Sunday, August 29th

Last Sunday morning when I looked out our bedroom window, I saw something on top of the fence.  Strangely, I had never seen anything there before so I called Steve to come look.  He didn't know what it was either but he was fixing to find out.  Well it was a young racoon that had decided he needed a little rest.  It was a really good thing that he was on the ball field behind the house and not in the backyard with the dogs.  He is pretty cute - don't you think?

Thursday Morning

Today is a beautiful day, the sky is blue, the birds are singing and we are all fat and happy.  Why does our world revolve around our next meal?  I think one reason for us is that we both love to cook.  Although I've been on a vacation from cooking most of the 3 years that we've been married - my craving to be in the kitchen is returning.  Last weekend we had a pizza cook-off and the judges were Jackson, Hailey and my friend Lynn.  Not one of them could define a winner in the competition but it was so much fun. Great way to spend a Friday night.  My mind is now centered on what to fix Saturday night for the LSU game!!!  Pictured below are two of the judges and I forgot about Daisy Mae being a judge...as you can see from the picture, she sampled way to much!

It's September

Good Morning Everyone!  September is here and football is kicking off this Saturday.  We are starting ours with a LSU Football Party on the deck.  It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend with the lows in the upper 60's - we'll have some blankets available on the deck for those of us who aren't used to the cold weather LOL.  Everyone in the state of Louisiana has really suffered this summer with heat indexes around 115.  You know it's really bad when you have someone living in your town from Miami and they make a comment about the heat in Miami and how he has NEVER been as hot as he has been in Louisiana.  Also he stated he had never been so cold - HA HA HA!  Our humidity is a killer! 

We have made the most of our hot summer with The 5 Dog Night by piling up in the A/C.  Note the 5th dog is never there and that is because he is a very busy dog - hunting for whatever.

Vacation Day 6

Well - we left Donna and Bobby's that night after supper as we decided if we could get in at least 3 hours, the drive wouldn't be quite as bad the next day.  We were all getting tired and cabin fever of the car.  We got home on Friday around 4:30 PM all safe and happy to see our 5 dogs waiting for us.

Oh yes!  We had started entertaining ourselves before we got home.

Love you Steve, Jackson and Hailey for making this one of my BEST vacation's ever and to Donna, Bobby and Meme - we all enjoyed your hospitality (Meme especially)  Love you All!

Vacation Day 6

Schlitterbahn here we come!  Donna, Bobby and Meme were so gracious, fixed us an ice chest with drinks and food to carry with us and even drove down to it so we could follow and get the very best parking space.  We were there when it opened and had so much fun.  It was a long day but not one that we will ever regret.  The only regret we may have is that we didn't ride as many rides as Jackson and Hailey did.

Vacation Day 5

At this point we have had such a good time and are headed to my cousin's house in New Braunfels.  Before we left the San Antonio area we decided to go to the Texan Culture Museum and the Tower of the America's which is 75 stories tall and gives you a great view of San Antonio.   We treated Jackson and Hailey to lunch at the Chart House Restaurant which was on the top of the tower and revolved while you ate.

After we ate here we headed on to Donna, Bobby and Meme's home in New Braunfels.  Donna and Bobby carried us to Gruene, Texas for the night and we had so much fun.  We found out that there is so much to do in that area of Texas and we didn't even put a dent in it.  We will be going back and hopefully real soon.

Vacation Day 4

We started day 4 with breakfast at Taco Taco which was off the beaten tourist path. Again this restaurant was featured in magazines we'd read about. We had never been to a Mexican Restaurant for breakfast so this was a first for all of us.

At El Mercado for shopping after breakfast.

 Afternoon at Rippley's, Guinness World Records, Louis Tussauds Wax Museam and the Mirror Maze.

