Beauty and the Beast

He's been at it again! Sawyer, the insect-killer! No, if you didn't know any better you'd think Sawyer had tamed a butterfly, wouldn't you? Alas, Sawyer and Peyton found the poor, pitiful creature wedged against the fence in some tall grass and its wings were very crusty and stiff; I've always assumed butterfly wings were sort of soft and silky, so I think this one had met its demise some time before.

The grasshopper, on the other hand, that Sawyer managed to catch (the first one, that is) DID meet its unfortunate end at the hands of my blond-haired "beast." (Okay, I have never called Sawyer a "beast" in my life--I was just trying to make my entry title catchy. . . . The butterfly played the part of "Beauty.") We are always encouraging Sawyer to be very careful with the bugs he catches but inevitably, in his fervor to investigate every tiny part of their bodies, he gets a little too over-eager and we find ourselves planning a burial. I did not include a picture of the grasshopper that he decapitated--you can thank me later.

 

 

Yesterday we attended a rather elaborate party for a little girl at church who celebrated her first birthday on August 1. I sort of hate that she probably won't remember any of it, though I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to help remind her! A lot of us prayed for little Mallory for a long, long time and I have a feeling when Mike and Brooke found out they were expecting, Brooke probably began planning this party in her mind! The party had a carnival theme and Brooke and Mike hired a face painter, balloon artist and "Game Clown" (I forget what the lady actually called herself but she dressed like a clown and played games, hence the moniker I attached to her!). It was unbelievably hot and I marveled again at how kids simply seem impervious to heat (or cold) when they're having fun! The girls lined up immediately to have their faces painted, and Peyton went back twice, so enthralled was she with the results!

 

 

 

Darcy, Peyton and Sawyer each got a unicorn, and then Peyton opted for a butterfly and a rose on her hand. I didn't think to take pictures of the kids right after we came home from the party, and by the time the kids got home again (Randy took them to the dollar movie after the party) Sawyer's unicorn was pretty much history. I also forgot to get a photo of the cool snake that Tyler got on his arm.

 

There was also a pinata stuffed with candy, a beautifully-decorated cake as well as elaborately iced cupcakes in keeping with the carnival theme, Tootsie Rolls and Smarties scattered along the tables, fruit punch and pink lemonade by the gallon . . . oh, and each child got a bag of cotton candy to take home! A very, very sweet lady from church named Maxine asked me today if we were "ready for more rolls" (she periodically brings over warm, delicious, homemade iced cinnamon rolls and/or ooey, gooey sticky buns) and I pleaded for mercy. I said, "Maxine, after Vacation Bible School and yesterday's birthday party, my kids are going to need to detox to get all the sugar out of their systems!" If I never see another Tootsie Roll again it'll be too soon!