Rodeo

Saturday night we went to the rodeo.....a group of 12 and my mom even had access to a suite.....so we really enjoyed ourselves. My favorite Aunt who lives down near Houston

, some of my favorite cousins.....both my boys, my sister, my parents

....it was such fun. We did find out that the Mesquite Rodeo is no longer run by Don Gay and family.....they have done away with the opening parade and have changd things up quite a bit...we didn't like it quite as much .....there just seems to be less "fanfare" however, in spite of all that....we were there to be together and just enjoy ourselves and we sure did.

ICONS

Yesterday we lost both the beautiful Farrah Fawcett (Age 62) and the talented Michael Jackson (Age 50).

No matter how you felt about either one of them there is no way to deny the mark, the impact and the legacy they both left on this planet. Of course a day or two ago, we lost Ed McMahon.....the saying is they happen in threes and there are the three. Its hard to absorb sometimes, like when Elvis died, whe we lose people that seems larger than life. Granted, we, the purchasing, adoring public are the ones that put them there......they were just blessed with the talent and/or beauty. I suspect they didn't always want the attention that was given to them. One of the great disgraces of this generation is the paparazzi who will give no one the peace or privacy to grieve a loss so great...so my heart and my prayers go out the family, friends and loved ones of these three wonderful people we have lost. They will be missed and may God Bless You and keep you during your time of sorrow.

Time

Have you ever noticed that sometimes time just seems to fly by.....one minute your kids are small and crazy and make your wish for 5 minutes of peace and you blink, and they are all grown up. Other times, it just crawls by and you wonder if the day will ever end? Well, I just realized there is another way time passes and it at a pace that is just right....not too fast, not too slow....but just right, so you can enjoy the time, and what is happening, without worrying that your missing something. Not really any big revelation to anyone Im sure, but just an observation.

Wednesday Already?

Our time with our Navy son, who is home for a short leave (18 days), is just FLYING by...I always love having him home and any opportunity to spoil him or do something nice for him...but he is off with his friends alot, just as he should be :) He will probably not get more leave for another year but I am hopeful that in Italy we will have better opportunites to talk and email than he did in Greece. Anyway.....if I don't post much, i am just spending time with the kiddo :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I just want to wish every father, step-father, grandfather, god father - whatever kind of father you are, a very Happy Father's Day - this day is to celebrate you and who you are and what you do for the children in your life.

The quote says Any man can be a father but it takes a special person to be a Dad. Well I personally, have one of the best and I share him with two siblings who think so too - but I also share him with my own children because he is such a blessing to us all. Our lives are doubly blessed by having another wonderful father, Craig's Dad - he is the silent type who is always there when you ask, never intruding but only "being there" and we thank him for that.

So to all the dads in our lives - we love you, we appreciate you and may God bless you every day just for being who you are!

The Eagle has landed...

Well he finally made it home...our Navy boy (of course I guess he is not a "boy" anymore but he is mine so I can call him what I want). After a little over a year in Greece - he is home for 18 days and then he is off to Italy. Craig and I really hope that we can make a trip over to visit HIM while he is there. Of course a job for Craig would be nice....but that might be coming soon :) but Im not saying cuz I don't want to jinx it.

However - here he is, our very own sailor - Jerin (the picture may not show it but he looks tanned and wonderful, but of course Im partial, cuz Im his mom)

Tomato Plants continued....

I think my tomato plants are going to be total loss. First, something is eating the romas - not the leaves or the stems but the actual tomato....and those are the ones that don't have blossom end rot. One of my large plants, that actually have several very nice looking, regular tomatoes seems to have been attacked by "something" that might have been cut worms or now Im thinking grasshoppers because the ends of the plants are GONE but whatever it is hasn't TOUCHED the actual tomatoes on this plant.

On my third plant...the ones called "Better Boys" it has ONE lone tomato that has not grown beyond its current size and no other blooms or fruit on it......Apparently tomatoes don't like the Square Foot Garden, so next season I think I will just plant 2 plants of regular tomatoes in a big POT and leave the Sq Foot Garden for something else. The peppers on the other hand (all 3 types) are having a field day as is that blasted cantaloupe vine that is taking over the universe !?!?!?! Did I say I was doing this for fun? You work so hard and you have to compete with nature and critters to get anything out of it! ARGH!

Tomato Plants!?!?!

My garden has survived all the storms but I planted 3 different types of tomatoes in my square foot garden and something is EATING my Romas! First I discovered that some of them had blossom end rot - which was discouraging but fixable (you simply add calcium to the soil and water more regularly) then I discovered that something was eating on them....it only eats the skin on one side and then moves on to the next one! I have to figure out what this pest is and then I will post pictures......but I warn you, its pretty sickening :) However, I am going to have to figure out what to do about the cantaloupe because it is truly tryingto take over my small little garden :( Next spring, the mint and the cantaloupe will have to go somewhere else (they are garden hogs) and next spring I will ad another square foot box.....this is wayyyy too easy and fun.

