Schools Out - Summers In!

How I love welcoming summertime!!  As I took my EARLY morning walk, I delighted in the wildflowers blooming everywhere.  To me, heaven will smell like wildflowers, honeysuckle, fresh hay and just a tad bit of cow poop!    

These violet blooms remind me of the bluebonnets of Texas.

This yellow cactus is getting ready to burst forth in bloom!

I call these flowers wild snap dragons.  I have no idea what their official name is.  But they come in white, yellow, and pink!

One of my favorites........the "loves me - loves me not" daisy.

Walking is easy when there are wild roses to smell!

Now that warm weather is here to stay (hopefully), Wee Bob is learning the "ropes" of summertime!

#1.  How to drink from a water hose.

#2. How to wash the cars and trucks.

#3. How to spend the day fishing.

All the important things a boy from the south should know!!

As Wee Bob's birthday approached, JR spent quite a bit of time wondering what to give Wee Bob for his 2nd Birthday.

Wee Bob and JR discussed quite a few options.  A pony?  A little four-wheeler?  A swing set?   It had to be the perfect gift for a little boy turning two!  Finally, after many cans of Mountain Dew, known as "Dew" in the  south, the decision was made to build Wee Bob his very own .............

SAND PILE!  When the load of of sand arrived, Wee Bob just had to stand at the top and survey his "kingdom"!  WEE-BOB, KING OF THE SAND PILE!!

Then he had to climb up and down several times.

On another day, Wee Bob tried sliding down the pile of sand.

Better yet, why not just roll down the sand hill?!!  A little sand in your hair never hurt anything!!

Eventually, JR constructed a border around the sand using old railroad ties.  Then he used the backhoe to smooth the sand into place leaving lots of hills for the trucks and tractors to go up and down.  

Wee Bob is loving the digger and dump trucks!

The dump truck with the blue cab seems to be a favorite.

A sand pile wouldn't be complete without a beach chair and a bucket!

What a way to spend a summer afternoon -- making sand castles with mommy and......  

....eating a Popsicle! 

The new sand-digger arrived just in time for summer fun!  Pooh is showing Wee Bob how to scoop up the sand and dump it in the dump truck.

Wee Bob is beginning to get the hang of it.

  First you scoop it up and then you....

swivel to the left and dump the sand into the truck!  

I have almost convinced myself that this is better than the beach!  Almost.  But you know what would really make it better than the beach?  Our very own swimming pool!!!  Are you listening JR?  Hello?  JR, are you with me on this?  JR, are you there?  Hello? Why do I get the feeling that my plea is landing on deaf ears???

(As I am writing this post, JR is putting a fence around the sand pile because you know what seem to think it is an ideal place to use the potty! How could we have thought that the cows would ignore all this wonderful, fresh, soft, white sand?)

Here's to summer fun!!

Dee Dee

gggggg

OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

The last time I was aware of time was in April......now it is the end of May!  Where did May go?  Did the sun shine?  Did it rain?  Was it warm?  I have no idea.  Things have moved so fast at school and at home that May has become just a blur in time.  Having several teeth that decided to malfunction did not help matters.  Some of the new pain medication will definitely send a patient to "la la land".  And why is it that whenever a tooth decides to hurt it is always on a weekend????  Nevertheless, as I look back over my May pictures I see that life was going on as usual.

 After several months of working day and night, Papa T, Meme T and Big A are finally ready to open their car repair shop.

 Big A and Papa G getting one of the lifts in place.

 Now it's time to paint!

 Big A painting all the high parts.  Hmmm....a couple of strong vines and Big A could swing from the rafters like Tarzan!  Wheeeeee!

 Papa G pressure washing the floors -- before the walls were painted.  They were very "nasty" looking!

 Big A securing "something".  Could it be a rope or a vine??

 JR. putting a coat of paint on some stools that will be used in the shop.  That's Wee Bob "working" in the background.

 Wee Bob is fixing "something" to take to the shop.

