Little Green

Riley got some mail today from Green Magazine, which is a magazine devoted to the John Deere tractor. My dad subscribes to the magazine, but I couldn't figure out why his subscription would come in Riley's name....or how they would even have Riley's name. Riley opened his mail, and inside was three separate issues of Little Green, the publication for kids. Dad subscribed for him. After dinner tonight, Riley and Dad sat at the kitchen table and read the magazine stories and worked the puzzles together. I took the opportunity to snap a few pics. No flash on these (you know how I hate it!) so they're a bit soft...and even though I had my white balance set for the lighting conditions they came out very yellow (I did correct it somewhat in PS, but it's still not spot on).

Happy Father's Day!

Our day was a busy one. We started with Sunday school and church, where we had a visiting preacher come preach a "trial sermon". I really liked him. Sure, you can't really get much from one brief meeting and one sermon, but I enjoyed him a lot...and my first impression of him is that he is just a real down-to-earth, regular guy.

On with our day. After church it was Sunday dinner at Mammaw and Pappaw's. The kids scarfed down their lunch in hopes of hurrying into the pool, which was VERY cool today. There were a ton of us in it too. Riley is doing so great with his swimming. He was in water over his head all day today and was without his swimmy things (on his arms). He is swimming like a fish. I'm so proud of him...and glad I saved the money I was going to shuck out for lessons at the Y. He's doing great!

Now, we're back home and I have tons of work to do! So...I'm going to post a quick pic here and get back to it! Today's pic was one that mom insisted I take on our way out the door to eat lunch. Her flower bed is in bloom. So.....here it is.

VBS Comes To A Close!

This has been one hectic week to say the least! Between work and VBS, I think we're all pooped! I'm glad it's over, but I'm glad to have been a part of it too. I do think the kids genuinely enjoyed themselves. It was great to work with Ms. Judy, Ms. Patsy, Ms. Cindy, and mom. It was also fun to have fellowship with all of the others involved in the whole undertaking of VBS! It was great to see old friends who have moved away from our congregation and on to new ones for whatever various reasons.

My child thoroughly enjoyed himself this week. He even wanted to know if we were going back tomorrow! I think he fell in love with Ms. Betty this week. He said she was a good dancer and could run really fast. Now how he knows that last part, I haven't a clue! LOL. You have an admirer, Ms. Betty!

I HATE taking pictures when a flash is required. In fact, I usually avoid it. But sometimes it's just more important to capture some memories than to worry about picture quality....so, here are some incredibly "flashy" pictures of Riley, Bailey and Hayden...and even one of them "cuttin' a rug"with Ms. Betty!

Hayden, Riley and Bailey of Gad.

I'm pretty sure Jesus never chewed bubble gum!

Dried Pile of Fungus

Yes, as promised, I'm posting my boring, uninspiring photo of a pile of dried fungus. Riley and Hayden were out foraging for treasures again today. They found these mushrooms growing in the yard, picked them and then piled them on Shanon and Adam's porch. Riley came home and asked me to please take a photo of his mushrooms. So....here it is, at Riley's request. I sure hope he can come up with a better idea for me tomorrow! LOL.

Also, I've added two more friends to my list of bloggers to the right. Welcome to the world of blogging Cindy and Anita! Y'all check them out and add them to your link list!

A Brother

I'm desperate tonight. It's the third night of Vacation Bible School, and I'm tired y'all! My work is piled up on my desk, and I have no idea when or how it is going to all get done! I'm pulling this pic from my reserves. I took it last week when testing out my new lens. I wanted a fairly still test subject, and Adam was available! For those who don't know, here is my youngest brother. He was working on his truck just outside of our garage. He doesn't like clutter...so he would prefer to use Daddy's tools than to have his own. Hey, I didn't say it...he did! He laughingly refers to himself as "The Borrower".

