Alabama

The 3rd week of July, Big Daddy and I let Small T go on vacation to Alabama with a group of older kids from here in town.  Let me tell you, this was a tough decision to make.  For the most part, the kids are all pretty good kids, but every now and then, some craziness will go on.  So I was placing a lot of trust in all of them, including my daughter.

 Here they are....ready to head out.  (They drove down in two vehicles)

 While they were there, some of them went and did a few "fun" things other than just lying on the beach.  Small T really liked visiting the zoo.  Here she is, holding a Lemur.  She was also able to go inside the baby kangaroo area and pet some of them.

She even got to hold a baby shark that someone caught on their fishing line.  She thought that was pretty cool as well!

Ohio

The second week of July, Big Daddy took my sister, Lea to Dayton, Ohio to pick up her son, Nick, from college.  I'm not exactly sure where they are at in this photo, but they did a tiny bit of sight-seeing while they were there.  It was a rush trip, with the drive being 14 hours one way, but Big Daddy was back home within 5 days.  I couldn't believe how much I would miss him while he was gone.

Road Trip

On April 1st, we brought the new month in by taking a road trip to see Big C at college.  Actually, it was a necessary trip and not so much a "bring in the new month" trip.  You see, Big C got a ticket and had to go to court and wanted some moral support so Big Daddy and I traveled to be with him.  Anyway, it was a nice little road trip.  Sort of.  After awhile, you get tired of driving though.

 One good thing about heading that way is that we drive by our old family farm.  The one that I grew up on.  It looks nothing like it did.  Nothing.  And it shocks me every time I see it.  The building on the right, that's beige and brown, that's a church.  Yep, a church.  And it's in our pasture.  The one where we grazed the cows in the winter.  Crazy.  At least to me.  Our house was torn down and a modular home sits in it's place now.  But all the fencing and such, that's gone.  And the outbuildings and barns are gone too.  It doesn't seem the same, and it's not supposed to, but it's still shocking to see it.  Oh well.  Time goes on.

 Then we had the lovely time of following these two trucks for more than 20 miles.  The truck on the left would not or could not pass the semi.  And he never did.  He finally turned off.  Thankfully.  Big Daddy was getting mad.

 Half way there, we stopped at a Wendy's for a potty break and a quick bite to eat.  When it came time to get my drink, this is what I faced.  I've never seen one of these before.  But wow...I loved the Cherry Sprite it dispensed me.  I tell you, I must really live in BFE because everyone else seems to know what these soda machines are.  Well, everyone except the people where I live.

 I did find the poster about the drink machine and took a photo of it.  I pressed the button for Sprite and then I was asked what kind of Sprite I wanted and then I got to choose my flavors.  Love it!!!  It's a totally ingenious idea.

 Then it was back on the road.  And I started seeing the road construction crews.

 There were a lot of them.  You can tell that Spring has arrived in Missouri just by looking at the number of road repairs going on.  They are everywhere.

 About 45 miles before we were to arrive in Maryville, I started seeing these signs.  They must be new because it's the first time I've seen them.  This is where Big C goes to school....Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.

We had a little bit of time to kill once we arrived in Maryville, so we drove by the Sig Ep frat house, to see where Big C spends a lot of his time.  He'll be residing here next year.

All in all, the trip was an expensive one for all of us ($200 ticket, $75 breathalizer payment, and court costs...not to mention our traveling fees), but I hope that Big C has learned his lesson.  I won't bet on it though as he's stubborn.  I think the penalty for getting another ticket like this though will at least make him think twice about it though.  Thirty days in jail, two years probation, and a $500 fine would certainly make me think twice!

***I think I should clarify Big C's ticket....he did not get a DWI or that sort of ticket.  He did get a Minor in Consumption ticket.  He was at a frat party, without a drink in his hand, but did admit to having drank some beer.  I'm glad he didn't try to lie.***

***At court, there were probably 40 college students there for Minor in Consumption tickets.  Wow.  I was actually shocked by the number of them.  But, I'm glad to know that campus police and the city police take underage drinking seriously.***

Today...

