What Cole is Wearing

Cole wanted 'Big Socks' - and looks ridiculous.

The Letter R

Life is moving along pretty much at a normal pace here. It is summer. In Texas. It is hot - and I love it. I have been working out, running, walking, doing The Shred and yoga. I have been working. The girls are home. The boys are running around non-stop. Life is good. Boring, but good.

Todd and I are going out of town for our anniversary next weekend (just the two of us), which will be fun. It would have been nice to spend more than a weekend away, but this is a bad time of year for that. See also Money, and Doesn't Grow on Trees.

Also up? A girlfriend asked me to go with her to a "thing", so this Friday we are headed to a little party a friend of hers is having at a local dance studio where they teach - pole dancing. Who would have thought. No, I don't harbor any deep desire to be a stripper, I just thought it would be hilarious and fun. Shut up. And no, there will not be pictures.

We found a preschool for the boys. They will start in the fall. We are just waiting for registration to open. Originally we discussed 2 days a week, however I am thinking 3 days is a better way to go - M, W, F. It is kind of expensive, but will be good for them. I think they are a bit much for Todd's mom these days, and need some structure and more to do. Plus - it would be nice if Roark quit insisting that all of the numbers are the letter R.

Spiderman

As I type this, my 4 year old son Roark is lying next to me, fighting the 3:00pm sleepies. He is dressed in a puffy-chested spiderman costume from last Halloween. He is always dressed in a puffy-chested spiderman costume these days. In fact, he has worn this for the last 45 days straight. I don't know how to relate to this. I hate comic books. I hate super heroes. I think I hate most things that 4 year old little boys like...insects, spiders, snakes, cartoons, all things star wars, all things garbage, and the list could go on and on. And yet - here I am with TWO four year old boys.

I like my kids. I love them. But sometimes...well, I just don't "get" them.

At the bookstore we were sitting at

This is a fountain...no lie. Phallic much?

Happy 4th Birthday Roark and Cole

This is from last night, celebrating the big 4. Face paint and stupid super hero T-Shirts... two things I really hate. This is a perfect example of how I have no control over my children and what they like. It is kind of cute in a disturbing way though.

Death of a Brush Guard

Part on ground should be connected

The Long-Ass Drive

IS DONE.

Memphis

The view from our room in Memphis is nice...but the NOISE is brain-numbing. I am totally wishing we had just driven home.

The HOUSE

I am on a road trip to pick up Cassie from college for the summer. Brittany and Justin are with me. We stop by my childhood home so that I can marvel at the decline of the neighborhood and state of creepiness of the house. Decline, it has. And creepy, it is.

We look through the windows. It is vacant. A neighbor confirms that the owner has been missing for a long time. She thinks that the bank or city now own it. Parts of the siding have fallen off. The doors (all 4 of them) are locked - to keep things out? Or keep them in?

Justin notices that the front door is loose. It doesn't take much force to open it... We walk inside. There is no electricity. No gas. No AC. No heat. It is 80 outside, but around 60 in the house. It is damp smelling, like a cave, maybe. It is dirty...but empty.

We walk through the house and head to the basement. This is the part that I remember being so odd. I look down the steps. It is dark and full of webs. We head down the stairs straining to see. I head around the back of the steps toward the 'round room' - it makes me nervous and I glance briefly and leave. We look through the rest of the house and go.

At dinner (Barnaby's - oh dear god I love that pizza) we talk about going back and taking pictures. We want proof that it is as 'off' as we think it is. So, we buy a flashlight and head back.

Standing outside, we look up at the second story - the window that used to be mine...and in the bottom left corner ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE GLASS is a child's hand print. Why? How? WTF?

We go back inside and head straight to the basement. Standing at the top of the stairs I try to take a picture - but the camera won't focus and won't shoot. We are all a little freaked out.

We add some light and capture a picture. We take several more of the round room, the shower, the stuff that scares me, and we leave. Quickly.

There are several really strange things about that house. Doors. 4 of them leading outside. One is in the middle of a wall and makes no sense. One door in the house that leads no-where...or rather where a door USED TO BE which only led to the empty space above the basement stairs. Why would a door be there? It would just open above the basement and drop...hard to explain - but take my word for it, it served no normal purpose.

Then there is the hole. It used to be in the back yard. It was round. Maybe 3 or 4 feet wide and 10-20 feet deep. No purpose I knew of. It had a 'lid' on it. The have since filled it in and grown grass / weeds over it.

I am sure something terrible has happened in that house in the past. People killed? Rituals performed? Children or people held against their will? All of the above?

We bought the house from a man claiming it had been a Notre Dame rental. My mother paid 12 thousand dollars for it - fully furnished in the late 70s. I don''t know if it was a college rental or if the guy was just trying to unload it for other reasons...nothing would surprise me.

Pictures to follow.

Bunny Hutch

We bought Brittany's bunny a new cage...bigger and cooler. At this moment, the little fucker is EATING HER HOME. What gives you stupid rabbit?