Home

The guys are back home for a week!  They did such an awesome job running special loads out there on the roads for 7 weeks, they earned 7 days at home.  Hit town around 2:00 Friday afternoon and they get to stay until next Monday!  A nice long break - that will be good for them - and us!


So Friday afternoon we just sort of relaxed and did some grocery shopping.  But Saturday morning we hit the ground running.  (And spending $$$)


Here's what we are going to be doing for the next couple of days.  (remember, you can always click on the pictures to make them full screen...)

I took this picture AFTER Kyle the beast had the trailer mostly unloaded.


It's time for us to fence in the front yard so we can rotate the horses through three different pastures.  We'll let them hang out front for a couple hours several times a week, giving the back pasture a little bit of a rest.  Maybe we can get better grass growth back there...


So here is the "before" picture...  this is what the front yard looks like now.

First we cleaned up the length of existing fence between our property and Rick & Chris' property.  It's been there for years and is pretty grown over and rusted.  During the hurricanes of '04 Bill took his big front-end loaded and knocked a hole in the middle of the fence so he could go back and dig out Rick's pond so the property didn't flood.  But they never got around to fixing it.  So that's our first job.

First hole

The one to the right was already there - no need to replace it...

They ran a string and started measuring for holes.  They measured.  I marked.

This is what happens when you let Mom use the spray paint...

Then they poked holes and dropped the poles.  A good system - until you hit a root.  But luckily Kyle bought a really nice manual post hole digger that made short work of them.  Oh to be young and have nearly limitless energy...

Trying to dig a hole right by the tree - gotta use the PHD and young muscles.

Kyle's first hole.  Good job!

I DID help, but didn't want my picture taken.  Rod snuck one in though... I look awful - plaid and stripes.  But in my defense, I started the day with the striped shirt and some cute black capris.  But you might notice all the sunshine.  It was HOT out there - so I changed into some shorts (plaid are all I have) but didn't want to change my shirt...  this one was already nice and dirty and sweaty.  LOL  So no judging, k???  

Kyle wanted to keep going - he still had lots of energy, but we decided to call it good for the day.  Went in and showered and drove up to Cocoa to take Pops and Zach out for dinner at the Alamo.  Jim and Sabrina were at her friend's wedding... (Sabrina was a bride's maid).  

Today we are relaxing and getting ready to head off to church. 

Have a great day!

BLONDE?????

No, no, no, FROZIE is the blonde sister.

But several years ago, my darling turned 40. 

So we all lost our minds. 

But we had FUN!

I decided to go "blonde" (started sort of a strawberry but eventually got to a "real" blonde - yikes!)

Then I went to Orlando to teach school.

When I came home - this is what I found.

Good times!

What's New?

Yah, I know.  I kind of fell off the earth.

Partly I’ve been busy (who isn’t) and partly I was exhausted from our little adventure, and partly I just didn’t feel like writing.  LOL

So…  since I’ve been home. 

Sabrina (Jim’s girlfriend, and a CUTIE) moved in with us.  She was watching the house, feeding the animals and basically taking care of the place.  The plan was to stay until I got home Tuesday night, but we came home early.  When we got there she asked if it was ok if she stayed until Wednesday anyway.  I told her she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted.  (I think it’s a little silly she pays rent AND gets treated like Cinderella where she was living… but that’s just me…)  Anyhow, she went “home” on Wednesday and was back that night.  She and Kyle went over and got all her stuff over the weekend while I was in Miami. 

We are LOVING having her with us – well, except for the whole 'deathly sick with a cold' thing.  Poor girl!!!  But mega doses of D3 and Oil of Oregano and she is feeling much better much quicker than normal.  And even SICK she’s a sweetie.  AND she takes care of Jim’s guinea pig.  So, you just gotta love her!

Kyle, in the meantime, has re-fenced part of the back yard (the part Andy tore down in his quest for the greener grass on the other side), tilled and planted the garden, cleaned up the horse's pasture, mowed the entire property, cleaned up the back pasture (piles and piles of old stuff the previous owner left and we've just never done anything with...) so he's been a BUSY and productive guy!  I'm so glad he came back home!  Speaking of which... this is him packing up to leave....

and here we are now that we have arrived.  His truck parked on our road in front of the property.

And a picture of him, excited to have FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!!

Meet Mabel and her daughter Rosie - our closest neighbors.....

And THIS is why he wanted to live at Woodland Valley Ranch, Arizona.  Is this not GORGEOUS?  This is the main road coming into the ranch.  

This is the Butte in the distance.  So many colors - so beautiful!

And, of course, a glimpse of the Painted Desert.  With some of the "native sculpture" you find all over the ranch.....  

It's a stark, beautiful place.  And some day, there will be a cute little cabin, full of Buffaloe's out there in the middle of it, enjoying the peaceful beauty.  

Just... not yet.

No Idea Where this Post came from.......

