Rattlesnakes!

In March every year in Sweetwater, TX, they have a Rattlesnake Roundup.  I don't really know where all the snakes come from, but they do a lot of slaughtering there. Claire has now been to the Rattlesnake Roundup twice.  Paul's been once.  It's become a daddy-kid destination.  Adam always comes home with interesting tales of watching snakes get killed.  One of my favorite visuals is the beautiful blonde in gorgeous jewelry and nice clothing who dons a white coat and starts hacking a rattlesnake to death.

I've never been and don't really have any desire to go.

The first time Adam and Claire went, he took a video of some slaughtering and we posted it on youtube.  Despite all the darling videos of our kids, the rattlesnake slaughter video is by far the most popular with the public.  Last night I noticed it has more than 7,000 views and more than 100 comments.

So today if you have one minute and want to be disturbed, watch this.  If you have five minutes, read the comments.  They are delightful.  Apparently some people are passionate about snakes.  "Kill them all!" or "Snakes are God's creatures, too!"



http://youtu.be/4JeTgJZC72U

This is my all-time favorite comment:
"How sadly ironic that you bring your little Church buddies to this disgusting event which goes against your Gods wishes to only kill animals for necessary sustinance. Might as well quit that Church, you're all going to Hell sweetcheeks."

I love how the word hell is followed by sweet cheeks.  Hilarious.  (And the mistakes were theirs, not mine.)

One of the comments suggested I check into the Facebook group, "Rise Against Rattlesnake Roundups".  I did and was able to join.  These people are very passionate about saving rattlesnakes.  I don't really understand it, but I find it entertaining.

I would like to share a picture from my new group.

The guy that got this tattoo really loves rattlesnakes, obviously.  He was asking for suggestions for further tattoos he could get.  Several users suggested other rattlesnake breeds and offered photos for him to take to the tattoo parlor.

Because Adam and I were laughing so hard we couldn't breathe, I decided to both post the photo on my FB page and e-mail it out to family.  I claimed it was Adam's new tattoos.  I haven't gotten one response which leads me to believe two things.  1.  Our family is pro-snake slaughtering and anti-snake rights.  2.  They believed me.

So to clear up any confusion, this is not Adam's back.  He would have to find a new wife to accompany this tattoo.  We are neither pro- nor anti- snake rights.  We are intrigued by the campaigns, though.

Claire and her new companion

Rattlesnake roundup

Updates

Paul started crawling today. Watch out! I have been looking forward to/dreading this day for a while. Now I have two mobile kids to keep up with.

Claire has been developing her social skills with regular playdates. When we started playing with other kids a few months ago, she fought and wouldn't share. She's getting the picture now and even offers turns on different toys. That's not to say that she doesn't yell "Mine!" every once in a while, but she is getting better.

According to the Wii Fit, I am no longer obese, just overweight.

I have been staying home more the past few weeks and loving it. I don't get cabin fever. There's always something to do and never enough time to do it.

Adam and I are watching less and less television. We were Tivoing all our favorite shows, but it is impossible to watch TV at the dinner table with two kids. We try (and often fail) to have conversations instead.

Because I paid dues for a semester, I returned to the mom's club at the local Baptist church. This month, everyone wore pajamas. I literally didn't get the memo. Since I don't attend that church, I miss out on stuff like that. Also, gambling was brought up, and all the ladies at my table told me with a straight face that if they were in Vegas or Shreveport they wouldn't even play slot machines. "We're Baptists. We don't believe in gambling." I told them my Baptist grandma gambles in Shreveport regularly....They said, "Well, she must not really be Baptist." I told them my grandpa is a deacon in the church...That shut them up.

I find that group of ladies exclusive, condescending, and unfriendly. There is one nice lady in the entire group. She is the main reason I go. But I started thinking, and if I joined this group to meet ladies in my neighborhood and make friends, and I'm not doing that....And if I come home from each meeting disappointed and judgmental, maybe I should quit. Adam reminded me that, while many things that happen are often ridiculous to us, I am going on their turf and should be more respectful.

I've also gotten smart about cleaning house. I have a regular date set up on Friday mornings for one of Claire's friends to come over to distract her so I can clean. This morning I vacuumed, swept, and mopped the entire house while they played. It was awesome.

And tomorrow Adam is taking Claire to Sweetwater, OK for something called the Rattlesnake Roundup. Apparently it's a county fair with rattlesnakes. I will be taking Paul to an immigration hearing in Dallas.

I think that gets us all caught up on the news in our house.