Vacation Day 3

This is our day at Sea World and the Lost Lagoon

Vacation Day 2

Day 2 of our vacation was Father's Day so we were ready to do whatever Steve wanted to do.  We first went to the IMAX Theater to see the movie about the Alamo and then to the Alamo.  After the Alamo we went to the Buckhorn Saloon and the Texas Ranger Museum. Both attractions were so much fun with lots of stuff to look at. Just look at all the critters in our picture and that was a small sampling of the critters. The pool called us that afternoon and I went with Jackson and Hailey to the pool while Steve relaxed watching golf.

Dinner along the Riverwalk at Zocca

Vacation Day 1

On Saturday. June 19th, we left at 5:00 AM headed towards San Antonio, Texas.  Steve drove us to Lexington, Texas for lunch at Snow's BBQ which he had read about several months earlier.  Has anyone ever been there?  If you have, you know that you have to be there early to eat and if your too late, they are sold out of everything and then you'll have to wait until the next Saturday to eat.  So we were under lots of pressure to get there early enough to eat and we did.  We had Ribs, Brisket and Sausage and had already sold out of Chicken.  Very Good! If your ever in the area it is 17 miles off the interstate.  From Snow's we drove on to San Antonio and checked into the Hotel Contessa (Beautiful Suites only) Hotel on the Riverwalk.  We walked down the Riverwalk to take the river cruise, eat at Casa Rio for supper and went to the Fiest Noche Del Rio at the Arneson Theater right on the Riverwalk.  Lot's of fun for the day!

This month is flying by and really the year 2010 is too.  So far I have had so many ups and downs in the first 9 days of June than I can remember. Today is an up day because I found my wedding rings last night that I had lost Sunday afternoon sitting at the dining room table all by myself.  Not only did I lose my rings, I broke a globe on my antique  lamp that was my grandmother's and can probably never find another globe for it.  Then right as we got ready to eat, Steve broke a full bottle of Balsamic vinegar on the kitchen floor that went everywhere.  Need I mention that I have done more cleaning and cleaning out of the house in the last 3 days.  Monday morning was when I realized that my rings were lost and I looked and looked the house over before I went to work.  When I got home that afternoon I continued searching the house then I even went out to the trash where I went through 2 bags of trash, sifting very closely for my rings YUK.  As of last night I had come to grips that the rings were gone forever.  I figured that I'd missed them in the trash or that one of the dogs had swallowed or burried them in the backyard never to be found.  Steve cooked fajitas for us last night and I had been drinking a glass of wine while talking with Jackson and Hailey.  We were about to eat so I started cleaning off the kitchen table so the four of us could sit and eat together.  When I got to the pepper shaker - WOW - there they were hanging on the shaker.  You know everone has one of those day every now and then - where you really start to doubt yourself - not remembering and everything starts to get really fuzzy.  Well - all is very clear this morning and I am really happy.

Top Kill

I'm caught up at work so I'm sitting here wastching operation Top Kill online.  Wish I knew what I was looking at.  There seems to be some movement or bubbles coming out in one area - not very much though - wish someone would comment on this picture and let us know what's happening.  We have started the summer off at our house but we haven't established the house rules yet that everyone needs to follow.  Yesterday was my worry day and today is Steve's.  Now Jackson is over at a neighbors house playing and I will pick him up when I get off.  Today is our 3rd Anniversary and it seems like we've been married 4-ever.  I love you Steve ~ Happy Anniversary.

Jackson's Birthday

Today is Jackson's birthday and he is 10 years old!  Never to return to the single digits again.  I am really busy today getting ready for the big party.  The party will be at noon tomorrow at Mane Street Mini Golf with cake an ice cream YUMMY.  Tomorrow night  we will be having hot dogs, movies on the deck and maybe sleeping out under the stars.  Right now I'm busy as I can be baking cupcakes.

Hey ya'll - lots of stuff going on around here and I'll fill you in on some of it now but some of it will have to wait.  One of my cousins passed away last weekend and we had the funeral on Tuesday.  My boss informed me that he will be retiring on July 15th and his wife is retiring this week.  They will be headed to the beach for her first week of retirement.  Things may be picking up around the United States but not in this area.  Steve and I have put our heads together and are trying to come up with money making ideas.  Love you all...

