Happy 2008!

I wish you all a Happy and prosperous and healthy New Year!

If you are going out tonight and will be drinking, please have a designated driver so you can stay safe!

More Parties!

Only this time it's a birthday party for our youngest grand daughter, 'baby Becca' as we call her. She will be two tomorrow but we celebrated tonight. She is quite the 'daddy's girl' and really doesn't like for daddy to not be visible to her at all times in large groups. This photo is of her and her Daddy (our oldest son, Brian) at our home on Christmas afternoon. Her party was at a place called "Playworld" in Grandville. She had a ball. It is an indoor play area and they have lots of tubes and slides similar to a McDonald's play are only on a much larger scale. Lots of different compartments filled with balls to jump in and Playschool toys to play on and in and giant inflatable slides, etc. Amber went along and she is as exhausted as 'baby Becca'!

'Baby Becca' reminds me of pictures I have seen of my older sister when she was about the same age. Her maternal grandmother and a maternal aunt, think that she resembles our side of the family more than their side. Since we think she is beautiful, we'll take it and keep right on bragging! It's what we "mema's" do best!

Everything is done!

My house was full with some of the grown children and some of their children, while we had our annual Christmas Cookie Bake. It ended up being quite the mess..........but 100 years from now, who will care about the mess. In fact, I don't care about it now!
We did this Friday night. I was a bit groggy from Thursday morning but we managed. I spent all of Thursday morning in the ER. Just those darn old muscle spasms again, but this time there was an enzyme that was elevated and they kept me much longer in able to do more blood draws and check the enzyme over a time period. They thought I might be having a cardiac event of some kind.
I told them when I got there it was muscle spasms, but they can't take a patients word for it..........they really need to be very careful if they think the heart is involved especially if there is a history of heart problems.
So, after 5 hours and two shots of morphine, oxygen, heart monitors, chest x-rays and an EKG, they believed me and released me with a couple RX's and instructions to take it easy for the rest of the day. I think they must have forgotten what time of the year it is...........it just isn't possible for this "Grandma" of 18 to take it easy. I'm not like Staples and I don't come equipped with an 'Easy Button'!
But this was the last item that needed to be checked of the list in preparation for Christmas. The cookies are made, the menu is planned and ready and the presents are all wrapped and placed under the tree in anticipation of Christmas late afternoon. I can hardly wait!

Wrapped!

This is the same tree as in the last post but now all the presents are wrapped and underneath it. I still have to wrap one more that I have for Bumpa hidden upstairs and I will do that today. He's working again today anyway, so he won't see me wrap it or hide it under all the other ones there already!


And this one is what my backyard looked like at 8:30 AM this morning! It's deep enough that when the dog goes out to go 'potty' she is actually getting her tummy wet when she squats to pee! Brrrrrr.....cold, huh, pup!

Brrrrr............it's cold outside!

Wow! The temp outside is 22.5º. Fortunately the wind is not blowing today, so there is no wind chill to factor in. This is still fall.........winter doesn't officially arrive until December 22. But with the cold temperature and the snow, it really does look and feel like winter and Christmas. I have the tree up and decorated.....well, two trees this year. One in the family room and one in the living room. These two rooms are on different floors in my home, that's why I wanted two this year. This is the one in the family room........I know it appears to be crooked, but it is the way I had to stand on the footstool balancing while trying to fit the entire tree in the photo, but it gives you an idea anyway!

I would normally have all my decorations up by now, but this year, I just can't get into the mood to get it done. I'm lucky to even have the trees up. Maybe later this week.............who knows. And if I don't get them out, will anyone really care?

Please help me find the Christmas spirit this year.......it seems to be lost!

Since Bumpa came home early (Tuesday evening) from deer hunting to see his real "dear" (that would be me in case you were unsure) because he missed me and he still had the rest of the week off for vacation, we decided to run errands together on Thursday. One of our errands was to purchase a new pre-lit tree. After going to several stores, we finally found the one we wanted at Meijers; purchased it and brought it home. Tom put it together and plugged it in only to find that some of the lights were not lit. After playing with it and inserting new fuses, it still refused to be a '600 light' tree. So we decided that tomorrow we would take it back and exchange it for one that would actually light!

