12!

(Phone Call at 12:15pm)

SassyMarie: Happy Birthday Buddy!

OB: Ohhhh...It's my birthday! (squeal)

SassyMarie: You didn't remember today was your birthday?

OB: No, I totally spaced it!

SassyMarie: Then I'm the first to say "Happy 12!"


Namaste.

Rearranging

As part of our dirt moving in the front yard, the old cement slab had to come out.
Being the thrifty couple that we are, we couldn't just throw it away.

So, we decided it would be a perfect addition to the back of the house.

Until we tried to move it.
We pulled with the tractor. . .No luck.

We pulled with a truck with 4wd. . .No luck.

We finally got it moved by pulling with the truck and pushing with the tractor.

Namaste.

Bonfire???

I've been wanting to have a bonfire for awhile now.
MBB thought I was nuts.

I finally talked him into one while we burned all of the brush from the trees that we cut down.
MaBell had a friend over.
I bought hot dogs and marshmallows.
I called the Fire Department to let them know the plan.

I whittled the end of sticks.
MBB got the fire started.

We cooked the hot dogs.
We had chips and mac n' cheese.
We got out the marshmallows and. . .
There was no more fire.

The brush was too green and we were outta luck.
I called the Fire Department back to let them know we were done.

But MaBell was not done.
She was bound and determined to roast her marshmallows.
Namaste.

A Big Change!

I've been MIA from the Blog World lately, but I've had a good reason!

Some of you may remember the "before" picture.
And I've written about the tree removals here and here.

Now, it was time for the heavy machinery. . .
Here's a reminder of what it looked like before we started the transformation:

We got the trees down and the dirt moving began. . .
After the first day, this is what I saw:

And here is what it looks like today.
Notice, the road is now straight and not curving toward the house.
The gravel in front of the door is where we are going to pour a patio.
Notice the huge step to get out of the house?
Yep, I'm taking bets on which of us has an injury on that one!
I think our flooding issues are now a thing of the past (fingers crossed).This flat area is the future sight of our garage.
We lost half of the garden as we had to build this area up to level it out.I was so happy to redo this area of the yard!
If you don't remember what it looked like when we first bought the house, click here.And so the work continues.
We will start framing up the patio this weekend.

Namaste.

Who's Blanket?

My aunt made me a blanket two years ago that we are always fighting over.
It was my Christmas present, but everyone lays claim to it when we are watching a movie.

Then, Yeagerbomb moved in.

It is now his blanket. Whoever has the blanket has the cat laying on them.
Doesn't matter if it's a piece of furniture, a human or even, in the case of this picture, the floor.
Namaste.

Sun Anyone?

We got lots of sun on vacation.

I, myself, have tons of sun tan lines and even have a light stripe across my shoulder from my camera bag strap while we were at the D-Day Memorial. I also have some sandal lines on the top of my feet that are all different shades from wearing different sandals.

The best sun tan lines are by far are on MBB's feet.
Yep, those are from crock-like sandals that he wore while we were canoing.
Namaste.

The Finger Saga

Previously, I mentioned OB's finger here.

Our latest injury had a part two happened just before we went on vacation. . .
I took the picture, but didn't get it uploaded and well, then vacation pics took priority. :)

Since I took this picture, OB smashed another one while we were canoing on vacation.
The bottom of the nail is black, but I don't think that he'll loose that one.

He has 8 left to smash the rest of the summer.
Wonder if he'll run out before school starts?

Namaste.

Vacation Visitor

The deer in Lynchburg are very friendly.
Not friendly as in come up and be petted.
I mean, friendly as in will look at you from a distance and not run at every little sound.
They mainly came out in the evening, but my camera didn't like the dusk much.
Then one day, we were heading back to the house in the evening and there it was. . .
My camera likes the daylight and wasn't packed away in the trunk!
Namaste.

Vacation: The View

The last day of our vacation, we stopped by Ft. Early in Lynchburg.
I loved the story of how Early used a train to trick his enemies into leaving him alone.
Then ventured onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views are amazing, though the nats are annoying.
Then it was time to get back on the road for ~7 hours.
The amount of time spent in the car was horrendous, but the vacation was so worth it!!!

Namaste.

Vacation: Poplar Forest

We went with Egypt's family to see Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's Retreat.
The octagonal shaped house was intriging, but they wouldn't let me take pictures inside.
Namaste.

Vacation: Natural Bridge

We traveled up to Natural Bridge for the day, but we didn't do the normal Natural Bridge activities.
Professor Cline's dino museum and haunted house started us out and then we moved over to the Safari Zoo. Such a great find!!!

It included a walk area:
I absolutely loved the Kangaroo area - Holly was out for everyone to pet.
The giraffes were up-close and personal.
It included a drive area which was 3 miles long:
The llamas were very hungry and even spit at OB once when he took the food bucket away.
The deer were absolutely gorgeous!MaBell and I didn't care for the birds. . .The beaks looked way too sharp.
The camel decided that the bucket belonged to him more than me and even tried to eat the bucket so that no one else could have it! Look close at the second picture to see the bucket. . .

Namaste.

Vacation: Amazement Square, Appomattox and Fun Stuff

We spent a day canoeing, but I didn't dare take the cameras with us.
Just know that despite lots of sun screen, we are using lots of aloe!

We then spent a day packed full of lots of things. . .
I even got the family to try Indian food - not such a big deal for MaBell, but a major feat for MBB and OB. The restaurant had a lunch buffet, so they got to try lots of things and find some sauces that they like. I'm very excited as I can start cooking with Curry now!!!

Amazement Square I highly recommend this place to anyone with kids. The four floors are full of interactive educational displays and you can travel between floors via an elevator, stairs that light up as you walk on them or a structure made of climbing tunnels and such (made for adults too...so of course, I had to try it out as well).

Appomattox
Another reminder of our freedom - for all of us Americans!

Fun Stuff
We then headed out for some Putt Putt, Go Karts and Water wars.
Namaste.