Country Beauty

 

Keane's grandmother and grandfather's home place is not too far from where we live.  It is where Keane's father keeps some of his sheep, and where he goes every evening to feed them.  It has hosted family get-togethers as of late, and it is a place where the grass is always kept mowed. 

 

We went there the other evening so Keane could sharpen his lawnmower blades, and as I looked around, I really appreciated the pure beauty.  I hoped to be able to capture a touch of that beauty simply with my cell phone's camera.  I think that I did.

 

 

This little building used to be a small hotel room located at a corner on the highway not too far from where we live.  When the hotel closed down, Keane's grandparents were able to purchase one of these "cabins."  It is used for storage, and though I have never looked inside, it is hard for me to even begin imagining the luxury that little space must have supplied it its day. 

 

 

I would not know the first thing about using one of these old gas tanks.  Thankfully a time that Keane sent me down to his parents' to get some gasoline from one, Donn was there to help me out. 

 

 

I think any old tree is beautiful, especially one in a front yard next to a driveway that many, many people have driven by, looked at, climbed, leaned against, relaxed in its shade, and appreciated its beauty.

 

 

Sometimes, it's the simple things in life.  A single hay bale in an old car port...beautiful.

Take me out to the ball game...

 

I looked forward to Saturday all last week.  Saturday was my birthday outing day.  Keane had wanted to take me to Eleven Eleven Mississippi to eat; however, it didn't open until 5:00 p.m.  So we changed plans and went to Oceano Bistro.  We really enjoyed our time there.  The food and drinks were good, the atmosphere (on the patio in perfect weather) was awesome, and the service was nice.  Everything was going great, until...

  

 

...we got into the car to leave.  Instantly, Keane had a severe, throbbing headache.  He never gets headaches.  His veins were popping out of his temples, and he was rubbing them while I was rubbing his neck.  I tried "googling" what may be wrong when he informed me his ears were burning.  He pulled over in downtown Saint Louis and said he couldn't drive.  He could hardly lay down in the passenger seat either because his head hurt so bad.

 

I found my way to a parking lot and got fed up with the internet so I called my mom...my wonderful nurse mother who I would have no idea what to do without.  We knew by now that Keane was having a reaction to something he ate, or had a bout of food poisoning.  He was red and blotchy all over his body. 

 

Benadryl.  Mom told me Benadryl would help, but that if his throat was bothering him, we needed to get help.  I navigated our way to the nearest Walgreen and we got some Benadryl in his system.  We went back to the parking lot and after about 30 minutes, Keane's headache started to go away and his sense of humor began to come back.  About 30 minutes after that, the redness of his skin started to lighten up.

 

Besides him being a little "out of it" due to the medication, we were both glad he was feeling better.  Just in time for the Cardinals game.

 

 

 

Busch Stadium Ballpark Village is currently underway as you can see here.

 

 

The Cardinals lost 4-1 to the Mariners.  Other than the loss, and Keane not feeling the best, we had a really great time. 

 

 

Summer Fun & Family Weekend

Last Friday, I picked Keane up from work a little earlier than usual...

We were able to pick the kids up from school, and this weekend, each of them invited a friend over.  I had gotten everything we needed to have a hotdog and brat roast with s'mores for dessert.  So as soon as we got home, we had the kids change into their swimming gear, and we headed down to the lake...

The kids all played in the water, and then the boys played some football with Keane.  We sat around the campfire and had supper and s'mores.  When the sun started to set, we headed to the house so the kids could clean up for the evening.  They continued to play until they settled down to watch TV.  The girls built a tent in Kylie's room, and the boys (including Keane) hit the punching bag downstairs.

On Saturday, the girls and I went to town to get Casey's breakfast pizza, while the boys and Keane fished, catching enough for lunch.  My sister and nephew had traveled home Friday evening, but due to traffic and a few stops, they didn't make it home until after 8:00 p.m.  Instead of seeing them late in the evening, they came over on Saturday to visit and have lunch, and they brought Kollin with them.

I took McCoy on two four wheeler rides, which was his very first request.  Him and I even picked his mommy flowers down at the lake.

