Tom

For Lyra. A story for me and you.

This is a butterfly his name is Tom. Tom has no family he is sad because he has no family and friends. Then Tom saw a butterfly. He made a friend with the butterfly. Tom is happy now :-). The butterfly is a girl. The name is Arora.

Screaming Like a Little Girl

Yesterday at dinner, Lyra related a story from the playground

L: Yesterday, I almost did the splits when I was playing on the gymnasium.
Me: What happened
L: Well, I was stepping across to the spiral thing and when I stepped my foot started to go down the spiral. I was standing there almost in the splits. I screamed and Dromo and Faisal laughed at me
Me: Why did they laugh? Were they being mean ?
L: No, they thought it was funny because I screamed I sounded like a little girl.
Russ: How apropos.

While out in the desert Saturday night a creepy crawly creature approached our bonfire. It was a Camel Spider. Jack, the neighbor boy, discovered it. Poor Jack, he was quite distraught afterward. Quite a bit of a shock to the system. At first we all thought it might be a scorpion, but upon closer inspection it was determined to be a Camel Spider. We rounded it up into a cup to bring home. Lyra now has it in her "Creature Keeper" which is a small terrarium she got with a goldfish one time. We're keeping it until Aunt Amy and Mary come.

Yesterday, I did a little research on Camel Spiders so we'd know what to feed it. Seems like most bugs or other creepy crawlies will do. Russell's been trying to catch some flies - but I think it needs a bit more sustenance. Maybe a cricket or two.

Here's a picture of a camel spider that most looks like the one we found.

Actually, a camel spider is NOT a spider. It is actually a member of the arachnid family, but is a completely separate species. It is called a Solifugae - which means it tries to get away from the sun. Although completely creepy, it is quite innocuous for humans. It has no venom and is mostly docile.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting to scream like a little girl when I see it. Ugggh, yuck.

For a few more facts on camel spiders, here's a good link: http://jimmeads.blogspot.com/2008/11/arachophobia-camel-spiders-sarah-called.html

Car Naps

How does she stand having her head back like that?

Last week, Lyra had to bring a national food from home to the school for the other kids to taste. By coincidence, Russell had some golabki (Polish cabbage roles) that she could bring. She had to prepare a little sign that was submitted with her food. It asked things like "What country is it from?" or "When do you eat it?" - I think meaning is it a special holiday food. Lyra's answer was "3 o'clock". Which cracked me up.

Also, we've lost our ability for secret spelling. Today I was asking Russ if we would carve the P-U-M-P-K-I-N-S tonight and she turned to me, "Pumpkins?" uh oh - on to a new era. I wonder if she knows Pig Latin.