Cucumber Falls & the Waterslides

Tuesday of this week, the Heathens and I headed for Ohiopyle, PA.  We had been out there on Saturday to buy whitewater gear for Heathen #1 and the Heathens decided we needed to go back before school started.  I couldn't have agreed more!

Cucumber Falls is breathtaking.  And because we were there during the week, we had the waterfall and pool at the bottom all to ourselves.

Cucumber Falls from the trail above.

Look how small Heathens #2 and #3 look!

The water was COLD and they couldn't have cared less.

Playing behind the falls.

Heathen #2 chose the pose.

It was a perfect afternoon.

On the way to Cucumber Falls, the Heathens had seen a sign for the natural waterslides.  And, duh, decided that we had to go try it!

Heathen #3 stayed in the slower water.

Heathen #1, with Heathen #2 close behind.

Heathen #2 looked like a prune
when he finally got out of the water.

Heathen #1 had a blast!

I love my Heathens.  I got to sit all day and watch them do what my Heathens do best.
Laugh and play.  Laugh and play.  Does it get any better?

Cornsnips!

Several days ago, Heathen #3 and I were watching Suite Life on Deck on the Disney Channel.  One of the characters was growing cornsnips - a hyrbid of corn and parsnips.

Later that afternoon, the younger two Heathens and I were driving to Seph Mach to visit.  From the back seat I hear, "Look, Mom!  Cornsnips!"

Heathen #3 and his cornsnips!

And we have cleared another hurdle at our Zoo!  After looking at the gaps in his friends' smiles with envy, Heathen #3 has finally joined the group of lisping first graders.  The tooth came out right after the Asst. Zookeeper left for work one evening.  Heathen #3 requested that I call the Toothfairy and ask if he could keep the tooth to show Daddy when he came home.

The proud smile!

Worth it's weight in gold to a small Heathen.

In Honor of Those Falllen... We Remember

The younger two Heathens and I joined the Asst. Zookeeper's boy scouts for a day trip to Washington D.C.  The troop was hosting a group of British scouts for two weeks.  Sometimes it is handy to be able to tag along!  It involved no planning on my part - just being at the bus on time!

Iwo Jima Memorial

Korean War Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial - Heathen #2 is in
the dark blue shirt taking a picture.

Heathen #3 at the Capitol.

Heathen #2 at the Capitol.

Heathens #2 and #3 with
the Washington Memorial
in the background.

World War II Memorial

At the Vietnam Memorial, I took this photo of my father-in-law.  I originally took it because you could see his reflection so well.  After I snapped the photo, Heathen #3 wanted to know why Pappy was crying.

I realized that he was reading the names of the men HE served with in Vietnam.  Men he knew and remembered.

So, in honor of my father-in-law and everyone else who has or is currently serving...  thank you.

Teal Glitter

My last post was about my Heathens hoarding habits and how I had spent an ENTIRE day un-hoarding their rooms.  I was so proud of myself.  I ended the post with a comment about wishing it would just stay clean.

SOOOOOOO didn't happen - and it wasn't the Heathens.  It was Bantley.

Duchess (left) and Bantley (right)

Heathen #2 came downstairs after his bath to tell me that Bantley had gotten into the glitter in his bedroom.  I cringed.

Heathen #2 shouldn't have phrased it as "Bantley got into my glitter."  He should have phrased it as "Bantley glittered the second floor of the house."

Bantley's color of glitter.

He spread glitter ALL over Heathen #2's bedroom (floor, bedding - everything was coated).  He had also tracked the glitter through the hallway and into the other bedrooms after he finished that room.  Which covered the upstairs hall carpet, the stairs, my bedroom and Heathen #3's bedroom.

When I found Bantley, HE was covered in teal glitter.

While cleaning up the second floor wasn't the greatest thing, it was far easier than trying to clean off Bantley.  Try vacuuming a dog.

Beating the Hoarders

The Asst. Zookeeper and Heathen #1 are gone for TWO WEEKS!!!!  No one is chaperoning me!  And the first thing I did in my unchaperoned-ness?

I cleaned the top two floors of the house!  That will teach them to leave me home! Hah!

Strangely enough, it was enjoyable.  Heathens #2 and #3 played well together (ssshhhh - don't tell them I said that!).  I got all 3 Heathens rooms "purged" as I call it.  "Purging" is when I enter the room with garbage bags in hand and NOTHING is safe.  Currently, you can see the floor in all three bedrooms and all the drawers in the dressers close easily.

The garbage cans out back are overflowing with black bags - but the Heathens can't see into the bags, so I am safe!

I love my Heathens, but they are all hoarders.  Not the kind that you see on TV shows.  Not ones that will suffer as adults.  But definitely hoarders.

Heathen #1 hoards clothing. 

