Animals, Animals Everywhere

I confess, I am a little reluctant to post this since it will give my sister even more ammunition with which to tease me. It's bad enough that the chirp thing keeps coming up. . . But it's a funny story, so I'll post it and take the teasing.

As we were driving to school on Tuesday, I heard a small "mew". The radio station we listen to has a "Lost Pets" segment, so I thought that the deejay had hit the wrong button. Then I heard the sound again, louder. I asked Michenna if she had any toys in the car with her. She didn't. By this time the mewing was significantly louder, and Michenna was looking all over the back of the car for a cat. I walked Michenna up to the school, then re-approached my by-now-frantically-mewing car. I looked under the car, but I couldn't see anything. So I popped open the hood. There, sitting on my engine, was a full grown cat. Thankfully the chaplain saw the raised hood and stopped to see if I needed help, so I didn't have to touch the cat.

As far as I can tell, the cat climbed up to the engine from under the car. It had rained all day Monday, and we didn't take the car anywhere, so I assume the cat simply found a warm, dry place to sleep. It must have been terrified when I started the engine.

So, by my count, that's 3 encounters with trapped animals just since April. So if I find a dog in the dryer, or a horse under the table, I'll let you know.

Chirp, (whatever sound a gecko makes), meow.

When is Spencer coming home?

The short answer is that we still don't know.

The longer answer is that he has been extended until at least July. We are hoping that he will come home in July, but we understand that the "needs of the Navy" are constantly changing. I keep joking that I will believe he is actually coming home when I pick him up at the airport. At that point I will hand him the cell phone and tell him to call his mom. Other notifications will follow, I'm sure. :)

Just to keep things interesting, here are some pics of Spencer the pilot:

And for more kicks and giggles, presenting Tricia the pilot . . . well, Tricia who got to push the pedals and steer the plane on the tarmac on spouses' day in Florida. :) It's a good thing Spencer and I wear the same size flight suit!

There Is Beauty All Around

With that title, I'm not claiming perfection, or even proficiency, in the love at home area. I'm just saying we had a "beautiful" day today.

First, Michenna received a package from Grandma! In it was "the most beautiful dress ever". She twirled and pranced while I provided the obligatory oohs and aahs. (I don't know why she's pulling faces in all the pictures. These were the best two.) Her first question was, "Can I wear it to church on Sunday?" Her second question was, "Mom, why don't you sew this good?" :)

When we went outside this evening, there was a beautiful double rainbow. We just stood there and enjoyed (and took pictures).

So we hope that everyone else has a beautiful Thursday. We'll let you know what Friday is like. :)

A gecko in the vacuum and a bad pun

Last Thursday when Michenna went into her room to get her PJs, she squealed and yelled, "Mom, there's a gecko on the wall above my bed!" So, while she was in the shower, I was trying to catch a gecko. I moved everything out from under the bed, then the bed (which thankfully has wheels), and then I lost the gecko. I figured that while the bed was out I would vacuum behind there. Well, of course after vacuuming, I spotted the gecko again . . . long story short, after much pursuit on my end, the gecko crawled up inside the roller brush on the front of the vacuum. I was perplexed; I had never dealt with anything like that before. So I took the vacuum out on the porch (it must have been quite a sight for anyone driving by) and SLOWLY rotated the roller until the gecko jumped out. You can guess what my prayers were - "Please don't let the gecko get squished. I really don't want to explain to Spencer that we need a new vacuum because of a gecko." Ah, the unexpected joys of living in Guam.

Last Friday we were getting ready for school and Michenna started pushing the cereal boxes into each other. I said sternly, "Those are not dominos, you know." She replied, "No, Mom, they're 'box'-ing." Then she died laughing.

It's hard to tell where she gets it from. After all, we're all so strait-laced, no sense of humor at all. :)