A Quick Trip

up to the old burnt church today. Sarah is down and wanted to take her new camera (my old one) out to the old burnt church to get some pics of her kids. We went out there this morning about 10:30 or so....and dear LORD was it ever hot and muggy. I had to come home and freshen up afterwards! If I weren't Jewish this week, I'd say I was sweating like a pig! (lol...inside joke from VBS...no flaming from any Jewish people who might stumble upon this blog!) The mosquitoes were also HORRIBLE...even though they might not grow as big as they do in Alaska! THEN, after braving all of those elements, my pictures have the audacity to totally stink! They look okay at this size, but they aren't fit for anything bigger than a 5x7...and the suitability for that has not even been determined yet! Oh well...who wants them bigger anyway?!

Riley, THRILLED, as usual, that I'm trying to take a photo of him. Doesn't he look pleasant?

Lucky!

They call him "Ducky", but I just call him "Lucky". He's the last living duck of the original four that we "adopted". He follows Hayden and Shanon around like a puppy dog. He's even taken to jumping into Hayden's swimming pool for a few quick laps before hopping right back out. No, this pool you're seeing here is not Hayden's! LOL. It's Lucky's. He must be contemplating another swim!

On The Road Again!

Mr. Crawford set out bright and early this morning to continue his hike to Washington, DC. After a sausage biscuit and a brief word of prayer for his safe journey, he was on his way. I just read his blog entry for the afternoon, and he reported a long, hot journey and a hope to make Jacksonboro by nightfall. Wendy, that means he'll be in your neck of the woods so keep an eye out. I'm sure he'd appreciate a nice cold Gatorade if you happen to see him! As you are well aware, there aren't that many stops between here and Charleston!

Godspeed, Mr. Crawford!

Forrest Gump Comes To Visit

Okay, so he's not really Forrest Gump, but the similarities are certainly there. He is Patrick Crawford, the executive director of a radio station (WUWF) in Pensacoloa, Florida, and he has challenged himself to hike "every step of the way" from Pensacola to Washington, D.C. Mom, Riley and I saw him hiking from Beaufort earlier today, and the next thing I know Mr. Crawford is knocking on our front door. Mr. and Mrs. Garrett up at Lowcountry Produce sent him our way and said that we would most likely offer him a place to pitch his tent for the night. Very interesting man. He has turned his personal challenge into a way to raise funds for his public radio station. You can find the story here (http://wuwf.org/events/hike.shtml), and audio updates to his radio station here (http://wuwf.org/events/hikereport.shtml).

Three Little Monkeys

Hear no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil.

This took a few practice runs. When we would get one doing their correct action, the other two would follow. LOL.

Cousins

Well, I made it through another year of the ex-in-laws visiting. We're in the clear until next May/June. Riley's Aunt Shelby came with them this year and brought her two kids, so Riley had fun with them. Really, they are good people. I have nothing against them at all. It isn't their visit that I dread....it's just difficult to explain. It just brings the whole situation back into reality for us, and I'd prefer to just forget it all! Riley is clueless at this point, and they'd better not be the ones to enlighten him!

On a lighter note, little Avery is THE cutest little thing I've ever seen. Such a doll. Man, I should've had a girl! LOL. Nah, I wouldn't trade my boy for the world. A few pics from the day. (oh, and I think my new lens and I are going to be friends after all!!)

Grana and Papa Whitt with Riley.

Cousin Hunter, who is 7 days younger than Riley.

Cousin Avery, 2 y/o.

More Rain!

Another rain shower this afternoon!

Changed My Mind

I had originally posted a picture of a red rose with raindrops on it that I took this morning, but it didn't look right when posted here. Issues with colors, etc. So, I've pulled that one and exchanged it for this one. Riley with his "Spidey" tattoo; temporary, of course!

Weather!

Well, the rainy, windy weather that we have experienced ALL DAY today finally resulted in another power outage for us! We were without power for about three hours tonight. It doesn't take much for us to lose power, and today's wind was sufficient to do the job. We need the rain though...so no complaints. Here is a photo of some of the candlelight we had going.

Little Boy Treasures!

