Brothers, sisters and cousins....

A little fun in the sun with big brother...

A little sisterly love... 

 

So happy for another boy...

A night out on the beach...

We were having bad storms and he took his sissy into the hall for protection. How sweet...

Cousins...

My twins (far left and far right) with my two of my sister's kids in the middle...

The gang...

Brotherly devotion...





The Farmer's Market

Hubby and I had an awesome day together this past Saturday. We went to the Farmer's Market in Knoxville. Got some Chinese Cucumbers and tomatoes at really good prices.

Next stop was JoAnn's and AC Moore for some great bargain's on craft supplies. JoAnn's had their material square for 50% off and their wreaths were 99 cents. Not a bad deal.

We had dinner at Longhorn's Steakhouse. He had a steak and loaded baked potato and I, of course, had chicken and fries. But we share one of my favorite foods, a Texas Tonion.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing out back. Hubby built a fire in the fire pit and we sat outside and watched the sunset. It was a wonderful day.





What an amazing day.....

Friday was the experience of a lifetime. I was hesitant about going to an open zoo where you drive your vehicle and the animals roam free, but I decided to take three of the grandchildren and give it a shot.

 Circle G Ranch is a 105 acre, 3 mile drive - thru exotic animal park located in Strawberry Plains, TN. I was told that the animals roam free (fenced in only around the total enclosure) and they would come up close so you could see them. I seriously figured that it would just be a 3 mile scenic drive and we would see some animals scattered around. It was nothing like I expected. The animals literally were roaming free. I thought at times I was in foreign countries since we would have to stop for Watusi Cattle or Pot-bellied pigs to cross the road. Garret (the oldest) was in charge of the camera and he got 147 pictures. Don't sweat, I'm not going to show them all. But here were some of my favorites. We rolled the windows down to get pictures but when an animal decided to come real close, the windows went up. Emu's abound on this farm and if they caught your window down, they wanted in. Alexis spent most of the day saying "Hey, guys, Emu alert. Roll up the windows." We were in hubby's truck. The vehicle you will see were the people in front of us who actually bought the special food so they could feed the animals. Uh, no way!

Do you think these turkeys are advertising executives planning a billboard campaign of "Eat more pig"?

Happy Fourth of July

In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies, then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

As we celebrate another year of freedom, thanks to the foresight of our forefathers, let's give God the glory for bringing us together as One Nation Under God. Let's give thanks to all those who have fought wars to provide us with the freedom we cherish so much.

Soldiers have defended our freedom from that first July when we declared our independence. They have fought against other nations, they have fought brother against brother, all in the name of keeping our country free and providing us each with an equal right to enjoy that freedom.

May each and everyone of you exercise your right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and choose to have a wonderful, blessed 4th of July.

God Only Cries...

I stumbled on this song on YouTube. It is absolutely beautiful.

My little brown box....

I had another awesome yard sale find yesterday. It was one of those spur of the moment "Yard sale Pit Stop" times. I just pulled over and popped in to see what they had. I found this beautiful brown box in great condition. It only cost me $5.00. The only thing missing is the personalization plaque that was on the front. I don't want to have to refinish the box, because I love it like it is. But where the plaque was is really gummy.

Notice the dividers inside, they can slide to any width or be removed completed, depending on what i use the box for. It's original purpose is a humidor. I looked around the house to see if I could find anything nautical for the gummy area, which I cleaned up with some Pledge swipes. I found some strapping and some jute.

So I cut and glued the strapping the size of the plaque area. Then I went on line to learn how to tie a figure eight knot and glued it on. The finished product isn't too bad, now if I can just figure out where to sit it and what to put in it. Since the beach room is my everything room, the kids play in here when they visit so I'm sure they will want to make a pirate chest out of it. I may simply fill it with some of their little treasures for when they play pirates.

All in all, a great find.

So you think it's hot outside.....

I saw this beautiful sunrise as I ran out to the store this morning. My first thought was "Whew, it's going to be a scorcher today." We've been having some nice days but we've also had our share of hot, humid, "melt the skin off your bones" days.

As I was looking for some pictures on my computer, I came across this one that made me really stop and think. Yes, it has been hot. And some days, almost unbearably so. But on the brighter side, it could be like this....

I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend. What are your plans? I'm starting it off by spending the day with three of my beautiful grandchildren.

Hubby and I are going to spend Saturday just running around. We are going to the Farmer's Market at Market Square in Knoxville. They always have such wonderful fruits, vegetables, homemade breads, butter, jams and lots of other goodies. Very excited about going.

At some point over the weekend, I'm sure I'll hit a vintage shop, thrift store, or yard sale. I stopped at a yard sale on Thursday. I've shared that my sister is really into vintage Corelle. I found her this nice casserole dish for $1.00. It will be perfect for her to fix scalloped potatoes or bake some chicken in when the whole family gathers. She's coming to visit soon and I've got a whole stash of goodies for her to take back with her.

Sunday at church, our choir will be doing a 4th of July program. Some great songs with some wonderful meaning. It should be an awesome program.

On Monday, I'll spend the day with my other two beautiful grandchildren during the day.

That evening, hubby and I are going to have a picnic dinner on the patio for ourselves. He's grilling some ham and making potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs. I'll make some banana pudding for dessert or a lemon pound cake.

Then we will relax on the patio. After dark, we have neighbors all up and down the river who set off fireworks. They are always spectacular and we never have to leave the comfort of our home.

I would love to hear from you. What are YOUR plans for the holiday?