After lunch, we left to take the kids' friends home, and Kimberly and Kollin went back to Mom and Dad's to give McCoy a nap and prepare for the evening plans.

When evening rolled around, we made our way to my parents' for my birthday dinner.  My mom had made a delicious meatloaf dinner with greenbeans from my aunt's garden, sweet corn from ours, cucumbers, and cheesy potatoes.  She had also beautifully decorated cookies that we enjoyed for dessert (and appetizers).  We played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.  I'm pretty sure McCoy won, but he wouldn't keep the face mask on, so I'm not sure that it counts.  We also had to pop 26 balloons because my parents had hidden $1 bills inside each balloon!

After the party and supper, we sat around and visited until McCoy went to bed.  Then, Keane played the guitar for the family.  Everyone loved it!  Kylie loved it so much that she fell asleep, but the rest of us enjoyed it while singing along.

Kollin is now officially taller than both of his older sisters!!

On Sunday, Keane, Kaden, and Kylie went for a walk to the woods to check our deer camera and do some squirrel hunting.  I headed back over to my parents' to visit with my sister and nephew before they left to go back to their home.

 

McCoy can say the whole alphabet, after Kimberly says each letter, of course.  McCoy wanted to plug my cell phone into the charger while Kimberly was asking him to say the alphabet.  I told McCoy a few times that he could have my phone after he said the alphabet.  He quickly turned around, and with a bobbing of his head, he quickly said the remaining letters that Kimberly rattled off, until he was done, then he quickly turned back around and, like I had promised, he was able to charge my phone.  At his age, it is unreal how much he can completely understand.  He can also count:

Kimberly: one
McCoy: two
Kimberly: two, three
McCoy: five
Kimberly: four, five, six
McCoy: six
Kimberly: seven
McCoy: eight
Kimberly: eight, nine
McCoy: ten!

 

 

 

After we said our goodbyes, I headed back to country-living where we sited in guns and shot at balloons from 130 yards away...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then we went dove hunting.  Well, Keane and Kaden were dove hunting, while Kylie and I were supposed to be helping watch for doves.  Keane got one dove that we ended up grilling and eating for supper, and it tasted delicious.  Kaden didn't shoot in time when the first dove flew over him, and the second time he did shoot but missed, but he must have been close to it because the dove turned sharply in the air!

 

 

 

I am continually watering my mums.  I did get a few days off after a heavy rain pour Sunday morning which was much needed.  However, the same rain pour was brought in by strong winds that unfortunately blew down our last 9 rows of sweet corn that was at just the right age to eat.  We will be putting the rest of that corn up this weekend...

 

 

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  Link Up

My Birthday

 

Today, I turned 26 years old at 7:53 a.m. and I am enjoying it so far.

I really liked being 25.  Twenty-five was a year of growth for me...a time of acceptance of my age and the time of life I currently am in.  I even found my first grey hair.  I mean, I really accepted that as I grow older, some things are inevitable.  Some things are going to happen as I age whether I'm ready for it or not.  Things like my body filling out, or the fact that I would rather go to bed a little early than to stay up watching TV and snacking.

I have done a lot of introspective thinking this past year and I have gained a lot of self-knowledge.  I love and accept everything about who I am, but I am learning to positively gear certain things in positive directions.  I am opinionated -- but I don't need to complain so much.  I like a clean house -- and sometimes to have that, it takes sacrifice of rest and relaxation, but in the end, I will feel better.  My body is filling out -- but I need to exercise and limit my snacks, even if brownies taste really, really good.

Although 25 was a good age, I know that I will love 26 a little bit more.  I don't know if I will start dreading a new age as I get closer to 30 -- and 26 may possibly be my best year ever.  There are things that I have promised myself to do, and not to do, at the age of 26.  There are some things that I have grown up from, and as a grown adult, I get to choose how I act, every darn day.  I will embrace that.

