Dr. Brady Barr's sidekicks (3-6-09)

A couple weeks ago we picked up some great National Geographic movies from the library. One of them was entitled, Most Dangerous Encounters. We watched this at least three times. It was pretty interesting and exciting. Dr. Brady Barr was the star. He is National Geographic's herpetologist. Most Dangerous Encounters was all about Dr. Brady Barr and his studies with pythons, hippos and crocodiles. The kids were so intrigued with the pythons (and the part where the hippos flap their tails while they poop and splatter their feces everywhere as a warning sign, haha, watch out!) Well, this Brady Barr, he is a wild and crazy one, very dramatic, and fun to watch. At one point he even gets bit in the bootie by a large python!

This past week, following the Dangerous movie, the kids had Dr. Brady and his snakes on the brain. One afternoon after school Isaac asked me if he could dig in the yard. So we got out the shovels and they began to dig to China.

I wasn't aware of Isaac's full intentions until Ethan came to the back door requesting a box with lots of holes in it. I fulfilled his request only to have him return a few minutes later asking for another box with lots of holes in it. Then a few minutes after that Isaac and Ethan both came in and asked if we had any meat. "What for?" I asked. "So we can catch poisonous snakes Mom!" I looked in the fridge. No meat. "Don't we have any hot dogs or anything Mom?" "Nope, sorry Isaac. Maybe we can give them something else... waffles? tater tots? ..." "Mom, how 'bout waffles... with ketchup, that will make it taste more like meat." "Okay, but maybe tater tots and ketchup might taste even more like meat..." "Yeah Mom, that's what we want!" So I handed them a bag of left over tater tots and a few tupperware lids piled high with ketchup and they headed back out to set their traps. When they came back in they were so excited for holes they'd dug, the traps they'd set, and for the poisonous snakes they were sure to catch. Isaac even claimed he saw some beady eyes staring at him from the dark abyss of one of his holes.

The next day after school they dug more and made more traps.

The day after that I found Isaac and Ethan in the art room, with the door shut, drawing diagrams and maps and discussing just how they would approach and manhandle the poisonous snakes to be found in their traps.

Finishing their diagrams, they headed to the toy room to pack backpacks full of the supplies they would need: Power Ranger costumes, swords, shields, gloves, a blinking pegasus necklace, a flashlight and a ring (to be "placed over the snakes head after being caught." ? )

Once everything was gathered, they carefully arranged all of it outside the door of their tent and asked me to get an alarm clock and set it for "the middle of the night."

They told me how they needed me to get up with them in the middle of the night and go out to the traps to catch the poisonous snakes that would be awaiting them. I know that Isaac is a deep sleeper and it would be very difficult, if not impossible to wake him up. So I asked him what I should do if he wouldn't wake up when I tried. His answers were, "slap me" and "pour water on me." Really?

That night, before Dave and I went to bed (which it was dark enough for them to consider it the middle of the night), I went into their room and tried to wake them. I gave it my best try by placing the sounding alarm right next to Isaac's ear and by shaking him, but to no avail! I knew that Isaac would be really upset in the morning for not getting woken up (he might not believe I even tried) so I decided to insure myself by getting Dave to record me making my second attempt. I tried to upload it for your enjoyment but for some reason it didn't work. So just imagine. PS- The video did come in very handy the next morning when Isaac woke up very ticked at me for not getting him up "in the middle of the night."

I consoled Isaac and Ethan by telling them we would try again that next night. But this time we would skip the waking them up thing, and we would go out to check their traps before they fell asleep. Meaning- they would get into bed like the usual routine, but then I would come back in and they would get up and arm themselves for the hunt. This movie is of them after they are armed and right before we headed out to our own dangerous encounter!

And here they are after our not so dangerous, but scary, encounter:

Man I have so much fun with these kids! I love them so much!!!