unusual migratory patterns

That is the sight we woke up to on our front lawn this morning. Impressive, no?

Or, should I say, scary! I discovered our unseasonal little flock last night on my way to bed and it kind of freaked me out. I had just turned off all the lights and was passing the front door when I caught a glimpse of a beady little eye staring in through our front door window. I was a little freaked out.

So I went to the window to discover thirty plastic flamingos in my yard! Flamingos that must have been placed there in the brief hour between when I closed the living room curtains and when I stood up to go to bed. A brief hour where I was sitting in my absolutely silent living room, reading, mere yards from my...um...yard! I don't know what I found more eerie - the total bizareness of it or the perfect stealth in which it was performed.

Maybe it's just me - okay, I'm pretty sure it's just me - but there is something really sinister about thirty plastic flamingoes appearing randomly in your yard late at night! They look extra eerie in the dark, I promise. So I made Jared go outside and see what it was all about (there was a suspicious looking note on one of their necks. The ringleader, I assume.)

Apparently, it was a cute little prank/fundraiser put on by our local high school orchestra. (Yes, I know..."orchestra" kind of kills any scariness. "Drama club" may have been slightly more threatening.) You donate to their trip fund and they will place the flamingoes on the yard of your choosing. So we were lucky enough to be chosen by some jokester friend. And that's pretty much how you get them removed, too, so it's kind of extortion. But at least for a good cause.

My kids thought it was hilarious - "Just like Gnomeo and Juliet!" said Sam. So they apparently have a more finely tuned sense of humor when it comes to practical jokes. Just wait till it gets dark! Then we'll see who's laughing.

*Update: So I was in the living room all night again tonight and, when I got up to turn off lights and head to bed, the flamingos were gone! I was kind of bummed, actually. The "ransom" note said we had two days to pay up, so I was waiting until it stopped raining tomorrow to get our moolah back out there in it's ziplock baggie. Sadly, they flew off a day early. *sigh* I miss them already.

back from the dead

Wha-wha-what???!!! Can it really be true? Almost exactly 5 months to the day, I have decided to return to blogging. Both my readers, I command you to rejoice! I have missed you!


I would like to now present some thoughts called In My Defense. In my defense, one of the main reasons I began my blog in the first place was to keep in touch with Maryland friends and to let my parents see pics of the grandkids while they were in another continent for 3 years. But when my Maryland readership dwindled (sniff, sniff... where have you gone, sweet friends? I promise I am reading your blogs, even if only as a lurker. Let's throw off the shackles of our lurker-hood! Let's begin again!) and when my parents came home in July, I lost some of my motivation. But now that I have a dear friend who moved to Texas, I am beginning to get some of it back.


Also in my defense, I have read maybe 30 Newberies since we last chatted and - not going to lie - that thought is a little daunting.

Still in my defense. our ward went through some big changes in July and it was like starting my calling all over again after perfecting it the past three years. I was stressed out and cried some. Or a lot. Anyway, I had some mega YW work on my plate for a while and was barely managing to read my Entertainment Weeklies from cover to cover, much less blog!


And one more thing in my defense - I finally gave in to pressure and got a Pinterest account. Pinterest is like a drug - a really pretty, endlessly regenerating drug.

Oh, and one more teensy thing in my defense...


I know it's tempting to look at the kids in this picture - they are cute in their Halloween costumes, I agree. Also, I hope Sam looks at me like that for the rest of his life. But let's direct our attention to my belly and the fetus skeleton on my wacky shirt. Hooray! Baby!


I spent a good chunk of the summer feeling pretty miserable, but kind of hit my stride again about a month ago. It looks like I will have to change the name of my blog to thirtycents in a few months here...