Chester

This past week has been a whirlwind of travel ranging from time on a middle school field trip to time spent with family.

Last Wednesday through Friday Ben and I joined Jeremy on his grade teams' field trip to Haw River State Park. We didn't anticipate that the cold days would actually be as cold as they were, so unfortunately Ben and I saw very little more than the inside of the hotel room. I had really wanted to walk around from activity to activity and help out in whatever way but the weather outside was frightful : ) Our last morning there brought a special surprise of snow! There was a blanket of snow covering the ground - it was beautiful and I wished that Ben could just run around in it and build a little snowman. The same day that we left Haw River we flew down to Pensacola to visit my grandmother, Dee Dee. She and Ben had never met and so that was a very special treat to spend time there. They just smiled at each other all day. If you have never watched Guy Penrod for an hour, you should do that sometime : ) But seriously, we were so thankful to have that time there. Dee Dee said Ben was "warm, heavy and thundering." Very cute.

My mom, Jeremy and I drove the 12.5 hour trip back up in 16.5 hours (stops for dinner, feeding Ben, etc) and arrived in Raleigh shortly before midnight. The trip was actually surprisingly pleasant and seemed much shorter than I had imagined. We played games, listened to music, talked and passed the time with as much positive attitudes and respect towards one another that we could muster. As is the case with all trips, we returned home very tired. And very unprepared for what we would encounter upon entering our home.

As soon as we drove up, I knew something wasn't right. I could see that our front blinds were kind of tangled but dismissed that as normal - caught in the curtain or something. But when we opened the door there was more out of place. Plantation blinds hanging from a single string in the window over the stairs, pieces of which were scattered all over the floor beneath. Food and trash spilled out on the kitchen floor. A lamp knocked over in the bedroom. Things were just not right. We quickly retreated to the car and called 911. The police arrived a few minutes later and entered the house with guns drawn, shouting "Get Back! Get Back!"

Eventually they motioned for us to enter and so my mom stayed outside with Ben and Jeremy and I came in. Our house was 40 degrees because we had been out of town and the heat was off. Together we stood shivering in the living room listening to the police officers try to sort out our little mystery. No, probably not a burglary. Our video camera was in plain sight. The doors and windows had all been locked. One cop held a half eaten apple in his hand covered in sharp indentations akin to a vicious animal and asked if we owned a large dog. Uh, no. Then I noticed that our fireplace door was open and my Mom alerted me that Ben was up in the car and hungry. So while I went out to take care of Ben, Jeremy and the 2 policeman tried to find the culprit.

So what or who tore down our blinds, gnawed at our wood paneling, ruined our upholstery, knocked over a lamp and pooped EVERYWHERE?!?!? I'll tell you. A little squirrel that we decided to call Chester, that's who. Yep, hiding under a blanket in Ben's room on the floor. As soon as they found him and tried to catch him he ran down the stairs and back into the fireplace. That was early Monday morning. Monday night Jeremy took a dead Chester out our front door by a pole and a long rope while my Mom, Ben and I locked ourselves in the bedroom just in case he wasn't really dead. Insurance does not cover the damage. And we have spent the last 2 days cleaning squirrel poop off of everything. If this should ever happen to you, do not fret. Squirrel poop is thankfully very hard. Just imagine if it weren't.

This, combined with a 2 hour wait for a flu shot at my doctor's office with a hungry Ben at home and my first ever time being pulled over (and receiving a $150 ticket) made for a terrible Monday. But today is Tuesday and things are better!