2011 - 4th of July Weekend with All My Chicks

It’s hard to believe it’s the 4th of July again.  Kayla hadn’t been “home” since last 4th of July… we were so glad to get her back up here for a visit even though we didn’t have much time together.  They got here Thursday evening and had to leave today after church.

We started off on Thursday night by visiting Ms. Charlsie.  Tyler came home late from work, but showed up while we were at Charlsie’s.  After our visit, we headed to eat pizza and then the boys took David to Lowe’s and surprised him with a belated birthday/Father’s day gift – a new grill.

Friday, Kale’s friend came up from Conway and he and Kale and Tyler all went golfing while Kayla-girl and I headed to Branson.  We left late in the day and made a short day of it, but it was the first time in forever that we’ve been able to spend a day together.  (I MISS YOU, KAYLA!)

We met the guys for supper at Cadron Creek Catfish House… Kayla’s one request for food while she was here.

Yesterday was SO hot… we spent part of the day indoors and later that afternoon we loaded up and went to our farm.  Tyler had made plans for all of us to fish out of the pond with Dave’s sister and her daughter (and granddaughter).  It got overcast just as we got there, so I think it was a bit cooler than it had been all day.  It was a lot of (hot) fun, though.

The boys

The girls

David

Mémère brought along a spray bottle to 1) keep Maddie cool 2) keep Maddie occupied

So cute!

My niece, Lindsey, and her daughter, Rylee – and David’s sister, Carla

Kayla might have got her line caught in the tree

For supper, Kale grilled some burgers (his special recipe) on the new grill and then we had s’mores in the backyard. 

It was a nice, family day.

Today came all too soon and after church and lunch… we had to say goodbye.  I still cry every single time I see them leave (or I leave them).  But, it gives me something to look forward to when we get to see them again!!

Life is sweet.

Have I Mentioned That I Love My Mads?

We had a fun weekend.  After we wrapped up VBS and put the church back together I headed for home.  You can’t imagine how just sitting in my quiet car was so relaxing! Ha!  That evening, I asked Maddie if she wanted to go visit Ms. Charlsie with me.  And she did.

Saturday morning, Tyler and Daisy were going on a float trip really early, so they spent the night with us.  Friday night after supper, I explained to her the rule for spending the night with Mémère on a Friday night… “you must sleep in!”  Of course, she wanted to know why, and I just told her that if she didn’t sleep in she’d have to have coffee with Papa Dave in the morning.  She said, “Yuck” to that.

As it turns out, she woke up about 6:30 and Dave kept her entertained until I got up at 7:00.  We set off for our “day date” a few hours later.  I told her earlier in the week that we may go to the library and she was so excited.  About half-way through the drive there, she fell asleep (I think 6:30 must’ve hit her – it was only 10:15!)  When I woke her up she was a little out of sorts, but then we walked in to the library together while I talked to her about having a quiet voice inside.  She was SO good and loved it! It’s a brand new facility and it’s really amazing!  We went to the puppet show that had just started and after about 15 minutes of that she whispered to me, “Let’s go read books.”  So we headed downstairs to the children’s department.  We read several books and then she discovered the puzzles.

After the library we went to eat at McDonalds where she ate her WHOLE nugget Happy Meal – a first!

 

We finished the outing at Walmart – where else?  I had promised her that she could pick out one color of nail polish… she asked for two, but I stuck to my guns. Of course, she picked the sparkliest pink she could find.

After Daisy and Tyler got home we all went to Chili’s for supper.  On our way back home the college was putting on a fireworks show, so we pulled over and let her out of her seat to watch.  Her favorites are the pink ones… of course.

We had a GREAT day and she never gave me a moment of trouble.  Only one (small) fit in a whole day for a three year old is just pretty good in my book.

I can’t wait for our next “date”.

PS. If my nephew (Dominic) happens to see these pics… I just bought a Shark Navigator Lift Away vacuum (per his recommendation and he is a vacuum genius).  I LOVE it, Dom!! It’s great!

