The Attack...

...of the killer rabbits.

Let me backtrack a bit. I arrived home (Kansas a.k.a. el mejor estado en todos Los Estados) on Friday after a sufficiently harranguing flight schedule (running through an airport terminal to make your flight which is leaving in 2.5 minutes is decidedly NOT a good idea). Dad came to pick me up Saturday morning in KC, and we headed for Hazelton after having lunch with my friend, Sarah.

I cannot even tell you how excited I was to be home (and still am... lol), but it was amazing to pass through the Kansas plain and see the vivid green shoots of wheat growing on every field while the sky stretches, seemingly endless, unobstructed by buildings or mountains.

Anyway... I arrived home (surprising my sister for her birthday) and was told, once again, about the new "grandchildren." These grandchildren are named Oreo and Butterscotch, are the new delight of my mother, and are - of course, what else could they be? - rabbits.

However, these are not ordinary rabbits... oh no. These are killer rabbits with "long, sharp and pointy teeth" (I think somehow related to the killer rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), and I'm pretty sure... they hated me.

Mom feeding carrots to the killer rabbits... this was right before the attack.

The result of the battle fought - and lost - with the rabbits.

Holding him ever-so-gently, Oreo suddenly lunged and bit the inside of my arm. I responded by jerking his head away from my arm. He retaliated by ripping his hind feet into my hand (yes... there was blood), lunging again, and biting my arm a second time.

It was not cool. Foiled by a bunny. I thought I was so good with animals... ;)

Chelsie came outside and decided to try her luck with Butterscotch. His lunging abilities must not have been quite as quick because he didn't actually bite Chel's chin... although he tried. I don't know what Mom has been feeding these killer animals... ;)

Walking Time with the Rabbits:

Mom has harnasses to "walk" the rabbits... which essentially means they hop around, tie themselves in knots, hop full speed to the end of the tether and give themselves whiplash... and other fun things such as this (I should mention here that the rabbits love my mother, and that she really is very good to them). On top, Chel is posing with her thought of how we could throw the rabbits (we didn't... don't worry), and on the bottom, Chel and I "rabbit watching" with our leashes. As you can see, this was almost too exciting... lol.

After trying to make friends with the rabbits, and being completely rejected, I have decided not to waste any more effort (for now) attempting reconciliation. Instead, I will devote all my time to the best dog in the entire world... meet Pepper. Or, as we often refer to him (think slightly annoying, baby-accented speech here) Puppy Dog.

And so ends the rabbit attack session.

Chelsie's 20th Birthday:

These were two incredibly funny gifts Chel received last weekend... #1 The Art of the Bonsai Potato (a gift that I could not pass up giving her since I knew how much she appreciates the feng-shui of inner harmony... especially when exemplified in a potato spud... lol) and #2 the Hot Dog Toaster... five-minute meals indeed, Chel... lol.

Church Kids:

Church on Sunday was lots of fun... the Stewart kids (a family of nine) make our lives very joyful!!! After Tif and Chel returned from Magdalena in January, Chelsie taught the Sunday School kids to sing "La Infanteria" (The Infantry) in Spanish. So they performed on video for me so I can take it back and show our kids at CVE... their pronunciation was pretty good!

At left, Tif and Chel with three of the Stewart kidlets - Josh, Sterling, and Kaleigh. At right, Alli, Gabe, and Kaleigh play in the nursery after church.

So maybe Grandpa is right...

Every time I come home, it rains... and rains. It rained all day today and is still thundering and storming as I write this up. Dad said 1 3/4, Grandpa said 2 1/2... lots of water.

So... I decided to "brave" the rain tonight anyway, and go out to the trailer that has all my books stored in it. I prepared myself for the deluge and the mud by putting on Dad's shoes, Dad's jacket, and brandishing our humongous flashlight (which perhaps makes a better weapon than a source of light) in a manner that I'm sure is very threatening... ;)