Zoo and Pumpkin Patch pictures

With the beautiful weather we've been having- I took the kids to the Zoo a couple times in October.
The first few pictures are from the second week in Oct. The walrus pup LOVED Mya! He played with her for a good 5 minutes- following her around the glass!
She even gave him a kiss!





Here's one of Carter, Nathan, and Mya. This day Nathan kept trying to smile like Carter usually does, even though I told him how much I love HIS own smile... (even if he does look confused sometimes...lol!)

We had fun at the pumpkin patch. We went with my bro-in-law and nephews.


This picture was totally staged after Zach threw an already selected pumpkin back into the patch so the boys and I could hunt it back out and he could get a picture that included me hunting for pumpkins too! lol

...and wouldn't you know it, Zach actually takes good pictures when he has the camera!

Okay, so that's all for now! I'll try to get my Halloween pictures posted soon.

spiders, spiders, and spiders... oh my

I know it's been almost a complete month since I've posted anything- sorry about that- things get kind of busy sometimes- I get a little lazy- but I'm getting back on track. =)
Anyway- so it being said that I know it's been a while since I've posted- it seems silly to start off November with such a silly post about spiders! But- I do have to say I was very curious with the arachnids I've discovered in my house over the past few weeks. (not to mention I need to remember to spray around the outside of the house before more make it in!)

So- the first picture is of a spider I discovered one afternoon while I was sitting at the computer. If you know me, you know that I DO NOT kill things (besides mosquitos and fleas), so the first thought that came to my mind when I saw him was to grab my camera! I got a few pretty good pics- (ignore the dirty floor... lol) but as I was blowing on him to get him to turn around- he ran off behind the fridge.

He was missing for a few days before he re-appeared and I caught him then set him free outside. After doing some researching, I found he is a member of the Lycosa Tarantula family. Awesome right?! (okay- yes... I'm weird!)


Then... later that night I found a common wolf spider. Carter and I caught him and set him free too. (He was much faster!)


After reading up on wolf spiders, I learned where there is one, there is usually another. The males go out in search of the females. So, the males are usually the ones seen. And... sure enough, I found the female... with my hand... under the kitchen sink a few days later. She too was caught and set free outside, where I got some awesome pictures of her pooping! lol (I bet you never thought about a spider pooping before huh?!)

In the following picture is where you can see her defecation. Just above and a bit behind her right hind leg there is a little round white speck with black spots- looking to float in her web. Yep... now you've seen spider poop. =) You're welcome.




Note: No spiders were harmed in documentation of Dana's curiosity.
hehe

I promise a blog with updates of the kids is coming next!