So Friday arrived and Bumpa had to do some outdoor stuff..........like taking the blade off the riding mower and putting the plow on, loading the lawn cart with firewood and bring it to the garage and unload it and stack it for easy reach. And Prancer (our dog) had an appointment with the doggie doctor (I can't say 'vet', she knows that word and puts her ears flat down against her head when I say it) for some shot that she was due for...........kind of like a DPT booster for small children. We had a new "doggie doctor" there this time. Nice younger gal, but Prancer was still scared and this gal kept saying that some 'kids' never like going to the doctor! Well, I have always thought of Prancer as our fur kid so I'm thinking this new "doggie doctor" and I are gonna get along great! We come back home and decide that Tom will finish up the outside stuff while it is still daylight and I will run to the bank and stop and pick up a birthday present for Bumpa's God daughter, and he will trim the 'fur kids' nails. Now we know this is a task she hates! So in the process of attempting this, she jerks her leg away and Bumpa ends up cutting it too short thus making the quick bleed...........no I mean BLEED......forever! We pack the nail with cornstarch to try and subside the bleeding. NOT WORKING. In the meantime, Prancer is running around because we are trying to hold her in one place to care for her and prevent having blood everywhere. No such luck. I steam cleaned the carpeting Monday and Tuesday, so of course that is where she leaked blood!

We got a really late start (like 9:00 PM) leaving to take the tree back for the exchange but we finally did make it. And then I decided not to get the exact same tree anyway. Found one I liked better and it cost less............pretty cool! Got home around 10:30 PM and Bumpa put it up. And it's really pretty except.......................are you ready................all the lights don't light. It's supposed to be a '800-light' tree..........this one may remain under that. I'm not going through the hassle of taking it down and returning yet another one to the store. I'm sure he can fix it or he can't, maybe we will learn to live with it! Merry Christmas.............Bumpa says "bah-hum-bug!"

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down............

okay, not really but it is Monday and it is raining right now. It isn't too terribly cold out.......36º which ain't bad for the end of November in Michigan. I remember lots of years in the past that we had more than 5 inches of snow on the ground already and my back was sore from shoveling!

My back is sore.......but not from shoveling. I decided today that I couldn't stand to look at my dirty carpeting one more day, so I broke out the shampoo attachment to my vacuum (which promises to give a professional looking cleaning job) and started cleaning the carpeting in the downstairs eating area. I still need to do the family room, computer room, hallway and entry room! I should have started much earlier than I did.....what was I thinking! I also did the chair that the dog has claimed as hers in the hopes that it would look better.



It isn't dry yet so I am unable to see the end results. All I can tell you right now is that the 'dog' is plenty pissed at me! She acts as if she runs this place!

Well, I'm done! Not in done/finished.......just done because I managed to break the attachment! Spilled water everywhere......big huge mess! Not a happy camper. Today seems like Murphy's Law. Finally have the whole mess cleaned up and the carpet as dry as I can possibly get it. If hub were home he could have gotten the shop vac down from where he stores it in the rafters in the garage. I can't reach it. I can't even get the ladder off the wall to reach it. And even if I could, it is too heavy and I would either drop it on my car or my head!

First thing in the morning I will be going to the store and renting one so I can finish the job!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Today is Brian's 36Th birthday. With each passing birthday the kids have, I always wonder where the time has gone.

Wasn't it just yesterday that they were all small? And I was teaching them to say their alphabet and helping them tie their shoes? Picking them up when they tumbled from their bikes and kissing away the 'boo-boo'? When did they grow up? Wasn't I looking......and now they all have children of their own. And even they are growing faster than the speed of light.

The first born grand child is now a freshman in college. I say this as a tear slips from my eye and rolls down my cheek..........

