Sophie will be five in a few weeks and I’ve been asking her what she wants for her birthday.  My favorite response so far is, "A set of hockey skaters, so I can hockey."

Somewhere around 6 this morning the crows started cawing.  After twenty or so minutes I realized the two ways that crows are like my kids: they loudly wake me up in the morning, and, if no one answers them when they call, they keep calling and keep getting louder.  By the time I went out to see what the hell was going on, I swear they were shrieking, "MA MA MA MA MA!!!!!" 

The boys were up, too, asking if they could play video games since it was so early.  Instead we all went to the back where Lex saw a gimongous raccoon climbing one of the big pine trees in our yard.  We ran back in for the camera and got some crappy shots of it.  Raccoons can climb way up there, you know. 

He found a fork in two big branches and got comfortable, wrapping his tail around the middle of the tree.  There were the crows, of course, but also a few squirrels and smaller birds who were all flipping out.  The raccoon was not phased at all; he just kept on with whatever he was doing, which Lex claims was eating baby squirrels.  Nathan swears he saw a starfish fall from the tree and land in the weeds grass.  I think his wife just kicked him out of the storm drain for coming in too late and he needed a place to crash. 

Last night I had an odd dream.  There was something to do with a pool party, a few people I know, and me uh, making out with Willie Nelson.  Alrighty, then.  The girls and I are off to the store for popsicles (it’s finally hot here) and toilet paper (there is NONE in the house).