As for my birthday gifts this year, Keane had beautiful flowers delivered to my work!  There are orange roses, orange, yellow, and green freshia, red carnations, and some little green and yellow flowers than I am unsure of their name.  They came in an adorable vase than I cannot wait to reuse.  Also, my mom, dad, and brother got me mums for my flower bed, a birthday party full of decorations, decorative cookies, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, a delicious meatloaf supper with the family, and twenty-six $1 bills inside individual balloons in which I had to pop to retrieve!  My sister got me an outfit with the shirt I'm wearing in the above photo, skinny black pants, the jewelry in the above photo along with a bracelet, new bareMinerals make-up foundation, and Bath & Body Works perfume (I asked for one of these items, and she got me them all!).  Keane got me tickets to the Cardinals' game this Saturday, along with lunch reservations at Eleven Eleven Mississippi prior to the game.  If the anticipation does not kill me first, I know it's going to be a blast!  Keane and the kids plan to bake me a cake tomorrow and I'm looking forward to the celebration.  (Update: the kids and Keane made me a delicious yellow cake with chocolate icing and 26 candles in the shape of "26."  The kids got me a new cutting board to go over the sink with a built-in strainer, kitchen canisters, some candy, and a dry erase board to keep on the refrigerator!)

To wrap up a wonderful birthday, Keane and I celebrated Taco Tuesday at a new Mexican restaurant in town, Jose Jaliscos.  The food was delicious.  We then went home to start a new workout program.  Welcome, my 26th year of age!

 

Birthday Mums

 

On Tuesday, I arrived home to a special early birthday gift from my momma (and dad and brother, too).  My mom came out to the house after Keane and I left for work and spent three hours ridding of the numerous and vigorous weeds my flower garden has grown since last winter, and replacing them with 12 gorgeous mums.  Her hard work paid off.  She created a beautiful, flourishing place in my backyard.  A place I am happy to see from our newly built deck, and a happiness in my heart for the love and care she put into my gift, and for the beauty of my very own flower garden that I have failed at three years in a row now.

  

I am bound to keep these plants alive and beautiful, along with my two hanging plants that Keane and the kids got me for Mother's Day.  It is my duty as a plant owner to water my plants, and I promise to keep them watered. 

 

For as long as my plants bring me happiness, I will keep them well watered...

 

 

Labor Day Weekend

Last Thursday, Keane and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary by going out to eat after work at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then going to the movies.  We saw We're the Millers.  I highly recommend it.  It kept us laughing all the way through.  I laughed so hard a few times that I had trouble catching my breath. That good. 

 

On Friday, our friends Jared and Melissa asked us to go out with them for their anniversary (or for Melissa and my birthdays that are coming up, on the same day).  Keane had made dinner reservations at a place unknown to the rest of us, which was fun.  He took us to a place called 44 Stone.  Their appetizers were delectable (we had deviled eggs & cheese balls), their beers were numerous, and their food was okay.

We then went to a piano bar downtown and to a country bar where we played pool until last call.  We stayed at a hotel and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel on Saturday morning before we parted ways.

 

The majority of the weekend we spent productively.  This included a long nap on Saturday, picking, shucking, and mowing down our first 6 (of 15) rows of sweet corn, and brush hogging around the lake.

 

On Sunday (and parts of Saturday and Monday, too) we cleared a spot in our fence row and moved the kids' playground and swing set from the middle of the yard.  Now that we have our deck, it was a bit of an eyesore.  Also, it was in the direct sunlight.  Now, the kids will have plenty of shade and some privacy as well. 

 

 

On Monday, Keane finished the project in the yard and completed a corner of the deck.  I put away 113 ears of corn: blanching, cutting, and freezing it.  It made a total of 19 full quarts.  I planned on taking a photo of all 19 quarts, but I was a little tired of corn after approximately 4 hours of working with it.

We took some extra scraps of wood to the dump, and then finally, we decided to do something a little more on the enjoyable side rather than work.  So we took Keane's mom for a drive around the property, and then we went fishing in the boat.  Keane caught more fish than me, about 7 to my 3...or so.  We then grilled steak for supper and ate it with some sweet corn and salad. 

Overall, our Labor Day weekend was laborious and enjoyable, both. 

Now, to remember not to wear white...