Time goes by way too fast. Children and grand children don't remain small long enough! But I did enjoy my children and am still enjoying them and my grand children, so I guess I shouldn't get so maudlin over the passing years. They have been mostly good ones!

FRIDAY FEAST ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE

November 16th, 2007 | Category: The Feasts, 2007

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job? My first "real" job was what they called a marker (put prices on clothes) in the sub basement of a local department store.

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity? Somewhere pleasantly warm, not hot, and very sunny.

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…I can't remember someones name.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you? Honesty, Integrity, giving back to the community, and a sense of family and always beging there for them.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years. This one is easy........poodle skirts, cherry cokes and 1957 Chevy's.

How I spent my afternoon...........

When I awoke this morning, I felt fine. By the time 10:00 AM rolled around, I was starting to feel really crummy. I had been to the doctor yesterday to have my hand checked because it had been hurting for about two weeks and he x-rayed it and nothing was broke. Upon further exam, he came to the conclusion that I had partially torn the tendon that controls my thumb. He instructed me to give it complete rest for two more weeks, take ibuprofen and have it rechecked. He said if it isn't better in 2 weeks he would suggest I see a hand surgeon. He can suggest all he wants.........I've decided that unless it gets a lot worse, I can live with it. No surgeons for me, thank you very much!

So unless I picked something up while in the doctors waiting room yesterday, I think a cold is trying to catch me. Headache, stuffy/runny nose, chills, etc. And tired, I was extremely tired. I laid down after Bumpa left for work at 1:30 PM on the above pictured sofa and woke there at 5:50 PM. I do feel more rested and wonder if I will have trouble falling asleep tonight! Needless to say, I accomplished NOTHING today! But, tomorrow is a new day and I'm sure I will catch up with all I neglected today.

Trick-or-treat!!!!

Making up for my failure to take photos of Drew's 3rd birthday party..........I had my camera ready with fresh batteries for the little 'gremlins' tonight when they came to Mema's to 'trick-or-treat'! Of course, even if they had pulled a trick they still would have gotten a treat here! Mema's such an old softie!!!!

So here is a photo of Trenten dressed as a quad driver, Ty dressed as a pirate and Drew as a monkey (note the banana in his pocket)!









This one was sent to me by my daughter who lives in a different state. It is her three, all dressed as Power Rangers! Oldest (Darian -7), KeAira (5) and Cayden, (2) in January!

Lucky Me!

It's been a long time since we have seen Amber. Since before I went to Texas....she has been busy being a cheer leader at Rocket Football every Saturday for the last couple months.

She was going to come this weekend and spend a night with me before going to see her dad, but she came home from school one day last week and told them that she had signed up for girls basketball. And guess when the games are? Exactly........every Saturday morning at 11:00 AM from now until the weekend before Thanksgiving!

But, I got lucky! She called me today and said her mom and step-dad were coming to Grand Rapids and were spending the night with her mom's sister. And if I wanted to come and get her at the apartment complex where they used to live, I could keep her for the night and have her dad come to see her tomorrow and he or I will take her back to the apartments tomorrow around 5:00 PM. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to see her and keep her for one night! Below is a photo of her.......trying to stay awake until Bumpa gets home from work at 11:30 PM..........I don't think she is going to make it!




The next photo is another one of our grand daughters, Rebecca. She will be 2 the end of December and is a little doll. She and her dad and brothers came out to help celebrate Drew's 3rd Birthday Party Friday evening and they came back to my house after the party for a little while.

Of course I have no pictures of the actual birthday party 'cause I left my camera home! Sometimes, I wonder exactly where my head is at?! But I did remember to take his presents!








And last, one of our oldest son, Brian, with all three of his children. David (10), Elijah (4) and Rebecca!

A wall in a little 'hole in the wall' restaurant that serves the best Mexican food.
A tree in Ame's front yard....called a Crepe Myrtle.
Ame's oldest climbing the rock wall at the Texas State Fair.
Youngest on the adjacent rock wall.
The fountain at the new harbor near Ame's home. Beautiful!