Did a walk in the woods yesterday - actually did two of them... I headed out and got to the main trail when heard galumphing behind me.  Here came the lab running up the trail behind me.  Guess he didn't think much of being left behind.  Unfortunately he has VERY limited social skills when it comes to meeting others on the trail so I needed to catch him and take him home.  That took some doing (and Kyle running all the way from the house - Bison is HIS dog and it responds better to him...) but we got him caught and walked back to the house and locked in the "dog room".  Then I headed back out - this time sans any dogs (I usually take the jack russel with me off-leash because HE has GREAT walking skills...) but it was HOT and he wasn't interested.

I HAD to go though - there is a dead branch that reaches out into the middle of the trail and it catches me on the shoulder when I'm riding my horse and it HURTS as it drags down my arm and back.  So I grabbed my little garden saw and some hand clippers and headed back out again.  Got it trimmed (and a couple of other offending branches).  Here in Florida we need to do trail maintenance several times a week since everything grows so quickly. 

Anyhow - by the time I got home I felt like I had done a complete T-Tapp workout!  Hot and sweaty.  LOL  So into the pool I went.  Aaaaaaaah.

Anyhow - hope everybody is having a GREAT Friday!  Be sure to give extra lovin' to all the awesome men in our lives this weekend.  If you want to read the BEST tribute to a Dad I've ever read (be sure to have tissues handy) check out this blog... 
http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2011/06/the-where-of-being-a-father.html

Yah, I've been Bad.

Seems like since we went to Arizona, I just sort of fell off the earth.  Lots has been going on around here, but I think about a blog post while I'm driving or working or whatever, and then I completely forget to actually write it!  


So...


We got home safely and since then we've been busy.  Well, actually, when we first got home, we just sort of slept for about 2 days... but then we got busy.  Kyle spent a couple days unpacking everything and getting his room put back together.  And I went back to work.


This weekend I had a BUSY school schedule.  I worked until 1:00, dashed home and grabbed my suitcase and hit the road.  Got to school at 4:30 and started teaching at 5.  (I had 11 students, a good sized class...)  Taught until 10:00 and then back to my hotel and off to bed.  They FINALLY got some decent channels at the hotel, so I turned on the Food Channel and set it to turn off in 30 minutes.  I'm not sure I even saw the first commercial.


Got up at 6:30 and out of there a little after 7.  Drove down to Miami - just as I was pulling into the complex the school was located in, the other instructor called and reeled me in.  (I've never been there before.)  We got there at 8:30 with class scheduled to start at 9.  But Friday when I was checking the schedule, I noticed there wasn't one on the schedule for the 10th!  So... at 8:55 when there still weren't any students I called the Director.  Just as he answered, 4 people walked in.  That's all we had.  (I usually have between 20 and 60 students for my review classes!)  All of the people that showed up were personally invited by the instructor...  


Anyhow - I taught them until 1:30 and then let them take a 30 minute break.  (They all went to Burger King and brought it back to eat while studying...)  Then I proctored their exam.  The last one was done at 3:30, one passed, 2 were within 2 questions of passing, and 1 blew it.  I was pretty happy.  I was out of there by 3:45, which was good, because I had to be back to my other school in Boynton by 5.  Grabbed a California Whopper Jr on the way and got there with minutes to spare.  


Taught until 10:00 again.  I was TIRED by the time the day was over!!!  I just went to the hotel and the cleaning lady had left me a pack of Oreos, so I ate a couple and went to sleep.


Sunday morning I was up by 7 and out by 7:30.  Was supposed to be at school by 7:30, but just couldn't get out of bed.  And made the mistake of turning on the TV and got caught up in some of the 9/11 shows.  There was an excellent program on the radio on the way to school so none of us even went in until just before 8.  Taught again until 6:40, did my inventory, got everything put away and out by 7.  Then drove home, got there just before 9:00.  BOY was I glad I didn't have a zillion review students that I had to grade tests and email results for before I could go to bed!


Monday morning I got up LATE and didn't make it into the office until 10:30!  Stayed until 2:30 and then Kyle and I went to open a bank account for him and do some grocery shopping.  When we got home, Sabrina and I went for a walk in the woods (Kyle was cleaning out the shed) and then we watched some of Jim's baby videos.  He was so cute!  We watched his birth and the first couple of weeks, then we jumped ahead to Christmas and Rozann and Frank's wedding.  It was cool to see everybody!  Boy we were all young, skinny and had BLACK hair!  LOL


Today I was up and at the office just after 8.  Worked until 6:30 and then came home so Kyle and I could walk in the woods.  Poor Sabrina has a cold and got sent home from work early.  She can't taste anything, but I made her eat a scrambled egg tonight anyway.  (I had ramen noodles and Kyle made himself a big plate of french fries!)  


Ok, now I have to go to bed.  But here's a quick picture of the property.  I PROMISE I'll put more on here tomorrow.