Today has been a busy day.  After cleaning off the truck this morning we ventured out to get Small T and Big C from a friends house out in the country where they stayed over last night.  This was no small feat as we had an entire day of freezing rain yesterday with some snow in the middle of it all.  It took Big Daddy a long time to get the truck de-iced and warmed up before we could head out.

 Once we picked them up, we headed out of town with Small T to the nearest clinic which was 30 miles away.  She has TMJ Disorder and her jaw was killing her.  So she needed to be seen today.  It was a rough 30 mile trip and it ended up taking about 45 minutes to get there.  Between the clinic visit and then going to Wal-Mart pharmacy to get her prescriptions, this trip ended up taking us about 5 hours before we finally arrived back home.  Let me tell you...I was sure glad to get home.

 After arriving home, I hurried up and made Taco Soup for dinner then washed the dishes.  After that, Small T asked me to help her with the Ugly Christmas Sweater for the contest at school on Wednesday.  I started out sewing the bows along the buttons of the vest she's wearing.  She spent the time making a sparkly headband.  We still have several things to sew on the vest, but she's not at home right now to give me "instructions". :)

I usually bake cookies once a year and that's during the Christmas holiday season.  The other day I made up several batches of different cookies and put the dough in the freezer but tonight I decided to make up a double batch of M&M cookies and bake them right away.  The photo above shows what's left of the first 3 dozen that I baked.  The four guys in the house really hit them hard.  But that's ok.  I'm still baking them and after the initial stampede for cookies, they've slacked off now and I have about 3 dozen on a plate so far.  I should have at least twice that amount by the time I finish up tonight.  Of course, they won't last the weekend, but that's ok.

So...that's my day in a nutshell.  What's everyone else been up to today?

Busy...

As always, it's been busy around here.

 Last Thursday found us road-tripping to a college visit for Small T.  This was a fairly big trip.  4 hours of driving each way.  But, we were able to stop and visit with my Mom and my sister Lea and her family for a bit, so it was even better.

 I finished up the Simply Soft Chocolate wrist warmers.  This is the first Christmas gift I've made this year.  I'm behind.

 On Saturday, Big Daddy and I took my sister Annie to the Boo...z Bash here in town.  $15 got you 12 different vendor stops of beer tasting.  Think a good sized shot glass of each one and there were 2 to 4 beers at each stop.  Everyone was taking "selfies" so we took one too.  Big Daddy was clowning around.  lol  By the way...in addition to being the Boo...z Bash it was also Annie's birthday.

 After the Boo...z Bash, we hit one of the local bars for the Halloween party and costume contest...."Diaper Guy" won.  That's him and I in the photo.  I think the person that took the photo must have been seeing funny since the photo is blurry.  lol  Only problem is...I can't remember who took the photo.  geez.

 While at the bar for the Halloween party, we were tipsy enough that we sang "A LOT" of karoke.  This is my sisters Dea and Annie.  I couldn't get in the photo as I was taking it.  lol

 All evening at the Boo...z Bash everyone was taking their photo with the Big Pecan.  So on the walk home from the bar, we took our photo with it too.  lol  Drunken ladies!!!

 The next day found us all hung-over from the previous night's escapades, so ... we had a belated birthday party for Annie.

 I quickly made a cute little hat and slipper set for a friend here in town to send to a 9 year old girl with stage 3 cancer.  I'll have to find out the patterns so I can post the links.  I used Simply Soft yarn in Soft Pink (I think).
***Edited to add....The pattern I used for the hat is called Pretty As A Package and you can find the pattern by clicking here .***
****The pattern for the slippers is called Women's Crochet Ballet Slippers and the pattern can be found by clicking here .  I altered it just a bit to fit a smaller sized foot.****

 I've been carving pumpkins.

