Kids, Dogs, and Airplanes

We had a busy weekend, but did not get much done. Friday afternoon we went to the park with the rat terrier and the new puppy. Jesse and some coworkers were playing cricket. Toby joined them because they just looked like they were having much too much fun. I stayed in the outfield with the dogs and occasionally caught a ball that came my way. After the game, we went with some of the players/coworkers to eat at the Chuck Wagon which has some great barbecue and Mexican food. Everyone was silly, and it was a good time.

Saturday morning Jesse left early for her sky-diving lesson. It was a bit overcast all day which made it nice and cool, but iffy for the sky-diving. Toby and I picked up GBN1 and ran some errands. Then we brought her home with us for the afternoon. She kept us highly entertained, but we did not get much done around the farm while watching her. Later that evening we went back to town for a birthday dinner for my daughter-in-law and her father. There was another young couple there with their two daughters. We ate pizza and played games and were entertained by the kids.

Jesse had called me several times throughout the day to let me know how the sky-diving was going. They were able to make two jumps. Jesse took lots of pictures and had some stories to tell. When does she not have a story to tell - life is an adventure for her. She said the sky-diving school seemed a bit “fly by night” and “jicky” but the people were great. I won’t go into some of the details about the place or the sky-diving because I have found that some people seem a bit squeamish about the whole thing. Know that Jesse had a great time, and landed on her feet both jumps.

Sunday was a beautiful day. TFNP and his family joined us after church for some fellowship and fishing. Actually, Jay fished while the wives took care of the younger children and Toby and I took care of the bigger children, which was easy enough. We took the kids to the barn and let them ride the tricycle and the cozy coupe. We also gave them rides in the wagon. Eventually the cozy coupe rider ran over a pedestrian (GBN1) and we came back to the house. The kids played in the sand where the new patio is being built, chased the goose, ran with the dogs, and tortured the kitten. At one point, Toby and my son went back to the barn to do some little finish work on the roof. Jesse was playing with one baby, TFNP’s wife was playing with another baby while I was getting the older kids a drink. Bo began hollering from the roof of the barn - needing some help with something. My daughter-in-law took off to the barn to help them probably thinking they were in some sort of trouble (Jes and I knew better - we know the difference between “I need help” and “I am in trouble” yells) Sara was still wearing her Sunday dress and sandals. Jesse and I are old pros at helping around the farm and had changed into jeans and tennis shoes. We looked at each other knowing that one of us should have gone to the aid of the men folk rather than Sara. Jesse voiced her concern asking if she should go help too. I replied, “No, Sara can handle it and look good while doing it.” Then we saw Sara moving the big ladder from one side of the barn to the other. The ladder is pretty heavy and cumbersome. This time I voiced concern, and Jesse answered, “Naa, she can handle it, and she will be quite proud of herself when she gets the job done.” So we stood idly by and let Sara drag the big ladder around the barn and then lift it up to the men on the roof. We made comments about what a good job she was doing and how nice she looked in her new dress. The Queen (TFNP’s wife) got tickled at us and said we were really bad. Yeah, we are bad, but we really love Sara, and poking a little fun at her now and then is acceptable. We would not tease her if we did not love her. She may be a girlie girl, but she is a great wife and mother. And she moved that ladder just fine all by herself wearing a dress and sandals.

By the time everyone left Sunday evening, Toby and I were worn out and we hardly worked at all.

Just a quick note: I received an email from Soldiers' Angels saying that my cards were now in the SA store where you can purchase them with the proceeds going to SA. If you did not know, last Christmas, I sent my painting of the soldier smelling a letter from home to Laurie of Soldier's Angels NY. She asked if she could send my painting to SA to be made into cards to sell on the SA website. I agreed, and it all came to happen. Everyone should check out the Soldier's Angel website and store. You can read about the SA organization. If you do not purchase my cards, you may want to purchase something to support the Angels who support our troops. It is a great organization.