survival of the fittest - a post for brendan

the other day brendan was outside practicing his entomology skills and stumbled on a praying mantis devouring a grasshopper. finding a praying mantis was not a new thing for him, however finding one that was in the middle of dinner was so exciting he could hardly contain himself. he came in shouting, begging me to take some pictures. so - here we go.

since it was so hard to see the praying mantis in the grass brendan wanted to move him onto the bricks. he grabbed a paper plate and we slid it underneath him a little bit and moved him out. it must have made him feel exposed and he quickly began to drag his victim back into the grass.

i didn't feel the need to stick around and watch the rest of the story play out, but brendan was fascinated and continued to watch for a really long time.

this was the same day that brendan and a friend of his from school got to lead the audience in the star spangled banner at the school assembly. usually i attend the assemblies when the kids are getting an award or singing, but i was at the last one so larry went instead. i knew that brendan would be totally jazzed to have his dad there. whenever i attend those, i leave feeling so proud of not only my kids but our friends kids as well. at every assembly there is a least one kid from church, besides our's, that is being recognized for something. it's nice to know that the "mormon kids" are setting good examples for their peers and impressing the teachers with their behavior and abilities. i hope that trend continues throughout my kids school careers. something that makes me smile everytime i attend an assembly is the kids principal. growing up, my dad was my elementary and middle school principal and he was not a cool guy. he was very good at this job and he was highly respected, but lacked a certain coolness factor. the kids principal however ends every assembly by bringing out the electric guitar and jamming away. it's so fun! the kids start screaming and sing along. at first i was really taken back and thought it was so unprofessional (mostly because it was so opposite of what my dad would have done) but now i look at it differently. the kids still have a tremendous amount of respect for him and it doesn't hinder his ability to govern, so to speak, the school. plus, who doesn't enjoy a little jam session now and then??