Friday, November 22, 2013

brave hunter run from bear

thanksgiving week is nothing if little kids aren't dressed up like indians beating their drums and singing songs, right?  it was no different over here.  reed's indian name was "brave hunter." and he was a cute "brave hunter."



also, this week at school the kids are having an egg bowl to raise money for new playground equipment.  each morning, kids fill up a state bucket or an ole miss bucket with change and dollar bills.  i think the winner will be declared this afternoon.  anyway, on thursday morning the ole miss black bear was at the door welcoming kids as they got out of the car in the carpool line.  reed has always hated people dressed up as….well, anything.  so when the teacher opened the door, he climbed down out of my car, spotted the bear, then turned around and tried to climb back up in the car.  meanwhile, william and wes are tripping over him trying to get out of the car.  it was quite the commotion.  i told the teacher that she was going to have to get him past the bear.  she tried to hold his hand, but "brave hunter" wasn't so brave.  she ended up having to pick the boy up and carry him into the building.  therefore, little indian boy's daddy renamed him "brave hunter run from bear."

later that afternoon….
me: "why were you afraid of that bear?"
reed: "i just was.  he looked angry."
me: "angry?"
reed: "yes.  i guess he's angry 'cause he goes for ole miss."

ok.  maybe he has a point.  :)  and for the record, he was completely happy to see bully in the carpool line this morning!!

after that fiasco, we headed to the natchez trace for "brave hunter's" thanksgiving party.  the weather cooperated perfectly, and they had a great time.




a park ranger talked to them and read them a story about a raccoon.  she also let them pet some animal skins and an owl.  then she lead all the indians on a trail through the woods to look for deer and buffalo.  after a quick game of "pilgrim, pilgrim, indian" (duck, duck, goose), they had a picnic.  they ate pizza and popcorn on the first thanksgiving, right?  after lunch, they had sack races.


and then they had to work for their dessert.  have you ever tried to eat a donut hanging from a tree without using your hands?  no?  you should try it.  or at least let your kids try it.  it was really funny!!  reed fiddled around the top of the donut for a minute before using some smarts and dropping to his knees.  it was much easier to get at it from the bottom!




the kid's got some no-hands donut eating skills!  maybe we should rename him "dandy donut dude."  that seems to fit a little better!

happy thanksgiving week!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

it's shoebox time!

the beginning of the season for us is always marked by filling up our shoeboxes for operation christmas child.  my kids each get a box of their own.  they get to shop for a little boy their own age and fill it with the things they choose.  there are always plenty of cars and peppermints and balls and toothbrushes and squirt bottles (why are those so infatuating to my kids?).  and it never fails that wes tries to put a gun of some sort in the shopping basket.  i tell him every year that "but it's nerf" is still not an acceptable argument.  rules are rules!! nonetheless, 3 little boys in some other part of the world should have a smile on their faces come this christmas.  we pay online, so we can track our boxes.  we look forward to seeing to what country our boxes are shipped.





if you are interested, there's still time left for you to make a little boy or girl's christmas a happy one!  click right here to read more about operation christmas child and get your own box!