Another Random Post

We received RJ's spring school pictures this week.  Isn't he handsome?

He's grown up so much in just the last few months.  Check out his official school picture, which was taken in November.

Better hair and better smiles in March, but he was still pretty darn cute in November!!

Oh, since we're posting school pictures, I might as well  post his class photo, which was also taken in November.

Yesterday, we finally spent part of Jip's gift of Lowe's on something substantial, instead of just little things around the house.  We bought a chiminea!  

Last night, it was actually on the chilly side.  It was a perfect night to sit around the fire and make s'mores.

Either the fire is too bright or Ry is just too cool.

How do you like Ry watching RJ's iPad and RJ playing the game on Ry's iPod?  At least they weren't fighting.

And finally, as I was putting new cushions on the patio chairs today, I found something that startled me.  It startled me so much that I stopped putting the cushions on, ran into the house, and waited for Jip to come home from his run.  When Jip came home, I showed him my discovery.  Jip came in and got a twist tie--something long enough to chase the critter out of the crevice of one of the chairs.  He chased it out onto the lawn, then we took a picture on my phone and enlarged it so we could verify my original guess as to what it is:

A brown widow.

Yuck.  Yuck.  Yuck.

They aren't as bad as black widows--they can't inject all of their poison at once like a black widow can.  But, brown widows still are no joke, especially around little people.  So, Jip gave it a good stomp.  Then he sprayed everything outside with anti-spider spray. Thankfully, there weren't any egg sacs around.  But, we'll keep our eyes out.  I was hoping we were done with the disgusting bugs when we left Japan, but alas, we get to deal with poisonous spiders.  Awesome.  I guess I should be thankful--our landlord, whose backyard overlooks a more rugged terrain (versus our busy street below our big brick wall), gets rattlesnakes, skunks, and opossums in her back yard.  

So, that's our randomness for this week.  RJ is on spring break for the next two weeks.  I hope I survive!