My Webelo

On Saturday night Jackson graduated from a Bear to a Webelo in Cub Scouts. I was so proud of him and his Daddy was too. As you can see from the pictures - he is quite handsome in his uniform.

Friday May 14th

We had a Crawfish Boil Friday night and they were really good. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of those little mudbugs but maybe it was because my fingers were too messy. You know it was good when it took 2 days to get it all cleaned up. There was quite a bit of rain in between our cleaning which kept helping to clean everything up. On Saturday Jackson and I spent all morning at Books-A-Millon and we had so much fun. Savannah and Hailey both took turns coming to Books-A-Million staying with us. Finally only Hailey was there and we left to meet Steve for lunch. Right as we were finishing lunch Tiny called and was ready to leave from the hospital. We loaded up and the 3 of us went to break her out and take her home - she was so happy she was crying.

Today is another day in North Louisiana - record highs are expected and thunderstorms moving in Friday for the weekend. No rain today because our front porch was dry as Daisy Mae reported to me when she went to check it out this morning. I feel great today after yoga last night - it is amazing how much yoga renews your mind, body and spirit. Lunch plans today have been canceled because my friend isn't feeling well. This means I am available for lunch and my car is in the shop - need ride too.

I went to the hospital this morning at break to see my friend Tiny. She had emergency surgery on Sunday. I was so happy to find her sitting in the chair and smiling at me when I walked in. Before I left I taped her pictures onto the wall of Fuzzy (her dog) and some I'd brought to her of us(Jackson and the dogs). Tiny loves all of us and we love her very very much. Get Well Tiny!

Had another great weekend and a great Mother's Day on Saturday and Sunday. One of my wants for Mother's Day was a picture of me with Jackson and all the dogs. As you can see - we almost succeeded. Rusty would not slow down becuase it was his peak hunting time. Oh well, maybe we'll try again sometime inside after the sun goes down and Rusty stops hunting. The only problem we'll have then is that they will all be ready to go to bed.

Good Morning All - what a beautiful day this is! Today is National Prayer Day and we started ours off at the breakfast held in West Monroe. One thing they didn't talk about, and this is heavy on my mind, was how many prayers are needed for our State and the circumstances of the oil spill. We all need to pray today for all of the workers trying to contain the spill, the workers and families of those who were injured or killed from the explosion, and for everyone to work in unison. We need to get this cleaned up and the oil leak stopped. I don't know if everyone in the United States realizes the magnitude of this disaster so I am asking everyone to please pray. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

And this is my Daisy girl that I love so much and have been taking care of for almost 10 years! Her 10th birthday will be celebrated on Thanksgiving Day 2010. What a party we will have!

This is a pretty Gerber Daisy that I am growing. I thought this blog needed some color - bright colors make me happy!

It's hump day at work and I'm ready to go - HA! I'm listening to my boss talk on the phone and it's on speaker phone so I can't get away from it. Do you think I could just leave? I guess it's a good thing my hormone creams are working fairly well or I might run out of here screaming. Whew... after at least 30 minutes the phone call is over - surely he will leave for lunch now LOL.

We were under the assumption when we built the deck that the gates would allow us to have some privacy. Well we didn't have Woody at that time. He is such a big dog that he just comes and goes as he pleases, it gives him a little extra exercise jumping back and forth. The picture shows Woody watching the little dogs bark at something. Soon he jumped over, checked it out and was back in just a few minutes resting on the deck. I truly believe all Southern homes should have at least one dog in their fenced backyard to entertain them!

