Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs

The Green house has been attacked by pirates!

Two notorious pirates were right here in the living room.



Joanna the Yellow soon spotted Captain Rick Scratchybeard and the battle was on.



After a long sword battle Captain Rick was defeated and Joanna stood victorious.





I've got to remember to lock the doors!

A Day at the Beach

Ok, it's not much of a beach especially to someone who moved here from Huntington Beach, CA but it is as good as it gets in Grafton, MA.

Today I picked up the Misarski clan and we headed to Silver Lake Beach.

Joanna, Mariah, Bethany and Sam had a great time swimming, jumping off the dock and playing in the sand. Joanna didn't actually jump even though the water was only waist deep to her and the other kids were encouraging her. Instead she would sit on the dock and slide in.

We packed a picnic lunch and supplemented it with yummy treats from the ice cream stand. I think we all left tired and sandy. A good way to spend the day.

Making a Splash

Summer fun continues at the Green house. I tried putting curlers in Joanna's hair put she did not want her picture taken. Patience was the key.



No pictures of the end product. She hated the curls and cried until I removed them with the spray bottle.

Speaking of spay, we decided to beat off the oppressive heat with a trip to the Northborough splash pad. She got to play and I got to sit in a chair and knit. Good time had by all!



The other night Joanna asked if she could have a leftover ball of yarn she found. She said she was going to set a trap for Shiloh.



I don't know, Shiloh is kind of low to the ground, this seemed a much more effective trap for mommy. I resisted the temptation of showing her how to make a more effective trap with the yarn, a yard stick, the laundry basket and a dog biscuit.

Back on the splash theme, we conducted a little experiment while waiting for the barbecue to heat up. The first step was a paper funnel and a bottle of Diet Coke.



We then used a paper clip and and piece of string for a "fuse."



The next step, Mentos. You will notice Joanna is safely in her bunker.



A quick pull of the string (and a wiggle of the paper funnel because the humidity made the Mentos stick to it) and we had our very own soda fountain!

Outdoor Beautification

This morning Shiloh was being his usual self, sniffing along the ground looking for crumbs, when he found he had a little problem.



After laughing at him and taking his picture I tried to help him out. The basket handle was snug around his body with one of his legs stuck inside the basket. Trying to get him out was not fun. He doesn't like his feet messed with so he would growl at me and I would pin him down and hold his nose to show him who was in charge. He's lucky I didn't leave him in the basket.

After the basket incident, Joanna got dressed and we went to Perreault Nurseries. I needed some stakes for my sweet peas. While we were there we had to look at all the plants, go in the butterfly greenhouse and feed the llamas. I found some bamboo stakes and I saw that annuals were marked down to 99 cent a try if you got six or more trays. Joanna rode around in the wagon while we picked out six trays. We also got a perennial she wanted (don't ask me what it is I have no clue about plants) which was 20% off.

When we got home I pulled out the weeds while Joanna watched then she said she had to sit down because she was tired. I guess watching work can really do you in. She did help me do the planting though. I would dig the hole and she would put the plants in. I think it looks very nice.



Joanna shows off the plant she picked out.



We came inside after and showered off. Now it sounds like God is getting ready to water our new plants.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

We can start with the lazy part.



I think we need a bigger sofa.

I took Joanna to the discount shoe store to get some nice white summer sandals. We buy some every summer since her feet tend to grow at least 2 sizes over winter. We looked at all the cute little sandals but she didn't want any of them. She pulled out a pair of ugly plastic shoes and told me she wanted them in yellow. No cheap knock offs for her. We went to the sporting goods store and she found herself a pair of yellow Crocs. I made the mistake of saying "okay" then looking at the price. I have always purchased cheap shoes for her. They only last a season and she outgrows them. On the average I pay $10 for a pair of shoes for her. These were $25! More than I wanted to pay but not so much that I needed to back out of the purchase. Oh well, she loves them. She wears them everywhere, even to church with a dress. If I need to find her I can scan the ground for the bright yellow feet.



She wore them to Rocketland and they were great for climbing but not so good on the slide. She put down her feet halfway down the slide and the grip on the shoes almost flipped her right over.



Yesterday evening we needed to pick Rick up at the airport in Providence. I figured we could spend the afternoon at the Roger Williams Park Zoo since it is really close to the airport. It is a nice zoo but I have been terribly spoiled by the San Diego Zoo. I got a few pictures of Joanna sitting on statues and her favorite animal, the tamarin. The moment we got there she kept telling me she wanted to see the monkeys. When we left 3 hours later she was telling me "I can't walk another walk." Mission accomplished!

Happy Birthday Rick!

Today is rmgreenesq's birthday! Yesterday we took Joanna to her first movie at a theater. We went to see Cars. Great movie and Joanna managed to behave herself in the theater. She had a little trouble with the chair. When she would try to sit all the way back the chair would try to fold in on itself. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her sitting on the edge of the seat, clutching a giant bag of popcorn with both hands, eyes fixed on the giant image in front of her.

Last night we went to the end of the street to watch the local fireworks display. Joanna didn't like the loud noise and I think she would have been happier if the show were shorter.

After staying up to watch fireworks it was pretty hard getting Joanna ready for church this morning. She did not want to get out of bed. With much effort we got her dressed in the outfit Rick bought her in San Antonio. She made a perfect grumpy cowgirl.



After church and lunch Joanna and I made Rick a cake. We made peanut butter cake! Joanna helped stir and tasted all the ingredients to make sure they were ok.



While the cake was baking, Joanna helped shuck the corn.



When the cake was done we decorated it with peanut butter M&Ms. If you look real close and use some imagination it says "Happy Birthday Daddy"



The cake was delicious! Very moist, not too sweet and not overwhelmingly peanut buttery The icing was really more of a glaze than a frosting. The only really sweet part was the decorations. I think it would be really good with chopped nuts on the top.