Me way up high on the ferris wheel at the Texas State Fair with the Cotton Bowl behind me and the Dallas skyline.
And 'Big Tex' who watches over the Texas State Fair!

Reverse that title of this last blog to read..........

tomorrow is almost here. And that means going home to the rest of my family while having to leave some of them here! Happy to see the ones back home, but sad to leave the ones here. Maybe everyone should just move to one centrally located spot where all involved would be in closer proximity to each other at all times!
Okay, maybe it won't work, but the thought is nice anyway.

This time tomorrow I will be on the plane taking me back to Michigan and Bumpa and the rest of the kids and grandkids. I am looking forward to seeing them all again. It's always nice to come home after any kind of stay away. Even nice to get back from vacations!

I can't wait to share some of the adventures I've had with here all of you. There's a couple stories regarding a blogging friend we met last Saturday when we drove to Oklahoma for the day. Barbie is soooooo funny!!

Stay tuned, you won't want to miss these stories fresh off the press! :)

Won't be long now...........

( photo of the Dallas/FT.Worth airport by sfPhotocraft)

and I'll be off on my adventure! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I know I will miss everyone back here, but I am so looking forward to seeing everyone there! My plane leaves Sunday at 5:55 AM, so this very likely will be my last post until I return home on Oct. 11Th.

Y'all be good and I'll have lots to tell you when I get home! And lots of catching up to do too!

This isn't my husbands grandparents farm, but it looks very much like it. My hub spent a lot of time on this farm as a young boy and early teen. He loved it there and thought pitching in and helping his grandparents out was great fun. He learned a lot about life and work ethics while helping out.

His grandfather passed on many years ago now, and his grandmother is about to celebrate her 90th birthday next month with a large open house at the local church she belongs too. This could be the last birthday she will have and everyone will be attending. She had 9 children and 6 of them are still alive. Out of those 9 children, she had at least 15 grandchildren and 20-some great grandchildren and approximately between 30 and 40 great-grandchildren.

The family farm will be auctioned off on November 3rd. She hasn't lived there in a number of years and it has been occupied by one of her sons, who is now ill and can no longer care for himself, let alone a farm. Everything must go by the end of this year. It is for the best, but still it is a sad event in the lives of the people who have farmed the land. I will have to get over there and take some photos for my hubs scrapbook!

Fall Beauty

This was the last flower to bloom. It was the slowest growing plant all year and now it is the tallest. Well, except for the morning glories which are a vining plant. I have other Zinnia's growing and blooming now, but this seems to be the only one that is this color and the only one that appears to be extra full, perhaps a double one. I am amazed that with the beginning of fall being less than a week away this plant bloomed at all.

In another couple weeks, it will be time for the leaves to begin their color change, painting the landscape with rich hues of yellows, orange, reds, purples and rust colored beauty. I'm hoping that the lack of rain here this year will not have any affect on the usual beauty. Some say that the lack of rain has put the trees under a great deal of stress and they will lose their leaves before the crisp nights and sunny days will help with the photosynthesis. I certainly hope not. I, for one, will sorely miss this autumn wonder!

The End of Summer?

Labor Day! Gone, it's done.....over! So that means that summer is done too? Maybe not! The temps outside today are approaching the 90º mark so I'm having trouble thinking that summer is over!

This picture is our grandson, Elijah, in our backyard pool. Okay, probably the last time anyone will use it this year. We will probably be draining it sometime this week. But he sure was enjoying himself in there with no one to share it with.
He is a 'big boy' now he told me. He didn't want me to forget that his birthday is Saturday and he will be 4. And he told me that he would like a Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle as big as he is!!! I don't know where on earth they sell them that big, but I suggested that since he has almost every Ninja Turtle that has ever been made we should get him something else...........he didn't look real thrilled with the idea but after some more talking, he did agree with me.