Dirty or clean, he keeps it in his room.  Claims that he HAS ALREADY given me all his laundry when asked.  I hauled out 3 laundry baskets worth.  I'm sure come of it was clean and just never got put away.  But I didn't recognize half of it as having come through the laundry room lately.

Heathen #2 hoards candy wrappers.  Somewhere is the man who originally thought about putting contests onto candy wrappers, or the "collect so many of these and get this" gag.  That man is worshiped by Heathen #2.  This summer it seems to be the wrappers from Dum-Dum lollipops. 

Apparently there is an online store where you can redeem your wrappers.  So he saves them.  He stashes them in drawers, under the dresser, under the bed.  Anywhere he thinks they are safe.  When told he needs to clean up the garbage in his room, he becomes indignant.  "They're not garbage.  They are wrappers and I'M SAVING THEM."

Heathen #3 hoards paper. 

Any paper.  ALL paper.  Especially if he has used a pen or pencil or crayon or marker and placed the SLIGHTEST mark on the paper.  If the paper comes in a notebook, he insists on tearing out the used pages so that the notebook is "new" - but he saves the torn out pages.  And the little ruffly-edges caused by the spiral binding.

At 10 am this morning, the garbage men came to my house and left me with two large empty garbage cans outside.  The hydraulic on the back of the truck was like the sound of a starter pistol in my mind - and I went into action.  At 5 pm, I had filled both cans plus placed a box and two additional garbage bags beside them.

I feel SOOOO much better.  If it would only stay that clean....  But we all know better.

Konnichiwa!

I've just returned from spending 8 days in Yokosuka, Japan.  It is about an hour from Tokyo.  The Asst. Zookeeper sent me there as my anniversary gift (bless his heart!).  My friend moved to Yokosuka Naval Base alittle over a year ago and I was thrilled at the chance to visit!

Before anyone thinks of it:  NO, I do NOT speak Japanese.  And my 9 years of French study were not of much use either.  After 8 days, here is the extent of my Japanese:

Dōmo arigatō. (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh) - thank you
Sumimasen. (soo-mee-mah-sen) - excuse me
Konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-WAH) - hello
Gomen-nasai. (goh-men-nah-sigh) - I'm sorry.

Yup, I managed to navigate the entire trip with those four phrases.  And Bethany's Japanese isn't a whole lot more advanced.  Many of the signs on the train and subway were also in English, which was a huge help.  It was also helpful that Bethany's been there for a year already and really knew where we were going!

 One of my favorite parts of the experience was the English translations.  Here were some of the cute ones, but there were too many to photograph them all!



Some of the places we visited:

Outside of Senso-ji Temple.

Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Part of the temple at Kamakura.

The Money Washing Shrine.  Bethany is pointing to the
thousands of paper cranes that are hanging from the
cave ceiling above us.

 

Torii gate lined path to one of the shrines in Asakusa.

These animals seem to be the Japanese version of the "Alpha and Omega" that are so commonly seen in Western culture.  The open-mouthed lion is saying the "aahh" sound that is the first letter of the Japanese alphabet, and the closed-mouthed lion is saying the "nnnn" sound, which is the last letter.  These two statues were seen in pairs everywhere we went to visit a shrine or a temple.



The Japanese "Alpha."





The Japanese "Omega."





It was a wonderful trip.  I missed the Asst. Zookeeper and the three Heathens.  I was happy to be home at the Zoo.  But I saw fascinating things that I never thought to see.  Definitely on the list of "Places to Return." 

The Last Two Weeks...

This Fourth of July found us celebrating with family and friends.  All totaled, there were 12 children and many more adults.  Celebrating the 4th with young children is the BEST way to go.  You should have seen these four children screeching and dancing when something was set off!



The Asst. Zookeeper took over cleanup after Round One was over.  The family event always includes road cleanup!

Once it was dark, the children lined up their chairs and watched the show!

The first week of July also found the Miller Heathens attending Cub Scout Day Camp.  It is three days of fun (and exhaustion!).  This was the first year that Heathen #3 was old enough to attend as a scout.  He was SO tired the first day that he fell asleep in the car before we pulled out of the lot!





Heathen #2 at crafts.

Heathen #3 in the BB barn.







Heathen #1 joined us as staff.



Friday night at the end of camp, the Webelos Scouts and Boy Scouts were invited to stay overnight.  They conducted a flag retirement ceremony and the boys were all able to participate.  They also had cinnamon rolls made in a dutch oven (curtesy of the Asst. Zookeeper) and they made their own breakfast the next morning!

 

Heathen #2 placing his
portion of the flag on the fire.

And today was an important day at the Miller Zoo!  The youngest Heathen celebrated his 6th birthday!  Although he's still not old enough to ride his bicycle past the stop sign, he thinks its cool that he had to use 2 hands to show his age.  Happy Birthday, Squeaker!

Heathen #3 in SIX-YEARS-OLD!!!