FLOCKED

So, early on Saturday morning, I got up and let the dogs out. Immediately, they went nut-so. I went outside to find a yard full of pink flamingos. Turns out, they were courtesy of our dear friend Savannah Clayton. :) For those of you who may not know, there are two teams from our church going to Kenya soon. As a fundraising project, people can make a donation and send the flamingos to your house. In turn, you make a donation and send them to someone else. We are still deciding where these lovely pink birds will go next, but have enjoyed the color they add to our yard. Thanks Savannah! :)

Bald River Falls

Life has been a little hectic lately. School started this week and my graduate classes started back as well. Plus, Jamie is taking classes and I am still working at the Sweet Tooth. So, our time together is limited. We decided to just get away today and enjoy being together. After church, we took a trip to the Bald River Falls. So beautiful! I hope you will enjoy the pictures.

While we were there, we talked with a man from Ohio who loved the area so much this was his second trip to our area in the last two months. He asked us if we knew where Unaka was...he had ridden down the gravel road into Unaka. Turns out he had met Ernest Jones while he was there. Ernest had welcomed him into his home and he knew about Chester as well. Small world :).

Family Times!

This weekend Jamie and I spent time with our families. Christina was finally able to come home for a visit, as she has taken a job in DC and we don't get to see her as much as we used to. My brother had been working in Cincinnati last week, and had gone down to Louisville, KY to see my Aunt Linda and Uncle Steve for the weekend. So, my mom, dad, and my Aunt Louise drove up to Kentucky for some family time there. Jamie stayed here so he could spend time with his sister and take care of our babies. :) We both hated we didn't to everyone, but we couldn't be in two places at once. Either way, we were thankful for family time together! Unfortunately, since I took the camera with me, there are only pictures from the Kentucky trip. Hope you enjoy!

Even though it was a short trip, it was a fun one!! There are always lots of adventures (and laughs) when the Beavers get together with the Mudds! :) And this time, we were lucky enough to have my Aunt Louise, who is home from Mexico, join us. After we arrived on Friday, we enjoyed dinner at Outback, and then went out for some shopping. It doesn't take me long to find a mall. :) After a great night's rest, we had a delicious breakfast compliments of my Aunt Louise who makes the most spectacular homemade biscuits ever! YUMMY! Aunt Linda made us some sausage and bacon too! Next was day 2 of shopping. Linda took us to this great store called Deals, which is apparently owned and operated by the same company as Dollar Tree and it was very much like a Dollar Tree except items went up to five dollars. And, man did I rack up on some deals! After a few more stops, we decided to go to Cold Stone Creamery, my favorite!!!! I had my usual-sweet cream and strawberries and enjoyed every bite. Once we got back home, the ladies started in on dinner. We had taken lots of fresh veggies out from the garden to Linda's to share so we decided to just fix those along with some fried chicken. I love cooking with my mom and her sisters....I always learn so much. They are all terrific cooks. And the conversation....delightful! Following dinner, we took time to look through old family photos. I love hearing stories about my family I have never heard before.....I'm glad I'm at an age where I can appreciate them. Sunday morning was my morning to make breakfast, which couldn't compare to Louise's breakfast, but I gave it my best shot with homemade cinnamon rolls. Then, we did some last minute shopping (which included helping my Aunt Louise buy her first pair of Crocs) then had dinner at Five Guys! What an experience that was....a very good burger too! Matt and Steve did a good job choosing! Then it was time to head home. It was a short trip, but one that was filled with lots of family memories, laughs, shopping, and good food. What more could a girl want?

Last Year's Corn Tragedy

As Jamie and I were working on the corn today, we started talking about the corn we put up last year and Bella's unfortuante experience. Here's what happened: We were at the farm and I had taken some cobs outside and put on the stoop. Bella had been running around outside with the other dogs, but was waiting at the door when I went outside. She looked upset and had one paw off the ground. I looked at it and thought she must have gotten bitten by something so I gave her some anti-inflammatory medicine we had left over from when she had her shots. Within ten minutes, she looked terrible. Her eye was swollen shut, her jaw was droopy, and she was completely panicked. She was pawing at her eye trying to figure out what in the world had happened. She was pitiful. Turns out, she had a severe allergic reaction to YELLOW JACKETS! We aren't sure how many times she was stung, but she sure scared us. We gave her Benedryl and had to monitor her breathing. By the next morning, she was back to normal, but we decided to leave her inside while we worked on the corn this year. :)

The Secret of Silking Corn

Hello my friends! For all of you ladies out there that like to put up corn in the summer, and despise silking corn as much as I do, I have the solution-YOUR HUSBANDS!!! While I know you are probably thinking, "Yeah right," it's true. All you have to do is involve power tools, then your men will see it as an opportunity to play and won't really see it as work. You see, I bought this attachment for a drill, designed for the specific purpose of silking corn. So, Jamie runs the drill, and the corn gets silked at the same time! A beautiful combination. :) It actually works very well too. I still have to lightly brush it as I'm washing it, but it's a lot less work. We do it outside so the majority of the silks stay outside and what it doesn't get off are usually pretty loose so it makes the silking inside the house minimal. Oh, in case your are wondering, I got this handy dandy attachment at the Tuesday flea market in Murphy from the guy who sells all the kitchen stuff on the main strip for a couple of dollars. :) I've attached pictures for your enjoyment!