 Meanwhile, amid all the May madness, Pooh is hard at work learning the "ins and outs" of her new job.

 And YES, there was a Mother's Day in May.  I remember now!  We ate fried chicken, baked beans, strawberry short cake, and mashed potatoes with gravy. We drank ice tea and munched on green beans!   (Not necessarily in that order.)  May is slowly coming back to me now.  Warm, sunny days.....cool "open window" nights.   

 And sometime during the month of May, on a sunny, hot day, Wee Bob found time to swim with his friend.  

JR figured I needed some better luck so he brought me a 4-leaf clover he found

 Back at the shop......What an improvement!  The shop is painted and the picnic table is in place.  According to JR, all shops need a picnic table so that people can share munchies and "shoot the bull"!

The trees and vines are in place -- Whoops!  I mean lifts and wires!  Everyone is checking out the shop to see what remains to be done.

 Big A giving his opinion on "something".  I sure do have a lot of "somethings" in this post.   Most likely it is because I was aware that "something" was going on but I was not aware of what it was.  I could go on and on about what these "somethings" are but that would be fruitless.   For the most part, May, 2014, will forever remain a blurry mystery!!

 The office desk is in place.  The computers are up and running.  Tarzan is the new bookkeeper!  I mean Big A!  I mean.......Oh, never mind......Get ready, set.....GO!

And here it is!  Cumberland Mountain Automotive is now officially open for business!!  

"Here Comes Peter Cotten Tail!"

Things in the South move slowly - obviously I have picked up this southern habit since Easter was several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting pictures.  You know the old saying.....Better Late Then Never!!  That saying fits my life to a "T" lately.....Nevertheless, the Easter Bunny did pay us a visit on a deliciously sunny, spring day!!

Family began arriving after church to eat and hunt eggs!  Pooh and Wee Bob were the first to arrive after stopping off at Meme T and Papa G's house to check out what the Easter Bunny had left on their doorstep.  The Easter Bunny was busier than Old Saint Nick!

The Easter Bunny also visited the farm where he left a pail full of Sponge Bob favorites - and a small gray bunny.

It was hard to decide what to do first.....hunt eggs or eat.  Well, that was a "no brainer"!  EAT!!

Food was plentiful with pork roast, corn, baked bean, potato salad, rolls, deviled eggs, sweet tea, banana pudding and fresh STRAWBERRIES!!   Wee Bob just wanted strawberries!

Uncle A and Pooh decided to get in a game of Frisbee before the egg hunt only some "little cowboy" kept running away with the Frisbee!

Finally, with stomachs full and arms and legs exercised, the Great Hunt began....

It didn't take long for Wee Bob to get the hang of finding eggs....

Uncle A found a large surprise egg.  Wonder what was inside to make him grin???

Before long, Wee Bob had found a whole bucket of eggs.  He was delighted to discover that when he opened the eggs they were filled with coins!  Wee Bob LOVES coins.  More than strawberries or ice cream.  More than pizza or Mountain Dew.  More than apples sauce or spaghetti!

"I'll just put a few coins in my pocket and save them for a rainy day>"

Pooh found a prize egg too.  Wee Bob decided to empty all his little eggs into Pooh's big egg.  

Enough egg hunting......time for a little basketball practice with Pappy and.......

just sitting around "shooting the bull"!

Meanwhile, Big A took to "swinging" and Wee Bob and Pooh took to riding toys down the driveway.

  Meme T supervised and made sure there were no wrecks.  I stood by with my camera ready to "click" at a moment's notice!

Late that afternoon, after everyone went home and all the food was and put away.....WAIT!....did I say there was food left?  Let me rephrase that.....after the bowls, glasses and utensils were washed and the paper plates were put in the trash can.....(there, that's better).....JR and I took a ride around the farm to check the cattle and visit with the donkeys.  There is nothing like a peaceful, quiet ride across green pastures to remind me that God has truly blessed His land and people.

Dee Dee