This is our oldest son, Brian with Elijah. The rest of Brian's family was going to a park to play with some friends and Brian decided he wanted to come over and see us. It has been almost a month since he has been here........his job takes him out of town and out of state frequently. When Elijah heard that Daddy was going to go to Mema's house, he refused to go to the park. He was going to Mema's too! There are two other children in the family, but David who is almost 11 opted for the park and Rebecca, who is only 18 months, went with Mom. She doesn't have much say in matters like this YET, but being the only girl I think she may grow up to rule them all! Ha-ha!

This is my painting that I created. I'm not really talented and it was really easy.


Click here to create your own painting.

I found this here. You can click above and paint your own! Let me know if you do, so I can see what you have created.

A little of this and a little of that.....

So this is a picture of Amber in her cheer leading uniform. I drove up to Muskegon Saturday accompanied by another grand daughter, Emily, to see Amber cheer at her first game. They didn't do bad for first timers. You could tell Amber was a little nervous in the beginning but as she spent more time in front of the crowd she became more comfortable with it. Emily and I had a good time chatting on the way there and back too. This is the first time in a long, long time that Em and I have been able to spend time alone together. Em is 15 and is a cheer leader for her schools Jr. Varsity team....she's been cheering for at least 3 years now and is very good!

On the way home, our youngest son, Jeremy called my cell and asked me to watch his 1-year old son, Ty for a while the same evening while Jeremy played in a softball game and his wife, Heidi and son Trenten, went to watch. He screamed when daddy first left, but settled down and then we had some fun. I took this photo of him after his bath when they came to pick him up.....this is one of his favorite things to do....balance in a standing position in dad's hand! And the smile on his face shows just how much he likes doing this.....isn't he a cutie too?

And Sunday evening I took this picture of my flowers still blooming in my yard. These are the ones I so painstakingly dragged the hoses to in order to keep them watered during our severe drought earlier this year. I guess it paid off!

No Words Needed!

I received this as an e-mail and the description states that archaeologists have found the bones of the first politician! 'Nuff said!

A Proud 'Mema'

How I wish I had a photo to go along with this post, but all I have is a picture of the poster they made at the end of last year. My grandson, Steve, plays electric guitar, in the band (Big Dodee Roo and the Raptors) that he is in. I went to watch and hear him for his last gig of the summer before they all start college. It was Wednesday evening at the Wayland Hotel (bar and grill). Yes, my husband went on 2nd shift Monday for the first time in a few years and already on Wednesday I was hanging out in a bar! LOL......

I don't frequent bars as a rule as I am really not a drinker. I've been known to have a couple drinks, but never when I have to drive and not since I have been on meds for my heart and HBP. If I drink at all, it is at home and at the most, one mixed drink. Wish I could drink wine or beer but I really don't like either of them! Jeremy turned me on to Root Beer and Vanilla Vodka and that tastes pretty much like a root beer float to me and not much at all like an alcoholic drink! So, I dare not have more than one b/c I really like the taste of them........I don't want to become a lush!

But I digress, back to the band....they are actually pretty darn good! They play a lot of songs from the days when I listened to the radio and quite a few originals. They were collecting money so they can produce an album. They have been doing gigs for most of this past year......well, ever since the high school talent show where they began this journey! I hope they are successful and can remain unchanged.

Good luck guys!

On the right side of my blog, I have stated that I am the grandmother of 14. That isn't quite true.

Actually, I am the grandmother of 15. We had a grandson who was still born on August 11, 2001. He was not a full term baby and his death inside the womb was totally unexpected and unexplained. We found out the day before she had to deliver him that he no longer had a heartbeat. She went through labor and delivery and left the hospital without a baby! It was and is still a very sad thing.

At first, the parents didn't want any one else at the hospital. They later changed their minds and asked both sets of grandparents to the hospital....if they wanted to come and hold him. I did. As difficult as it was, I just had to go and hold this stillborn grandson. I wanted the chance to be with him, even if he couldn't know that I was there and holding him. I know, it doesn't really make any sense to me any more now than it did then, but I don't regret going. It was something I just had to do!

