"To Bee or Not to Bee" by Alan Miller

This is a tale of the classic struggle of man vs. nature. We're quite content to let nature have its way until it encroaches on our property. And what's more natural than a bee? They never seem to bother me. I just ignore them and they go away. But Samuel seems to be frozen in place when he sees one, as if it's an elephant standing in the way of the task at hand. We've had our share of yellow jacket nests in and around our house, but this time, it seemed awfully strange to see a growing number of bees emerging from our lawn.

Upon closer inspection, Ana, Ammon and Samuel found a hole that had quickly become an underground hive. Thoughts of merciless annihilation crossed their scheming minds. Yet recalling national news stories about the decline in the honeybee population, Ana didn't want to contribute to the shortage of the species. So they sought the source of all wisdom (the internet) and found that there was no cause for concern.

Comparing the pictures she took with the ones on the computer screen, she determined that there was no honey making going on. These were your garden variety pests whose only known purpose was to antagonize squeamish humans (like Sam). She also learned that yellow jackets can make enormous nests and their stings can be painful. Not an ideal situation for a home with a day care.

Next, we consulted Beth Ulvestad, a friend and former beekeeper. She told us that the best way to combat such critters is to wait until nightfall, when they're all inside the nest and inactive. Then we were to spray the nest with an insecticide and quickly cover the hole with dirt and pack it down tightly. That sounded like a plan.

I don't know if the insect world can monitor our communications, but on the very day of our planned invasion (B-Day if you prefer to call it), we noticed many bees starting to remove some larvae from the hole. Was it an elaborate prenatal escape attempt? There was nothing we could do until the dark of night.

So after the 10:00 news, when I said goodnight to the capital city, we climbed into the Fabfour van and headed to the only store open that late at night: Walmart. The characters who roam the aisles that time of night are a story for a different blog. But we found our weapon: a can of bee killer.

We weren't going to enact our plan without having all our ducks in a row. It was Sam's job to dig up some dirt from the garden for a quick one-two punch against the enemy. However, our youngest boy seemed to lose interest in our quest. He was content to be a spectator who held the flashlight. Ana once again took the initiative to ensure we had adequate ammunition to prevent any nocturnal shenanigans by our soon-to-be shellshocked targets.

Step one: spray like crazy. I figured we had plenty of insecticide. It was a huge can, but I eventually found out why it only cost about two dollars. It was empty within 30 seconds. But no matter, I took aim and thoroughly inundated the opening with a heavy cloud of death gas.


That's when Ana and Sam pointed out what could have been another opening to the nest. I sprayed what I could, but there was nothing left. Since our plan was already in motion, there was no turning back.

Step two: prevent an escape. I poured all the dirt we had into that hole. But as any soldier knows, your foe will find a way to escape if there's an opening. That's why we moved on to Step three:

It's a dance step done to the tune of "Plight of the Bumblebee". I simply tap, tap, tap until the dirt is firmly packed. That way, not even Arnold Schwarzenbeeger could live to make a sequel to "Jingle All the Way". Sam played the role of Inspector Insect and found no signs of stray bees. Our job was done. All we could do was wait until daylight to clearly observe the devastation. And what do you know? Our mission was a complete success. Let's just hope our comrades on the other battlefields around our neighborhood, our state and our country struck a fatal blow to the evil insect empire.

Ammon's Big Purchase

Ammon has been a working boy since he was nine years old. He had a paper route until he was 14. Then his Sister Monica got him a job at A&W where he has worked for two years. For about six months he took on another paper route which we cursed until the day he gave it up. most recently he started working at the t.v. station where Alan works. The last year he has had one major goal. He wanted a computer. Not just any computer, but a laptop. Not just any laptop, but a Mac. He went on the Internet and researched how much it was going to cost, which was the best kind and he figured out how much he needed to save every month. Even though he didn't like getting up early for the paper route, working two jobs and under bad conditions he was willing to work hard for his computer.

After almost a year of working hard and saving up every penny the day finally came. He had enough money and this past week he ordered his computer. I was so proud of him that he had that much determination to accomplish his goal. The only thing left to do was to wait for his package to arrive. The Fed-X guy was never more popular at our house. In this picture Ammon stays close by window not wanting to miss him. He actually tracked it hour by hour, minute by minute. The waiting was the worse part and he even got me all excited about his package even though it wasn't mine. He was beginning to drive me a little nutty with his impatience.

Here he is checking down the street, to see if the truck was any where in sight but it wasn't.

Finally the truck pulled up in front of the house. I never saw a more excited boy!! We were all excited for him!

Here is Ammon accepting his package and signing for it. Can you see the big grin on his face?
Here he is opening his package and he still has that grin on his face. He has been waiting for this moment for almost a year.
This is it the computer that will help make movies with the kind of quality he has dreamed about. That was the whole purpose of this purchase. A computer with enough memory for the movies he wants to make. That's what he wants to do is to produce movies.

Here he is plugging it in and ready to installed all the software that came with it. Reading the instructions to make sure he does everything right.
So far he is enjoying the different features and looks forward to all he can do. He's already downloaded a movie that he's had in the works for awhile. Now that he has met his goal, he put in his two week notice at A&W. He decided he's had enough of his Manager who doesn't treat him well and plus he really doesn't have time for two jobs. The owner and the other Manager have been very good to him and he is grateful to them and so are we. We appreciate that they were willing to give him a job at fourteen. In all this he has learned the value of hard work, setting goals and the value of a dollar. The fact that he has done this at such a young age gives me great hope for his future.

Sam's Birthday Update

Alan made breakfast for Sam for his birthday. Sam wanted french toast so that's what he got.

Sam started his day with breakfast in bed. What a lucky boy! He kind of expects it because his Dad does this every year. He must of enjoyed his breakfast because we didn't hear any complaints.

Sam requested Little Ceasars pizza and pop for dinner so that's what he got. It was so good and their bread sticks are awesome!! We didn't do a huge pool party like we usually do. I didn't have the energy for it this year. I think Sam thought it wouldn't be as much fun but it was quite enjoyable. There was no rush. We did have to wait for Ammon to get off work to get the party started but that was no big deal. Sam was surprisingly patient. He got to watch the Yankees-Red sox game while he waiting. He thought it was great that the Yankees won on his birthday. I wasn't so happy that my Red sox got beat. 10-3 which add up to 13.
I made Sam this beautiful cake. I'm not good at decorating cakes but I was pleased how this one turned out. Sam wouldn't smile for me so I told him to imagine his Dad in his underwear running out in the backyard. He couldn't keep from laughing!!
We put together a basket full of smaller gifts. Sam thought that was pretty cool!!
He got a Stongbad shirt from Ammon. Heroscape from dad. In the basket he found a target giftcard, Cold Stone giftcard, bookmark, book, a bag of skittles, 2 dvds, and a rubiks cube.
We ended the night with a little minature golf. We had such a good time and Sam enjoyed his birthday immensely!! Oh, did I mention that I beat everyone at minature golf ? Well yes it's true I was the winner! And don't worry we did follow all the rules and we were polite to the other players!This is my big boy I can't believe you're 13 and going to Junior High!