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!