Little boys....they collect all sorts of "junk". Riley is no exception. He spent a couple of hours at the barn with my dad this morning while I worked. When I picked him up to head into town, he was, of course, filthy and had to have a change of clothes. He informed me while we were in town that he had left his "stuff" at the barn and would have to go back to get it. His "stuff" was a bunch of old rusty junk he found laying around down at the barn. He brought it inside, unloaded it all on the coffee table, and proceeded to show me each piece of his treasure. I had to take photos. He's quickly growing up, and he won't do these little boy things forever. Of course, my dad and granddad are pretty good "collectors" to this day!

Hayden

I liked this shot of Hayden today. My focus is still "not too good" with this new lens. *sigh* More practice is needed, I'm afraid. Oh well. Practice makes perfect, right?! I DANG SURE HOPE SO!!

It sure is lonely around here these days!

New lens!!

I got my new lens today. I sure do love the FedEx/UPS man! He always brings goodies! I just wish they were FREE! LOL. So, I tried the new lens on stationery items so I could check out the focus. It looks pretty good to me! It will take some getting used to, as it is much heavier than my 50 mm prime and has a zoom, but I think I'm going to like it!

Dandelions

I've been meaning to take a photo of the dandelions for a long time now, but I've just never gotten around to doing it! I stopped at the end of the driveway tonight on the way to my grandparents' house for dinner and snapped a couple. Riley loves them, of course. What kid doesn't? Not the best pics of him, but I think the one of the dandelion turned out pretty cool.

My Boy

Ain't he sweet?! Dirty face and all!

Catch Of The Day!

We're having a Frogmore Stew to celebrate Memorial Day tomorrow, and we've been unable to find any crabs for sale. No one in town has them. So, we decided to head down to the landing and try to snag a few ourselves. A boat with five bushels of crabs pulled up to the landing just as we arrived, and we were able to buy some crabs from the crabber and his handsome son. It's a good thing we did because we didn't catch a darn thing ourselves!

Wait, I take that back. Riley caught one little bitty crab, but I don't think anyone would want to bother trying to pick the meat out of that one! Besides, Riley wouldn't hear of anyone trying to kill his crab. It is in a bucket in our garage as I type this. I'm sure he'll be disappointed when the poor ol' crab isn't quite so lively tomorrow.

Here is a little storyboard of Riley crabbing.....and the crab he caught (which, by the way, just happened to wander up on shore all by himself and got scooped into a bucket by Riley! LOL)

Mom's Roses

The flower lady strikes again. She's been after me to take pictures of her yellow roses that are in full bloom. I snuck one in of a red rose too.

His Hands.

I love these little hands. They are such little boy hands. Notice the nails that have been bitten all the way back...and the dirt under what's left of them. These hands sure do get into a lot of stuff they shouldn't, but I guess he wouldn't be a little boy if they didn't. Riley captured a ladybug this afternoon and "played with" it for a while. This one was lucky...it was a catch and release (in good health) operation. Photo edited and textured applied for an attempt at creativity.

Just A Quickie....

so I can at least say I kept up with my post today!

A "Wizard"

This little "wizard" (as Hayden calls them) can be quite elusive. Every time I go out with the camera thinking I'll get a shot of him...he LEAPS off the porch, and I can't find him. Not today!! The one of him puffing out his red throat was shot through my bedroom window, which is why it is so far away. The other photos are of a different little guy on the back porch. I still wasn't able to get as close as I wanted to, but I'm am fixing to order a new lens...this one a zoom (though admittedly a rather short one)! I've been researching lenses for a while, and I think I've finally decided on the one I want. For anybody out there feeling generous, I'm not above accepting donations! LOL.

Merry Cherry Fudge

Mom had a Mary Kay party this afternoon, and this is the sweet treat that she served. Pretty, huh? It was good too. =) None of us did make-up today, or I would have taken some photos of that. Now THAT would have been good for a laugh!

Can You Do This?!

Nothing inspiring from me today! I was lazy! It's been a rough week with getting sick and then getting behind on my work.

This is only duck we have left out of four. It's one of Hayden's. One died of "natural" causes, and the other two were brutally murdered. Guess this is one lucky......duck. *wink*

More Water!

This time, rain. I let Riley out in the rain today just to get a shot for the blog. He didn't seem to mind. We sure do need the rain! I hope it develops into a steady rain and continues throughout the night, but I doubt it!