VBS

This past week was VBS at church. We are pretty much consumed with it for 2 weeks. The first week making the decorations and the second week is the actual VBS. It is a long week of very late nights but it was very successful. I was in charge of the preschoolers ages 3, 4 & 5 and we averaged about 60 kids each night. I had great volunteers and they made the week a total success. Butterfly was finally about the go to VBS this year and she had a blast. She was up late each night but did really well and learned alot. I quizzed her each night on the way home to see what she remembered. I love VBS because we get lots of volunteers that we have never met and it is so fun getting to know new people and working with them. And the kids, well they are just a hoot. I love watching them dance and sing during the opening session each night...they just have so much fun. Here are some pictures from the week.

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Fox Catching 101

I know that many of you are curious about how our fox catching is going...well we have caught a total of 4. Yes we have become the neighborhood fox catchers...all it takes is a live animal trap and some cooked chicken, any marinade will work :-) The last 2 nights we didn't catch any and I have suggested to my obsessesed with catching fox husband that if we don't catch another in 2 more nights that we are taking the cage back to the animal control. I think it is safe to say that we won't see anymore...they apparently are telling their foxy friends to stay away from our house. We actually had one that would get the chicken without tripping the cage door, it was pretty smart...Brad actually saw it with his own eyes. I feel like I am getting my backyard back. We had to take the dog in to the vet to get a rabies booster because I noticed a couple of days after she had the close call with one of our intruders that she had a sore that she licked all the fur off of on her tail, the vet said it looked like a bite mark. We don't have any reason to believe that the foxes were rabid but you just can't take any chances. I felt bad at first about catching them but in the end they will go to a better more safe place for them to live.

Caught One

Well after the incident with Heinz almost getting attacked by a fox in the back yard...and later that same day the fox showing back up in the yard we decided to get a live trap and try to catch the fox. An hour after Brad set the trap in the back yard we caught a fox...not the one we wanted to catch...we caught a baby fox. Apparently the fox that attached the dog was the momma and that night it took it's little one hunting for some food and the baby went into the trap for the chicken leg we left it. It was kinda sad seeing it in there and the momma stayed in the back yard most of the night until it finally abandoned the baby and probably returned to the rest of its little ones. We hated doing it but we can't go in the back yard or let the kids or dog out there. If we had a bigger yard I wouldn't worry so much about it but it is small and just not safe. The animal control lady (same one from the past 2 times) came and got the baby and said they would make sure it was able to live on it's own and then it would get sent to a nicer place to live....I was glad they didn't just kill it. We set the trap again in hopes to catch the bigger ones...we are hoping more though that last night gave them the hint to stay out of the yard. So the fox saga continues...I have VBS this coming week and will be gone every night, so I hope that Brad doesn't have to worry about it, he will have enought to do with ladybug and school. Butterfly gets to go to VBS with me this year...we are both very excited about that.

Foxy Is Back

Well our fox friend is back and this morning it chased the dog and tried to bite her...I was not pleased. I was going out to turn the pool pump on and let the dog out the back door, a second later I heard a commotion and turned around to see the fox chasing the dog who was running toward the house. I was surprised that the dog didn't get bit. I didn't see the fox when I went out or I wouldn't have let the dog out. The animal control lady came back out but the fox had jumped the back fence already. Last Saturday when foxy came the first time I felt bad for the her, humans are the ones destroying the homes of these animals by constantly building stripmalls and developments. But today I don't feel so bad!!! We are supposed to get a live trap from the city to set in the backyard. Only thing we will probably catch is our dog :-)

And to top it all off ladybug has a double ear infection...poor little one. She is on meds and starting to feel better.

Dedication

We decided on Thursday to have ladybug dedicated at church today. Our church does dedications on Mother's and Father's Day. When we dedicated butterfly we had a house full of Hardy's and my family came to the church that day and over for lunch afterwards...the only person missing was Brad, he woke up that Sunday morning with Verdigo. He couldn't standup without throwing up. So we decided that this time we would just do it low key and on Father's Day. And because my Sunday's are now insanely busy and it was just crazy trying to get 10 minutes without someone needing something to go into the service. I also thought it would be special to have daddy's little
mini-me get dedicated on his day. We have been very blessed to 2 sweet little angels and we hope they know how much they are loved!

