Two Special Couples

Just a quick break between "girl fun" to wish "Happy Anniversary" to our precious children ~~

Matt and Beth celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary on July 14 with a little hiking expedition.

July 14, 2001

July 14, 2010

Mande and Jon celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary on July 22 with a week-long trip to Mexico.

July 22, 2000

July 22, 2010

It's hard to believe that many years have passed since both of those beautiful summer weddings. We are so very proud of the choices you made for soul mates and of the wonderful lives you have made for yourselves and your precious babies.

Congratulations and Best Wishes for many, many more wonderful years together! And thanks so much for letting the Fabulous Five stay with us while ya'll were celebrating!!

Where's the Lazy, Hazy?

Remember this song? Well, I've lost the lazy, hazy part of my summer!! Things have been hopping around the acre . . . corn to put up, beans to pick, trips to Splash Country, The Track and Lake Winnie. . . just to name a few all while trying to keep the gardens watered. And it's about to get a whole lot crazier!! (you'll find out why at the end!)

Also, our little town has made history this week ~~ a full week of Wagon Train and no RAIN in sight!!!! That has NEVER happened as long as I can remember! Boy, was I going to be glad to see WT get here this year so I could stop pulling those water hoses around. Guess God thought I needed the exercise! Another Birthday for another special boy ~~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUBBA!!!!

Hope you are enjoying your birthday on the beach!

Aunt Sissy will have your "special birthday" entry complete with pictures up a little later ~ sorry, buddy!! I still have one more birthday ~~ my first-born's ~~ to "blog" about that I missed posting in March and then I'll be all caught up until the next one in September. Wow!

NOW . . . It's HERE . . . Mimi's Cousins' Camp!!

Invitations are sent to the girls for camp and another to their friends for the annual "Mimi & Me Tea Party," the "Nest" is all spic and span with clean sheets on the wall of beds, wood's in the firepit waiting to make smores and all the "projects" are waiting for little hands! Starting Sunday 4 of my Fabulous 5 will be here for camp! Granddaddy and I are so excited to have the girls here without parents so we can spoil them as much as we want! In fact, for the next 2 weeks after camp we'll have all 5 of them to ourselves ~~ the all A girls one week by themselves and the following week the C girls will be here for a few days!!!! Soooooo . . . I'll be absent from here for a while . . . no blog, no email, no facebook . . . just GIRLS!! My kind of life!!! After I rest up a bit, I'll be posting Bubba's & Matt's birthday pages and lots and lots of pictures from our camp. Ya'll have a good summer ~ maybe yours will be lazy and hazy! . . . and, Mommies and Daddies, enjoy your week all to yourselves 'cause we sure will be having fun on the acre!!

Just a Little Peek . . .

. . . into how Granddaddy and I celebrated America's Birthday this weekend ~ We had fun but we sure missed all our babies! Saturday, July 3 ~~

We had our normal holiday lunch date with friends at DCC followed by

~ Lance's Independence Party ~

Darlene had everything so festive in red, white and blue. Aren't the DIY 4th of July party circles I found as "freebies" on the web just perfect additions for the mints and sparklers?

Delicious Food

1. Darlene's Cornbread Salad 2. Cheryl's Potato Salad 3. Spiral Ham 4. Watermelon from the Penlands 5. Spinach Dip with fresh vegtables from Wendell's garden that I forgot to add to the collage

Darlene showing off her Sparkling Glasses (what looks like a glare on her hand is really little lights flashing). They were so cute!

Chocolate Stampede with my homemade ice cream before taking the golf carts to the front entrance to watch the fireworks.

Sorry the pictures are so blurry ~~ not sure what I did wrong, but you know me and cameras!

Sunday, July 4 ~~

~~ Private Party on the Porch ~

Can you guess which chair is Mimi's?

Look, girls, we had a little black visitor to our party; but, at least we found him before he ate our food!

Yes, that is fresh corn out of Granddaddy's garden! Pop would be proud!

Granny's vintage Pyrex holds a few slices of watermelon for us while her Milk Glass glasses hold sweet tea with my fresh mint.

As the sun began to set, Granddaddy and I enjoyed a slice of Darlene's good cake with more homemade ice cream in my new little holiday bowls ~ we even lit candles and sang "Happy Birthday" before we had our own fireworks show with our sparklers. While our new flag gently waved in the warm night breeze, we thought of ya'll and again said a prayer of thanksgiving for the freedom to just sit in peace and quiet.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame . . .

Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don't win, it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, At the old ball game. Did you know . . .

July 5 is Cracker Jack Day?

To celebrate (I borrowed a little idea from Miss Janice), I handed out these little cuties to the neighbors & also mailed one to each of the Fabulous Five. Shhhhhhhhh . . . Mamas don’t tell them ~ it’s a surprise!!! Hopefully, they won't be too late because of the holiday mail schedule. Here’s a little box left by the front door at the Lance’s. All morning I rang doorbells and ran (now, kids, you know I really didn’t run) back to the car so I wouldn’t get caught.

But Miss Nell was sitting in her drive, shucking corn ~ boy, did she need a little treat!

I even sent 4 with Hubby for his golfing buddies to enjoy ~ maybe they improved Hubby’s game! No one was really surprised it was me who left the Cracker Jacks but they were all surprised that today was Cracker Jack Day ~ we’re never to old to learn something, now are we? I also included a little history about Cracker Jacks and the song that made them famous for my babies ~ you know, just in case their teacher asks them sometime or so they can show just how smart they are by telling their teacher or friends. If any of you grandparents out there would like to do this next year, just go here to find out all you need to know about Cracker Jacks! After my morning on the run, I enjoyed my little box out in my rocker on the front porch with my diet coke. Now, I’m off to take down the red, white and blue and replace it with watermelons so I’ll be ready for next week’s picnic. Thanks for stopping by today . . .

One Nation Under God

I LOVE . . .

Juicy watermelons, swim parties, smell of burgers on the grill, homemade ice cream, flags waving in the breeze, Wagon Train, fresh corn on the cob, parades, barbeques, Daddy’s American Flag proudly displayed in its case on the mantle while his Marine Corps Band music plays all day, our new flag waving from the front porch column while smaller flags line the circle in front of the house, the end of Cousins' Camp, GOOD FOOD, GOOD CONVERSATION, GOOD FRIENDS,

and, of course . . .

F I R E W O R K S

Just think . . . all across America . . . at approximately the same time . . . in every town no matter the size. . . the sky lights up . . . people sing along with The Star Spangled Banner . . . and the earth vibrates from the NOISE. That NOISE . . . TEARS trickle down my cheeks while CHILLS run over my body as I think . . . is that what it sounded like to my Daddy as he lay in his foxhole in Guam? Is that what it sounds like to all our soldiers fighting today for you and me? As you watch in excitement this weekend, think about the noise and say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His blessings . . . and to the soldiers who have fought to give us the freedom we’re celebrating.

Have a happy and safe weekend as you celebrate, my dear family.

Granddaddy and I will miss you!!

Before I go put on my red, white and blue, I’ll leave you with a quote:

“The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America’s becoming a great nation. I also believe this blessed land was set apart in a very special way, a country created by men and women who came here not in search of gold, but in search of God. They would be free people, living under the law with faith in their Maker and their future. Sometimes, it seems we've strayed from that noble beginning, from our conviction that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to.”

~~ former President Ronald Reagan

and a little history lesson . . .

Did you know that fireworks were first used in Independence Day celebrations in 1777?

Now, go have fun!