Hangin Out

We had such a nice time hanging out & spending time together during Grannie & Grandpa's visit.

Playing ball. Grandpa & Grannie played earlier but I was delivering a meal & missed getting pics.

Elvis at bat.

Sky & the neighbor's dog face off.

Bugs liked using the big, blue ball.

Running the bases.

Grandpa enjoyed spending time with his youngest grandchild.

Princess liked smiling at Grandpa.

Enjoying some homemade ice cream. Thanks, Grannie!

Yum!

Homemade ice cream with hot fudge sauce & lemonade. Dave says every drink looks scrumptious in my giant Coke glass. LOL!

Grannie, Princess, & Sassy

Grannie & Princess have some snuggle time.

BIG SURPRISE!!!!!!!!

The kids had a fantastic surprise this month. My parents were planning to visit my brother at Boot Camp on his weekend pass. Since we are only about 5-6 hours away from the base they decided to fly down & come visit us for a couple of days, drive down to see my brother, then drive back here and visit for a couple more days before flying back to MA. At first we didn't tell the kids b/c things were up in the air. We didn't want to disappoint them if the trip had to be canceled. Then when we knew it was definitely on my Mom wanted to keep the surprise. It was hard keeping the secret from slipping but Dave & I managed to hold it in. The surprise & shock on the kids faces was worth the tongue biting. The day of their arrival I had told the kids I was expecting a delivery. We were all busy cleaning the house so everyone was at their job. I told them I wanted to be the one to answer the door for my delivery. When the doorbell rang I went to the door and then asked the kids if they wanted to see. Of course they did and all came running to the door. (I did this b/c I wanted them all to get the surprise at the same time.) When I opened the door it was hilarious! My Mom & Dad were on one side going nuts and the kids paused for a second before they realized it really was Grannie & Grandpa standing there! They squealed, screamed and ran for hugs. What a fantastic surprise!

The kids seeing G&G on the other side of the door. See my Mom? LOL!

Lots & lots of big hugs!


We can't believe it's you, G&G!

Grannie & Bugs

Princess Pics

A series of pics of our little Princess:

Pool Time

We're LOVING our new pool. Dave put it up Father's Day weekend & we've been in it almost everyday since. Thank you, God for this fun gift!

AWANA Award Night

At the end of May our church's AWANA program wrapped up the year with an Awards Night. The kids had been eagerly anticipating this as they would earn more patches & ribbons. Sweet Pea had a End of the School Year Bash to attend for the middle school & high schoolers. The girls were all asked to bring a treat & the boys a drink. She made a spice cake from scratch.

All ready for a big night.

Bugs marching into the sanctuary with his Cubbies group.

Getting ready to sing their song.

Singing their Cubbies Song. Adorable song!

Receiving his award & certificate.

Boo's turn.

Posing with her ribbon.

So grown up!

It's now time for Elvis' group.

Proudly showing his ribbon.

As we were leaving Princess made this funny face

The kids thought she was very funny.



It was a fun night & Dave and I were very proud of our youngsters.

They can hardly wait for AWANA to start up again!

The Lake

Back a month or two ago we decided it was time to try out Percy Priest Lake. We had heard good things about it and were eager to find a nice place to swim & picnic. Dave had a floating holiday from Good Friday to use so we picked a Monday and off we went. It was nice going on a weekday because it wasn't mobbed as it would be on the weekend. We had a great time!

Elvis swimming with Nemo.

Bugs wants to swim all on his own this year.


Little Princess was only 3 weeks old when we went.

She was so sweet in her little outfit.

We found this little guy on the beach.

Swimming in the lake.

Beautiful View

I made sure she was covered up well from the sun. Her precious little piggies were covered with sunscreen.

Wheee!

They have a little beach and then there are lots of trees & grass for picnics. A nice balance of sun & shade.

Sweet Pea building a sand castle.

What a great family day!

Funny Farm Bound?

Today was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-A. Being a Northern gal I had never had this experience before. I've known about it and knew this one was coming up and debated about going. This week was so busy and I ended up waiting until this morning to ask the kids if they wanted to go. Part of me didn't want to fight the crowds but the kid in me wanted to go have fun. And of course the frugal me wanted the free food! LOL! The little ones were immediately excited at the idea of dressing up but Sweet Pea didn't want to. Then she began to catch onto the excitement and soon was dressing up too. We joined forces and Sweet Pea & I put together the costumes. I came up with the ideas and she helped me put them together. At the very last minute I thought of how to make the tails. These were the kids favorite part of our costumes. Hee, hee! She made the ears & I made the spots & tails. She also helped the kids find black clothing.
When we arrived I was a little nervous. I was afraid we'd be the only ones dressed up and would look like we had escaped from the Funny Farm. I cautiously approached the front door while the kids raced to it eager to get inside and show off. We were greeted by an employee who gushed over our costumes. That made me feel a lot better. I was really smiling when I found out we could order ANY meal we wanted! I didn't know that! I thought it would be a little kids' meal. I was so surprised! We had a great meal for free, were given free cake, & even a refill on drinks. We also had our picture taken several times. We were told that we will be in the local paper tomorrow. I really hope so b/c the kids have their hearts set on seeing themselves in print. We ended up having a blast and are already looking forward to next year!

Take a peek below to see my little herd. Lol!

My little herd of calves.

Shaking those tails!

The littlest calf.


She got lots of looks of admiration.

Mama cow with calves.

Covered

Okay, it's not the prettiest foot. I don't think any adult feet are really pretty I prefer teeny tiny baby toes. =) I took this because I wanted to show you the flea bites. Ouch! My legs look the same. Thank God the Bug Man cometh today. Now to get the house picked up for his arrival!

Family Photo

Elvis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON.

We're so very proud of you & love you very much. XOXO

Cutie

Around the Yard

I took some pictures around the yard about a month ago. It's neat to look back and see how everything has grown & changed. Soon I'll post updated pics and you can see the changes for yourselves. =0)

Little squash plants peeking out of the soil.

My potted bean plants.


Teeny tomato plants Sweet Pea grew from seed.

Cucumber & squash plants starting to take off.

Peas climbing

Starting over with our tomato plants.

The first ones rotted out from all the rain.

Dave built me a clothesline!

Up close

The kids' new swing set.

A mixture of flowers & veggies.

Surprise lilies.

When we looked at the house last fall these had gone by so we didn't know they were here. What a nice surprise to have them pop up & bloom! We also had pink ones. So pretty!

Geranium


I love going out in the yard, seeing the progress & relaxing in the outdoors.

God Bless America

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Did You Know......?

• Some fleas can jump 150 times their own length. That compares to a human jumping 1,000 feet. One flea broke a record with a four-foot vertical jump.

• The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime; if all 53 million dogs in the U.S. each hosted a population of 60 fleas, we'd have more than six trillion flea eggs surrounding our pets. Laid end-to-end, those eggs would stretch around the world more than 76 times!

• The female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood daily.

• If you happen to see one flea, there may be more than 100 offspring or adults looming nearby in furniture, corners, cracks, carpeting or on your pet.

Fleas are best known for spreading the Bubonic Plague. They also transmit the bacterial disease murine typhus to humans through infected rats. Their saliva is an allergen that can cause allergic reactions in pets and humans. Fleas can also transfer tapeworms and cause anemia in pets. Flea bites cause painful, itchy red bumps.

A pair of fleas can produce 400-500 offspring in their lifetime.

Fleas can live for about 100 days.