Foxy Neighbor

We woke up Saturday morning to Heinz (our dog) going nuts, running in and out of the house barking. I just figured it was the normal squirrel or bird but as I was walking by the windows in the back of the house I saw this...our neighborhood fox. I didn't know that there was a wild animal was living in our neighborhood until Brad informed me that several of our neighbors had seen it. I just figured that it was some of the wildlife that was fleeing the North Carolina wildfires. We have gotten alot of the smoke from the fires and I just figured we were now getting the fleeing animals as well. No wonder Heinz was going nuts. Our visitor eventually snuck over the back fence to find another place to rest. Apparently there is a bobcat in the neighborhood too...maybe we should rename out neighborhood "Wild Kingdom Villiage" we have lots of dogs and cats too. Glad he didn't go for a dip in the pool!

Little Miss 8 Month Old

Can't believe this cute thing is 8 months old already...where did it go? I just love this picture of her...we have been blessed with 2 very good sleepers.

Lovely Day

Today was just one of those really nice days. I got some housework done this morning while Brad helped some friends move a swingset from our neighbors house to their house. Ladybug took 2 long naps concidering her top two front teeth are coming in at the same time and really bothering her. And after lunch we all hung out in the pool and did some yard work while we were outside. It was nice to take a break a little and relax together. And the pool is finally up and running and nice an clean. And even though it was in the high 80's today it was not too humid, very pleasant. Ladybug loves the water, she gets so excited about a bath and she about flipped out when she got in the pool for the first time today. Butterfly is supposed to take swimming lessons this summer, she likes the pool but she is very causious and just likes to swim around with her arm floaties on. No going under or jumping off the side. We hope that she overcomes this by the end of the summer. We got the grocery shopping done and Brad is off playing softball for our church coed team. The games start at 8:20 and are a double header so we don't go with him. I am all alone, kids are sound asleep and I am about to watch a chick flick...I just love Fri. softball night :-)

Things Kids Say

I love the things butterfly says. She is almost 4 and every morning on the way to work/school we have these great conversations. Can't wait to have another one join in the chat! She is just growing up so fast and I am amazed at her imagination. Here are some of my favorite things she has said on our car rides. A couple of weeks ago as we were passing over some train tracks she said "mommy there are the frain fracks" she still has some trouble with certain sounds. I couldn't understand what she was trying to tell me. So for the next minute I kept saying "what did you say" and she kept saying frain fracks until I finally figured it out...she even said it louder and louder like that would help me understand her. After I figured it out I asked her to make the sound "tra" she tried it a couple of times but couldn't say it...after the 3rd time she said "mommy I can't say "tra" " and she said it correctly. I just about drove up the curb laughing. There were two great things just this week...Have you ever heard of the saying "every party has a pooper and that is why we invited you" Well it is a big saying in the Hardy family, Brad grew up saying it and the other morning we were all in the car and Brad and I were saying it about someone (because this person didn't want to go the the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with us this year...I won't mention any names but you know who you are:-) )...anyway, Ada heard us and says "mommy there is a pooper at the party", she was very distressed about this. We busted out laughing...and this final one is just something cute...she told us today that she was playing with her friend Garth at school today and she was the princess and he was prince charming. I just loved that...this summer we are going with Garth and his family to Disney World...I am sure there will be much more of those type of conversations.

Time Flys

I am always amazed at how time flys, especially when you have kids. We had been anxiously awaiting the visit of Brad's sister Bonnie and her youngest son Josh (he's 23) for about 2 months and tomorrow they are leaving to go home...they were here for a week and it is over...the waiting and the week. They stayed in Williamsburg at one of Brad's parent's timeshares, which they are selling so if any of you or someone you know are in the market for a timeshare in Wburg for really cheap let me know. So we have all been back and forth from Va Beach to Wburg all week. It was fun and our butterfly had a great time with them. Ladybug did great with them too. A couple of fun things we did...the girls (minus ladybug) had our nails done, we ate good seafood, went to Busch Gardens (and braved the crazy heat), and shopped a little. It was a fun and busy week, Brad and I still had to work. Thanks Bonnie and Josh for coming down to see us, we had a great time!!! Of course there is nothing like a good week ending with bad traffic...today we were driving home from Wburg having spent Thur. and Fri. there going to Busch Gardens and shopping and a trip that usually takes 45 minutes, 1 hour at the latest took 2 hours on Friday at 3:30. Silly us for forgetting about Fri. rush hour. And I had to go to work tonight for about an hour and we were so late we all had to go. The kids were sooo tired from the 2 days of fun in the heat that they slept the entire time. We got home and Brad started working on the pool. During the week Brad had been trying to get the pool open, now that the tree limbs have been cut down. The heat has been excrusiating this week and we are looking forward to jumping in. With our luck by the time it goes from algea pool to clear blue pool the weather will be back in the 70's and the pool will be too cold to get in. I don't usually mind the heat, you get used to it when you grow up here, but I would take 70's over 100's anyday. Until the next time...it's bed time...a long week for me too!