Camping

Finally, it has started to feel like fall around here! I'm SO loving this cooler weather, and I know Eric is really appreciating a break from the heat at the farm. With the chill in the air, it was a perfect time for our annual "camping" trip to George L. Smith. I guess it's not really camping because we stay in the cabins instead of tents...but, it sure is fun!

It Just

Goes By

Too Fast

And Then,

It's Time To

Go Home...

I've taken the following picture of my parents with Molly & Braylon every year for the last 4 years. It has become tradition that it is the last picture I take of the camping weekend. It is so amazing to see how much taller the kids grow from year to year...Goodbye til next year...

Another Hunting Weekend...

Another fun weekend dove hunting at Cooter Creek...Triton was able to make his first "attempt" at hunting this year. He has become such a "house dog" over the last couple of years & really can't stand the heat for very long. It didn't take long before his hassling & drooling started! He quickly found the water bucket... With the first shot, Triton is back in full "hunting mode". "I'll get that bird, dad..." "Now, where's my water bucket?" "Daddy, stop shooting...I'm bringing you some more shells!" Then, she RUNS back to the Ranger before Eric has a chance to shoot again... "Here's some more shells..." And, run back to the Ranger, again... In the meantime, "Is it hot out here, or is it just me?"...

Crud...

When Molly was younger, she seemed to keep different kinds of respiratory problems & illnesses all the time. Before she was a year & half old, she had already had bronchitis twice and RSV. She stayed on breathing treatments so much that we ended up buying our own nebulizer in order to do the treatments at home. Over the last couple of years, she has been so much better & I have really felt like she was over all of that crud. But, I guess it's a good thing we never got rid of that nebulizer... This last bout has decided to settle into her chest & lungs again, so she's back on 4 treatments a day. And, let's just say she was a much better patient as a baby. She is not too fond of doing them now!

First Dove Shoot

Molly enjoyed going to her first dove shoot this weekend. Well..."enjoyed" probably isn't quite the correct word. She went to the dove shoot, stayed about 20 minutes, said it was too hot & then called her Meme to come pick her up. But, she did go the dove shoot at least!

And, she picked up a few birds...

She even helped bag them up...

We'll work on staying more than 20 minutes at the next shoot!

Calf Raising...

I believe we'd go hungry if my husband had to make his living by being a welder.... Or a mechanic... **Note to self: Buy more Greased Lightning...lots of Greased Lightning** *All of the above took place just because my windshield wipers weren't spraying water on the windshield. Parts were being thrown all over the shop floor, because they "served no purpose" and we didn't "need them". Hmmm...I wonder why the manufacturer put them in there if they don't serve a purpose..." But, if there's one thing he can do...Eric can farm! Being as how he's a third-generation farmer, it was just what he was destined to do. So, I guess that the reason he's so great at it is because it's in his blood. At Cooter Creek, Eric farms row-crops. We have corn.... **This is actually how all of my houseplants look! But, unlike my plants, this is how you actually want your corn to look.

And, we have peanuts....

Mmmm....I cannot wait to boil these babies when they get a little bigger...

And, of course, we have cotton. Lots & lots of cotton.....

Did you know that a cotton only blooms for two days? On the first day, it looks like this...

...a pretty, white flower.

On the second day, it turns a pinkish-purple color....

Then, it falls off & forms a small, hard boll... This boll will grow & eventually bust open with snow-white cotton. (I'll have to post a picture of that later in the fall.) But, trust me, it's beautiful!

At Cooter Creek, we only farm row-crops. We do not raise livestock of any kind. No cows, horses, pigs, chickens, etc...

But, we do have calves...

Boy, do we ever know how to raise some calves around this farm... **Note to self: Please try to remind Eric that brown dress socks are really not cool with sandals...but the calves do make up for it!**

Fishing, Birthdays & A Wreck!

It's been hectic & busy around Hammockville lately...but that's nothing unusual! Molly still is not very excited about having to get up so early in the mornings and go to school, but once she gets there, she always enjoys it. Wednesdays and Fridays have become her two favorite days...Wednesdays because she gets to go to dance practice after school & Fridays because it's "music day" at school. Last Friday night, we enjoyed supper at Ware's with the Griner's and Shannon. On Saturday, Eric was doing this... while Molly & I were doing this... We were celebrating Rhiana's 5th birthday party with a Lightning McQeen party. During the party, Molly grabbed a balloon & said, "Mommy, we forgot to send Papa Bill a balloon from my birhtday party. Can we send him one today?" She was right. In all the hustle & bustle of getting things together for her party, we forgot to release a balloon to heaven. So, that's what we did at Rhiana's party. Sunday was our turn to cook for Supper Club. It was also Mrs. Lisa's birthday. So, she joined us along with Brian, Maria & Tucker, and we grilled steaks for everyone. It was a great little get-together. Yesterday, it was time for me to head back to Dr. Sharkey's office for more biopsies with Allen. It wasn't a trip that I was really looking forward to, because I knew there were several places that he was going to cut out. Just as I got checked in & got myself seated in Dr. Sharkey's waiting room, my phone rang. It was Moma. She was hysterical & all I could hear were the words "wreck", "Molly", and "ambulance". I ran out of the doctors office & practically flew out of Dublin. When I popped the hill coming out of Adrian, I saw firetrucks, ambulances, state patrols & cars everywhere. Everything was a blur after that. I snatched my car over in the ditch & started running towards moma's Tahoe. There was someone in the back of it with an oxygen mask, but I couldn't find my family anywhere. I finally heard moma calling my name and I ran to grab Molly. They were both crying & so was I. Luckily, everyone was okay...just really shaken up. They had been rear-ended after picking up Molly, Braylon & Rhiana from school. It totalled the other lady's car. Molly happened to be riding in the third-row seat of Moma's car, so she felt the most impact. The ambulance driver checked her over thoroughly for us and said she was fine. Molly is still really shook up about it & has clung to me ever since. We are so thankful that no one was seriously injured. Needless to say, I would have much rathered been cut on at Dr. Sharkey's office than had all of my family go through that!