And that spider is....

A Wolf Spider (as best as I can tell).

Here is the info I found about it...

The info came from this site: (you can check out their picture--it's pretty close to the one I took, I think)

http://www.spiderzrule.com/quick.htm

Wolf Spider Bite:  Most bites from wolf spiders produce little or no symptoms but their bites have been reported as necrotising in some cases. Their large fangs can cause a tear in the skin as they bite Symptoms: Can cause pain, redness and swelling Swollen lymph glands may develop The skin area at the bite may turn black Swelling and pain can last up to ten days Some bites have been associated with the same sort of necrotic lesions as brown recluse and hobo spiders but these are very rare Treatment: If the arm or leg is bitten, it should be elevated to help prevent swelling Wash wound with soap and water to prevent infection or use an antibiotic cream or lotion Apply a cool wet and clean cloth to the area and intermittently apply ice to the affected area A painkiller such as acetaminophen can be used Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can also be used to control the swelling and pain Antihistamines are a useful spider bite treatment because they combat itching and swelling Do not use a tourniquet because this may aggravate the local effect of the bite See your doctor is symptoms persist or become more severe.

Girls Day Out

This past week, while we were at Mimi's house, we took a quick trip to the beach!!  We went with Aunt Angela who was carrying Teagan (really they meant to name her Tracie so we are waiting on the name change to take place), Kayla and Kristen.  Shelby, Casey and I rounded out the van load.  Drew and the 2 little ones, Landon and Trevor, stayed at home. Shelby noted that this is the first time we've had a girls day out WITHOUT Landon tagging along.  We had a great day even thought the tides were very strong and "cleaning" the ocean.  Enjoy the pictures. 

Aunt Angela enjoying the beach while "growing" baby Tracie Teagan.

Shelby collecting shells.

Kristen-posing for a picture.

Kayla filling her bucket with sand and water.

Casey enjoying the beach.

Name that Spider

They're not the greatest pictures but they are all I have--well that's not entirely true because in the trash is the flattened remains of this creature!!!  Notice that he is on my dining room floor under a bowl.  Casey told me that there was a spider in the dining room and would not go in there because it was a BIG spider.  She wasn't kidding.  I asked her where Landon was (since I was unloading the car from our recent trip) and she said in the room with the spider.  Well when I walked in there, that lovely spider was right next to Landon.  Landon almost stepped on him when I walked in.  I know it took years off my life!!!  I think this is some type of garden spider but I want to know.  Who wants to help?  I know you all have more free time on your hands than I do--hee hee!  I think it's a garden spider which begs the question, "why is he seeking refugee in my dining room?"  I have very nice plants out side and would have left him alone if he had stayed there!!

Building Bikes for Beautiful Babes!!

Guess what.....

Casey got a new bike!!  It's her first one.  She's working hard at learning to ride it.  You know pedal forward and not backwards!!!  We'll work on steering once we have the pedaling down I guess.  Here are some pictures of she and Steve putting it together this morning.  She is a hoot.  I told her that we weren't going to put pedals on it and she said, "You need pedals to pedal!"

 So we put the pedals on just for her!   She was quite helpful in the building process. 

 She put the tire on.  

She used the wrench.    

She put the seat on.  

She told me not to let Max on it because it was pink and he is a boy!! 
 Guess she forgot that Max is a dog!!  Or maybe it's the fact that we've been reading a book called DUCK ON A BIKE. 

Splash Park

We went to the splash park on Wednesday.  I thought it was going to be great an it was fun but..Landon got scared right away when a big bucket of water dumped

 It didn't hit him and he only got like 3 drops of water on him but he was done!!

It took Casey a bit to warm up to it but she had         a great time and learned that if you are wet you shoot down the slides on the playground. Landon at least enjoyed the playground area--mommy didn't because it was so high and I had to climb up there with him so he didn't fall off!

  Next time I will get a wrist band so I can take Landon into  the splash area.  Live and learn.

Fishing Fun

We surprised Drew (and Shelby and Casey) by bringing Will home with us after Landon's surgery. I think they have all had a good time playing together. I do however think the highlight so far (and probably for the week) will be fishing with Steve last night. We can fish in our neighborhood pond as long as we release what we catch--which is okay with me since I don't know how and don't care to learn how to clean fish!! I've seen it done plenty of times and that's been quite enough for me!! Drew caught the first fish of the night and held the record for the biggest fish! He was pretty excited about this title. Shelby and Will each caught 4 fish. Steve said they kept him hopping baiting the line and taking the fish off!
Everybody checking out the first catch of the night!
Will with one of his fish.
Shelby had fun fishing but it may have been a bit icky at first but that sure changed......

The Past Few Days

We have been very busy around here but I'm not sure at what some days!  Live just seems very busy right now.  Landon has been on of the big reasons I've been so busy--doctor visits in Greenwood, decisions to make about the surgery, finishing up paper work for this past school year, ordering books for the new school year just a lot of things that were mentally draining and left me feeling like there was nothing to blog.  

Landon's surgery went well.  He had tubes put in his ears, his adenoids taken out and a little something to help with his nose bleeds.  He came through it like a champ.  I was worried about him on Monday when he took one sip from his cup in recovery and then threw it at his nurse.  She was quick on her feet and avoided getting hit by the cup!!  After that, Landon wouldn't drink from the cup and I was starting to worry about dehydration until we got home and the boy ate french fries and bock bock (aka chicken nuggets) and then drank a full cup of juice.  He has done really well since then as long as I wasn't trying to give him one of his 4 meds.  Lucky for me, he get drops in his ears 2 times a day and the meds up his nose once a day and 2 different oral meds once a day!!!  Great news because he starts saying no when he sees me going for the meds.  Here he is sleeping in my lap on Monday night. (You can click on the pictures to make them larger.)

So sweet!!

We also came home on Sat with some parts to a new "playground" for the little ones.  We brought the rest home on Monday.  The two little ones just love it!!!  Jennifer and Lance--just think now you can see it be enjoyed even more.  Will has been telling us all about it.  Drew, Shelby and Will put it together (okay Steve and I helped a little--I gave them instructions and showed them how to find each piece and Steve was muscle!)  These were also taken Monday night.  Landon perked right up when he saw the slide and was going down it with hands in the air saying "WEEEE".

I'm so glad that this thing can handle all the kids.  Gotta love Little Tikes stuff!

We MUST get Casey a hair cut--or maybe not.  I think we will just resume pulling it back out of her face and let it grow out again.

The boys on the tire swing.  Steve did a great job adding this part and now no one hits their head.