This year I have had some pretty scary experiences with prehistoric spider-pedes and a Hobo spider infestation at Jason's house, but this one might top them all.

We spent the afternoon at Jason's family house in Pleasant Grove. As we were leaving I noticed something crawling in the middle of the road as we stopped at a stop sign.

(if you zoom in you can see it right in the middle of the road)



It was a big, ugly, creepy, hairy TARANTULA!!! Talk about arachnophobia!

Apparently, tarantulas are common in Pleasant Grove.

Giant spiders just walking down the street!?! It reminded me of the stories mom use to tell us about living in Texas....I wondered if I smashed it with a shovel if it would squeal.

Sadly, there was no spider smashing today, partially because I was too afraid to even get that close to it and because Zack really wanted to take it to school.

Jason caught the spider for us, which involved a lot of "girly" screaming from all of us. Then we had to drive 45 minutes home holding it. We considered putting it in the trunk but the thought of getting home, opening the trunk and finding an empty Tupperware bowl was even more terrifying than staring at its hairy fangs for the entire drive.

So now the spider is hanging out in a Tupperware bowl in Jason's kitchen until school tomorrow morning. It left me wondering how tarantulas find each other to mate, perhaps it gives off ferramones or a silent squeal to attract more of its kind...Luckily I don't have to sleep there tonight.