John Deere

Riding the John Deere...in his John Deere t-shirt, nonetheless.

Two Days Old

Last week we visited the newest flock of baby chicks on the farm...these little sweeties were only two days old!







Ever concerned about the chicken feed...

Shirtless at the Skis

In looking through my pictures from visiting our good friends the Skis last weekend, I realized the Roper is shirtless in all pictures but one. Maybe he was trying to get Leah and Allyson's attention? The children had lots of water activities, so most of the time it was appropriate. :)
















(Note Dave running through the sprinkler with the baby)

The main purpose of our visit was to meet this sweet little lady.









It's so hard to know what to expect as far as children's behavior goes on trips like this...I think we were all pleasantly surprised at just how well all the children played together. Leah's really not trying to drown Roper...





Thanks to Roper for concealing his gut in this shot. :) You'll notice the picture isn't in focus...somehow my lens got switched to "manual focus" without me realizing it.



Mmmm...the guys spent all day Saturday smoking big hunks of meat. Oh yeah, we were also celebrating Dave's birthday. Old man.





Thanks to the Skis for a wonderful and relaxing weekend! We're looking forward to the next one!

Maiden Voyage

Well, the Clark family has a new addition...a new {used} boat. More of a replacement than an addition though. When we took our old boat in for the spring service we learned that it had a cracked engine block. Sad news, but the mechanic offered to buy it "as is" and we had planned to get a bigger boat before too long anyway. We took the deal and after a few weeks of scouring Craig's List and the Carolina Trader we found our dream deck boat.

Rob (my brother) and Kelli and Robert joined us for the first "spin" on the lake. The boys (big and small) had a blast.





A happy captain:



Graem bought his first boat at age 14. He sold it to help pay for my engagement ring, and shortly after we were married we bought our bowrider. As I type this I realize that for most of his life he has owned a boat.

What is it?

There's nothing quite like a live auction. I grew up going to horse auctions and always loved the excitement when my Daddy would bid on a horse and then {maybe} win it! We would always get to the sale early to check out all the horses and he would point out the good/bad qualities of each one, making notes in his program. I think in my mind the mark of the best horse was whichever one had the prettiest braided mane. :)

Last Saturday I went to a live auction estate sale in Aiken. Graem's Aunt Kathy told me about it...she really wanted this wingback chair covered in a red and white buffalo check fabric. What she didn't realize was that it was actually a pair of chairs. She couldn't be at the sale, so she was texting me about the chair(s) and asked me to bid for her on one...but she didn't want me to go over $150.

I ended up with the winning bid on one chair for $70 and they told me I could double the price for both chairs. So...I ended up getting both chairs for less than she wanted to spend on one!! I have to say it was quite a rush and made me want to give up my job as a real estate appraiser and become an antiques dealer!

I picked up a few things for myself as well...just little things. A few pieces of pottery, a cake stand, and a sweetgrass basket(?). Or a sweetgrass "something." I have no idea what the purpose of this thing is...but it's sweetgrass and I got it for ten bucks, so I love it anyway! Please leave a comment if you know what I'm supposed to use this for!





They had a lamp that I really wanted to bid on but I finally had to drag myself away from the place before they got to it. They only downside was all the JUNK they auctioned, with treasures mixed in. Roper was with me for the first couple of hours I was there before Graem came by to pick him up...he was a perfect angel...I think he was as entranced by the auction as I was!

44 and 22

Today marks Roper's 22-month birthday and Mason's 44-month birthday. This is significant because Roper was born on Mason's 22-month birthday. And for all of you nerds out there, you will appreciate that for today and today only Mason is exactly twice Roper's age. (I stopped counting Mason's age in months a LONG time ago...I just think the 22/44 thing is interesting).

The strange thing is that when Roper was born Mason seemed to be very much a big boy...but now at the same age, Roper is still very much my baby.

And I know this is a picture from last summer, but I've really had beach brain for the past few weeks...I seriously need some salt water in my life.



And a few more...I can't resist...

Cecil the Turtle

Over the past few weeks we have seen what we believe to be the same turtle in our front yard several different times. Each time we've seen him he has been under the same shrub. Mason and Graem have named him Cecil.

This morning the boys and I went on a walk in our neighborhood and we came across a turtle. Mason shouted, "Cecil, what are you doing way over here?!?" He insisted that we load Cecil up in the stroller to take him back to our yard.

Thankfully turtles have shells to protect them from predators little boys.













Run for your life, Cecil!

Muffins with Mom

Mason's preschool class had a "Muffins with Mom" program this week in honor of Mother's Day. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you already know that Mason decided to be a leader and not a follower during the music segment of the program.



The children sang 4 songs for us...for the first song Mason sat quietly and just smiled at me. The second song started up..."The Wheels on the Bus"...a few words into it and Mason starts belting out the words to the Fireman Sam song. Yes, he is still Fireman Sam's biggest fan. It was equally hilarious and embarrassing! I didn't want to laugh because I didn't want him or his teachers to think I encourage/endorse this type of behavior...but it was really funny! The other mothers sitting around me were all asking, "What in the world is Mason singing?" One of them said, "His voice really projects!" Between songs one of the little girls in his class said, "Mason isn't singing the right notes!!"



During the third song, Mason picked back up with Fireman Sam. He was singing his heart out! They finished up with "Happy Mother's Day to You" (a la "Happy Birthday")...and thankfully, he sang along with the right words for that one!



How blessed I am to be the mama of this little man!

2 Birthdays...Not Enough Pictures!

I have been putting off this post because truth be told, I'm disappointed in my picture-taking skills. If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know that I'm somewhat of a binge photographer. Too often I tote my camera around, lose track of time, and realize I haven't snapped a single picture! My blog has kept me more accountable for documenting events and my DSLR has cultivated a love of photography...yet I still fall short all too often!

Moving on with it...last weekend we celebrated 2 BIG birthdays! One of my closest friends, Sally, turned the big 3-0 and she insisted that she did not want a party. Her husband thought otherwise, and planned hands-down the most well-orchestrated surprise party I have ever been a part of! I can assure you that Sally was absolutely clueless about what her husband had in store for her. The whole thing was pulled off without a hitch. Tara and I took the birthday girl out to a fabulous dinner while all the party guests were congregating at her house. And my only picture of the night was during dinner...



So what is my excuse for this negligence? Pure laziness. :) Tara was snapping away and I knew she would have an abundance of good pictures. Check them out here.

The next party was for my Daddy. His age equals Sally's age x2. :) My mama and brother and I threw him a big shin-dig down at the pond. The day was absolutely gorgeous and people came from all over the southeast to celebrate with him! I really wanted a picture of me and the old man...but you know the story. :) I was helping mama with the food, chasing after two rambunctious boys, visiting with people that I haven't seen since Daddy's 50th birthday party or longer...and the pictures I have are really random...

Roper eating a pickle...



Roper and Robert playing...these two have so much fun together...



Ruthanna...



And Graem and Will re-stitching the cornhole bags.



My excuse for this randomness? I blame Sally's party the night before. :) I was up too late and had too much to drink and just didn't get the pictures I should have.

So even though I don't have the proof in pictures, this was such a wonderful weekend celebrating milestone birthdays of two of my favorite people!