Well, I had to move fast, And I couldn't with you around my neck.

With fascination I gawk at a banana spider having a delicate breakfast on humming bird vines.

Bird fly high by the light of the moon

By the way, that's us in the reflection of the astronaut.

With all of our goings on, I am a bit behind in post about exciting adventures we've had recently. We spent last weekend at the Space and Rocket center near Dad's house in Huntsville. It was more rocket than space for my tastes, but the boys seemed to enjoy it. Pictures to prove it...

The dusky light the day is losing

We're in the Spotlight...

He's well schooled and he's skilled...

He's at school today for the first time. He was thrilled. Of course, I forgot his lunch box, (notice it's not in the picture), and we had to go back home for it. His teacher looks so nice, doesn't she? He is doing greeeaaat at soccer, and loves the uniform most of all, I think. How can it be that these children change before your very eyes?

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..

Two kids in "recovery" from several teaching jobs yesterday, led us to trying to entertain ourselves around the house with NO ERRANDS run today.

A day in the life of Ollie Rayburn:

1) Eat breakfast outside on the patio

2) Build a obstacle course from the family room to the bedroom.(Partially pictured above) Run it several times without stepping on the carpet. The crocs will get you.

3) Put on croc wrestling gear. Wrestle crocs.

4) Ask 10, 000 questions about crocs. Read books about crocs. Look for crocodile hunter videos online that do not include raps or a crying or dying crocodile hunter.

5) Give up on crocs. Run the obstacle course again.

6) Use 3-hole puncher to punch lots and lots of holes. Do this for an hour or more contentedly.

7) Trace your body on big paper, including a shadow silhouette of your head.

8)Decorate your body with "sparkles" or the holes from the hole puncher.

9) Call it "floppy Ollie."

10) Do an "experiment" with toilet paper, construction paper, printer paper, paper towels to see which one dissolves first.

11) Since your in the kitchen anyway, bake some peanut butter cookies (dad's favorites) from scratch.

12) Also, make some homemade salsa using organic tomatoes from your garden and hot atomic peppers that the neighbor gave you. Pronounced mah-pow in Laotian.

13) Hide the cookies for an after dinner surprise for dad.

14 Go to an indoor super fun slide pool thing for a while.

15) Do mad-libs in the Kids National geographic with mom in the back yard wearing giant green boots and a jean jacket even though it is 94 degrees.

16) Eat several tacos for supper.

17) Put on footie pjs, again even though its 94 degrees.

18) Play air guitar with dad and Eli to Wilco before bed.

19) Look forward to the splash pad first thing in the morning with friends.

20) Don't think twice about how awesome today was with your mom...

PS. I am really going to miss him come Monday when he heads off to school for the first time. I told him so today, and he said, I have to go so that I can learn to be a grown up. Boooo-hooo.

When I am paint my masterpiece....

Body Painting on a sunny day.

I know this isn't just a blog about pictures, but I've taken some good ones lately, and well they do speak a thousand words about our lives....

Let me walk down the highway with my brother in peace..

Dad, maters, b-ball, naked gardening, and rockin' out, Ole!

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail

We went to the Mercy Lounge this weekend for a much needed rock n roll athon to hear this. It rocked. Enough said.

Gladys Mae

Her husband knew her as "happy butt." If I had been the Pastor, I would have mentioned that. Although, in the minuscule southern town of Butler, AL, I am not so sure it would have been as affectionately or appropriately received as I would have meant it. Gladys Mae, aka Mamaw passed away this week. She was 85 years old, and deemed a saint at her funeral. She had 8 kids, 21 grandchildren, and 32 great grandchildren, including my own. It was said, and true it was, she prayed for each one of them by name daily. She had a personal relationship with all of her family and I am positive that I was special to her. She was good-folk and very country, in the best way possible. She lived on a farm, worked hard,trusted the Lord, and enjoyed her kids. She is an inspiration to me and an example in faith, love, patience, understanding, and dilgence, and I will miss her dearly.

Dos Amigas Rock!

Dos Amigas in the local paper!!

I am so thrilled that I will not be returning to the high school in the fall due in large part to the upstart of Dos Amigas. We could still use more business, but I am confident and faithful that it will soar in the days to come. Send some folks our way!

Oh, and PS. Muchas gracias a mi cubana favorita for the ideas on how to get a write-up even in the local paper. Your blog is "un secreto", but you know who you are, and you are so, so smart.

We're following them dusty old fairgrounds a-calling.

Today, thanks to Evan's job and free tickets, we all piled in the station wagon and headed to a true sign of summer's near end, The County Fair. It was great fun, probably the best I've ever been to. I of course, didn't bring my camera, not thinking that the kids would have a blast and be so cute. It was about 90 million degrees today but we saw amazing air-dogs, quilts, bmx stunt bikers, cows, chickens, faux garden experience with a fake cow to milk, prize roosters, llamas, alpacas, and even Ollie's first ever Ferris Wheel ride. Yipee!