What happened to March?

The birds began to show signs of nest building and 'courting' which indicated to me that spring would soon arrive.

BeBe and Beau are still in the 'learning' stage of puppyhood. They enjoy gator rides, but don't have very good passenger manners. If I want to ride, they are very difficult to evict from my seat! They even like to sit in the driver's seat when it isn't in motion,

and refuse to move so we can drive!

A trip to Bandera was eventful... We got to see Hunter play ball. He pitched and played 3rd base. He was a hitter, too!

So it was an all around good evening!

Strike two!

Doug is 14! (doesn't seem like a year since I posted that he was 13)

Doug made the trek to Bandera with us, so while we were there we got to celebrate his 14th birthday! Caitlin baked chocolate cupcakes and decorated them with sprinkles. One was designated the "Birthday Cupcake" and had 14 candles inserted and lit. Next it was time to sing happy birthday and blow out the candles.

After the birthday celebration, we gathered up and went to Caitlin's softball game in San Antonio. We were proud of her improved pitching. She did a good job, and in the family tradition of the day, was also a hitter. She did a good job of fielding the ball as well. She caught a popped up fly ball, and threw to first for an out another time. We're going to have to go out later in the spring to see them play again!

March Madness...

I have never had snow on my birthday before but...

I have a March birthday, and plans were made

for Wayne to barbeque for me.

What a shock we had when we heard that it was suppose to SNOW.

Wayne pronounced that he was going to barbeque---

snow or no snow!

Well, it did snow! And he did barbeque... it was delicious!

We have been gearing up for

The Easter Sunrise Worship Service

which will be held in our yard.

Hopefully the sunrise will look like this.

We're hoping it doesn't rain,

we don't even want clouds!

A very special treat was enjoyed when Donna and Janie came

and visited with us one March afternoon.

And now March has marched on...

We're just waiting for April.

Winter Wonderland

SNOW!!!

Mark Scirto, our esteemed weatherman, had been forecasting SNOW for about a week, but we didn't take him too seriously. Wednesday evening he said that Thursday there would be some freezing precip in our area. He said there would be snow in the morning then later we'd have alternating sleet and freezing rain, with no accumulation. THERE WAS! He also said the sleet/freezing rain/rain would continue all day. IT DID! Snow was predicted for most of late Thursday night and early Friday morning. As we got ready for bed we saw snow falling, and began to think Mark might just know what he was talking about...

Thursday Morning...

Pappy's Pond

We had snow, then sleet and rain/freezing rain all day...

dreary, dreary, dreary!

The Green Shed

Friday morning we woke up to a WINTER WONDERLAND. We have not had so much snow on this farm since 1978... in February, if I remember correctly! We loved seeing everything covered with beautiful, white snow. Our birds were frantically searching for their sunflower seeds, so Pappy had to go out and clear the feeder of snow and feed them. The rest of the day we spent taking pictures and marveling at the beauty of the thick blanket of snow. Our puppies thought it was fun, and loved romping in the strange cold stuff. The spoiled rotten rat terrier was a little less enamored with the cold stuff, but finally decided that it was fun to explore even with cold feet. All things considered we were fortunate to have power and a good warm place to retreat to when we got too cold. Seeing our surroundings in a thick blanket of white was, in the words of Martha Stewart, "a good thing." Our friend from Nac. came and stayed the night with us to escape her dark house with no heat, computer, t.v. or telephone, and we enjoyed having her. It's been a long time since she spent the night in our home.

February 12, 2010

Thursday morning's scenes repeated on Friday morning;

Pappy's Pond

The Green Shed

Saydee

Pappy, BeBe and Beau

The Duck Pond

The Pig Barn

The Deck on Pappy's Pond

Scott's Horses

Northern Cardinal

Moments to Remember - Christmas 2009

The Princes all assembled Christmas Day at Nanna and Pappy's house

to share the season's traditions again. Celebrating Jesus' birth is

one of the reasons we gather every year to spend time together.

*see Drake? DOG # 1

Duane and Denise arrived on Christmas Eve with

two beautiful puppies for us to love.

We named them BeBe and Beau

(2 more dogs, count them... BeBe and Beau-that makes 3)

Three of the Grands got acquainted with the pups right away...

(dog #4 - Scout, from the house of Larry & Jackie Prince)

CHRISTMAS DAY WE HAD DINNER TOGETHER!

The food was prepared, the table set, we blessed the food

and we were all ready to sample the Christmas bounty.

Look who was first in line to fill plates...

TIME TO OPEN GIFTS!

Caitlin was the one who kept trying to hurry along

the task of sorting out gifts, wanting to get it done,

so we could move on to more exciting events.

Kaylee pretended to be willing to wait to see what was in her packages,

but we all knew that she was just as anxious as the next kid!

Hunter was ready to open his own presents

before the task of delivering gifts was complete.

Doug quickly began opening his gifts

after all presents were sorted

and delivered to the correct recipient.

Laura surprised everyone by taking many pictures

in addition to saying: "Take my picture!"

Pappy reveled in being the patriarch of such a special family!

Scott filled us in on some of the details

of his and Laura's mission trip to Germany.

Duane was agreeable about having the camera pointed at him,

or at least he didn't openly object.

The 'girls' still enjoyed looking pretty for the camera, and I'm so glad!

The ladies got into the gift opening action, too!

A group 'GRANDS' picture was made, and made, and made...

The boys luuuuvv the new puppies.

Scott and Larry verbally challenged each other's hunting prowess...

And, Scout found her place, sunning in front of the storm door.

Kim was not featured in any of the photos except the family group,

because she was behind the camera.

I will try in the future to be sure she is represented in our photos.

It is because she is so willing to take pictures that we have

so many photos to remind us of how special our times together are.

These photos show only a small sample of the time

spent with those we love most,

having our family together again

made it another very special Christmas Season for us.

Dogs not photographed, but in attendance

here at 'Camp Nanna and Pappy' at least part of the time,

were Gracie, Kim's Yorkie, and Abby, Kim's Spitz.

I believe that puts the count at 7 dogs.... counting our Saydee

adding to the confusion and chaos in our home.

We do love our pets!