Divide County---Class of 98

Yep, you read that right. I did graduate from Divide County High School. I managed to have perfect spelling tests both my junior and senior year. That's why I can't spell Charlotte or arachniphobia! Actually, I am a terrible speller. The perfect spelling was something my parents and I always laughed about. The way I did so well was from memory. Hmm...what a fine academic institution. You should ask me to show off my math skills! :)

Arachnophobia...gotta love Mondays!

So yesterday as I was transferring laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and there in the bottom of the washer sat a spider. Not just any spider, but a spider with a big bulbous butt. Think Charolette from Charolette's Web. In retrospect, I wish I had taken a picture because I get accused of freaking out over itty bitty spiders. I would say the bulbous part was about the size and an eraser or two. My first thought was "Is it dead or alive?" I decided to just believe it was alive which brought me to my next thought..."How am I going to squish it?" There was no way I would use a paper towel. I considered the end of the Swiffer but pictured missing and it running up the handle. I considered closing the lid and waiting until Paul got off of work but was worried it would crawl somewhere and hide and then I'd have to go to a laundromat until it was found. I ended up getting a 2x4 and squishing it. I left the board in the washing machine until Paul got home because there was no way I was wiping the spider off....just in case some part lived. I spent 30 minutes researching spiders last night trying to identify it. I came up with it being a web forming spider. I went over many scenarios as to how it came to be in my washing machine. None were comforting. I continued my laundry this morning. The idea came to me to use tongs to remove the clothes....just in case the spider had a buddy. I then decided I was a real pansy and ditched that idea. While changing out the laundry I was again thinking about why an outdoor, beautiful web weaving, spider would end up in the washing machine. A light bulb appeared over my head. On Sunday I decided to hang clothes outside. My suspicion is that the spider was a stow away in the laundry basket. My hope is that he/she was the only stow away. Since the spider didn't look like the typical kind I find now and then, this is the only logical explanation I can come up with. I just hope I'm right!

Week or so in review.

Paul has decided to bike to work now to save on gas....and he just likes to ride his bike. So, he packs his lunch and rides along with a little back pack. On Tuesday and t-storm moved in as he was half way there, and he got soaked. Target is on his way so he was going to stop there and get new clothes, but they were closed. He ended up going to Wal-mart and well......the nicest thing he picked up was his boxers! I'm still not sure why he didn't just call me but...oh well.
Alex has every toy under the sun yet his favorite toys include: wine stoppers, a jigger, and a shaker! I hope this isn't a sign of the future. We seem to battle each day with keeping him out of the dog's water bowl. He is very strong willed!!
I had a very nice b-day. Paul took me to a sushi bar for lunch. He even baked me a chocolate cake from scratch. That night we drove to a little town in MN for pizza. It turned out to be very good pizza. We had quesadillas for an appetizer. Instead of being made with tortillas, they were made with lefse.
The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. Paul left Sunday night for Omaha for work. He isn't suppose to be back til late wed. night, but he told me tonight they might get to come back tomorrow night. I sure hope so. I don't sleep well when he is gone.

Let Freedom Ring!

We enjoyed a very relaxing weekend. The morning of the 4th Paul ran in a 10 k. When he got home, we decided to pimp Alex's ride for the festivities that day. We attended a parade at MSUM. I was a little worried because Alex hasn't appreciated the emergency vehicles sounding their sirens and horns in the past. He did really well until one of the floats sprayed water on the crowd. It felt great to us but ticked the baby off. After the parade we listened to a band play patriotic music and had hot dogs. This is one of Alex's favorite foods! By about 2:30 he started dozing in his stroller, so we decided it was time to get back. He was out like a light before I even fastened him in his seat.

Saturday we decided Alex needed some cultural diversity. We visited some of the local international stores. Our favorite is the Asian market. We thought about stopping at one called "discount market" but it looked very shady so we continued on. In West Fargo we found the Tropical Food store. It ended up being a Bosnian market....not sure what's so tropical about it but whatever. We did get a chocolate bar there and it was very good.

Last night Grams and Granddad stopped in for the night on their way to Arkansas. Alex always enjoys being a ham for them.

Monkey Boy

I guess all the bananas Alex has eaten turned him in to a little monkey! His latest "hobby" is scaling his pack n play. He can't climb over, but he is very persistent. One of his molars is finally in ....well, all except one pt. I guess he is working on one on the other side because he has been cranky the last two days. We are having a terrible time getting him to eat fruit. Mostly, he just wants to eat meat! I've been getting my fair share of hand feeding thanks to Alex. He finds it very funny to feed me off of his plate.

Paul left Wed. for Colorado to visit breweries with his cousin. Last night they stayed in a hostil in Denver. I haven't heard how that went. I do know it wasn't air conditioned. Today they were headed to Fort Collins. I don't get to excited about staying by myself, so I had to beg (NOT) my mom to come hang out with us. :) We are enjoying the time together.

Summer Treat

Today we took Alex to DQ to get his first ice cream cone! What a mess. We ended up stripping him down before putting him in the car. I think he enjoyed his outing.

The past 4 days we have had some special feathered friends stopping by for a meal. They sure are fun to watch.

Father's Day Weekend

It was a quiet weekend for us. Alex is feeling much better. I ended up with muscle spasms in my neck that caused it to lock up. I did go to the chiro. to get help Friday. Saturday I just rested. Paul went grocery shopping....and did a wonderful job picking out a watermelon. I teased him that he might not want to do such a good job or else this might become a regular event! I had a tough time driving with my neck, so Paul got nothing for Father's Day....not even a card. We ended up going to the fair for lunch and to look at the animals. I did make him a surprise dessert and homemade ice cream. He also got to pick what he wanted for supper. I hope he ended up having a nice day.