Weber's Farm

This past Monday there was no school for Landon so I took the kids and headed to Weber's Farm, on the outskirts of Baltimore and very close to us.


Etame loved the little kids activities


This turkey was angry or mean or hungry. Doesn't it look like a Star Wars character in the face?



The slide, a perennial favorite



Etame liked the goats from a distance. She liked the bunnies the best, and really did not like the chickens. She ran from them.



How cute?


For the scrapbook


And this is how our day ended. Etame was quite angry with Landon as she did not want to share "her" apple cider slushie with anyone. We will have a strong-willed little miss in our house, I feel it coming on.

Why I am Scared to Fly

I haven't always been fearful of flying. No, I haven't always been scared of going up 10,000 feet in the air soaring above the clouds. In fact at one point growing up, I even wanted to become a pilot. I loved the feeling of take off and the control over a big aircraft and everyone on board.

No, now I have a different reason for being scared:


Kids. I shouldn't really blame them. It's just that everything is more complicated, stressful, and cumbersome with them in tow.

When I used to fly with just Landon, it wasn't all that bad. And even when Etame was an infant she would sleep. Then, the flight back to Oregon for Easter '09 happened. The infamous airport story whereby Trisha was nearly handcuffed and locked up (or so I thought would happen) at BWI for having a toy gun in my bag. Ugh. It was horrible, mortifying, and completely without my knowledge. I had been given the bag from a good friend who also has a 5yo son and it had not been completely emptied. Really. Cue to alarms going off, 6-8 transit authority police, supervisors, and all of the lines shut down in security while they held up a toy cap gun in front of my face so everyone could see, telling me that this was not funny and it was a federal offense.

I got through it but not without emotional scaring. Hence the reason I have never written about it on here perhaps. I vowed from then on to search every nook and cranny of every bag I carried. Of course this was all opened again when I received a $250 fee in the mail this week from the TSA. Seriously. As if the public humiliation was not enough.

The last flight we took, we were yelled at as everyone was de-boarding by a slightly "off" man. It was almost equally bad with what he said. I won't repeat it here.

So now you can see my fear. I dread flying. I hope it gets easier. I'm thinking of renting an RV and driving out to Oregon next summer. Really. Seriously. Days in the car may be easier than 10 hours of being in a confined area with strangers.

"Big Red"

Here is Calvin and Etame on "Big Red", our new tractor that came with the house. It's a bit complicated to run and it seems plenty powerful for us!

Most of the neighbors have a similar tractor. They put them to use in the forest too, pulling trailers behind them full of wood or debris. We just give the kids rides on ours.


Landon says it's not as fun as Papa's though, since our yard is not as big. Etame seemed to love it though - her first time on a tractor.

Look out neighborhood - the Coys are getting countrified!

New Laundry Hamper

I'm not the laundry person in my house. Thank goodness I married someone who is very particular about how he likes his clothes folded. He does most all of our laundry and boy are we thankful!

But sewing, that's my territory. So when Landon's hamper looked like this, I knew something needed to be done. The IKEA vinyl lining had seen it's day.


So I sewed up a new bag insert from pillow ticking which I found appropriate.



I then used my Crocodile puncher to put rivets through the material so I could tie up the ends with ribbon.

Much prettier, don't you think?


Mission accomplished. Onto the next project... some gifts, pants for Landon, and possibly a new backpack as well! His other may have to be handed down to Etame as it is proving too small.

First Day of Kindergarten

Landon is settling in as a full time kindergartner. I think he is enjoying all the social aspects of it the most.


At the front door, refraining from running off down towards the bus.


Daddy stayed home later just to see him off.



His new neighbor friend moving in this weekend whom happens to be in his very class!



We actually missed the bus because the bus driver wasn't used to stopping at their stop (they had a gradual entry) so I took him into school and saw that he made it okay.



Here comes the bus! At this point these days, Etame is screaming with anticipation.




Welcome home! Landon's favorite part of the day is riding the bus where he meets all kinds of new friends.



We're free, we're free!