Only when the last tree has died
and the last river has been poisoned
and the last fish has been caught
will we realize that we can't eat money.

~ Cree proverb

:(

Sometimes you just have to be a crabby-butt.

I understand, kiddo. Everybody has their days.

Why I Hate Kung-Fu Panda

Every weekend Tes gets to watch a movie - well, two, usually, if I am being honest. One while I unbraid/rebraid her hair, and one at a later time as an hour long babysitter.

Quit judging me. My house has to be cleaned at sometime during the week.

Anyway, last weekend while on vacation we brought a mini-dvd player and the movie Kung-Fu Panda, mostly because if I have to watch The Lion King one more time I am going to cry. I'm not talking any kind of pansy-ass cry, either, I'm talking full out ugly cry. But back onto the subject - we have had the panda movie sitting around the house forever, but have never watched it. After popping it into the dvd player, I notice it is rated PG for 'mild martial arts fighting' or something along those lines, and I remember thinking, "Well, duh. It is called KUNG-FU Panda. This is like how coffee cups have to be imprinted with 'contents may be hot'. Stupid people."

Now, let me say my daughter is a spunky, sweet, wonderful child who is crazy funny and a joy to be around - but has the energy and... shall we say 'aggression' of a professional wrestler. On steroids. I believe the politically correct way is she is a 'spirited child'. That is mom-to-mom-code for "I realize my kid is roaring at your kid and stalking him like a lion, but cut me some friggin' slack - the doctor says we have to wait until she is at least 4.5 before we can start slipping her Valium."

So take that visual, and up it about 10 notches. That is what Tesfanesh was like after watching just part of Kung-Fu Panda. She couldn't even hold it together long enough for me to finish the sentence "We love each other in this family and do not fight" without a running leap taken at me followed by an immediate karate chop. When she finally realized attacking people was out of the question, she went into the tent to 'fight the blankets'. And fight the blankets she did. I honestly thought the tent was going to be knocked down.

Needless to say, when we made it home from camping, I told her that movie had to be put away until she is older. Thankfully, she willingly complied and brought it into our office herself and put it on the bookshelf.

I am considering burying it in the backyard for good measure.




Peace.

Home Again, Home Again

This past week's camping trip to beautiful southern MN was just what our weary working souls needed. Honestly, the campground was so perfect that I am hesitant to tell anyone which it was... in fear people will take my word and flock to it.

Okay, that isn't nice. It was Great River Bluffs State Park. And it was wonderful. Now stay away. It is all mine.

The weekend started out with some family member's joining our camping extravaganza, but all those poor suckers had to work on Monday, so everyone departed Sunday afternoon leaving my little family of three to ourselves.

The group, minus me. I figured I know what I look like, I didn't need to be in the picture.

I think I'll do a summary in pictures. The last five days have been filled with :

Hiking. A lot of hiking. More hiking we thought we were getting into when we began.

I only said "I told you so" three times. I think that showed a lot of maturity and restraint;

Geocaching;

Bug catching;

Product placement; (Dear HiC, our favorite is the orange flavor)

'Hotzee' playing;

Tesfu's homemade chipmunk boobietrap / drink protector;

Stale bread bird feeding;

Lots and lots of campfire eating /mustard licking;

Bike riding;

All around goofy...

...wonderful family time.

Ahhhh.... a breath of fresh air. Now, back to the grindstone.

(Already planning another camping trip to the same place for the fall!)

Peace.

Tes and family...

... are going on vacation.

See you in a week! Hopefully with some pictures to share of a very relaxed us :)

Peace.

Baseball, According to Tes

I was able to get two shots off myself before the camera was confiscated by the Little One.

My pictures :

Father and Daughter.

Two friends, before all the sugar hit their systems.

Tesfu's pictures :

Friend Kefelen. Excellent shot, Tes!

*Edited to Update - Now looking at this shot - it is vertical. Tes doesn't quite have the shooting skills to turn the camera... therefore I must have taken this one, too, and not remember it. That is what having a 3.5 year old does to your mind.*

Dueling cameras. This is Tes taking a close-up shot of Kef taking a close-up shot.

Brilliant.

I look good blurry. Takes the edge off.

Tes taking a picture of 35,000 of her closest friends.

Blue seats. Mom's knee. I am sure there is some sort of meaning here.
Or, our camera has a hair trigger.

We only made it through the fifth inning, but some day we will be able to go nap-less and stop leaving every event early. Some day... some day.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Peace.

Culture Unplugged Video

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com