WOW - what a busy weekend we had. You know my weekend starts Thursday afternoon and this one started with a trip to Wal-Mart for Milk Bones and Chewies. You don't want to be out of Milk Bones and Chewies with our 5 dogs - you get no rest. Friday morning I worked on Steve's office getting pictures and certificates in frames. About noon went to pick up dog food then to Super 1 Foods. Penny calls me while I am checking out at Super 1 and continues to talk to me while I'm loading groceries into the trunk. I slam the trunk shut, while still talking to her on the phone and just as I do I remember the keys that I left in the trunk - has anybody else ever done that? Well, Steve was working out of town this day and was on his way home but still an hour or so from home. I had all my groceries in trunk with the keys and it is about to storm at any minute. I called my neighbor Louise first and she wasn't home then about that time I received a text from Danny, Jr. - there's my ride! Of course he came to my rescue and I was so greatful for the rescue but worn out from all of the mental stress that I personally went through - HA! Saturday morning Miss Hailey arrived about 7:00 to spend the weekend with us. Hailey and I went to pick up Jackson then we all went to Wal-Mart then to The Bee Hive (since Miss Hailey said she had never been there). I don't know how many people reading my blog have ever been shopping at really busy stores with 2 - almost 10 year olds ? This is where I thought I had set my cellphone down somewhere in The Bee Hive but we finally got back to the car where I found I had left in inside. By that time Steve had started calling and I had 3 missed calls. Jackson's mom had started calling Steve worried about us. We were all safe, just having a fun time. We all watched the Kentucky Derby (each picked a horse and Hailey's pick came in 4th) Steve cooked for us Saturday night and then fixed us all a Saturday night special - fresh Louisiana Strawberries, ice cream and chocolate sprinkles. We all went to church Sunday morning where we had flowers in the church in memory of Bo's birthday, he would have been 26 Sunday. After church we came home and changed clothes. Jackson and Hailey played with the water hose (pictures above). They had so much fun - then we changed clothes again - HA! Don't we all remember those days when our parents allowed us to get as wet as we could on those warm Louisiana days.

The is the day that the Lord has made!

What a beautiful morning it is here in West Monroe, Louisiana! Jackson is still asleep, Steve is exercising, the 4 dogs are outside, Daisy is not and I am starting breakfast. We are planning a nice breakfast on the deck and we are going to do our own bible study this morning instead of going to church. What a beautiful day to worship God in his own beauty.

God has a plan for all of us, a plan full of hope. Even when things seem absolutely, irreversibly awful, if we seek Him, He will lead us back home and restore to us even more than what we've lost.

THIS POST IS FROM JACKSON

Ouch!Hailey was pinching the back of my neck! We were just about to take a picture when all of a sudden somthing starts to sting on the back of my head, and I make this face (Ihave no idea where it came from), just as it flashes in my eyes(the phone/camera). BTW I just got a phone!And Mrs. louanne said that she might let me have facebook when she has time! Lately at school I've got in some TROUBLE. A couple of weeks ago my teacher Mrs. Brown told me to turn in my sheet and there's this cord that goes across the room and she told us to go around it. Well I sorta didn't hear her and tried to step over the cord and everything went BAD. She shouted at me and put outside of the classroom. See Woody (the dog beside me) looks like he's smiling! Thursday 22 of April 2010 in school I went to a play at Dixie Theatres in Ruston, and I went to see Alladin. The guy that was Alladin acted realy realy weird...

Steve made it home safe and sound during all of the bad weather. We had quite a bit of rain and Jackson had lot's of fun playing in a mudhole in the front yard although his Daddy wasn't real happy but it was soooo much fun! Everyone had lots of fun today including all of the dogs. Hailey came over to play with Jackson and we all went to town and bought a new microwave at Sears in West Monroe - when we walked in they offered us popcorn and cokes - how much fun was that. Microwave is installed (the old one started smoking) and we have new lights in the laundry room so I can start washing the dirty clothes. Everything always goes out at once doesn't it...

