Back to School Trip

Every year before school starts my mom and dad take the kids river rafting. Usually they go with my dad's first cousin, Tommy, and their grandkids, too, but Tommy's family wasn't able to go this year. Neither was Holly, because she was gone to Nashville to see her boyfriend.

When my mom and dad picked them up, my dad told me he wasn't going to get wet. I looked at the kids and said, "Did you hear that? Papaw doesn't want to get wet?" Nuff said. I don't think it was long into the trip before he and mom were flat on their back in the raft and the boys had been flipped over the back.

I think they had a great time.

But you know what that means. It's time to go back to school.

Retirement Requirements

About nine months ago, my dad decided to retire and join my mom for long days of working in the yard, working on the farm, volunteering at a local museum, participating in the local garden club, continuing for an additional short amount of time in local politics, and just enjoying the home they have worked so hard for for so many years. We never know what we will find them doing when we show up there but you can be sure they're not idle for long in the daylight hours. (Evening hours is another story, when you will find my dad enjoying Fox News and my mom continuing to stay busy inside the house.)

They both enjoy flowers and at the moment are loving this trumpet...

They're enjoying this patio and sun room they had added in the last year. They have planted dozens of rose bushes and day lilies, added this fence, and hope to add a waterfall/fountain down the hill behind the fence.

But Saturday night when I showed up, they weren't enjoying any of the above things. They were... making bird baths. Out of cucumber leaves.


And Quikrete and sand.

I think the idea is to place them on the ground in your flower bed but they flattened out the bottom just in case they wanted to set it on a table or a stand.

Sunday, when he turned it over, this is what he had. I thought it was really pretty without pulling the leaves off.

But it is really pretty after pulling the leaves off, too. I like the way some of the green color has adhered to the concrete. I think a coat of polyurethane will finish this one off.

Since then they have made several more. One out of an elephant ear leaf that I can't wait to see.

Wonder what they are giving for Christmas this year?

Another First

I had mentioned to Alex a couple of weeks ago that she may want to have her eyebrows waxed. She quickly replied, "No way, I' m not doing that." But, true to the 13-year-old way of thinking, it only took a little while for that notion to sink in and take root. Yesterday, she was unceasing in her requests to get it done. I told her I would take her under one condition - that I be able to take my camera.

Before.

During.

Halfway done.

After.

No, they didn't drug her! I think it was a little too relaxing.

What Not To Do

In having children with a lot of different interests, I have had to learn a lot of different things. I have learned to catch a fastpitch softball that varies in speed on any given day between 50 and 55 mph from 40 feet away, I have learned how to shoot an M-1 Garand gun, I have learned the difference between skeet shooting, trap, and sporting clays. I have learned what is needed at a weekend long Civil War re-enactment, I have learned and relearned volleyball rules that seem like they are made up and change daily, and I have learned where to find the chicken livers at almost every grocery store in our general area.

And I have learned NOT to try to be the catcher when Alex is pitching to a friend.

This bruise is five days old and looks so much better than it did last week. The perfect size of the softball, right in the strike zone.

My July So Far

We have had quite the busy July so far. Unfortunately, I have not taken pictures of hardly any of it! Why? Who knows! For some reason I can't remember to take my camera anywhere. When I do remember to take it, I forget to take pictures.

***********

Alex has had her last softball tournament with Team Synergy. It was a sad day for the girls but due to circumstances beyond our control, it became difficult, if not impossible to keep them together. Their last tournament was shaping up to be a good one with several good and competitive teams in it. We had played one game on Saturday morning - then it started raining. It didn't rain for a long time but it rained HARD! For about 30 minutes. Just enough to put the fields under water and keep us from playing the rest of the games. I think it ended up being a good thing for the girls, even though they felt a little cheated. Since we left in a rush, packing up to get out of the rain, and running for cover, the girls didn't have time to concentrate on the sadness of it. Even though they will not all play on the same team together again, they have made some great friends that will always be their friends. Any opportunity to make such special friends is always worth it. Now, on to the task of finding a new team for her for next year.

************

On the 4th of July, we went to see some beautiful fireworks in the mountains of smoke (Smoky Mountains). I did take my camera to the fireworks but I didn't take any pictures - for a very good reason. After we got there, a friend that Tony works with showed up. He and his wife brought their three year old and... their six week old. Someone had to hold the baby. And hold a quadruple folded bib over his sweet little ears. So, no pictures.

