silence

What is it about that early morning quiet that is so appealing? When you step outside in the early morning, as sunlight has barely begun to infuse the air, before the rest of the world is up and out, it is so peaceful.

The boys spent the night with their grandparents last night, and Luke had to leave early for a trip this morning. After Luke left, I sat on the front porch and just enjoyed the world slowly coming awake. It was so peaceful.

And of course, a good cup of coffee makes such a morning just about perfect.

Yard sign update

As I stepped off my front porch yesterday, I noticed something laying in the grass next to our Obama sign. I wandered down the sidewalk to take a look, and saw this.

Obviously, one of the signs was removed.

bad movie

Tropic Thunder is a terrible movie. I felt like I was actively losing brain cells the longer I sat in the theater and watched it. I mean, it is seriously bad. And we weren't looking for intellectually stimulating entertainment either; rather we just wanted to see something funny and slightly mindless to take our minds off job worries. But this was not that movie.

Luke and I recruited my parents to watch the boys so we could have a night off, and I can't believe we wasted our evening out on such ridiculousness.

We walked out after the panda scene.

Butterflies!

Wyatt received a really cool birthday present this year...a Butterfly Treehouse. It's basically a kit to raise butterflies, from the larva stage. You order the larvae, and they arrive arrive by mail in a small cup filled with larvae food. The larvae (caterpillars) seem to double in size every day, and it was very fun to watch them grow and spin silk. After about 7 days, they crawl to the top of the cup and hang upside down. The next day, they had formed chrysalides.

It was awesome to watch. They stayed in their chrysalides for another 7 days or so, and then they emerged as butterflies.

The whole family really enjoyed checking on the caterpillars and butterflies every day. We kept the butterflies in their "treehouse" for 2 days, and then we let them go today. They were called "painted ladies." I snapped a couple of pictures. I think we will probably order some more caterpillars again (you can reuse the butterfly house after cleaning it).

Hint: If you decide to release your butterflies outside, make sure there are no lizards in the immediate vicinity. Apparently, lizards enjoy eating butterflies. I was horrified to watch one of "my" butterflies be devoured by a hungry, lurking lizard. The circle of life I suppose.

Thanks, Becky, for a great gift. We all enjoyed it.

Pillow Party

YES!!

What do the polls say?

I've become somewhat obsessed with a new web site I discovered the other day about presidential preference polls. It's updated every day, sometimes several times a day, and provides summary and analysis of the numerous polls that are being conducted on a regular basis. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

At this point, things aren't looking too good for my man, Obama. (Notice the electoral college projections.) But, a lot can happen in 50 days.

There's a great deal of other information and statistics on the site, too. Check it out.

Politics

I have been wondering if I should mention my political opinions on this site, as I have been ridiculed for my current presidential choice by both family, friends and neighbors. But, this is my blog, and my opinion, and my choice, so here goes...


I am a Barack Obama supporter. Phew...I said it. (...peeking out from under the desk...no spitballs coming my way, no angry glances, no veiled threats...although all that will probably come later.)

First, let me say, I have my own personal reasons for supporting Obama, and it has nothing to do with abortion. I hate that abortion has become such a major wedge issue in the campaign. My brief thoughts on abortion are as such: I don't support it, but I don't think making the procedure illegal with do away with it. Drugs are illegal, and we still have a problem with drugs. Prostitution is illegal, and yet we still have prostitutes. It is my belief that we need to find a way to reduce the number of abortions. But I don't think that outlawing them will make the issue go away.


I don't really wish to get into the candidates' policy discussions at this point (I will leave that to my brother). But I am a little surprised (naive, maybe) at the reaction I have received when I tell people that I support Obama. Living in conservative Clay County, people look at me like I have two heads. I've been accused of not doing my political research, and I've even had my Christian faith called into question. My neighbors, who are supporting McCain, have told me my taxes will go up (they won't), that Obama is "a scary man" (what??), that he's not a Christian (he is), and that I'll be wearing a burqa within two years of Obama being elected (I will not. And neither will anyone else.)


I have an Obama sign up in my yard, and sure enough...within 24 hours of me putting it up, someone took it down. Now, they were nice about it and actually put the sign in my garage, but still...the fact is...they took it down. It's going to be an interesting 55 days.

Bags are packed?

Daddy's going on a trip, and Deacon wants to go, too!

Fun with Green Hair

Meet "Winnie." She is the latest addition to the Granlund family (a birthday present for Deacon). We've had much fun watering her and watching her hair grow. Today she received her first hair cut. (It's not very feminine, I know, but my options are limited. Next time we'll try for a mohawk.)

Bump

Recent research at the Granlund house has shown that door frame and forehead collisions can result in significant swelling and/or other damage. See photo below.