Steve has been at a school for Financial Advisor's in Rock Island, IL all week and will be home today YIPEE! I can say that it has been really fun juggling a job, the house and five dogs. I am so ready for him to be back home - really hope the weather stays good enough where they can land. We are supposed to have some rough weather today, tonight and tomorrow. This morning I cleaned out around the well so when they come back to work on it they'll have more room. I had a little bit of A+ work to do so I've got that knocked, emailed the client and called the Dallas Office to make sure they received the revised invoices and they did. So now the rest of the day will be devoted to Steve coming home. What must I do? Run back over the house making sure all is picked up, dust free and ready. I think I'll go to the grocery store and pick up somthing for supper - we don't really know what the weather is going to do so I don't know if grilling is in order or not. Right now all dogs are inside and sleeping like dogs - HA! It's thundering and treatening to rain. We also have tornado warnings until 5:00 pm so I bet Steve will be late getting home today - I'll keep all posted as it develops.

By the way - Happy Birthday Danielle!

Good Morning All! Well - Steve is still out of town so I am doing it all by myself. It really isn't that easy to take care of a home, 3 Acres, 5 Dogs and work. Anyway, since we replanted our flower beds (that were destroyed by a yellow dog I rescued & we no longer have) it is my responsibility to make sure these plants are watered good and kept alive while Steve is away. We spent way too much money on these beds to make the house beautiful again. I met George (Walker Well Service) at the house yesterday to fix the well so we are able to water the flowerbeds. Only time will tell if the fix is temporary or semi-permanent. It could require another procedure so I am praying that all is fixed. Leah came over last night and we had a really good visit. We met with the contractor on her house about some item's that needed to be fixed before she moves back in. Her house was flooded by a busted pipe under the sink in the kitchen this winter that flooded the whole house and ruined everything.

All of the dogs are outside today - even Miss Daisy - having a great time enjoying the beautiful weather but, on my way out of the house I stepped in poo. Yes - one of the five had an accident. At least it was on my way out and it wasn't tracked all through the house. I better get to work now - will post more later!

Dog #5 - Woody

Woody a rescue too and so sweet! What can I say other than he is a big big teddy bear. He loves to hug and kiss and sleep. He also has so much fun running and playing with the other dogs.

Dog #4 - Lucky Ducky

Ducky or better known as Lucky Ducky is one of the sweetest dogs. She is also the best watchdog we have out of the five. She originally came from Paws and was even the Mardi Gras Queen with Paws one year! Her owner before us moved to California and was not able to take Ducky with her. Ducky loves her new home more than any home she has ever had.

Dog #3 - Lucy

Lucy or sometimes we call her Sybil - HA - I'm sure you get it. Such a sweet girl and then sometimes she is way out there. Lucy came to us traveling about 3-1/2 miles from the previous owner's home. When we found the owner she gave her to us and now we understand it all.

Dog #2 - Rusty

Rusty our hunter! He hunts all day long with his tail wagging as hard as he is running. At night he is ready to come in and rest to be ready for the next big hunt. We adopted Rusty from the pound and fenced him in on 2 acres of running space. He is a happy dog.

Dog #1 - Daisy Mae

My baby girl who will be 10 yrs old on November 25, 2010 - what a great friend she has been to me through the years. She loves all the children and loves to play, chase the squirrels, bunnies and other things. Daisy's main concern is what she is going to eat next (just like a woman) and who is going to take her on her next ride.

So here goes my thoughts for the day. I thank God for all that I have and my health and the health of those I love. We often take life for granted and don't think about all of the little things that we have to be thankful for.

I am waiting on the Well Repairman. Seems the well is saturated - well shouldn't it be? It does hold water - HA. He is going to meet me their around lunch to teach me how to bleed the well when this happens again. I have assisted in bleeding the well before but didn't take notes - I will have a notebook in hand today to take notes.

With 5 dogs you always have something going on in your life. All seems to be relatively quiet now and Rusty, Lucy, Ducky & Woody are all outside enjoying the cool weather. Daisy Mae is inside relaxing and making sure that all is in order inside.

Here is Jackson's latest artwork on display at the public library and this is his 4th year that his artwork has been on display. He said it's fish in the Sea and if you look at it from the side it looks 3D. Wow - isn't he growing up!

Thank you Katie! You inspired me to blog and so here it goes and what better to call my blog than The 5 Dog Night...HA.