A visit from a Black Widow

Do you know anything about Black Widow spiders? Have you ever actually seen one alive other than at a Bass Pro Shop behind glass? Well I haven't and haven't wanted to either, but this evening I lost that option by seeing one right out my own back door...

I went on a late Wal-Mart run and when I returned I opened that back door to let Roxy out. That's when I saw it! By the ground about one foot away from me hanging from the siding close to the cement floor. I could see with our bending over the bright red on it's belly and I thought no way it can't be! Bending down closer I saw that it wasn't a dream but reality and that's when I screamed for Scott and ran for my camera. It was about 1.5 inches long and really calm, it didn't move at all even when I took a few pictures. Good thing because after I took the pics I really wanted this spider dead! Scott squashed it and that maybe me feel a little better.

Now I remember my older brother telling me when I moved to OK that every kind of insect in the US lives in here. I don't know it this is true but I think I've had my share of them already. A very common thing here is to have your yard and house sprayed monthly for insects. Honestly I haven't wanted this extra expense BUT that thinking changed tonight! Mother's Nature Pest Control has a new customer first thing in the morning - ME!

Jared in High School?

School starts next Wednesday, August 13th and we have a FRESHMAN! How exciting!

Jared goes to North Intermediate this year. Down here in OK they call 9th & 10th grades Intermediate School and 11th & 12th High School. The schools are also separated that way, with around 5,000 students in 11th & 12th grades alone. So I guess technically Jared isn't going to High School but 9th grade instead. This is funny to me since Im used to 9th being the official beginning of High School, so we will stick with what were used to and say Jared's in High School now!

This morning we took Jared over to the High School to pick up his schedule. It opened at 8:00am and we arrived at 7:45am to beat the rush and get it all wrapped up so we could get to work hopefully by 9:00am.

There were alot of people who had the same idea too because there was quite a line when we arrived. Still standing in line after waiting a while a girl recognizes Jared and say really loud in the quiet hall we were standing in "Hey Jared!" Everyone turns around and looks at him and he is too embarrassed to say hello back to her, but instead turns bright red.

We finally make it into the cafeteria and stand in line T-Z (why is this always the longest?). When our turn comes up the lady working the table tells us to repeat our last name, a say V as in victor, O, D as in dog and A. For some reason she thinks I say VODO. I tell her no it's A at the end and she says "OH, VADA." (does anyone with the last name voda understand my pain!?) On the inside I'm laughing and thinking "and it's only 8:15." HaHa. SO to lady working kindly tells us they do not have a schedule for him and we will need to go see a counselor.

Jared's counselor tells us not only do they not have a schedule for him, but nothing in the computer, and no file! Ms. Hass his counselor softens things by telling us she is making a wake up call to someone at their home to try and find out what is going on? I can truly say I did not expect that to happen. By this time I'm pretty frustrated and trying my best to hide it. I'm getting the "everything is gonna work out/calm down look from Scott." The phone call proved to work out well! Whoever the lady is that got woken up - not only knew where Jared's file was but she would be in in 30 minutes to talk with us should we have any questions. I feel the calm coming!

Jared's counselor assures us that even though all the elective classes he had previously chosen are full she would find a way to squeeze him in. It was extremely important to us considering he was taking a computer class that would be a foundation to all his other elective classes for the next three years!

By the end of our time with the counselor we weren't able to get the computer class:( What a disappointment. He ended up with his two electives being weightlifting and intro to woodworking/cabinet making. Jared is thinking that woodworking may be cool? I'm hoping he likes it. My grandpa is a fabulous woodworker and can build almost anything he sets his mind to. He has helped build houses and churches in the past. So well see! This may turn out good after all!

Another good thing is that we drive right in front of his school on our way to work each day so, no riding the bus in the morning. Jared's school day is from 8-2pm. I would have loved getting out that early each day!

Yahtzee!!

I don’t know if you played Yahtzee as a kid or an adult but I have played a lot in my lifetime. I have some great memories as a kid playing with my Grandpa at his kitchen table and I would stare in amazement at how his great big hands made the cup look so small.

Have you ever filled an entire card to find out who has the highest total? It can take hours. You should try it sometime, it’s a lot of fun. Just be careful who you play with… I can remember having to switch papers at the end of the game to make sure everyone was being truthful. Lol!

Well the other day my mom suggested to the kids that they play a game of it. It was funny to hear Charlie tell Grandma that we don’t have all the pieces to the game anymore! HA! I’m not sure if she didn’t want to play or didn’t know what it was?

After getting out the 5 dice and sheets of score cards Grandma set out to teach her how to play. I was very curious as to how long Charlie would hang in there once she found out Grandma was a pro at the old game of Yahtzee. After a few games Charlie reported that she hadn’t won once. But she hung in there and they were tied 2-2. Next was the tie breaker game and you could tell Charlie really wanted to win. By the end of the game Charlie was the winner by almost 100 points more! I bet you can guess what Charlie’s new favorite game is?!

Thank you Mom for taking the time to create a memory with your Grandaughter. It’s the simplest things in life that can make the greatest memories. Memories that we hold on to for our lifetime, just like when I played with my Grandpa!