Redneck Can Crusher

I was driving home from work on Friday when I got to a curvy part of the road below my house. I slowed wayyy down because a truck in the driveway of a "tralr" (I will have to post about that story sometime) or mobile home as we call it in the insurance business, was about to pull out in front of me. Then he stopped and backed up. Then he pulled forward again. When I got closer to the drive way, I noticed that there were aluminum soda cans all over the driveway. This guy was crushing a ton of aluminum cans with his truck! It was hilarious. I got home and told Charlie about it, but he did not think it was funny..... it seems that if you crush the cans you get more money per pound at the recycling center.....I guess that guy is a little smarter than me. I would have stomped them with my foot!

Boys of Summer

Most of our summer evenings (when it is not raining)are spent in the front yard playing "baseball". Brady plays with the tee and without it. He can actually hit it farther when it is pitched to him. We have a great time, but it is really hard get to sleep at a decent time when there is baseball in the air!

I really hope this is his passion (and not football!). Charlie takes him down to the ball field below our house a couple of nights a week to watch the men play softball. He watches for a while, then plays in the dirt for a while. We went to watch Tommy's t-ball game, but it rained out.

Don't we have a beautiful view from our front yard?

How does your garden grow?

This is our beautiful garden! We are super excited that our first legitimate try has turned out so well. We have already harvested some cucumbers and had enough to share with Nay. Charlie checked the potatoes to make sure they had not rotted (a few rows were flooded from rain), but they looked great. Brady was even showing off a baby one. In a few days we will have squash. The corn has grown a lot since this photo was taken a few days ago. Hopefully we will be blessed abundantly with tomatoes so that we can share!

Baby potato (and mismatched pajamas!).

One of the pretty cucumbers. Brady was really excited about growing something that we could eat.

Beach Pictures

A happy beach bum!

This is the sweetest picture of Brady and Courtney!

I love this picture of Brady. It was taken at 6am on our first morning at the beach. He was so Happy Go Lucky!

Beach Bums

Lucky us - my mom invited us to go to the beach with her! We left on a spur of the moment trip to Cherry Grove Beach. That is SO unlike me. Before Brady (BB), I would never have done something like that. I would have ironed and packed for a week, made sure everything in my house was spotless and in the correct space just in case I met an early demise and did not make it back home from the trip. Now I just fly by the seat of my pants (sometimes) and let the Lord take care of things!

We had a great time at the beach. Brady did not sleep a wink on the way down - and it was like the Shrek movie where they go to visit Fiona's parents in Far Far Away with Donkey constantly kept saying "are we there yet?". Brady asked every fifteen or twenty minutes. It about drove me crazy. We told him for a while that it was a long way. After we stopped in the Statesville area to plug the phone up at a McDonalds (yes, dead phone - no car charger, long story) and get something to eat (TEA), we started telling him that we were almost there.....Sad.

I think I just got bitten by a mosquito....back to the story.....

We threw our stuff out of the car at the condo and went straight to the beach when we got there. Brady loved it! He loved the sand and the water. His main concern before we arrived was that there would be a lot of crabs on the beach (like on Tom and Jerry) and that Bruce (the shark on Nemo) would try to eat him. We did see a few small crabs, but Bruce did not show up!

Morning #1, Brady wakes up before 5:30 am. So that he will not wake everyone else in the condo, I throw on some clothes and take him to the beach. We were there by 6. We had to drive a few miles, the condo was not beach front, and still made it by 6. I am trying to post a picture of the sunrise with Brady walking on the beach. If it does not show up - I will have to go to Mom's and add it later!

Morning #2, Brady wakes up before 6:30 am. Charlie, Courtney, Brady and I were at the beach before 7.

Morning #3, Brady, Courtney and I were at the beach by 8. We took our stuff and stayed a few hours that time. It was miserable hot that day and Courtney kept asking when we were going back to the room!

It was a great time seeing the beach through the eyes of a child. Courtney was a great help - she entertained Brady a lot. Pop and Charlie played with him in the water. Mom entertained him at the condo. He even took up with my aunt and uncle who stayed in the condo too. If you are fortunate enough to have family that will travel with you, or invite you on their vacation, take advantage of it! It is wonderful to have help entertaining a 3 1/2 year old!

Memorial Day Parade

We had a great time at the Memorial Day Parade. The Burkett family met us in town to watch it. There were lots of Army vehicles (which the guys loved), horses, floats and people dressed in period costumes. There were many veterans in the parade - we were able to show our appreciation for their sacrifices. We only had a one snafu at the parade, the boys were afraid of the guy dressed as the Hokie bird - well it was not a traditional Hokie bird but looked more like a robot. It did not phase Miss Caroline at all. Tommy was fine after we realized that he had hats for a

rumpus.

After the parade we went to the Chatham Hill playground with the Burkett's and the Pugh's. Only two snafu's there - Jack had a gun that everyone wanted and Mason got hit by a swing. Oh, the third snafu was when Brady almost fell off of the merry-go-round after I told him not to drag his feet.

Brady went and stayed with Nay for a few hours. They had a great time together!

April's Birthday Party

April celebrated her **th birthday on Sunday, May 24. The only ones really partying are shown here. Brady, Sam and Ethan had a great time riding tractors and cars, jumping in Sam's big bouncer and brandishing Ethan's weapons. They all are friends and go to day care together. They were allowed to play outside in the sprinkling rain and were soaking by the time it was over. Hopefully everyone slept well - Brady sure did!

It was a great party! We are ready for the next one - Sam's birthday party!