So the other day Kristen and I were inside the house doing some odds and ins and Shanny yelled from out front to come and see the big butterfly. She came running in the house yelling that this is the biggest butterfly ever. Knowing how Shanny can get excited over the smallest of things Kris and I told her to hold on as we finished what we were doing. Kris followed her outside and a couple seconds later I heard Kris yelling for me to come check this out and to grab my camera. As I went out from I was amazed at the size and beauty of this butterfly. It was sitting outside of our front door on a bush and well, Shanny was right. It was the biggest butterfly ever.
Kids add so much joy and comedy to our lives and I can't imagine life without them. Kris was telling me of an experience she had in Costco the other day that proves that our lives are never dull when are kids take the stage. Kris felt brave the other afternoon and decided to take all of the kids to Costco to pick up a few things we were out of and to stock up. You know the busiest isle in Costco, yea the isle where the best food samples are and where there is a line of people waiting for the delicious free samples. Kris went to get some chicken strips when all of a sudden she hears "Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Gather Around Ladies and Gentlemen." If you haven't already guessed it already it was Matthew putting on a show. That's my son, the ring leader of the greatest show on earth.
So now that we have a yard to take care of I have been needing a lawn mower, but haven't had the money to go and buy a new one, so I have been on a mission to find a used and old one that nobody loves anymore. One of my students at school said that we had a lawnmower that he would be willing to part with, so he loaded it in my truck for me and I brought my new found treasure home to make our lawn all nice and clean cut. So I go out into the backyard and attempt to fire this bad boy piece of steel from the 1980's up. No luck, so I check the oil and gas and spark plug but still no luck. I fiddle around with a couple of wires and give it one more try when out comes a loud bang and a puff of smoke then calls it quits after mowing many happy lawns. Last week I hear that our shop teacher at school refurbishes old lawnmowers with his students, so I drop him in a line and he says that he has the perfect one in mind. I make the walk down to his shop and there are a bunch of lawnmowers that look pretty decent and I start getting pretty excited, but then he says, "Here She Is" and he pulls out this beast that I'm not sure if I am supposed to ride it or push it out of there and when I mow the lawn. He says that it works good, but I have to mess with the throddle a bit. A couple of days go by and there I am with my new (well very used) lawnmower ready to mow my lawn for the first time. It takes me awhile to get this thing started and when I do it is very loud and sounds like it is going to blow up. I push it forward to start cutting some grass and nothing. None of the grass is cutting and then Kris opens the back door and steps out laughing at her pathetic husband just wanting to mow his lawn. I then turn over the lawnmower while it's running and ask Kris if the blade is even turning. I didn't think the experience could get much worse, but she cracks up and shakes her head "NO." Actually it was turning about as slow as ticker hand on a watch. Oh well, I thought it wasn't meant to be, but no, my loving, beautiful wife said it. "Go to Lowe's and Get a Lawnmower. I love that woman. So I went to one of my favorite candy stores and picked out a new sleek lawnmower for my Father's Day present. It's good to be the dad.
Well, today was the last day Frenchtown High School and it was a wonderful school year. I had a great time and really love being a teacher.
