Wordless Wednesday –
31 Wednesday Aug 2011
Posted Uncategorized
in31 Wednesday Aug 2011
Posted Uncategorized
in30 Tuesday Aug 2011
Posted 2011 Jefferson County Fair
inLast week was full of shows…..Sheep, Goat, more Goats and Horses! We totally love the fair and everything about it.
On Sunday, Cierra was up for the Sheep Showmanship and Fitting show.
She covered him up –
Just in case you didn’t notice she takes this VERY serious….
And she did a fine job – she made it to the final round for Showmanship! Not a winner but was one of two of the youngest in the Sr. class. We are very proud!
And on Tuesday?! The Goat show! It was a pretty long day but very enjoyable. Not only did we get to see some pretty cool goats but we also got to experience the 5.9 Earthquake =) Believe it or not, I honestly didn’t feel it but I am one of few…..I guess I’m not only deaf but missing the sense of feeling, haha!
Cocoa got all cleaned up –
I have seen such a change in Chase and his ‘showing’ skills over the past few years. Makes me smile =)
He had a ‘game face’, too!
but believe it or not, the judge did get a smile out of him…
And he too, made it to the final round.
Then in “Open Class”?! Who else but this little Princess would steal the show?!
and how can the judge NOT pick her goat?!
how better to spend time standing in line…
than to give her goat a hug!
This wasn’t the only time this Kayden Brooke stole the show – On Friday she had her first horse show…
Unfortunately we didn’t get to share in the excitement because we were heading back from OC but pictures work for me, ha!
She is so precious and certainly has a love for horses. (nut doesn’t fall far from the tree, lol!) So really….who can’t love the County Fair?!
29 Monday Aug 2011
Posted Weekend schedule
inFor those of you that have asked and are interested in where we are going each weekend, I have added a feature JUST FOR YOU!
Yep, that’s right. Look to the right, just under our banner and you will see “CLICK HERE”. Just below that you will see our “Wine Schedule”. There ya have it!
Remember, this can AND will change from time to time so please double check before heading out =) We love company so feel free to come along.
‘Tis the season – harvesting of the grapes will soon be upon us =)
28 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted Uncategorized
inToday is just one of those days. The fair came to an end last night with pouring rain which didn’t make me happy (since we LOVE the fair) but the kids definitely aren’t ‘fair weather fans’ since they stuck it out til closing time. Ronnie and I spent much of the rainy evening/night in front of the TV, watching and waiting for what Irene was going to bring to Ocean City.
And then this morning as soon as our eyes were open, the TV came on to catch up with Irene. Shew – from the looks of it, the beach house just might be ok.
Then off to clean up at the fairgrounds. The bitter sweet finale’…Luckily this little girl got to come home with us!
Yep, that’s right! The buyer (more to come on that later) asked Chase if he wanted her back and he said “SURE!” =) He’s hoping to breed her next year for his 2013 Market lamb.
Once back home, it’s time to unpack the fair bins, truck, cooler, and all the above, ha! Laundry had piled up all week and the house just needed a good cleaning. A run to the grocery store then filling out ALL those papers from the first day of school :(. That is the worst job! Can’t they retain this info year after year?!
Tomorrow is back to the grind. Work and school. Even though school officially started last week, the kids didn’t go Thursday or Friday so it really is another start. Bed early and catching up on what they missed because on Friday, we’re heading to OC!
But….in all my ‘hum drum’ day, this little girl was born –
So Cierra got to witness a c-section on a goat. Of course she took lots of pictures (none of which I plan to share) but let’s just say it was very interesting….Chase and I caught the tail end of sewing the momma back up which was also very interesting.
Then on my way down the lane I saw this –
Just too cute….
Then I think about how lucky I am and how ‘good’ my life is and say ….geez, be happy =)!
27 Saturday Aug 2011
the guys were making castles in the sand –
and beach life was perfect in Ocean City.
