Snow in April- no it's TP season

One March Friday, Doug woke me in the middle of the night with "Diane! Come look at the trees!" We were in the process of being TP-ed; the age old fun prank of teenagers decorating the trees and yard with rolls and rolls of toilet paper. As we gaped at the winter wonderland (I mean EVERY tree was covered and we have lots of trees!), we saw three dark shapes dressed all in black run through the trees. As I opened the patio door to see if I could recognize voices, they took off, jumped into a waiting car, and threw out a firecracker. We woke Mo who was aghast and quickly sent a text to the junior guys (who were apparently still up) and determined it wasn't them. That plus the firecracker told Mo is was her sophomore guy classmates.

The next day as she was struggling to clean up, I called a few parents and invited their sons to supper. Before I fed them hamburgers, they helped her clean up. I told them I thought it was fun and because they are SO good at it, it's too bad they can't get a job TP-ing!

Mo's love

Epcot

Brother/Sister bonding time at Daytona Beach

Florida

Thanks to Christmas money from Grandma Malm, and Doug's encouragement to use it on vacation, the kids and I spent 5 days working on our beach etiquette in Daytona and Orlanda in March. You can even drive on this beach! The kids dipped their toes into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in their 12 and 15 year old lives-followed by splashing and cavorting and the declaration that the ocean is warmer even in March than Lake Michigan is in August (not scientifically proven). Brent refused eye contact with Spiderman at Universal Studios (much to the amusement of the actor who was posing for pictures). Mo fed her love for roller coasters- the twistier the better for her iron-clad stomach. I had a list of the top ten activities to take in an Epcot from a friend of a friend, and, email print-out in hand, we mastered them all in one day. Enjoyed them all except for the blisters and leg cramps in the oldest member of the threesome! We liked the Dodge Charger rental car (Brent's choice) but I think I have hearing loss from the kids attachment to the satelite radio on our trips between Daytona and Orlando. The kids even tried fresh ripe oranges (since Mom agreed to the juice without the pulp).

One evening on our way home from dinner, the kids saw several police officers in a parking lot around a person laid out on the ground. Nothing I said would convince them that this might not be a dead guy. Mo texted her friends immediately and Brent called his dad to report that we "saw a real dead guy." After filling up with gas, I reluctantly agreed to circle around the block and take a second look. Alas, upon the second pass we saw him sitting up and getting hand-cuffed. Likely passed out drunk. Not sure either kid has real potential as an investigative reporter.

We'd really like to do this again but with Doug along this time. Finding the time of year that cows nor crops nor planting nor harvest calls him is a challenge- not to mention he's a real homebody.

Reincarnating Sheds

One early morning last week Doug snagged me before I finished the chores, and had me hold the tape measure in all sorts of directions in an old finishing house that had become our hay shed. The next day a load of lumber followed him home. Saws, drills, screws and a skid loader were all called into service. One of my jobs became beam bracer. This is done with the skid steer: "Lift the rafter just a little bit, no, too much. Flatten out your bucket first. Ok, hold it right there!" My newest job is consultant to the project. My book project is taking oodles of time with a Friday deadline, so most of it is done by Doug and child-labor. In no time at all, the shed has become 5 pens for calves: three small ones for bucket-bottle calves and two larger ones to separate heifers from bulls. Cruel you say? Only the bulls think so.

He did pretty well, didn't he?