"An Angel in the Book of Life wrote down Owen's birth, and whispered as she
closed it, 'too beautiful for Earth'."

We had a private graveside service for Owen, and we were allowed by the cemetery to bury him on top of the vault in the same spot as my first husband.....his grandfather. It offers us some comfort knowing that we didn't have to leave Owen there alone.

From left to right: Hunter, Nate, Alissa, Amber holding Boo (aka Harley)! Those of you who are familiar with my family will recognize Hunter, Amber and Boo from previous pictures. The other two are of my sons new friend's children. They were all staying here Saturday night and they all get along great. When I got them, they had already spent five days together and still weren't sick of each other!
This is Boo. She will be 4 in October and she is a very loving little girl.....with a stubborn streak to match her daddy's! She likes to be in the same room with me ALL.THE.TIME. when her daddy isn't here!!!



And this is what Amber created out of her magnetics kit while watching television this evening! She is in bed sleeping and so is hubby. Even the dog has gone to bed for the night. I still am waiting for the washing machine to quit so I can put the clothes in the dryer before heading to bed. And Drew is coming in the morning....I can't believe I'm still up, it's 11:38 PM......I gotta get some sleep.....night all!

This first photo of Amber was taken just before we left Thursday morning for her orthodontist appointment. As you can see from this picture, she has a full set of braces on her top teeth but not her bottom ones yet......


.....that's what this morning's appointment is for....the full set of bottoms. I did give her ibuprofen before we left the house and I'm thinking it was a pretty good thing to do and was told by the gals in the office there to 'piggy-back' the ibuprofen every 3 - 3 ½ hours for greatest pain control and comfort for her. I tried to get a picture of her after she had her full set of bottom ones on too, but it was too painful and she had nothing to smile about. It is now Saturday and she is finally able and WILLING to smile....she has something to smile about.....no need to take anymore ibuprofen! Hooray.....so without any further ado, here is Miss Amber smiling once again:
Okay, the smile is not an actual smile....it is more of a forced smile so you all can see the braces on her bottom teeth!

It always creeps up on me........

......August 1! Every year, it's always the same. I wake up and after having my coffee I glance at the calendar and realize that it needs to be changed and it is my late hubs birthday. He would have turned 66 today! He's been gone 32 years....my youngest was only 2 at the time and the oldest was 7.

His birthday used to sneak up on me then too. I think it's because it was the first day of the month and until I turned that page on the calendar it always seemed like I had so much more time before the new month would begin.It always seemed like I would have more time with you too, but that wasn't too be.

This is the first year since the kids were older that one or all of them has not called to remind me that today was their Dad's birthday. Children grow up, time passes, life's get busier and seemingly more pressing issues get in the way of things we should remember. I'm doing fine. I have remarried a man you would like and be friends with. So I will quietly remember you, Dave, on this your 66 birthday and wish you a Happy Birthday up in heaven with the angels by your side and with our gradson Owen in your arms, in the company of your Savior. I'm sure the celebration you are having up there is greater than any celebration I could have ever given you, no matter how many birthdays you would have had in this world! I love you and Happy Heavenly Birthday!

This first picture was taken early Friday evening. Hubby is on the far left and to his right is our youngest son Jeremy. To the right of him is our son Doug. The little guy is Jeremy's "I'm almost 7 years old" son Trenten. Trenten wanted to help with the deck, but just didn't know where to begin!
This one is after they quit for the day on Saturday. They worked hard to get most of it done so tomorrow would be an easier day and they could have the afternoon and evening off to relax before returning to work on Monday!
This last one is of them still relaxing, each with a nice cold beer. Good job, men!

They still have to put the handrail up and the top will be some kind of lattice or boards to allow for some shade. The deck is in the mid-day sun for about 7 hours and it can get pretty hot out there. Now Doug says we need to take out the window in the garage (above and just to the right in this picture) and put a door in....."closer to the refrigerator in the garage that way," he says!

And Amber is here a day early. Her mom called at 9 PM and said they would be dropping her off around 10 and asked if that was okay....of course I said YES!!!