But if you’re watching the Weather Channel today, Ocean City is like a ghost town; only 300 people on the island (because they didn’t want to go) and businesses that look like this:
That’s right, IRENE is pounding on Ocean City
So here’s the scoop – On Thursday with the threat of Irene making her presence in Ocean City and knowing our jet skis and Mom and Dad’s boat may not be as secure as we would like AND us wanting to take precautions with windows, doors and the house, Ronnie and I headed to the Eastern Shore with our trailer full of plywood and all the necessary tools. We had already heard there wasn’t any plywood to be found on the island and the clock was ticking. If we didn’t get in by midnight, we wouldn’t be allowed in. The mandatory evacuation was starting at midnight.
We hit the bay bridge around 8:30 –
and honestly, I’ve never seen so much traffic coming at us. Boats, cars, trucks, RV’s, and it seemed really weird to see the OC buses way out there, full of people. Eery. These signs weren’t very comforting either….
And this was our ‘Welcome’ sign –
Once we arrived, it seemed like a normal night at the beach. Less cars/people but still very normal. We picked up a pizza and decided to get some sleep and start our work in the morning.
Before sunrise, we were up. Look how calm the bay looked…
I guess this would be the ‘calm before the storm’…
Luckily I had coffee but no food. Once I headed out, it was very difficult to find something open.
Even Hooters was deserted…
I ended up at Dunkin Donuts and was told they were only selling donuts and drinks. Geez.
While I was out, I had to sneak up and check out the beach –
Ronnie took care of everything he could –
and even had a little fun –
we took one last look and said a prayer. Hopefully all will be well when we get there Friday night.
And on our way out we saw officers going door to door – checking to see who was still here and making notes….
This is what Coastal Highway looked like –
We tried to go down to the inlet but NOPE!, wouldn’t let us through –
We did park on a side street and run up to the boardwalk….pretty empty, too.
And the cars have been removed from the Ferris Wheel –
This kinda caught my eye =)
Then we headed out –
and without local identification, no one gets onto the island –
We must have seen 20 of these trucks heading down to stage…
We arrived home safe and sound and today, we’re experiencing just the ‘outskirts’ of Irene here at home. But, we are tuned into the Weather channel, trying to stay up to date with what’s happening in Ocean City praying everything will be ok.
With so many states/cities being impacted, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Irene’s path…..
24 Wednesday Aug 2011
Posted 2011 2012 school year
inof a BUSY fair week:
Wow – it’s going to be a tough ‘rest’ of the week but these two were up, bright eyed and bushy tailed heading off to school.
21 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted Friday nights
inBelieve me, that’s what Friday night was ALL about. We always search for ‘live entertainment’ for our Friday ‘night out’ which typically means we will be hitting a winery. LOVE wine and LOVE free concerts.
We headed over to Sunset Hills where David Davol was playing. Once inside, we spotted a group of women that were absolutely having a blast! Quickly we figured out it was somewhat of a bachlorette party…..wild girls, lots of laughing, limo parked out front….it was too much =)
We purchased our bottle and headed to the deck. We had two extra chairs so shared our table with a great couple from Lovettsville. They talked about their favorite winery which we hope to head to next month. Not long after we got settled, here comes “the bride” –
Of course, I just had to know what this was all about, ha! So I headed over to her table. It was her night out, she was from Winchester, getting married 9/6 and her ‘party of girls’ surprised her by having an ‘ugly dress’ party. Each of them had purchased their dresses from a thrift store (except for one – she had this one since 1987 – lol!)
This pink Cinderella dress was a total of $3.69
and one lady purchased her dress and shoes for $10! Don’t they look georgeous?!
We noticed an older couple that were enjoying the evening as well and by the end of the night they were definitely into the party…
Needless to say, we had a blast with them. It ends up that their white limo broke down so they were waiting on another. It did finally come but not sure how many bottles were emptied prior to it’s arrival.
David put on a nice show, being very patient and flexible with this group. Once things calmed down we chatted with him for a while and will certainly look for his upcoming performances.
So it was definitely one of those evenings where your cheeks hurt. It seemed like 2 hours of non-stop laughing =) What a better way to ‘wine down’ on Friday and jump into the weekend?!