348–Friday Recap

Today has been a busy day.  Ms. Charlsie had another episode where she blanked out for a couple of hours this morning.  Her blood pressure has been doing really well for the last week or so, so I can’t blame it on her B/P being too high.  It is very scary for her when it happens, but I’m happy that she was feeling much better tonight when I talked to her.

This afternoon I spent most of my afternoon at the car dealership having my car worked on.  It gave me lots of time to nearly finish my book.  (I did finish it tonight.  I LOVED this book as well.)

There’s one more in the series (“Every Now and Then”) and I checked it out of our church library today.  Can’t wait to start it.
Tomorrow Daisy and I are planning a shopping day.  Someone’s birthday, ahem Tyler, is next week and we have a few things on our list.

343–Our Sunday and a Happy Birthday

We ate lunch with a group of about 17 today.  There were lots of kids there.  These girls had some fun together (I wish the cup wasn’t in front of Maddie’s face on this picture).

Church and lunch wore Mads slap out.  She was loving her new sunglasses! Ha!

While Maddie finished out her nap, Tyler mowed at Ms. Charlsie’s and Daisy and I watched “The Last Song”.  That was a sweet movie.  Sad, too.

* * * * *

Today is  Jodi’s birthday.  We have been celebrating birthdays together for 33 years.  She’s been there for me through thick and thin and I can’t imagine what my life would have been like had God not blessed me with her.

Happy Birthday, JoJo!! I love you!

342– A Funeral and a Birthday Celebration

Our day started with my uncle’s funeral.  I always dread funerals.  They make me so sad.  But, they also remind me of what’s really important in life… and funerals almost always bring family and friends together who haven’t seen each other in a while – many times since the last funeral.  I am so thankful for a HUGE extended family and wish that we could spend a lot more time together.
After the funeral, we came home and just hung out.  Tyler had just got home from a church ministry project and Daisy and Maddie had just shown up. David went to check the cows and then to Ms. Charlsie’s to do some garden work. I read for a while, until my eyes started getting heavy and then I ended up napping when Maddie napped. (“One Tuesday Morning” so far is SO good!!!)
Tonight, several friends got together at a restaurant to celebrate Jodi’s birthday, which is tomorrow.  We had such a good time visiting.  Maddie enjoyed all the excitement, too.
When we got home, she wanted a bath.  She LOVES bath time.  I took these pictures of her brushing her wet hair like a big girl.

She makes my heart smile.

* * * * * * In Memory * * * * *

Richard "Dick" Vinton Hood
November 29, 1935 - April 3, 2011

Richard “Dick” Hood, 75 years old, departed this life Sunday, April 3, 2011, at Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home. 

Richard was born November 29, 1935 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and grew up in Blackstone, Massachusetts, the first son of Vinton and Claire Hood. He married Rosemary Morris February 15, 1958 in Orange, California, celebrating fifty years of marriage in 2008. Richard lived in Mountain Home since 1989, but was a resident of Arkansas since 1977, relocating from California.

Richard graduated in 1953 from Worcester Boys Trade High School in Worcester, Massachusetts where he trained in industrial machinery, and tool and die. He was employed as a machinist after high school. Later he began a machine shop in California which he ran for several years. Upon moving to Arkansas, he owned and operated Hood Machine and Manufacturing Company; and also the Valve Service Company in Yellville from 1977 to 1989. Richard, along with his wife, Rosemary, also owned and ran Hood General Store in Yellville during the 1980s. He then was the proprietor of Hood Performance Machine, Inc. in Mountain Home from 1989 until he sold the company in 2002. He worked at Sherwin Williams in Mountain Home until he retired in 2010. Richard enjoyed family and friends, classic cars, car races, handy work, camping, waterskiing, and spending summers relaxing on the family’s boat on Lake Norfork. In the 1960s, he belonged to a bowling team. He was recently a member of the Classic Chevy Club of North Arkansas. He was a parishioner of St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church for 33 years.

