Yes, that is in fact a snake by the door.

Our yard was alive with activity on Saturday. While I was mowing the grass, I saw something jump in front of the mower and found a little frog. Amelia immediately captured it in a jar and she and Elsa spent at least an hour playing with the frog (letting it go, catching it, building a home for it, etc.) As expected, the frog didn't survive too long.






Elsa wasn't sure about holding the frog (until it was dead) so Amelia put it in her shirt. And no, I did not brush their hair that day.

We came home Saturday evening and were greeted by a not very small snake. Possibly a black ratsnake. While we have encountered many creatures in our yard over the years, this was the first snake. It was hanging out by our door. Ben sent me to the shed to get a rake (past experience watching my Grandma get rid of rattlesnakes on her farm taught me that a shovel would likely be needed) so I grabbed various tools and when I came back around the corner, Ben was flinging the snake across the yard. Apparently it had started to slither under the porch so he grabbed it. It was pretty feisty and was trying to bite him. I might have been screaming. Ben whacked it with the shovel until it appeared to be dead, but as he was holding it up for display...



...we realized that it was still squirming. So he had to behead it, which was not easy. It was quite the gruesome battle. I was a little wrapped up in my own freaking out to realize that my children were watching the entire thing with great interest. It's best to desensitize them early, right?

And several MINUTES after the beheading, the tail end continued to slither around. We were all grossed out and fascinated at the same time:



Ben finally had to put it in a bag, STILL SLITHERING, and throw it out.

The big FIVE.

Amelia's birthday celebration this year was a far cry from the Fancy Nancy spectacle of last year. We decided on a simple family party. On Tuesday night we went out for dinner. Amelia requested dinner at a Chinese place so she could have jello and watch Ben eat crab legs. Huh!?? Over a year ago, we ended up at this bad Chinese buffet (aren't all buffets a bad idea?) where Amelia was exposed to jello for the first time. (Because, you know, jello clearly belongs at a Chinese buffet.) She was also completely fascinated when Ben ate some crab legs. So her birthday wish was granted and we returned to the buffet. Coincidentally, there was an 85 year old man celebrating his birthday there as well.

She actually really likes Chinese food so she was excited to get some kung pao chicken as well. Doesn't this look appetizing?



Crab legs, as requested:


Opening presents at home:



It was so fun to see Amelia gasp as she opened each gift. She kept coming to me throughout the following day thanking me for the various gifts.







Spoiled as usual. Thanks to all of our family and friends for thinking of Amelia.



After four years of elaborate homemade cakes, a series of unfortunate events lead to this sad grocery store cake. But Amelia thought it was great, especially the pink writing and the gobs of frosting.

Father's Day with just a hint of birthday.

All of the kids at church decorated ties for their dads to wear on Father's Day. Most kids drew crazy pictures and wrote funny things on them. Amelia chose a sophisticated stripe look.





Father's Day happened to be the same day as Amelia's birthday. Amelia knew this would be the case and demanded that her birthday be celebrated on a different day. (In her words, "that way Dad doesn't have to have a pink cake on Father's Day.) She was prepared to refuse any kind of birthday celebration that day, until she woke up that morning and noticed some packages that had come in the mail for her. It appeared that she might explode if she couldn't open a present. Since we had nothing ready for her birthday that day, we let her open packages from her grandparents.


(Wearing her birthday hat from preschool.)

Weekend Getaway Part 4: The kid version

While Ben and I relaxed the weekend away, our friends the Dyckmans were busy entertaining our girls. We have been so lucky to be able to do lots of weekend swaps with such great friends. Our kids had so much fun and it was nice to know they were being well taken care of while we were away.

Some of the fun they had while we were away:


Amelia and Ethan tracing bodies.


Smoothie faces.


Fun in the water.


Fun at the park.


Bedtime story.

Weekend Getaway Part 3: Excursions

We ventured out Friday afternoon to tour Montpelier, which was just a few miles from the Inn we were staying at. Montpelier was the home of James Madison. It was recently renovated and returned to its original state. There were some really beautiful gardens as well.




Ben with James and Dolley



After we checked out of the Inn on Saturday, we drove to Staunton. I would love to go back again and spend more time exploring and photographing. It's a really neat old town with lots of interesting architecture. Our main reason for stopping there was to see a Shakespeare production at the Blackfriars Playhouse, the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's original indoor theatre. The playhouse was really nice and the play was excellent. We saw "All's Well That Ends Well." The theatre is small and keeps to Shakespeare's original staging conditions...they keep the lights on during the performance to encourage more interaction between the performers and the audience. It was a fun experience.

Ben in front of the playhouse:


We wandered around the town a bit after the play and stopped for dinner at the Depot Grille which was in the old train station.













The hazy view on the drive home:

Weekend Getaway Part 2: The Food

The food at the Inn was amazing. So amazing that it requires its own post, with probably too much detail. We were served a delicious breakfast each morning and splurged on the Chef's five course dinner Friday evening. A lot of their ingredients come from their own garden. There were only one or two other groups dining at each meal which made us feel like we had a personal chef.

The Dining Room:


Breakfast on our first morning started with warm homemade biscuits served with the owner's homemade strawberry jam. The second course was a delicious fruit plate:

The pineapple was slightly baked with a little brown sugar. The blueberries were fresh and the little scoop of orange sorbet made it all perfect.

The last course (because breakfast should always have multiple courses) was a choice between sweet and savory. Ben and I each went with the sweet option, banana pancakes with warm maple pecan syrup, served with sausage:


The Chef's Dinner:

The dinner started with appetizers on the back porch...fresh mozzarella and tomato skewers and really yummy pastries filled with mascarpone.







We were given two choices for each entree so Ben and I made sure to order different things.

First Course:
I had the salad of beets, manchego cheese, pine nuts, and balsamic vinaigrette:

(I must say I haven't given beets a fair shake. I didn't think I liked them, but this salad changed my mind. The combination of ingredients was perfect.)

Ben had the salad of watermelon, red onion, and feta cheese. A really yummy combination:


There was also a constant supply of unbelievably good bread served with balsamic butter. Balsamic butter!

Second Course:
I had the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese and tomato relish and Ben had a really delicious zucchini and parsnip soup:


The third course was a small dish of lemon sorbet to prepare us for the entree.

Entree:
I had the quail with cornbread-pheasant stuffing (so good), mashed potatoes (some of the best I've had), and green beans (fresh and cooked perfectly). Ben had the barbecue spiced New York strip steak, sweet potatoes, spinach, and peach barbecue sauce:


And finally dessert:
I had the sour cream pound cake with blackberries and peaches:


Ben had the chocolate espresso pots de creme with a chocolate covered strawberry:


I really want to repeat this meal right now. Everything was perfect.

Our second breakfast was served on the back porch overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains and the garden and fountain. It started with warm muffins:


Second course was a really delicious strawberries romanoff:


That would have been plenty, but of course there was the final course. We went with the sweet option again. Apple and cinnamon baked french toast:


The presentations were always so lovely and it was fun to see such attention to details throughout the Inn. Hooray for yummy food!