Family Photo Time

I recently received some pictures from my neice and I just had to scrap a couple of pages to put them on. Both Dee and Drew have beautiful girls. You should be able to click on the image to make them bigger. We love you guys.

More turtle pics.

"What is this thing?" "Why doesn't it move?"
"There it goes!"

Candy ready for Halloween!

Scary enough for yall?

A turtle, a frog, and candy

Went for a walk on Lake DeGray to take pictures of birds and came across this Ornate Box Turtle. This is a young male; you can tell by the red eyes (females have brown eyes) and the concave shell (females have a more flattened shell). You can tell the age of the turtle by counting the growth rings on their shell (until they get 15 years old or older when the individual rings become indistinguishable). This guy looks like he is about 7 years old (just a boy really; he will not even be old enough to reproduce for another 6 years or so). They can live for up to 70 years. This guy could outlive me. Yes, Candy had to check things out for herself. I also spotted this little frog on a log; if you click on the picture for a closeup it looks like he has the measles.

Backyard Beauty

Troy got a new lense for his camera. We have been playing some with it trying to get the focusing right. It is a little more complicated than point and shoot. We still haven't quite worked out the kinks. You have to set the depth of what you are focusing on. You can tell in these pictures of the Cardinal in our backyard part of the tree is in focus and the background is blurry. I think since I focused on the bird it was suppose to be like that. I took this picture from about 15 yards away. Oh well, we are having fun anyway.

Brody's First Trip to Arkansas

We can not express in words what it meant to us to meet Brody in person as well as see Adam and Justine again. We already miss them all. I would like to take this chance to thank Adam, Justine, and Justine's family for making it possible for them to come and see us.

I had a few minutes to play so I created a little smilebox. Be sure and click on the smaller images as you go through the book.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

From Father to son

I kept some of the kids clothes from when they were little. It didn't take us long to start playing around and having some fun even though you can definitely tell my kids were raised in the '80s. Adam was first to wear razorback gear. He is a little over a year old in this picture.



Brody will be 4 months old on the 24th of September. This outfit is a little big on him, but we had fun with it anyway.

A Surprise for Papa!

Adam and Justine brought Brody home to Arkansas for a surprise visit. Troy and I have both been feeling bad about not getting the opportunity to meet our grandson yet. After Adam told me they were coming I called Henderson and made some arrangements for one of Troy's colleagues to take his afternoon class for him. Adam and his family were only going to be able to stay for the weekend and we didn't want to miss a minute of our time together. We were able to really surprise Troy and that is hard to do.

Even though he is starting to teethe he is still happy most of the time. We miss them already.

Brody is adorable. Adam and Justine are good with him and he is a very happy baby. Even Uncle Alex had to stop and play with him for a while.

Corn-on-the-Cob

I was on the bed eating dinner and watching Seinfeld (a nightly after-work ritual) when Candy hopped up on my shoulder and proceeded to help me eat my corn-on-the-cob. We both really liked the corn, so we just shared the cob; she ate one half and I ate the other.

Arkansas Hurricane?

Ike made his way to Bismarck, AR last night and seemed to pick on the Bray clan particularly. All the damage below happened within a half-mile stretch on highway 7. The trees seemed to fall indiscriminately in different directions. Maybe there was a tornado in the mix as well as the high winds. All we sustained at our place were a few small limbs and leaves littering the yard.

My Aunt Irene's front yard. The tree was still smoking as a result of falling across power lines last night.
Cousin Sherry's fruit stand awnings were crumpled up, but there was no apparent damage to the produce.
Weird. This was a large banner advertising produce at cousin Sherry's fruit stand, but all that is left are the edges. She told me the rest of the sign was down in the field behind her house.
My cousin Helen Ruth lost several pines and a couple of persimmon trees that were blown down in different directions.

Oh how I wish you were here!

I don't get many pictures of my grandson, Brody, so I have to keep playing wtih the ones I have. I plan on making a trip up to New Hampshire soon and you can bet Granny will be taking her camera and getting Gigs of pictures. I may even have to buy a new memory card:)

Until then:

Make a Smilebox photobook

Jewelry fun or choas

I gave a jewelry party Tuesday night. I haven't decided yet whether it was more fun or more choatic. I enjoyed being with everyone, but I also felt a little like my head was spinning. I still think, all things considered, we had a good time. Even if it has taken me the rest of the week to get over. Can't have that much fun very often:)

Gotta love the 80's

Many things have happened since I have last had the opportunity to blog. First, Tabitha came over on Tuesday the 9th to help me get ready for a jewelry party I was giving that night. We ended up going through the stuff I had saved since my kids were babies. Although I still think "Bedtime Bear" is adorable Tabitha was not as easily impressed. I still had the entire bedding set from when Adam/Alex were little. What'da think?

The Head of the bed/bumper pad

The Large bear wall hanging, the head pad, and the comforter

Back Patio Makeover

Before Painting
After Painting
Before
After
Finally finished the trim around the doors yesterday.

Happy Birthday

Yes, my sweet baby is growing up; Debbie turned a year older today! And like a fine wine, she gets better with age. I still think she is the prettiest 46 year old on the planet. I know she wonders the same thing I do. . . Where did all those years go? But we are about to embark on the second half of our lives together; a journey filled with grandbaby visits, travel, and quiet evenings alone. There are some advantages to getting older.

Insomnia strikes again

I haven't been able to sleep again tonight so I have been playing around with my printer and some new digital layouts. Sooo, I thought I would post it. Keep in mind this is a first try.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Generation to Generation

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go with Tabitha and Sean to their ultrasound to see if they could tell the sex of the baby. WOW! I could not believe the difference in the ultrasounds from when I was pregnant with Tabitha so I compared some when I got home. I can remember coming home so excited and pointing out what was what in the picture, but I look at it now and I have no idea what I am looking at. This ultrasound was the one taken just prior to Tabitha being born. It was the last part of July so I was about 8 months. Tabitha is just now at about ~17 weeks. See if you can make any of this out. They split the picture so you are actually looking at two separate pictures. I didn't get a DVD :)





In Tabitha's ultrasound you can see his legs and feet and other important stuff. We are definitely having a boy. He will probably not care too much for this picture being posted on internet when he gets a little older.

In this picture you can clearly see his foot. It was so cool.

I thought I would throw this one in for good measure. I can't wait to see Tabitha this miserable :)

A Day of Labor

So much for a day off. With a few hours rest on Sunday, I was back at it again today tackling our dirty, mildew covered back patio. We are still awaiting the arrival of our spa (I can't wait; I need it now), so we are trying to get our patio in tip top condition. With the cement all cleaned, now I have to tackle repairing the rotted wood around the doors and painting the lattice work and door frames. That means a trip to Lowe's this evening and another weekend in the trenches.

Mildew had taken over the back steps.

Power washing begins! (thankfully my dad has a powerwasher; used it on Sean and Tabitha's house a few weeks ago)

After!

Nice and Clean.