explain which pipe. He said last time they were there they had shoved mud up in in. Then all off a sudden water came gushing out and spit the mud all over them. thats what they were going to do again today. They were gona see if they could get Rayley to look into it when it happened. In her pink satin dress with the white snowflake pouffy skirt. I told them it was the washer drain and Aunt Jean wasnt washing clothes right now. it had to be timed just right. Rayley asked aunt Jean if she would 'throw a load on, cause I wana see the mud shoot out".

When we got home the kids went out to play here. I let them go in the fenced off pasture, that way when they get lost they can find a fence and follow it home. One time they took off to dump some old food and BR found them about 3 hours later across a creek and plumb on my grandfathers property about 25 acres away. One had on just shorts, the other had on sweat pants and socks.

THey cant hear me when I holler if they are off in the pasture and the walkie talkies stopped working, so they know to come when they hear my truck alarm go off. A few hours later I set it off and they came running up in about 5 minutes . I told them to come on in, we were going to run to Lufkin to get their baseball belts. I couldnt find any here at home and opening weekend is the 29th. Matt was fully dressed, so all he had to do was wash up. Brett was in shorts and caked in mud.
And he had brought home a new pet. He had found another crawfish. I told him to let it go, the crabs didnt need it. He was upset, and asked where to put it, I told him to take it back to where he found it and hurry so we could go. BR went to take a shower, I went to put on makeup and put Rayley in the bath, I told Matt to find some new clothes and wash up. Matt didnt want to. I told him he couldnt go to town like that. He was filthy. He said "Naw, I'm country, there's a differnce"

10 minutes later I came out, Rayley was still in the tub, Bow was throwing a screaming, running fit on the floor, and Matt was no where to be found. I hit the alarm button again. Brett came in a few minutes later and I asked where Matt was. He said he was comin, he wanted to help him put the crawfish back. GGGGGGGRRRRRRRR

I went back in and made sure the shower was on for Brett. About that time Brett comes runnin in and says "that idiot" I asked what was wrong. He said "dumb ole Matt, he done went and found himself a fire ant bed and is ate plumb up."
I ran out, gona help him get undressed and spray him off with the hose. Instead he is standing in my living room with one boot off and throwing ants all over the floor. I hollered at him to get outside and get undressed. I walk to the door, there is his boot, filled with fire ants. They are EVERYWHERE! I got him on the porch and told him to strip. He just looked at me like I was crazy. Then started shuckin his clothes and throwin them in the yard.

I came in and started trying to kill ants before the got everywhere. I can just imagine laying Bow down and him getting ate up by them.

I got matt inside and this time he had mud from head to toe. Now he needed a bath. I sent him to the shower, found more ants and went in to give him a talking to. His daddy already was. He told him if he had minded me he wouldnt have gotten in the ants and gotten bit, he swore he didnt get bit. Thats about right. I got bit 5 times getting them off him and out of the carpet. He comes away with out a scratch.

I decided to go and get Rayley out of the bathroom to get her dressed. There are bubbles EVERYWHERE! Apparently the last time Bow got a bath in there noone put up the baby soap and she got it. Her hair was nothing but suds and when she stood up she was white with them. Now she needed a shower. She had used 1/2 a bottle of baby soap. All I wanted her to do was wash off the dirt. I took her to my bathroom and told Matt to hurry, I had to throw her in. He got out and in she went. BR was nice enough to take over. I think he knew that I was about to have a melt down.

It took another 30 minutes to get them all dressed. 2 hours after I blared the horn we were ready to leave. Its a 45 minute trip one way.

I went out on the porch and there sat Matts clothes. Still. I picked up the boots and happened to look inside. One was a 3, that Bretts. I pointed this out and it pissed Brett off. He started to read Matt the riot act. Telling him how irresponsible it was, and unforgiveable. Brett wont wear his boots on a bet. He just asked for them to see if I would buy him a pair too. Matt told him, "I dont know why you care, I am just waiting for you to outgrow them so I can have them anyway."
I dont know what made me look at the other mud caked, wet, eighty dollar boot. But something did. It was a 2. One of his and one of Bretts. I just hope they aint ruined. Matt better hope they aint ruined. If they are I am going to go and buy him some bright red tennis shoes and make him wear them daily. That would be the worst punsihment I could give him. He HATES anything but boots. and DESPISES tieing shoes.


When we made it to the store we went strait to the baseball isle, it was PACKED. but I was lucky enough to find 2 black belts. Maybe Murphy doesnt hate me after all.

The kids were in awe at all the crap they sold, but noone asked for anything. Well except Rayley. She needed, not wanted, but NEEDED the pink fishing pole (shakespere reel and ugly stick rod, not a bad combo, too big for her, but I could use it till then....), the pink kyack (right.... although I bet they would have fun pushing each other around the yard in it), the pink camo, the pink tent, the pink bats, the pink gloves, the pink.. you get the picture.

We did get Brett a bat. It wasnt planned, but we found a good deal, and Brett walked by them with such a longing in his eyes. He knew we had looked but didnt actually see me pay for it, and when we got out to the truck BR put it in my box in the back. We all got in and drove home. Then when we got here and all got out, I got them ready for bed and BR went to work, next thing I know Brett is looking for the flashlight and going outside. He looked all through the back seat, I really didnt know what he was doing, till he came back in and was all dejected looking. I asked what was wrong. He wouldnt tell me. Come to find out, my child who refuses to walk out after dusk by himself was looking for his new bat. I didnt tell him we had gotten it, instead I got his mind on something else. I will let BR give it to him at the ballpark in the morning.