The Talens' Tales

While wandering the dessert, the Israelites were struck plague of poisonous snakes. Moses created a serpent on a pole and any Israelite that was bitten could look at the snake and be healed. This snake was thought to be destroyed centuries ago, but it was actually hidden. And now many people are fighting to have it and the extraordinary powers it holds. Jack Hawthorne is an archeologists on a mission to find this object. But, little does he know, there are several other people after the snake and his life own life as well. When Jack doesn’t return from his trip, his girl friend and her brother set out to find him. They quickly find themselves in the middle of a situation much bigger than themselves and one that could cost them their very lives. This was a high paced, action packed book. I enjoyed it for the entertainment value, but the story is pretty far out there. It is interesting to think about if some of these ancient Biblical artifacts do still exist somewhere. Would ...

A little video to give you a taste of the air show and Joash enjoying the tractor. Enjoy!

So last week was pretty exciting around out place. We live very close to the airport and we often have planes flying over head. But this past weekend there was an air show on the Island. The Blue Angels, Royal Canadian Air Force Snow Birds, CF-18 Demonstration team and all sorts of other fighter jets were flying around over head. Joash enjoyed watching them from our yard and my husband dashed outside any time he heard one coming. So, we decided it might be fun to go the Air Show and acutally see the planes' entire show. Joash enjoyed sitting in his stroller. He liked looking at the planes...  And the people...  But what he like most of all was this... There were a few tractors on display and Joash just loved sitting in this one. He declared it was "Joash's tractor" and happily sat it while the Snow Birds did their show in the air above us. And then he cried when we had to leave and leave the tractor behind.

 M(om): Hi Joash. We have had a busy day today and we will tell everyone about it later. But right now, it is time for your monthly interview because you are 22 months old today! J(oash): I will smile nicely for the picture, Mom, now that I know to say "cheese." I still really like cheese. Can I have some cheese to eat? M: Not right now. First can you tell us about how things are going? J: Well, I am getting some more teeth, so that is throwing off my appetite and my sleeping a little bit. I really don't want to eat supper any more, though I will sometime lick something if it looks good. That is what dogs do with their tongues when they eat. I also like to copy you and dad quite a bit. Like when dad stretches, I like to stretch too. And I like to repeat that last words you and Dad say. M: I know that Joash. That means we need to make sure we are teaching you good stuff. What do you like to play with lately?  J: I love my tractors, especially when they are ho...

I was very excited about the amount of blackberries I picked from the bush in our tree line today. Mysteriously, half the my harvest had disappeared by the time I got to the house. We have a blackberry monster on our hands!

One of the big summer events in Charlottetown is Old Home Week. For those of you not from here, think State Fair + Big Horse Race+Parade and you get the idea. Last year we all went to the parade and then check out the Exhibition (Fair) grounds. It was neat to see, but crazy busy. This year we went to the parade again and we were excited to take Joash because we thought he would like the tractors and the bands. Well, excited does not even begin to describe how Joash felt about the parade. There were so many TRACTORS and TRUCKS and all of them were HOOKED UP! We heard those three words about a millions times during the parade along with HAY, which most of the floats had on them. It was a "Farm in the City" theme this year, so Joash felt right at home. Joash did not know quite what to make of the bands. They were a bit loud for him. He stared at them with opened mouth wonder. We have a lot of Pipe and Drum bands out here, which is sort of cool. You don't get to hear go...

I don't know if Joash is hitting a "train phase," or if it is being a first born coming through. Maybe it is just his wish to have some implements to hook up to his tractors. Whatever the case, Joash loves putting things in lines. It seems every day if he not asking for something to be "hooked up" he lines something up in a nice row. He has done coasters...  Megablocks...  And almost all of his trucks, tractors and cars. (and these he moved from the toy room to the living room, one or two at a time.) They are quite neat. So it looks like he has a good mix of his mother's oganizational skills and his father's need for symmetry.