Just WHAT Is That In My Washer??

I did laundry today....4 loads. In an average week I do around 8 loads of laundry. I refuse to add up how many loads I've done in the past 11 years since the kids have come along (especially since DD spit up so much as a baby that I did at least 2 loads a day for about 4 months!). It never ceases to amaze me the things I will find in the washing machine as I'm doing the laundry. No matter how many times I remind everyone to check their pockets as they sort their laundry, there's almost always something that makes it through.

I've found more rocks than I care to count (both DS & DD have at different times "collected" them), enough coins to buy any entire vending machine's worth of snacks, lip balm (thankfully found before it made its way to the dryer), a few crayons (also found before the dryer), fruit snacks (unfortunately NOT found before the dryer.....putty knife works well to remove these from the dryer drum after it's cooled), assorted candy wrappers, a handful of uneaten candy, loads of tissues (always in the dark load when they appear), rubber bands, toy jewelry, a few rubber snakes, and more things that I'm sure I've forgotten.

There are three things that are even more amusing than the rest. One time I had a wet, furry toy mouse come flying out of the washer at me as I pulled clothes out.....this was only amusing after I realized that it was one of the cat toys and not a real mouse! Last year I heard something clunking loudly in the washer. When I went to see what it was when the spin cycle finished, I found.......two full-sized screwdrivers....yes, TWO! (It was later determined that these came from DH's pockets, not the kids'!!) Today I added to the list of amusing washing machine discoveries. This is what I found:
Yes, two orange disposable ear plugs.....which at first I thought were cheese puffs (not thinking at the time about the fact that had they indeed been cheese puffs, they would have completely dissolved in the wash water). Where did these come from? My son's pockets......where most of the strange things that have shown up in my washer originated. Over the years I've determined that you just never know what strange things will be found lurking in the washing machine.

Fourth Fun

We had a fun weekend celebrating the 4th of July. Unfortunately there was rain predicted for the actual 4th (Saturday), so the kids set off their fireworks on Friday evening instead. They had a blast! (Pun intended!) This was the first year, for many reasons, that they have had a chance to do their own fireworks. Between the smoke bombs,

sparklers,

and spouting fountain fireworks,

a great time was had by everyone. Also, thanks to my parents' competitive neighbors, the we were even able to see a lot of "traditional" fireworks shooting off high in the sky. The kids are now asking if we will buy them that kind for next year. DH, of course, is just as excited as the kids......

Zoo Adventures

Earlier this week the kids & I met friends (J & P) at the zoo for a fun-filled day. We had awesome weather...not too hot, not too humid....and had a fun time. We started out the morning at the Oceans exhibit, where the kids had a chance to pet sharks. Both DS & DD declined this opportunity. DD started to but got a little freaked out when the shark came close enough to touch.We then moved on to the area where the kids had the opportunity to touch a starfish. DD did decide to do this and was amazed at how different a living starfish feels from the dead ones she's seen in gift shops.Per DD's request we then moved on to the Dessert Pavilion to view her favorite reptiles. I don't know where she got her love of these things, but she has claimed snakes as her favorite animals for years. She's quite put out with me that I won't let her have one for a pet. From there we went all over the zoo looking at various animals in their habitats. One special exhibit that the zoo has on loan for the summer is the Kimodo Dragons.
After viewing most of the animals (and DD having a chance to also pet her favorite animals), we ate lunch & let the kids play in the spray park in the zoo. We then headed over to the adjacent Gardens to check out the butterfly house. One compliant butterfly even stuck out it's tongue at us:After viewing the multitude of butterflies (which DS was thoroughly bored by!) we checked out some of the rest of the Gardens area to see the frog fountain
as well as some of the pretty flowers that abounded.Then DS & DD spotted this fella:

and quickly decided it was time to go home. All in all it was a very good day. And one of the best parts is no one got hurt, no on got sick, and no one had a total meltdown. Gotta love those kinds of days!