Goats and Javelina!

The kids and I were up at my mom's house yesterday. Kaden was playing outside with Joni, my mom's little foster girl who is 6 years old. Kaden ran inside to tell us that he saw a goat-thing that was "this" big, but Joni didn't see it. Then he ran back outside to play. He was acting just fine. Then about ten minutes later, we hear a blood-curdling scream. I can tell it's Kaden and he's screaming/crying so hard that I think he's hurt really bad. Mom and I jump up and run towards him. He came bursting through the front door and JUMPED into my mom's arms. Then in runs Joni.

Then in runs.... a GOAT!!! Kaden was still screaming/crying in terror while mom and I herded the goat back outside and chased it back towards the neighbors house who owns it. The whole situation was so hilarious, mom and I were trying so hard not to laugh in front of him. Joni didn't seem to be too upset by it, other than the initial scare. (Neither of them got hurt.) Poor Kaden was so terrified that if anyone opened the door, he would start crying again. When it was time to drive back to Payson about 15 minutes later, he made us carry him to the car. We got home after dark and he was afraid to walk in the house by himself. When he got inside, he made us close all the blinds and was afraid to walk by the sliding glass door. When it was time to get ready for bed, Kaden didn't want to walk past the sliding glass door to his room to get ready for bed because he said he saw something outside. Brent and I had about a 10 minute talk with Kaden about being brave, and how there's nothing outside (the goat was at grandma's house, not ours, and it ran away anyway). Brent told him to go look thru the glass and he would see that there was nothing there. Kaden didn't want to but Brent told him he had to. So he runs as fast as he can past the door and into his room. Brent asks him again to go look out the glass, and Kaden screams/cries again "NOOOOOOOO!" Poor kid is so traumatized. So Brent goes and picks up Kaden and takes him back to the sliding glass door to show him that there's nothing out there to be afraid of. I look outside and see out in the darkness.......

A JAVELINA!!! and another and another and another. There are about 15 javelina between our yard and the neighbors. So now Kaden is really freaked out. We've never seen them in our yard in the year-and-a-half we've lived in this house. Brent couldn't believe it. Of all nights for there to actually be something outside in the darkness, it would of course happen lastnight. And I think he'll be traumatized for quite a while. He slept in our bed with us lastnight, which never happens (I don't sleep much if the kids are in bed with us cause they move around so much). He was glued to me all night. If I rolled over in bed, he was immediately at my side again. I wonder if he'll ever want to play outside at our house or my mom's house again anytime soon? THe whole situation was both hilarious and sad at the same time.

Also, a quick note. I haven't posted in a while because I've been meaning to post Kate's birthday pictures, but I haven't gotten them off my camera yet. So stay tuned for that. Hopefully within the next week. :)