Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails ... that's what little boys are made of!

What a fun time of year to explore all of the living creatures in our back yard! The boys are having an absolute blast finding and investigating all of the creepy crawlies. We've been having fun playing with all of the little toads for a couple of weeks now, but tonight we made a new discovery - a caterpillar!

Gage had no fear of the fuzzy little fella and even tried to eat it a couple of times -- we had to be quick to keep it out of his mouth. Luckily, he was very good about announcing his intentions first with a robust "Eeeeeeeeeeeaaaat!" So, we had fair warning and were ready to intercept the unsavory snack = )

On the flip side, Riley, for once, did not want to be so hands-on. For a boy who will hold a toad, pick up fresh dog doo doo with his bare hands, and mush around in the muckiest of mudholes, he would not hold the cute little catepillar for anything. Our neighbor girl, Sara, was so trying to show him how harmless and fun the litter critter was, but he wanted no part in it that involved him being anything other than a spectator. Go figure, that boy never ceases to amaze in his decisions. He is definitely one fickle pickle!

Speaking of being fickle, he was pretty excited to get some new tennis shoes the other day. However, we are now having the same arguement every morning when we go to put them on. It goes something like this: "Riley let's get your shoes on so we can go." "Okay, mom ... NOOOOOOOOO, want SANDALS!" From there I try to explain that we have to put the sandals away since his toes are now seriously in peril of hanging over the edge and scraping the ground. It is amazing how fast his little feet grow. I can't really blame the kid for his shoe choice, though. The cool Skechers sandals that his Aunt Tracy got him are pretty awesome and look really comfy. Plus, I'm still wearing my sandals and slides and Corey lives in his Tevas. However, I just can't justify buying a new pair of sandals at this time in the year. So, I'm just hoping he'll accept the idea that it is tennis shoe time for Riley and that they are the cool thing to wear right now. Wish me luck = )