Hunting for bugs

Hate me now? Or hate me later? Which do you suppose would upset AJ more: if I told him he couldn't go outside dressed in his silly, too-small turtle costume? Or if I show him these pictures in 15 years so he knows that I allowed him to run around our front yard in his silly, too-small turtle costume. Hmmmm....

What AJ is doing, by the way, is "just looking for bugs." That's what he told me as he investigated the inhabitants of the garden on the side of house. I wasn't too concerned. It kept him busy while I unloaded the car on Sunday.

And then I came home from work Monday and found this:

"I was just looking for bugs Mom," he explained, totally baffled as to why I might be upset.

Spin doctor that I am, I'm sensing opportunity here. I've been wanting to head down the hill in our back yard in search of more rocks to further line our yard/gardens. AJ wasn't too interested in helping the last time I asked. It's not that I need his help, I just need him to be near enough to me that I can keep an eye on him while I'm digging. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to convince him this time to come along and help me dig. The question I'll ask will be, "Who wants to help me look for bugs?"