cicadas

Welllll the cicadas have landed. These are the 17 year variety and our ears are buzzing. I finally got one to stay still long enough to get some close up pictures. This one was on a fern at the side of the house. Jazzy thinks it is her job to rid the yard of them.. The vet said they won't hurt her but she may have a little tummy trouble. We have to watch her and not let her eat them. They are as big as she is. Baxter of course does not seem too bothered by them. He just acts mildly interested and looks away. The lillies are blooming. Gabe yours will look like this next year.

plants growing in spite of the storms

Our plants are growing everyday. Only a few litle buggies and critters trying to eat them up. I used some murphy's wood oil soap and water to try and get rid of some aphids that had taken up residence in the tomatoes. The beans are getting big. THis is the first year I have not planted white half runners. I will miss them. My cucumbers are trying to bloom. I may have some green beans and cucumbers when I get home.

otr videos

Woodsongs and Over The Rhine

Roger and I went to see the Woodsongs show tonight. The whole hour was devoted to Over The Rhine. They were awesome!!!!! They did mostly things from The Trumpet Child CD. I want to go see them so badly when they are doing a whole show. They played about 10 song and left me wanting to see more. They sound so good live. Not very many musicians can do that. Go see them if you ever have a chance.

Mom's surgery

Mom has done pretty well so far with her surgery. They did have to do a complete hysterectomy. I came home today and crashed for several hours. Got her home and Dad is on the night shift. I will be back over tomorrow with food and groceries in tow!

New iPod Nano

Roger surprised me with a new iPod Nano. I have been downloading cd's all night and am getting ready for recovery time with my mom after her surgery and the beach! This little beauty is gonna be great! I picked out the cutest little pink protective case for it. It will hold all kinds of songs, pictures, and videos! There goes any conversation with me but then again, that may have been just what he had planned! Smart man. Guess he is going to get some of that peace and quiet he has been asking for all these years.

This is a video of Steven Curtis Chapman that a friend of mine had on her website. She has recently adopted a daughter from China and has had this family and the horrible devastation of the earthquake in China on her mind as she deals with the day to day stresses of ending a school year and being the new mom of a toddler. It speaks volumes to us all about taking the needed time to truly enjoy every second of the precious time we have in front of us and to try to put it to as good a use as we can. The hard part for me sometimes is trying to remember to be more christlike in the approach to life and not so much in the "What about me" mode.

So all you Daddies and Mommies out there... Dance with your Cinderellas and Prince Charmings.

School's out for summer!

Well it almost is anyway. I have to go back on Monday to finish my cum folders and finish packing my room. I already have a lot finished I just need to move the fridge out, get the fish tank moved and cover a few more shelves. I need to go through things in a bad way but I think I may do that on the other side of summer. I am spent!

I still can't get my video to load and I have tried loading it in several ways. I need some major help to figure this out on here. I did take a few more shots of my flowers as they grow and I finally got a few leaves on the banana tree so they are not dead as I had worried.

I find myself really missing my grandmother a lot lately. I think it is because she loved this time of year so much with all the planting and new growth and life. She did not like the cold weather too much either. She always said she did not want to be buried on a cold day. Mom says that too. Her day was sunny and warm. We will be leaving on vacation on the anniversary of her death one year ago. I think this is another reason I have been missing her so much. She loved to go places and see and experience new things and she loved the ocean. We are going to Anna Maria Island. I'll get some shells for you Grandma! And be still my heart if I find some sea glass. I always try but only have a few pieces.

Grandma appeared on the outside to most people stoic and a bit rigid... probably more for her strong beliefs about how things should be done. Believe me buddy you had better be doing it the way she thought it ought to go or you would hear about it and you'd best be changing it fast. But she had a big adventurous side and liked to try most things at least once if she could. She did not get as many opportunities as she would have liked to have for adventures, but I tried to give her a few, when I could. Grandma, I don't think I'll be para sailing for the both of us but I will watch and pretend I'm brave enough and have the stomach enough to do it. If I see some dolphins again, I'll be sure to take more videos. I won't accidentally erase them this time either.

 

Vince caught again

We are in the horrible phase one of South Beach again and decided that we maybe could have some sugar free pudding. Vince snuck some hershey syrup on his and got busted! He has lost the most of everybody though and he works out all day long for a living. I guess that is okay. He swears it was just a little.

workin' at the car wash

I caught Vince by surprise when he was washing his car. Look at the first picture and the scared look on his face. He thought it was lightening. Then check out the "cuteness" in his smile.

Maggie's Yellow Iris Blooms

Maggie, every time I look at these blooms I think of you. I have moved these from the last two houses and was not sure they would make it this year because they did not bloom. I know you are in heaven looking down and blessing these blooms. That is why they were so pretty this year. My little seeds are a growin'. I will take some pictures as they grow to compare.

chipmunks and bird feeders

I bought a little pair of binoculars yesterday just in time I suppose. The chipmunks had not been very active and I thought maybe they had moved on but no... They have been active at the feeder this morning. I watched at the flat hanging one this morning as the doves and blackbirds tried to no avail to scare one off. Then I looked out the window again and there another one was trying it's little best to steal seeds from the one hanging from the tree. Check out the very professional piling job I did with the rocks! Ha!

Mother's Day Flowers and watering can

Susan and Vince sent me flowers for Mother's Day and Gabe sent me a watering can and "game" shovel. He wrote the sweetest things on his card and the can. The card was the version of somewhere over the rainbow and What a wonderful world. Trav made me two CD's of his favorites from Iron and Wine. I loved everything and they made me feel so special.

Rocks!

I spent most of the day raiding the hill next to my house looking for rocks. There were many so I am a bit sore as I type. I used them to line a bed we are in the middle of planting and some trees that we just planted. I need more but got a litle tired pulling my little red wagon full of rocks all day. Our yard has been full of them and as we dig I have found many. We are on some sort of limestone ridge and along the road there are so many partially buried ones. I will be busy this summer finding as many as I can. Now if I could just perfect (ahem) learn the dry stone trade so my walls will stay together.

Happy Mother's Day

Thought this was hilarious but then again... I am the mother of boys!!!!!! Enjoy all you mamas of sons.

Dance lessons

One of the grandparents in my class is originally from India and she teaches dance lessons and sings. She is internationally known and was so great with the kids. The movements she taught them were really great and were good for them as far as having them listen to the beat of the music and crossing the midline. That is so good for brain development. Here are some pictures.

nashville

we went to Nashville to visit Gabe this weekend and I helped him plant his front yard flowers for his early birthday. I got so busy doing it that I did not take any pictures. Maybe as they grow he will take some pictures and send them to me to post. It started out raining Saturday morning as we left town, but the weather was beautiful. I did lots of baby holding and did take some pictures of Alex Trent. He is sooooo cute!

 

 

 

 

 

Keeneland

I took my class to Keeneland along with another k class. Dad is the director of guest services and gave the tour. They werer really good and I took a lot of pictures. Check out the slide show.