Sunday, June 24, 2018

Bad Boy, Cotton Candy and Guitars

My parents have been dividing up their time between the home near us and the home in the mountains. When they leave this home I go over and keep it mowed so they don't return home to a jungle. This year we traded in the old antique Grasshopper zero turn mower for a much newer Bad Boy zero turn mower. It's freakishly fun to use and I offered to bring it over and mow with it instead of their John Deere. I just needed a small trailer since I didn't want to haul the mower on the cumbersome car hauler. They let us use their little utility trailer which fits it wonderfully. Fun times!



To celebrate the end of VBS I took the kids out to lunch last Friday at the local Olive Garden. They went nuts over the non-alcholic drink menu which had some sour apple cotton candy concoction (say that three times). I said "Sure!" since I usually say no. They brought out these giant drinks topped with layers of cotton candy. I could almost hear the cavities forming. They sure raved about them though.


Every other week the kids and I make the trek into the feed store to feed the hoard of animals we have. To make the experience enjoyable we often stop at the antique mall right next to the feed store. It doesn't look large from the outside but on the inside it's a sprawling building full of little booths with this and that. Some antiques, some new stuff and a lot of junk. It's a lot of fun finding things. Wesley has found some treasures over the years. He found a box with someones rock collection from over the years once, he's a rock lover so that was a great find. This week we wandered around and came across a nice guitar with a strap and stand. He stood there looking at it for awhile and said "Mom I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar." So, $59 later he has a entry level Lyon guitar. We haven't started the hunt for a instructor yet but plan to.


Every year like clock work I usually write something about the koi pond. It's a big project each spring emptying it, blowing out the two tons of wet leaves, filling it and getting the pump going. Each year the reed grass move to take over another portion of the pond, it frustrating. This year Sean offered to help me cut the grass out. The roots grow like a mat of carpet on top of the liner, sometimes a foot deep. It's gross work, standing in sludge while trying to chop out roots as thick as your thumb. We worked most of the day and removed about a 4 foot section. It doesn't sound like much but it opened up a large chunk of pond. Thanks Sean!



VBS

Another year of vacation bible school has come and gone. The church asked me to once again run the arts and crafts station (apparently I did a good enough job last year). It's kind of a crazy week full of fun and the kids have a great time. My mom helped me out again for three days, which I greatly appreciated as I never know if I'll have helpers. The theme this year was Roaring River Rapids and we got to do all sorts of woodsy, camp crafts including compass necklaces, sand art and beaded bracelets.  This is Wesley and Alex's last year of VBS so they will be helpers next year.





Friday, June 22, 2018

Snow Cones

We discovered a local snow cone joint last year and I promised we would go often this summer. School has been out for nearly a month and we've gone at least 5 times. I'm officially burnt out of snow cones but the kids would probably eat them daily (not that I would let them). So many flavors to try, so little time!





Pigs

I could of sworn that I posted about our newest critters but I can't find the post anywhere. Several months ago, I believe it was February, we got a call from a friend saying she knew of two guinea pigs needing a new home. Her friend is pregnant and having issues with allergies and these two little guys needed to go. Wesley had been wanting a guinea pig for about a year. I gave him all of my books about them from when I had pigs growing up. He'd been doing his research and saving money.


The gal giving them away just wanted them to go to a good home and gave all of supplies and pets away for free. It was very sweet of her! They are named Jasper and Ralph and live up in Wesley's room. They get to come out of their main cage and run around the play area for several hours each day and usually once a day the kids cover Wesley's bed with a quilt and let them up that to run and get loved on. They are very loved guinea pigs!

Friday, June 1, 2018

Smushed

Pulling my car into the garage is pretty much done on autopilot these days. I pull the car out of the garage and expect there to be an empty stall for me to pull into when I return.....right? Well last week I pulled the car in and went inside the house without really thinking about anything and Sean pulls his car in a few hours later. He walks in and tells me that I ran over his car charger (he bought a Chevy Volt that plugs in). Sure enough I ran my car completely over his car charger. Oops! It kind of worked but if you moved the cord it would turn on and off, definitely not a safe option for charging the car overnight.

So he got online to find a replacement and discovered they are $390 (ouch!). Boy did I feel bad! Sean decided he would see if he could just fix it, after all it's just a big electric cord. He's repaired many of those over the years. She he spread out his tools on the table and took the whole thing apart. He shortened the cord by a couple of feet but it's now working great. He's sure a handy guy!