The "fur" kids

We have three of the craziest boxers on the planet. Each one of them having these "things" that they do that make them unique. Two of the three are rescues but we would have paid for them if we had to.

Pete, is the oldest (11) and the only fawn colored one of the gang. Make no mistake he is the Alpha, and if you don't think so, just ask him because he is a talker. Heaven forbid you don't get his dinner when HE think you should for he will torment you until you get up and go do it. This picture is standard Pete....the King:

Next in age is Shelby (8) and doesn't look a day over 3 :) She is white (No she is not albino, or rare, or deaf or stupid or any of the the myths that go along with white boxers) Her claim to "fame" is she is lickalupagus - she licks people, carpet, toys, the air.......it doesn't matter, its what she does. But she is a pretty girl and this picture proves it....

Then we have Buster (3), the baby....HE is the craziest dog of the bunch....he flies around the house thinking he is a helicopter with legs flailing. He skateboards in the kitchen on one of the chew bones and he is just a general fruitcake, see....

However,one of the funniest sights to watch is when there is a lizard, a frog or some other critter hanging out on the back porch. They whine and they prance and they really want to play with whatever it is....

They are crazy but they are ours and we love them.

It is what it is

The Navy has reminded Jerin once again of who is in charge and moved his departure back to June 19th. As long as he still get the 18 days at home then we can all survive one more week. I told him to keep his chin up and enjoy the downtime.

We took on another round of pretty severe storms last night. At one point (around 2:30 am) Craig and I were fairly sure the house had been hit by lightining. We were running around the house seeing if we could smell smoke, waiting to see if the smoke detectors went off (at the intial "boom" we heard them beep just once). Of course right after Craig's panic he started to feel sick and "weird" (he doesn't do panic very well). Anyway, the weather settled down and soon we were able to get some sleep. The garden seems no worse for the wear - I checked it this morning just briefly.

I hope all of you fared well!

Graduation Day

Well its finally here. Travis is graduating from High School. I was having some trouble with it since he is the baby and he will be living on campus when he goes off to school but someone said at Baccalaurate - this is not the end or the beginning of the end, but the beginning of the beginning......and since he is going to UNT he will still be close :) (Be aware parents of little ones - the time goes by so fast - so don't blink or you will miss it).

Travis will be in Marching Band at UNT so we will be at football games and school stuff - so all is well. We are so proud of you T - you made it!

Happy Anniversary To US

Today is mine and Craig's 7th wedding anniversary. I think it surprises him when I remember because Im so bad with dates. If I don't write it down, it didn't happen :) This is a tough anniversary for us because ;unfortunately, he is still laid off, so we went to dinner and that was enough....but when he DOES get a job - there better be something good next year :) Im thinking a trip to Italy to see Jerin will suffice (hahahaha).

Anyway Happy Anniversary Honey - this is just one out of many, we can make up for it !

Chili Bites The Dust

So...Im driving home from work, talking on the phone, minding my own business when suddenly on my dash appears the little car with a wrench (I think this is the Service Engine Soon light), next my battery light comes on, followed by my ABS light and my air bag light.....at the same time I notice that the LEDs are slowly getting dimmer and dimmer. At this point, Im pretty sure my car has completely freaked out.....By now, I have hung up call #1 and in a panic I have Craig on the phone.......I get off the highway with a plan to turn around and head to the Saturn dealership......no dice.....it died right there - everything went black.....I coasted it into a liquor store parking lot (by the way a Saturn Vue without power stearing is a very very bad idea) - that was the end of that. I called a wrecker, I called my favorite Saturn dealership - had the tow truck take it there and now we wait......Im sure the damage will be a doozy because Craig took a look and said my accessory drive belt was gone.......so....wish me luck. With Craig being laid off - this could be bad :(

New Info: yes of course - lets think of ALLLLL the things it could be pick the most EXPENSIVE one and that will be the thing that has to be fixed - apparently the air compressor froze up, effectively shredding the accessory drive belt and there you have it......so $800+ dollars later.....it will be fixed....however, we had to go with a remanufactured compressor or it would have been $1100......so, yeah. Can SOMEONE find Craig a job please?????

*sigh*

Ok, so the Navy Son will not be home until June 12th AND he only gets to be home for 18 days as opposed to the 30, I THOUGHT he was getting. I need to have a word with the Navy huh?

Well at least last nights storms did not do another number on my garden. When I looked this morning , Im pretty sure the peppers have lost their minds right along with the tomates. We picked our first 2 zucchinis and I must admit, homegrown (while smaller than storebought) has ALOT more flavor. I can hardly wait for the tomatoes, YUM!

Yikes

So Im sitting here at work on the 4th floor of a building that was hit by a tornado just a few short years ago. There is QUITE a thunderstorm brewing outside.....Tornados don't hit the same place twice, right ? (Unless IM in the building).