Ericson

We have a new addition to our family.

His name is Ericson, "Leaf" Ericson.

The original Leif Ericson was the Norse explorer who was the first European to land in North America.

Our "Leaf" Ericson is a leaf bug that was found on the porch.

Harrison decided to capture him and he is now living in a jar in our kitchen.  Brandon named him.  He eats leafs, but is picky.  He will only eat tree leafs.  We gave him some water, and he doesn't seem to like it.  I woke up this morning and couldn't find him.  I thought he had escaped.  Nope ... he just blended in with his food.  Can you see him?

Ode to Canned Peached

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

We canned peaches last night,

what did you do?

Roses are red,

Daffodils are yellow.

David helped the whole time,

He is quite a great fellow.

Roses are red,

Dead roses are black.

When it came to peeling peaches,

David had quite the knack.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue.

It took us 6 hours,

We did not have a clue.

Roses are red,
Brown is the color of wood.
I only called mom 4 times,
I think that is pretty good.

Roses are red,

Chickens don't fly.

If the peaches don't taste good,

the boys better lie.

Roses are red,

All kids love Mickey.

After all of those peaches,

My floor is quite sticky.

Roses are red,

My pants are maroon.

At $4 a bottle,

This may not happen again soon.

Roses are red,

Daisy's are white.

Because they love canned peaches,

I knew the boys would delight.

Roses are red,

Dirt is brown.

When finishing after midnight,

My face wore a frown.

Roses are red,

I know how to skate.

With all of these peaches,

I bet they'll taste great.

The Senior

Brandon turned 17 last week!  He is a senior this year and his time at home is limited.  While we love having him here, we're excited for his next adventure.  Here are a few favorite memories from the last year:

• Brandon loves baseball and has spent many happy hours on the field last year. He played on the Centennial varsity team his junior year.  He plays catcher, 2nd base, and outfield.  He was proud (and David was jealous) of the physique he achieved while training for baseball.  His 6-pack is quite impressive.
• Brandon was elected as Junior class president.  He spent many hours helping with activities, planning dances, and attending high school sports.  They must have been impressed as he was elected again for his senior year without even campaigning.  This year he is student body president again.
• When hunting for jobs this summer, Brandon had quite the network.  At one point he had 3 different job offers and jobs, all in 1 week.  He decided a job with a local health and fitness store was the best option.  He is a sign dancer and sales manager.  You can see him sign dancing on Fairview if you are ever in town.
• When asked to do a project for Calculus, Brandon chose to mix shop and Calculus.  He built a representation of an integral out of wood circles in the shape of a top.  Very clever.
• After taking his construction class last year, we were regularly informed of the many certifications he received.  With a twinkle in his eye, he told us that he is now certified to use a hammer, a staple gun, and a variety of other tools.  His class built a house for Habitat for Humanity.  He is taking that class again this year.
• Our truly favorite memory is learning that he shot himself with Harrison's BB gun.  The boys were outside trying to hit a squirrel.  He had pumped it 10 times when the squirrel ran off.  Feeling Maverick-like, he spun the gun with his finger on the trigger.  It shot him in the hip.  No major damage was done, and Brandon was able to pop the BB out with only a minor flesh wound.  He never mentioned it to us, and we found out from other sources.

The 6-pack (he had painted someone's number on his stomach for a game)

We're looking forward to a great Senior year.

Fish

Our fish died today.  It was a Beta fish named "Fish".  Fish was a good fish.  It survived even when it was not fed and when it's bowl was not cleaned as regularly as it ought.  The Halls brought Fish into the marriage. 

Brandon, Harrison and I shared fond memories of Fish.  I learned that Fish came to the Halls when they were watching Chris' Beta and it died.  Fish was the replacement Beta that they tried to trick him with.  She was originally Chris' fish.  Chris brought her back from college one time and left her.  After Chris left, she didn't get fed for an entire month before David figured out the boys hadn't been feeding her.  But, she survived.  They had a healthy debate about how long Fish had lived.  We think it was somewhere between 3-4 years, which they calculated to be 100 human years.

Some words shared at Fish's passing were: "Finally!  That has been 2 years in coming.", "He lived a full life.  It was time."  and lastly, "It's a girl." (I thought Fish was a boy).

Au Jus

We had French Dip for dinner tonight.  I asked Brandon if he liked Au Jus.  He responded, "Au Jus kidding me?" (He loves Au Jus).  He then told me that he was definitely tweeting that one since it was completely "off the cuff".  He also decided that he is turning into his father.  We laughed pretty hard at his cleverness. He was right, he is turning into his father.  David loves puns.

What Do These 3 Things Have In Common?

And the answer is ...

The first picture is a strawberry with peanut butter hanging from our tree.  Harrison concocted this as a trap to get squirrels to come into our yard.  He was using them as target practice for his Beebe gun.  In this occasion the squirrels got away with the strawberry.  However, he has hit two squirrels since using other methods.

The second picture is his April fool's joke for his dad.  April Fools has been a long tradition in their family.  Harrison spent weeks planning out his joke for his dad.  Thankfully, I got the final say about what was allowed or not.  It ended up a bit tamer than Harrison would like, but his jokes were quite effective.  He built a trap in our bathroom out of shaving cream and duct tape, making it tricky to get into without getting creamed.  Lastly, he created a fake "duty" in David's toilet out of a variety of kitchen items.  It smelled terrible, but he was pleased when David found it.

We found those potatoes in Harrison's room one week after a deep clean.  He had gotten them for Halloween, had stuck them in a box and forgotten about them.  We didn't know they were in there until I insisted on cleaning out the box.  Harrison was delighted, I was aghast and we all got a good laugh out of it.

The last picture is of Harrison in a shirt he found one 4th of July at WalMart.  It is special, it has a horse with flag colors on it.  Unique shirts are a Hall family tradition.  How can you not just love this kid?

Things I Never Thought I Would Google

You may have noticed, I love lists.  A blog entry feels empty without a list.

Here's my latest one, things I Googled that I never imagined I would ...

• "How much does hamster milk cost?" - When planning April Fools pranks for his father, Harrison convinced me we needed to find out how much hamster milk costs.  Did you know you could buy this?  You do now.  He did not end up pursuing this for his April Fools pranks.
• "How to get Pam out of concrete." - We have a pyro in the house, and our little pyro loves our fire pit (thanks siblings).  Anything flammable has been tested.  Yes, including Pam.  After finding out he had gone through 2-3 cans of Pam I noticed grease spots all over the back porch.  Did you know that dish detergent can get Pam out of concrete?  I do.
• "How to dance Gangnam style." - When this first became popular, Brandon insisted I watched.  We have watched this several times at our house.  In spite watching a video how to do this, I am not coordinated enough.
• "How to get silly putty out of clothing." - Need I say more ...