Mr. Hood is survived by his six children: Linda Sims of Corona, California; Lori Hood of Mountain Home; Brian Hood of Springfield, Missouri; Bruce Hoodswain of Plano, Texas; Alan Hood of West Plains, Missouri; and Allison Menke of Haslet, Texas; thirteen grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; brother Dr. Wayne Hood of Nevada City, California; and brother Neil Hood of Tigard, Oregon. He is predeceased by his wife Rosemary Hood.

A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, April 9 at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church with Reverend Innocent Okore as celebrant. The family expresses gratitude to all who befriended, helped, and loved Richard throughout his lifetime. In memory of Richard, it is requested that a donation of a good deed be given to a neighbor.

341–Maddie Made My Day and a Little “American Idol” Chit Chat

Look who had a spa day at the vet today…

After work and my workout today, I went to town to run an errand for Ms. Charlsie.  I texted Daisy to let her know I was near her work… in case she might be getting off work early.  She did get off early and we toyed with the idea of getting our first pedicures of the season.  It’s flip flop time!!

We decided that we didn’t have quite enough time so we went to get Maddie from preschool instead.  Daisy let me go in the room to pick her up (I’ve never picked her up before and Maddie wasn’t expecting to see me)… they were watching a movie and the room was pretty dark so I had trouble finding her.  Then, I heard her yell, “Ms. Jacquie!!!” and she came running and jumped in my arms.  Oh yeah.  I loved that!

Before going home, we stopped at Ms. Charlsie’s for a visit.  We had just picked up the dogs from the vet and I left them in the car with the air conditioning running.  When we came out to leave, the dogs got excited and I heard the car doors lock!! With my keys were in the car. Ha!!  Daisy and I had to try to lure the dogs to come to the window to get them to accidently UNlock the doors.  It took a few minutes, but after a little bit, Izzy put her foot on the driver side door and rolled down the window (the only one that wasn’t locked shut). I guess I need to be more careful.

Were y’all surprised Pia got voted off of American Idol last night??? That’s further reason to change the voting process.  I think they should change it to one of the three options: 1) Each person gets ONE vote TOTAL per night; 2) Each person gets ONE vote per contestant per night (you can vote for any or all of them, but just once); 3) Each person can vote for the contestant they want to vote OFF.  Do you agree with the way the voting is done currently? What would you like to see them do?

337–Sights from Today

I saw these turkeys on the way to work this morning.  We’ve been seeing them around a lot more lately.

The sky was beautiful when I was leaving Ms. Charlsie’s this evening.  This is her view from her front porch.  Nice, huh?

We had the best weather this weekend… and today it’s been freezing and windy again.  I’m wondering if it will ever be Spring.

327– A Friday Night First

I had a little virus scare yesterday… so, of course, I called Kale to get reassurance that I had handled it right.  He got onto me (a little) for using IE… so this picture of Google Chrome is for you, Kale David. Better?

I just noticed that I took that photo at 10:50 AM and it was only 37 degrees here at that time.  We’ve lost our Spring weather!!

I took Izzy this afternoon and ran some errands for Ms. Charlsie.  Bless her heart, I took her to the doctor yesterday … her appointment was scheduled for 4:45 PM, the nurse called us to the back a little after 6:00 PM, the doctor came in just before 7:00 PM, and we FINALLY left the office at 8:20 PM.  She and I were both worn out.  Who knew a doctor in this day and time would keep those hours??  He is working with her meds to try to keep her B/P down.  I hope it helps soon.  She’s had a rough week or so.

After I got home, Daisy and Maddie came over.  Tyler and Daisy went on a date and Maddie stayed with us.  Dave was late getting home… so we did a first for us… we ordered Chili’s to Go.  I know for some of you that’s not all that unusual, but we live about 20 minutes from town so we don’t normally order carry out – unless it’s pizza.  It was SO much less of a hassle than taking a tired 3-year old out at 7:30 PM, but the food is MUCH better when it’s fresh in the restaurant. 