GONE!!!!

The small cement porch and steps leading from my back entry room to the backyard are gone. Tom and Doug at first tried beating them to death with a sledge hammer......didn't work so well. They broke the sledge hammer. Next on their plan was something called a hammer drill(?) they borrowed from Jeremy. The object of the hammer drill is to drill a lot of holes in the concrete, thus weakening it, and then fix the sledge hammer and proceed to beat it to death again.

That didn't work so well either. Takes too much time......crabbing about taking a month of Sundays to get the job done, etc, etc, etc!

So they went to the local rent-anything store and rented a jack hammer for 4 hours. Of course they knew the store would be closed before the 4 hours were up, guaranteeing them the use of it longer than the 4 hours they had to pay for! Now that's usin' your noggins, boys! And since the store doesn't open until 9 AM and Tom leaves for work at 3:30 AM and Doug at 6:30 AM, guess whose job it is to return it? Lucky guess......process of elimination!

It is already loaded in the trunk of my car because there is NO WAY that I can lift that thing! Hopefully the nice gentleman at the rental place will remove it for me (said while batting eyelashes and sweetly smiling).

What? What's that? Oh, you're wondering why the need to remove the porch and steps....well they are going to build me a nice deck about 8' x 10'. It will be the perfect spot for one of the three tables w/umbrella and chairs! A lovely spot to sit and yell at the bunny rabbits that are eating all my flower petals! Although, I doubt that my yelling at them will do much.....it never did anything for my kids either!!!

The Hunted and The Hunter

First I want to reassure those of you who have been wondering about me; I am fine. Life remains very busy, and I had family here visiting from Oklahoma, but I have a little more time in the next few days so perhaps I will be able to catch up!

This first picture is not one I took. I found it on Flickr and it was taken by someone named KURTQ. I was not able to catch the mother duck and her ducklings as they were being hunted by my dog, Prancer.




Actually that is not quite accurate! Prancer was crying at the door to go outside, and I assumed she had to go out for the normal reason house dogs cry at the door to get out. Little did I know that about six feet outside that door a mother duck was taking her six ducklings for a walk. I let Prancer out and she took off like a shot! Only then did I see the momma and her babies running as fast as their little legs could carry them for shelter. The momma duck took flight and flew a few feet away. I think it might have been a ploy to get the dog to run after her and leave the ducklings alone. I yelled at the dog to come back, but she either didn't hear me because she was intent on the ducklings or she chose to ignore me. I called again! She stopped and that afforded the ducklings a chance to catch up with their momma.

Then I noticed Prancer was sniffing and sniffing the grass. At first I figured it was because she was smelling where they had been. I hollered at her again to come back and she picked her head up and looked at me and only then did I see a duckling with ruffled feathers running towards the rest of them. I hollered again for the dog and she did come to me and I hastily ushered her inside and then went back outside just in time to see the momma herding all the ducklings underneath the neighbors deck and out of harms way of Prancer. Prancer is NOT a hunting dog. Although she has killed three woodchucks and two moles in the last year, I don't think she would have hurt the ducklings on purpose. I think she would have tried to play with them and the way she does that is to slap things with her feet, which probably would have killed them. In any event, she came in and the ducklings were all safe.....for now at least!


What I wish she would chase is the bunny rabbits. They are eating all my flowers. Does anyone know a way to keep bunny rabbits out of the flower garden?

After the parade and posing for a family picture that you can see here, the kids went swimming and had a blast! What I find so amazing is the fact that there was no....I mean NONE, fighting amongst the kids! And there were a bunch of them here!

Several of the little ones getting cooled off after running and playing!
Cayden smelling the lilies!
Bumpa giving the little ones a ride through the yard. Maybe next year he should take this and drive them in the parade!!!!
Two bald eagles at John Ball Zoo.
KeAira, Amber holding Cayden, Hunter, Harley, and Darian standing by the statue of John Ball. He was the man who donated this land for the zoo.