Epic Prison Break (What Boys Do When They're Bored!)

We have been telling our boys NOT to dig holes in the yard. The last time was when we were all outside pulling weeds in the beds. I directed my daughter to use the shovel and dig around the herbs I have planted next to the house in order to loosen them up. Which she did. Then I asked the boys to help her pull the weeds. I then proceeded to tackle another area. Well, I don't know what the older boy was thinking, something got lost in translation, I guess, but when I came back to check on his progress, he had dug a hole next to bed where the grass is supposed to be.

Well to be fair, the grassy area did have weeds in it. I guess he thought he was doing me a favor.

So, I tried to explain to him that I did not want him to dig a hole there, to remove the grass and weeds from the pile of dirt and fill the hole back up. Then I left him to fix the hole.

I am, at this point, really focusing on my weed pulling, putting a lot of energy into pulling weeds as quickly as I can. I'm not even thinking about what the kids are doing and trusting that they understood me this time. It's not long before The little boy says, "Mom, come quick, you gotta see what we found."

I glance up at him from my work, barely taking the time to focus on what he is saying because, lets face it, the words "Come and see what we found" is a very common phrase at my house. "What did you find?" I say, half interested.

"We found an ant colony!" he exclaims. "Come and see!"

I continue pulling weeds for a moment. Then it dawns on me. Ant Colony? Hmmm.... I better check that out. I look up to see the little one running toward the other side of the house from where I left them to fill in the hole they made. I follow, my interest growing a little bit more.

The area they are in is bare ground. We still don't want holes here as we would like to repair it soon. I find the two boys huddled next to a hole in the ground, looking at the intricate pattern made by the ants they unearthed. "See, its an ant colony! I'm going to go look for a container for them. Where's the queen?"

OK, so what would you say if you saw this scene? Would you exclaim, "You guys! I thought I told you 'No More Holes'!"

I don't think so. I said, "Oh no, we are not looking for a container for those ants!" and explained to them why I did NOT want an ant colony in my house! It didn't even occur to me they had dug another hole! I just wanted to make sure no ANTS were brought into my house! After explaining the importance of this, I went back to work.

About 15 minutes later, I start walking to the house to get a drink of water. I glance over at the boys by the herb garden to see if they had filled up the hole like I asked. They have the WHEELBARROW filled with more dirt and dumping it into the hole they made. Then it dawns on me. The ant colony, in the hole, that wasn't there before. I shake my head. I tried a few times to express that this wasn't a good idea but I can't seem to think of the words. I finally decide to tell them they have to fix the second hole, too.

The truth is, the left over dirt next to the first hole was probably not enough to fill it back up. And now the second hole from which they got the extra dirt from will not have enough dirt to fill it. So they will need dirt from.......

Oh, Dear! So I told him not to dig anymore holes. Just leave it like it is. I tried to remind myself that he WAS trying to fix the problem.

Fast forward to the latest development. Its a week later and at this point I think They got it now. They understand that I don't want any more holes dug in the yard.

The chores are done, they are looking for something to do, so they go outside to play. It's nice and quiet, mom has some time to herself, having some coffee and catching up on some of my favorite blogs. All is right in the world.

My daughter comes in from the yard and says, "You're not going to believe what the boys are doing!" Then she proceeds to tell me that the the little one is in a HOLE, buried up to his neck!

My daughter is laughing as she tells me this. I grab the camera and this is what I found.


This is what happens when boys don't have anything better to do with their time. I had to laugh at them. However, I did tell them their DAD was not going to be happy with them, while I giggled with them. I give up. Maybe Dad will know what to do with them!

But doesn't this remind you of the prison break scene in "Raising Arizona"? I mean, add some mud and screaming and...





Ed McDonnough: You mean you busted out of jail.
Evelle: No, ma'am. We released ourselves on our own recognizance.
Gale: What Evelle here is trying to say is that we felt that the institution no longer had anything to offer us