I have had a hankerin’ for this for several weeks now.  Love their Santa Fe Wrap!

When I was reading “Pinkalicious – School Rules” to Mads tonight, the book said that Pinkalicious missed her unicorn while she was at school and it made her sad.  Maddie (who is so compassionate) asked me why she was sad and I told her that she was missing her unicorn.  She replies “why?”  and I said, “it’s like when I miss Izzy” and she says real quick, “NO! You miss Kale!!” Oh, yes I do!  (She remembers me sitting in the car crying after Kale left a couple of weeks ago.)

Speaking of the Ks, I’m trying to decide on plans for my next trip.  I’m hoping they’ll be able to come in for the 4th of July, so I’m trying to decide if I want to make a trip between now and then or after the 4th.  Maybe in the Fall? I’m planning on it just being me, by myself, and spending several days just relaxing and hanging out with the kids.  I’m thinking the weather in Houston will be better in May than, say, September???

322–Sunday

We’ve had a good Sunday.  Church, lunch (Mexican, of course), naps, and then while David was checking the cows, we all went to the park (joined by Bryan and Andrea and their kids).  While they all played, I walked Izzy.  The weather was perfect… around 80 and sunny.  That’s my kind of weather.

While I was walking Izzy, Ms. Charlsie called and told me that she’d been fighting with her blood pressure again all day.  This has been a rough week for her.  I went by there and stayed with her for a while before going back to church.  I checked on her again this evening and her B/P was high, but within safe limits.

I made an appointment for her to see the doctor this week.  I sure do hope we can get some answers and get her nerves settled.

320–Easter Dress and Another Scare

Sorry, this is the only picture I took today.  I found this sweet dress for my Mads at TJ Maxx tonight. I thought it would be a cute Easter dress.  (The picture doesn’t really do it justice.)

Today was a rough day.  David called me from Ms. Charlsie’s at lunch time and said that she’d had a little accident and her medicine was dropped on the floor and asked if I could come get it straight.  The first thing I thought was “how is Charlsie?”  Every time we have trouble with her medicine getting messed up it’s usually because she’s had another “episode”.  He seemed a little odd when he answered, but told me she was okay.  So, after I got off the treadmill I headed to her house.  When I got there the medicine was pretty messed up and she was visibly shaken.  Her blood pressure was like 212/110!!! David had her take a pill that the doctor says to take when her top number goes above 160 and we stayed there and monitored her to see if the medicine brought it down.  Finally, this evening she was back to herself and feeling better.  Her B/P was back within normal range. 

She was pretty frightened because she had a segment of time this morning that she can’t remember.  I talked to her at 8 AM and she was fine, but sometime after that it happened and she barely remembers talking to me on the phone.  She’s done this before and we believe it’s another TIA (mini stroke).  We left there at around 7:30 this evening and she was doing well, though.  I know she’s in God’s hands, but it is so worrisome to me.  I sure do love that woman.

316–The Death of A Heater and a Ms. Charlsie-ism

I know this may not mean much to you, but seriously, it’s pretty life-altering to me.

My heater bit the dust last Friday.  But, have no fear, I had a backup…

And, just because I want to remember this… I took Ms. Charlsie for a tax appointment this afternoon and when we were almost back to her house, she looks down at her watch and says, “What time are we enjoying?” I told her it was 5:30 and she says, “Oh, I missed my program!” (Haha! Jeopardy.)

I love that she said “what time are we enjoying”.  I don’t guess I’ve ever heard anyone say that before.

314–Gardening

We’ve had a productive day.  Kale has an old piano that we had to load and haul and unload (well, he and Dave pretty much did that part).  They went on to the farm from there.  While they were “farming”, I cleaned out an old computer cabinet and made it my new “office”.  When the guys got home, we went to visit Ms. Charlsie.  She and Dave decided it was time to till the garden...

… and plant some potatoes…

…then it was time to sit a spell before heading home.