 And gourds of some type.

 And more of each.

 And this is what my front steps look like now.

I have more carved pumpkins on the porch that I'll light up on Halloween.

 I brought out the Scrap Afghan that I had been working on and finished up all the inner circles and even hooked a few more together.

 I've added 16 or more rows to the pink camo knitted baby blanket.

 I road-tripped with my sister Annie this morning in the wee hours to her General Manager meeting about 2 1/2 hours away from where we live.  I enjoyed the Fall like scenery though.

 I started another set of wrist warmers.  This time in Simply Soft Grey Heather.  These are another Christmas gift in the making.

And I broke out the 13 bags of Halloween candy a bit ago so Small T could have a piece of chocolate.  I'm ready for trick or treating now.  I live in a prime spot so I'll most likely run out of candy pretty quick.  I normally have about 15 bags of candy and end up running out for more.  But I've put them on a candy diet this year.  lol  13 bags.  That's it.

So...that's pretty much my week in a nutshell other than ball games, working at the farm, and so on.

Road Trip

Yesterday, Big Daddy and I went on an unexpected morning road trip.

 We found ourselves on a few roads we seldom travel.

There's nothing like those 2 lane country highways.

 I snapped a quick photo of Big Daddy while he was driving.  He didn't even know.

Of course, I was unprepared for the trip, so we made a quick stop for yarn and knitting needles in one of the towns we drove through.  Gotta love Big Daddy for being so accommodating.  :)

Yesterday...

Yesterday was another day of "hitting the road".  Big Daddy had an appt. with his cardiologist and that's a 90 minute trip each way.   Since riding in a vehicle is very tedious for me, I brought my projects that I've been working on.

 On the way there, I finished the Mango colored Granny Stripe Scarf.

 I also finished the Smoky Swirls Scarf just as we were pulling into Columbia.

 Lunch was at China Garden, even though I argued fiercely against it.  Big Daddy cannot have all that sodium, but he wouldn't listen to reason.  So...we had a very yucky lunch, which is unusual for this place.  Everything on my plate was cold except for the Hawaiian Chicken and the Spring Roll.  I voiced my "complaint" but it went on deaf ears.  By the way, this place is a buffet type place and I'm a one plate wonder at buffet's.  I never go back for seconds.  It's a waste of money for me to eat there.

 Then, it was time to head back home.  One more boring length of highway being covered.

But, I still had one unfinished project to work on...the white knitted baby blanket.  I managed to put 20 rows of knitting on this yesterday.  Woo Hoo!  (I've since added 5 more rows this morning and now my blanket measures 22 inches square.)

Crops...

For the last three days, Big Daddy and I have had to do some road tripping each day.  Today, I noticed that we have some crops coming in....specifically Winter Wheat.  That's a good sign that Spring is on it's way.

Road Trip Sunday - Part 4

No road trip is complete without a bag of yarn!!!

Road Trip Sunday - Part 3

I couldn't believe my eyes...the leaves on the trees are already changing colors! Can you see the lovely reddish colored tree in this photo?

An example of the roads we took on the way home. We chose to go the more "scenic" route.

Harvest time is here. Farmers are cutting corn.

I noticed that a new farm had been planted with pecan trees. In about 9 years, they will have their first harvest of nuts.

One of the last few old time gas stations still operating in our area. Sorry about the horrid photo! It's the best I could get while the truck was moving.

Road Trip Sunday - Part 2

While we were visiting Thousand Hills State Park, I decided to walk up the short path to visit the Petroglyphs. I didn't even know there were any at the park! I sure learned something! :)

I tried to make out exactly what designs I was seeing, but I couldn't quite get it.

I'm pretty sure this one is a bird.

Not sure about this one, even after viewing the "key" to the designs.

Here I am at the end of the trail. My husband took a photo to prove that I'd done it. I wish he and Big C had come with me too.