Home Again!

I returned home sun burnt and windblown toting a duffel bag full of sand (not put there intentionally!) yesterday afternoon!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh..................... I'm glad to be back! Collin and I had a blast and I have around 225 pictures that I'm going through in addition to everything else that I need to catch up on! I can't wait to post about the trip but it may take me a day or two to get my thoughts together. Oh it's good to be back!

Creek stomping with Sayre!

Yesterday, Sayre took me creek stomping! This included walking in the creek, in fields, and in general taking a tour of the immediate country side!!

This is what the creek pretty much looks like. There is one spot where it's really rocky and it makes one wonder where all the rocks came from! There is about three to four inches of running water in it!

This is "Sayre's pool" where he spends most of his time catching crawdads and fish. He also tell me that he's seen snakes in it...... See the gap between the two rocks? That is where the water runs down.

Here's a picture from the front! Isn't it neat!

Here is what he has constructed further down. He's "hauled" all the sand in, built up the bank with rocks, and built a "bridge" with rocks!! It's incredible what he's done!

Looking the opposite way. This sand path takes you under a barbed wire fence- He is so creative and I can't wait to see what else he does to the creek!

I'm Off......

Dear Family and Friends~ I will not be posting for the next week as I am taking a very un-expected vacation! It was quite unplanned.... The Griffith family has kindly invited Collin and I to go to Cape Hatteras with them, our parents said YES, and we are leaving tonight!!

A butterfly alights on Mothers' Zinnia

This is Adah and I get to spend the next week with her, her sister, and her brothers! We plan on doing allot of swimming, fishing, and in general catching up on life. We don't get to see each other very often so this week will be a blast! I'm taking the camera so I'll be sure and update you on all the fun stuff we did!!! Well, I'll post pictures if I have any!!! Have a terrific week!!!

Fried Plantain "Recipe"

Have you ever heard of Plantain? I myself would probably be the first to say "No, I haven't heard of them" if it hadn't been for the Francos' introducing my Mother and I to this delicious fruit! Today I'm going to share my family's favorite way of eating them!

As you can see, Plantains resemble banana's. I would suggest using Plantains when they are yellow or, for a sweeter taste, when they begin to turn black. The First thing you will do will be to peel the skin off and cut the fruit up into one inch pieces (or thicker if you deisre).

Next, you fry them in oil till they are a light to golden brown. (My oil was to hot and they fried much quicker than I anticipated.) Drain on a paper towl.

Next, "Squash" the fried plantain with the bottom of a cup

Next, dip the "squashed plantain" in salt water.

Now, fry them again. WARNING: watch out when you put them in!!! When the water comes in contact with the oil it causes the oil to splatter and could possibly burn you. These are delicious!! They have a sweet flavor and are a real treat! Mom and I can't get enough of them!!)

Bunny Happenin's

My soon to be twelve year old brother Sayre owns around 10 rabbits. He got started with rabbits last Christmas when I gave him a "baby bunny" for Christmas. Since then he has acquired at least two more adults and had two litters of babies! The most recent litter was born three and a half weeks ago!

This is the mother "Maxy" with her litter. She had seven babies in all, but one of them died soon after being born and two more died a week afterwards. Now there are just four babies and I think it's safe to say that they will be all right!

Here they are! This is the cute stage! Their eyes have been open for a week and their ears are starting to stand up. The two babies on the left have their mothers hair which is silky and ooh so soft! Those two also happen to be the biggest and the fattest! The two on the right have their fathers' fur which is still soft, but much shorter. Both the mother and the father have the brown markings that the babies have!

This guy understands the meaning of "Chillin' Out"!! He really was sleeping like that!

Here they are all in a line! Did you know that baby bunnies don't stay still for very long?!

Look at "Teddy's'" little tail! It reminds me of a cotton ball.... actually, HE reminds me of a cotton ball!

Sayre takes every opportunity to play with any of his rabbits. It's not uncommon to find rabbits running around the room, climbing on top of cookbooks, or chewing the phone cords (ahem). He especially enjoys the babies as he can "put" them into all sorts of cute things! These guys fell asleep in Sawyers' car!
Sayre took this picture! Isn't this guy cute? This one has the fathers' fur. I don't know if you can tell a difference.

Even Sawyer enjoys the bunnies!! All four babies couldn't fit in the wagon- the other one was to fat! Sawyer took these little guys on a ride and is very gentle with them. It's so sweet to watch him find the bunnies ear and then tell us what it is.

We are really enjoying these little guys!

My Family

My family and I attended a wedding yesterday afternoon that was held at this really neat Presbyterian church! One of the boys said that the church was established in mid to late 1700's and one of the plaques at the church said that the church was built in 1846 (I think)! It was really neat!

When we got home Mom said it was picture time (which we have whenever we're "dressed up" as the boys say). I thought you might like to see what fine gentleman I live with!

My Daddy and Mommy have been married 25 years. They are a example of godly parents to us and for that we are truly thankful.
"Us Kids" minus Sawyer who fell asleep on the way home. Don't the guys look sharp?!!
This is Trevor. He keeps us laughing and enjoying life! I love the sparkle in his eyes! He works in construction doing allot of grading instead of actual construction.

Boy#2 is Tristan who is the chief "yard mower" around here. He's in the process of building a log cabin and is waiting for more wood to finish it. He stays busy taking care of our place.
Boy#3 is Collin who has a similar personality of Trevor. He enjoys dirt bikes, hunting, fishing, and working.
Boy#4 is Sayre (pronounced Say-er) who enjoys fish trapping, creek stomping, and taking life easy. He has ten rabbits and one dog and it's neat to see him playing with them.
Boy#5 is Sawyer who makes us laugh! He enjoys trucks, dogs, rabbits, cats, being with "the guys", riding on tractor, and a multitude of other things! There are ten years between him and Sayre so he's growing up doing the "big guy stuff"!
I am very thankful for my family and I enjoy each and every one of them!

Garden Expansion

If you have read any of my first posts, you'll know that I spend allot of time out or near my garden. I've posted quite a few pictures from it and I talk about it allot!

At the beginning of last week, I overhead Tristan make the comment that there was nothing for him to do. As a result of the drought he isn't cutting any grass (execpt in the drain field which is a beautiful green!) or hauling brush to the burn pile as we aren't burning anything, so he's litterly bored to death!

I mentioned that I was going to be expanding my garden this fall but that if he wanted to go ahead and work on it he could. He glady complied! This is what it looked like from the side-before he started!

Here he is just starting. We've learned that scraping the grass up first is a MUST, otherwise it starts sprouting even if it's turned under.

This is Buck, his dog. Buck was a stray that showed up last Fabruary. He's some kind of a hunting dog and will go track deer down when ever he can. Let me explain his long sleeved shirt, lest you think it's cold here! Our washer has recently decided not wash clothes completely; meaning, it quits agitating or washing at various times. Thankfully, it was fixed and we are enjoying clean clothes again!

Here is what he accomplished for the day! Now I'm going to put some salvaged edging in and haul a little dirt in!!

But wait, He beat me to it! I asked him if he could fix a piece of edging I was having problems with and when I came out there was edging installed farther than I had thought possible to go!! Then he hauled dirt in for me! He is truly the hardest working guy out of all the boys- he hates not having anything to do. Thank You Tristan!! I can't wait till spring!!