Western Round-Up Day

This post is a little late, but it is definitely too good not to post...

While we were home for Mother's Day, the Lutheran Home where my Granddaddy stays was having Western Round-Up Week! All kinds of "western" type activities were taking place each day throughout the week--cloggers were coming to dance, Mini Pearl was making an appearance, etc. Cody and I went with Grandmother to the kick-off event. It was such a neat day for all the residents. They had horses, goats, and pigs in the front lawn. There were horse-drawn wagons giving residents (the ones who could) and guests rides through the parking lot. They also had chainsaws and tractors out in the parking lot for viewing. Granddaddy really enjoyed seeing the tractors; it makes you wonder if he remembered all the times he rode on one, plowing the garden or cutting the grass. The nursing home also provided all the residents and their families with a catered lunch from one of the local BBQ places.

This video below is of Granddaddy and the activities director from the nursing home, enjoying the live folk music in a shaded area outside.



It was so nice to Granddaddy smiling that day!

Memorial Day Weekend

Cody and I both enjoyed a long weekend, thanks to Memorial Day. Here is a list of all the things we accomplished this weekend:
1. Cody (and Mark) added an extra light in our attic.
2. Laundry
3. Ironing, which I hate, so my wonderful husband did it!
4. Went to the strawberry patch
5. Bought Father's Day gifts
6. Baked strawberry bread with some of the strawberries from the strawberry patch
7. Took a trip to the bowling alley. Cody did pretty well; my score was HORRIBLE!
8. Bought new tennis shoes
9. Went to the pool (and neither of us got burnt)
10. Took Hershey on some walks
11. Watched The Curious Life of Benjamin Button--which we both recommend
12. Sprayed the house with pesticide to keep out the spring bugs
13. Watered the lawn
14. Put Miracle Grow on the garden
15. Read--I read for fun (Eclipse, the 3rd book in the Twilight series), but Cody had to read about psychology

There might be more, but I can't think of it right now. We really enjoyed spending time together this weekend--doing a lot of nothing, mostly, but it was all wonderful. I have the best husband in the whole world!

Expanded Attic

Cody worked really hard this week to expand our attic. Only a small portion of our attic was covered with plywood (where all the boxes are currently sitting), and we were quickly running out of room up there. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate so quickly! Cody put plywood on another section of our attic--this pretty much doubled our storage space. He did a great job! Now, the next chore on my list is to get all this stuff organized!

Testify

Cody has recently joined the men's singing group at our church, Testify. This past Sunday, they were asked to sing at another local church in Greenville. Here are two videos of the songs they sang. (In case you can't see, Cody is in the middle, in the back.)

Testify to Love

Jesus Lifted Me

Hershey's New Favorite Toy

Up until this weekend, Hershey's favorite toy had been Mr. Quackers, a stuffed duck he got for Christmas. Before that, tiger (a stuffed animal) and starfish (a rubber toy) and rubber squeaky balls were among his favorites. However, this weekend, he got a new favorite toy.

Everytime Hershey gets groomed, we let him pick out a new toy or a bag of treats. (Spoiled, I know!) He went to get groomed on Saturday, and I really didn't want him getting another toy because his toy basket was already overflowing. However, Hershey found a toy and was not going to leave without it. It was a tennis ball that squeaked--he had one of these when he was a puppy and LOVED it, but he bit a hole in it so it no longer squeaked. We had looked and looked for another one but weren't able to find one. But guess what they had at Petsmart???? That's right, a squeaky tennis ball. We made the mistake of showing it to Hershey, and he was so excited over that ball! We played around a little with the ball in the store, and he decided he was not letting go of it. We had to literally pry it out of his mouth just so we could pay for it. It was so funny. He did not let go of the tennis ball the entire way home from Petsmart; he wouldn't even give up the ball to eat a bone!

For the rest of yesterday and today, he has not let the ball out of his sight and wants to play with it constantly! Let's just hope he doesn't bite a hole in this one--we would have one very sad puppy!

Trees for a Good Cause

Do you remember when Cody and our neighbor Mark went tree hunting? The leaves started popping out of the tree a few weeks ago, and it looked so good. It was going to be some sort of a maple. I was so excited that it seemed to be doing well and proud of ourselves for getting a completely free tree! Well, it turned black and died. I don't know what happened to it, other than we probably didn't water it like we should have. So, of course I had to get something to replace the tree, plus a few extras......

The Gardeners for Hope Society was having a plant sale today. The funds raised are dispersed by the nurses at the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center to buy wigs, protheses, dressings and health products for patients who can't afford it. Apparently they do this sale every other year, and it is a great place to get plants and trees at a low cost. I went with my co-worker, Ruth, and we both found some good deals! I came home with a box full of trees and a tomato plant, all for $15. (The trees aren't too big, but I figured that even if they didn't live, the money was still going to a good cause.)

I got a river birch, sugar maple, curly willow, and a rain tree. Cody was sweet enough to dig up the hard dirt and help plant them. Thanks, baby! We will have to take a little bit better care of these trees and hope for the best!