16 Tuesday Aug 2011
Posted Birthdays
inOur weekend was great! Friday evening was definitely a memorable one, moving right into the weekend. On Saturday morning we slept in and were pretty lazy for the first half of the day (nope, no mimosas!) but did get ourselves together for a shopping event with Cierra to celebrate her birthday. And we were off –
we headed to Fair Oaks instead of where we had intended since there is an actual Aerie store there (plus all the others she wanted)! And what started out as her birthday shopping, ended up our annual ‘back to school’ day. It was actually very nice and a little different this year…..Ronnie participated! It was truly a ‘family affair’, ha!
Chase pretty much had in his mind set as to what he wanted….one pair of jeans, 5 shirts and one pair of shoes…so once we hit Hollister and he got one pair of jeans and about 10 shirts (they were on sale), he said he was DONE! Well, Cierra wasn’t so while he and Ronnie sat in the mall, Cierra hit Aerie –
This was her first time visiting the store so let’s just say ‘it took a while’ =)! But she LOVED it!
We headed upstairs and Chase was in ‘shoe heaven’ –
Ronnie really struggles when he wants a new pair of shoes that typically range from $100 – $140. BUT…..his foot appears to have stopped growing AND all in all, he only has 5 pair of shoes. Cierra on the other hand, has about 50! So once reminded, Ronnie was on-board. Needless to say I was really happy when Chase found a pair that he liked for $39! Wow, I think that is a FIRST!
The next stop was AE. At this point, ‘school shopping’ is over and Cierra is now on her own. Birthday money is required, lol. She was very disturbed with the prices and how few items she could get with her cash =( Chase on the other hand decided to take a break –
Seriously though, the best thing they ever did was put chairs/couches in Hollister and AE! Ronnie was in his glory, too.
Our last stop was Victoria’s Secret and I must say that I am very proud. Cierra had printed some coupons from the internet and also had some savings from the mail so….she got a jacket and sweat pants, underwear and small mist for less than $20 bucks. GO Cierra!
It was late but Cierra was determined to share her birthday dinner with J, Ash and Kayden….luckily they were very flexible =) Across the mountain we went and this is how she was greeted….
Kayden was SO excited to give Cierra her Princess balloon –
And at the end of a wonderful day, a yummy meal!
And Kayden was so funny…..she ‘hid’ from the fire and then squinted when she wateched –
And clapped at the cook’s presentation, haha!
But the grand finale’ of the night was that she was totally in the mood to have her picture taken with every one of us! LOVE her!
I think Cierra would agree – she had a GREAT day!
16 Tuesday Aug 2011
Posted Uncategorized
inYa’all know that we LOVE baseball so it seemed like a great idea to head over to Winchester
which is where the Cal Ripken 10 Year Old World Series is being held!
On the way there, the sky started to look pretty dark and once in the parking lot, the thunder was rolling. We were honestly very surprised to hear the game actually begin. Then came the lightning. The game was still underway amazingly enough but we decided to stand back and just wait……I failed because I just couldn’t capture the lightning but the skies were pretty wicked looking –
and this was still during daylight….geez!
We ended up just having dinner and discussed Plan B. Looks like we’re lucky that the event is all week so we’ll try to catch Thursday’s games.
14 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted Uncategorized
inSo – on Friday we had the honor of celebrating our friend, OJ’s birthday with him and his wife, Kim. As anticipated, it was a late afternoon/evening full of laughs, spirits and travels.
I completely skipped the wine bar and headed to find a seat. I was in aw. He was singing a christian song that I wasn’t familiar with but immediately loved. After a few songs, I did catch up with the ‘rest’ for our wine tasting. Of course, that’s always very fun =)
he even sang “Amazing Grace”, wow. I think we may have been the only ones there that new the words but we sang along, proud.
We eventually headed out but promised to keep in touch with Adam and his family. He has so much potential and was even ‘tagged’ in FB on my page as our potential future son-in-law, haha!