Independence Day

The Fourth of July holiday was going to be a relaxing four day weekend for Jill and me.  Luckily, family called and we got to have some fun!

 The serene

                              The Natural

 The Grandkids

Small town fourth of July Parades are the best.

Mikayla learned the parade wave and scored a big bag of candy.

Daxton went  for the gusto and spilled the D.P. on my lap.

The parade entries were varied

The spectators were too

.....some more varied than others.

There were local entrants

and some from Outer Space....

Meagan got it all recorded for history's sake.

And then we went back to the Marm and filled up the Redneck pool.

 

Springtime at the Farm

 Time to plant.  It's "Haygrazer" again this year.  The local dairy will "Green chop" it and feed it directly to the cows so in a sense, you're looking at milk futures.

 The farm crew is top notch and very specialized.  Baylie is the branch manager.

 Nature does her part.

 We use only the newest and finest equipment.

 The irrigation crew is also highly specialized and dedicated to the point of demanding assigned seats in the transport vehicle.

 Mikayla and Maylee are on pipe gate manipulation and adjustment.

 Jill is the accountant and Meagan is the official historian.

 Our motto is "If at first you don't succeed, maybe hammocks aren't for you."

 Daxton,  AKA "Hazard" is the chief recycler.

Every member of the crew doubles as quality control observation and reporting.

Maylee's Second Birthday Party

You know it's been a good party when the hostess asks,  "Does anyone else want some ibuprofen?"

 The invitation stated we were going to party with water "Maylee style."  My concern was that Maylee usually ends up naked and muddy.  I opted to not pack a swimming suit.

 There were lots of large people on small pedaled vehicles.

 Squirt bottle wars

 More large people on small bikes...

 Maylee style

 The Carters supported the theme...

 Maylee and the flies had three hot dogs.

 Jennifer Lindblom and the birthday girl

 The orderers and sorters

 No need to open it all the way when you can see what it is from the pictures.

This what happens when it (The kiddie basketball) hits the fan.

Daxton's laugh is infectious

When Daxton Hancock was born, Jill and I kept Mikayla and Maylee for a few days.  One of those days, I asked Mikayla if she wanted to go Home Teaching with me or stay with Nana.  She ran through her list of questions- She always has a list of questions- and asked whether I planned to do any shopping or stop at any stores.  She then asked if we were going inside peoples' houses.  She loves going "In" to stores, houses, etc., especially since she can get in and out of her booster seat by herself since graduating from a car seat.  I told her I was dropping off bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling cider to each family but wasn't going to go inside the houses.  "That's not Home Teaching!" she said, "You have to go inside and give them a lesson so they can be happy!"  Nana's comment was that I had just been schooled by a three year old.