Don't Shave Me BLONDE!

Last night, Heathen #3 decided that he was going to trim his hair - by himself, without telling anyone. He got the Asst. Zookeeper's beard trimmer out of the vanity in the bathroom, and took three swipes over his head. One above each ear, and one right in the middle over the top.

The entertaining part of the whole thing is that the trimmer only held enough charge for him to make those three swipes and then died.

He came down the steps to find me and informed me of what he had done, ending with the comment, "Doesn't it look nice, Momma?"

Since the trimmer was already dead, I plugged it in to charge so that I could do something with his new style. I made the comment that I might just have to shave him bald - which the other two Heathens picked up on right away.

So, this morning, I sat him down in the bathroom so that I could fix his hair. There was no saving it. The damage was done. I told him I would have to shave his head very short and he would just have to wear a hat outside for a few weeks. He burst into tears and cried, "Don't shave me BLONDE!!!!"

It's hard to shave a child's head and laugh all at the same time. But we managed. He was a little upset with the new 'do until I put him into the tub and explained how much easier it would be to wash. Shorter hair meant less "rinses" with the cup. Then we were good to go!

2 Adventures = Last Week

With things gearing up for school and fall already, I'm alittle behind on my entries.

Last week, the Heathens and I went on two separate adventures. And we took a grandmother on both (silly women agreed to go!).

Adventure #1 - Penn's Cave & Wildlife Park

Last Wednesday, my mom was off work. So, we took her to Penn's Cave and Wildlife Park with us. It's just on the other side of State College. It was really cool and the Heathens really enjoyed it. You ride in a boat to visit the cave. Our tour guide was really funny and the boys really liked him.

And at that point in the day, my camera died. R.I.P. - you were a faithful camera. Although I do believe it would have been more curteous if it had waited until the end of the trip.

The cave tour was awesome, but the Heathens REALLY liked the Wildlife Park tour. You ride in a bus that has all the windows removed. We saw deer, pybald deer (which were completely white), elk, bears, cougars, bobcats, etc. We were able to get so close because the bus drove right into the enclosures. Heathen #3 really wants to go back - and I think I'd like to go back as well.

Adventure #2 - Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

The night before we headed for the zoo with the Asst. Zookeeper's mother, I headed out to WalMart to purchase a new digital camera. I just picked a cheap one - I'm going to ask Santa for a better one in a few months. :)

Heathen #3 packed his stuffed elephant for the trip. He got it at our zoo trip last year and named it Zuri, after one of the two baby elephants born at the zoo this summer.

The zoo was packed this year, much busier than any other time I have visited. And for most of the trip, I couldn't figure out what was different from the other times I had visited. And then it dawned on me. We were there on a Saturday - we usually visited during the week. Never again! Way too many crowds.

But the Heathens still had a good time. And they insisted that I take a picture of the gold fish in front of the zebra enclosure like they do every year. I drive them all the way to Pittsburgh to go to the zoo and they get excited over the silly goldfish!

ABC Gum

25 years ago, I remember standing at a bus stop with the other kids in my neighborhood. There were only two other kids, both boys a year older than me. I was in first grade, making them the much wiser second graders. Brett Statler and Greg something-or-other.

They were always playing tricks or jokes on me. I was easy to torment being younger and of the opposite sex. The morning that sticks in my mind, Brett asked me if I wanted a piece of ABC gum. I replied, "Yes." At which point he and Greg burst out laughing hysterically that I was really gross if I wanted a piece of Already Been Chewed gum.

Fast forward to today at around 1:30 pm. I had taken my Heathens to the Scout Store in Ebensburg to pick up some merit badges for the troop. While I was working with the lady behind the counter to sort out the badges that I needed, Heathen #3 proudly came over to me and announced that he had gum in his mouth.

Assuming that he had gotten in from one of the people in the office or had located it in a drawer on his own, I asked where he had gotten it. He smiled, pointed vaguely in a direction, and said, "Over there."

"Over there" was simply a corner of the store. No one had given it to him, he FOUND it. ABC Gum - and my Heathen #3 was chewing it with great joy. Ugh - boys. Better yet: Ugh - Heathens!