************

Last Tuesday (Wednesday 12 a.m. actually), a group of mine and Alex's friends had the crazy idea to go to see the Eclipse movie. We met at our house at 7 for pizza and salad and to watch Twilight and New Moon. We left my house at 11:20 P.M.! Of course, the books are much better than the movie (aren't they always), and I had trouble staying awake, but purely out of sleep deprivation - not boredom. I decided that I would rent it later and see what I had missed. I had great aspirations, though, about the pictures and blog post I was gonna do about that night! We had three moms and 5 teenage girls, a recipe for a loud, fun, giggle-filled night. It was a lot of fun and it was worth a little sleep deprivation.

************

Yesterday, Anthony and Alex left for Kentucky. They are going on a mission trip with their youth group. For a week! No kids at our house for an entire week. They are in the Appalachian area of Kentucky doing construction work on homes, holding day camps for the kids, and visiting with the elderly people at the area nursing homes. They will be delivering food baskets, providing listening ears, and offering friendship, all in an effort to show these people that they are loved. This is Anthony's third year on this particular mission trip and he loves this experience. He has replaced roofs, built handicap accesses, played with puppies, built porches, replaced commodes, reinforced flooring, painted, built bunk beds, and one year planted a whole garden, from preparing the ground to planting the seeds. I can't wait to see what this trip has in store for for him/them this year.

************

Now, I think I will go hang my camera around my neck so that I don't miss anything else this month!

More Than I Ever Thought I Would Know

Anthony has a hobby (make that several hobbies) that your normal 15-year-old has no interest in. Aside from the reenactment equipment that he spends his money on, he also collects guns. He has bought three in the last year that he loves to shoot. He and Tony go to my cousins farm to shoot them - it's the farm my grandmother was raised on. I had never gone with them because of one reason or another but last week I decided to go watch.

First, they laid out all the guns on this table they had brought along. The guns that they brought were a Russian Mosin Nagant, a German Kar 98, and an American M-1 Garand. Impressed that I know that? Me too! When he first started collecting these guns, I called them "the one that looks beat up (M-1), "the one with the strap" (Russian), and "no, the other one" (Kar 98).

And they brought this Santa sack of ammunition.

First things first. These Mama turkeys decided they should vacate their homes for a little while, which I must say was a commendable parenting choice. I think there were two Mamas with LOTSO babies.

Then they started setting up the targets. They walked, and walked, and walked. And walked. Can you even see that target down there? There is a little speck right in the middle of this picture. That was one of their targets. I told them I didn't think you should be shooting at something they can't even see.

They had a game worked up. They had two balloons on the first target, then one balloon on the targets that were further away. I had to use my zoom to even see if they were lying about the balloons being down there! I took this picture after Anthony had already shot once, that's why there's only one balloon on the first target.

Anthony's turn. He chose the German Kar 98.

Tony walked off the distance to that last target. 211 yards. Anthony's results? Three balloons in four shots using iron sites. Not too shabby!

No pressure, Tony...

Tony's choice of gun was the Russian Mosin Nagant. Anthony likes to hear the crack of that gun so he was standing back by the truck where he could take his earplugs out. And he was counting shots.

That would be a "V" for victory. I can't remember now, but Tony took either 5 or 6 shots for three balloons. Regardless of how many shots he took, HE LOST! To his 15-year-old son!

Since I didn't want to show them up and destroy their confidence, I decided to wait til the game was over to show them how it's really done. Since I'm a pro and all. LOL! Just kidding! I think this was my first time EVER shooting a gun that wasn't a BB gun.

My gun of choice? The M-1, partly cause no one had used it yet and I didn't want it to feel left out (you know how guns are...). And partly because they SAID it didn't hurt. Well it did. "If you hold it tight, it won't kick as bad". Yeah right, tell that to my poor bruised shoulder. I took it easy on them, though, and only hit one balloon with five shots. Didn't want to make them feel bad since they knew it was my first time. I only shot at the closest target - so don't go thinking I did a 200 yard shot, cause remember, I couldn't even SEE that target.

Anthony really enjoys this Kar 98. He couldn't wait to get this gun after he ordered it. He couldn't wait to see if the German Eagle and Swastika had been sanded off. Apparently, according to his research, as the Russians captured/killed the Germans, they would sand this symbol off. When he got his gun, he was excited to see that his was still intact. It was actually on the gun in several places. This is how small it is, right on the barrel.

After we all knew that Anthony was the pro shooter, they just shot some for fun, at the paper targets since we were out of balloons.

Coward boy had to kill a spider - a very small spider. How can you be so afraid of A LITTLE SPIDER?

But he did have a BIG GUN to kill it with!