Cicada Invasion 2011

 After a Winter of record-breaking snowfall and blizzards, and a Spring of  record-breaking tornadoes, comes a Summer of record-breaking Cicadas!   There is a 13 year variety here which means that these crazy insects  hibernate in the larval stage for 13 years underground, then crawl out  and shed their skins,  reproduce like mad for a few weeks and die - leaving their larvae to  crawl back underground for another 13 years.  We were just lucky enough  to be here during the 13th year of the cycle....

 

In their frantic search for a mate, these pesky critters SCREECH all day long... and since there are HOARDS and HOARDS of them, it's almost deafening to go outside in the afternoons.  Your ears will literally be ringing if you get too close to the trees.  Thankfully these things don't bite, or destroy crops, because there are BILLIONS of them.  They mainly like to stick near the trees in hopes of finding that special someone, but there are so many trying to get a spot that they swarm around everywhere - crash landing on anything in their path (ie. your face, hair, clothing etc).  Heaven forbid one zoom right by your ear, as it sounds like a mini high pitched helicopter!  

 

Owen was TERRIFIED of them at first, but he's getting  a little braver.  Today we played "keep away from the cicadas" and "shoot the cicadas with a hose" out in the backyard.  All went well until one landed right on Owen's ear.  That was the end of that!  Although interesting for a few days, their ever increasing numbers and aggressive crash landings on our persons has me looking forward to their disappearance in a few weeks!  I can definitely say it is a good thing they did not appear our first summer here... at least I've had a little while to adjust to having more/bigger bugs out here. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to moving West.  Anywhere.  Just away from humidity/tornadoes/BUGS!  Photos and video just do not do these things true justice, but at least you get the idea (and forgive the jerkiness of the video - I was literally dodging them and swiping them off me while I was shooting).

Random Bits from Lately

My camera is lost! I had it outside to take pictures of the sandbox we put in under the swingset, as well as the new flower garden, and haven't seen it since! That was a couple of weeks ago... I'm worried that it's gone forever, and as you know - I feel paralyzed without it!

Anyway, in absence of any new pictures to upload, here is an awesome read about ways you can connect with and cherish your little ones on a daily basis. I know I'm not alone in having days where I get to the end and realize that even though I was here with the kids all day, we somehow managed to go the entire day without really "connecting" (especially with all the time spent trying to unpack and organize lately!). The blog is called Bloom and I highly recommend it!

In other news, the boys had Hand, Foot and Mouth Virus AGAIN this summer! What??! Aren't you supposed to only catch that once? Apparently we are just that lucky. At least it wasn't as bad as last year (which you can relive in this post).

Also, today was my last "official" physical therapy visit. I am SO THANKFUL to the friends who have watched my kids week after week so that I could get treatment. I'm still not all the way better, but at least now have the tools I need to get there, and am in much better shape than when I started out. Apparently the right side of my body (mostly back, hip, leg) is much weaker than the left because of dysfunction from the original injury (so we're talking like 15 years of misuse), so things get thrown out of whack just walking around and carrying heavy kids. I'm working on strengthening it, but it's easier said than done quickly... it's hard work, and it hurts. I went in with a back problem, and now it's a "hip and leg" problem, lol. I'm so very, very glad however, to have been put in the hands of a gifted therapist who has me on the right track.

We had the 2010 National Biker's Roundup here at the fairgrounds this last week, in which motorcyclists rode in from across the country! We saw some interesting folks and motorcycles around town, but I won't miss hearing the roaring of bike engines all hours of the day and night... we live about a mile from the fairgrounds, but it sounded like it was in our backyard!

And that sums up what's been going on around here lately! I hope to get a "milestones" post up for Eli and Owen as we've flown past their 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year marks this summer!

Starting Somewhere

If I'm ever going to blog about our Utah trip, then I had better get started....

Here is the Benson home in Morgan where we stayed - it was so beautiful out there ... when it wasn't raining! We got so much cold weather, rain, and even some snow!!!


Owen hooked up to an IV in his scalp... he ended up being sick for SEVEN DAYS. Everyday I just thought, really? AGAIN? As I put more puke laundry in to wash. With my back hurting and a very sick and weak baby who was all out of sorts from not being home, getting sick myself, and a bored 3 year old, it was a fairly miserable first week of "vacation." The second week was an improvement, though the first half of it was really just spent recovering. Phew.

Oh, and do you see the lovely diamond patterned "blanket" he is wrapped in - it's my Storchenwige Leo Natural wrap... again, THANK GOODNESS for wrapping when you have a sick baby! I wore him in it on my hip all during the check-in process and the long wait, then we snuggled together under it in the hospital bed, then I wore him in it back out to the car with his gauze taped head. It was very comforting for him. I just had to wedge a towel between his face and my body to catch the throw up.... I'm so glad he is better. There's nothing worse than watching your child suffer and not being able to do much about it.