Our trip to visit my buddy Jody & Maymont. . .

The kids and I took a trip south to Cumberland, VA to visit a friend and her sister, and also to visit Maymont. Here are some shots I took on our drive down.

I love this barn! It has a smaller red barn behind it and a lovely old house, too.

What is this purple stuff?!? I saw it growing many places, but I'm clueless. Rosa? Any ideas? (P.S. I found out it's wisteria! I didn't realize it grew in the wild!)

An old train station we were able to see while taking a wrong turn. Gotta love Yahoo Maps!

An old, abandoned, teeny-tiny home on a hillside. And it's already been cropped to get you closer. Can you just imagine the living that went on here?

Now, we've started our journey around Maymont. This is a 13 year-old donkey, out getting it's exercise. Above woman said he/she (donkey) is a little too heavy. Heck! I'd be heavier at 1,386 in donkey years, too!

I love this shot. What luck I had here.

Awesome statue!

At the fountain near the house (Maymont) with Aunt Jody.

I had the kiddos pose under this tree, even though SuperGirl was worried the tree was gonna fall down while she was under it.

Could you imagine climbing in this tree!?! WOW! That's Aunt Jody behind SuperGirl. She's my SuperFriend & the kiddo's SuperGodMomma.

I had the lovelies stand here for perspective. That's not the word I'm grasping for, but it's the only thing entering my head at the moment. I'll keep thinking.

Look at that detail!

This is the back/side of the home. Isn't it amazing!?! I was hoping I could find a good shot of the front of the house, but this is the best I have at the moment. Just found some more! Look here. These folks have some other great shots in their folder from Maymont. We weren't able to look much more than we did, as Aunt Jody's blood sugar was low and we were ill-prepared. Next time, we'll get more pictures.

All of the next pictures but the last one were taken at Aunt Jen's house. Are the dogwoods beautiful?

Same dogwoods, taken seconds apart, with no camera changes. . .

And here we have a home I love that we pass on our way home. Can you imagine cleaning or heating this? Yowza. Maybe they only live in one room downstairs. :)

More soon folks,

SuperMom

I've been tagged!

It is about 6 Unimportant Things About Me. . .

I've been tagged by Julie! First let me post the rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post these rules on your blog.

3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry.

5. Let the six people know by leaving a comment on their blogs. I'm choosing 4!

Okay, here we go..........

1. I was born in West Virginia. I occasionally miss it, but not the economy.

2. I LOVE chocolate. It should be considered one of the main food groups.

3. I like to bake, but the only problem is I also like to eat it all.

4. I originally wanted 4 children, but after having two, I can fully understand how much $/sanity it takes to keep a healthy, happy home. I can't be on enough medication for that, unfortunately.

5. I love dogwood trees. The color doesn't matter.

&6. This is my second marriage.

Okay, I'm gonna tag............ but if you don't want to be tagged, that's okay. I won't be upset. I know that some people don't like it, so much. ;*)

Rosa

SilliGirl

Rachel

Robin

Tag! Tell us about yourself!

SuperDad's Fish. . .

The above two shots are of a smallmouth bass he caught earlier today.

He caught this large mouth with his fly rod on the Rivanna river earlier today. Woo-Hoo!

Poor Hobsi. . .

You see how *abused* Sir Hobbes-a Lot is. . . and how it disturbs him so. . .

Oy

A Very Good Read. . .

I'm currently reading a book by Sue Monk Kidd. The Secret Life of Bees. My good friend, Summer, let me borrow hers and I, in turn, ended up borrowing the libraries copy for fear my 3 year-old explorer would get hold of Summer's. I don't know about you, but I'm a little anal about my books. I don't want them used as coasters for glasses of water, covers bent, etc. Another of my quirks.

Anywho, this book is really exciting and I invite you to check it out.

Blessings on the beautiful spring day,

SuperMom

Skyline Drive. . .

I love this tree! It's bottom branches look like they are welcoming or opening up in prayer to the heavens. Halfway between the tree and the right side of the picture is a deer, in case you're interested. :) Click for a better look.

SuperDad took this picture.

Wee folks holding on to each other for dear life.

Picture of rocks where kiddos were standing.

A sign we had to take a picture of on our way home. I mean, really. How are folks like this in business?
LOL

Today. . .

Was a perfect day for a picnic. . .

and picnic rejects. . .

If it was up to them, they'd tell you how abused they are, that no one ever pets them. Yeah, right. If it was that bad, you think they'd run away. It ain't so bad here. Really.

:)

Laundry Lizard. . .

I'm clearly not folding fast enough. . .

Mr. Furry Pants blazenly crawled into his spot while I was folding laundry. There's not a shameful bone in his body. Although I believe this guy is part dog, if not mostly, he exhibited true cat actions by believing this is his laundry. Naturally, the world revolves around him.

Mr. Chit Chat. . .

Talking with Gram a few days before her visit. Of the two kiddos, he is surely the social one. Must take after me. :)

Yesterday. . .

We found a dress for my best friend's wedding! I think she would prefer navy, but this was too cute to pass up. It looks like silk, but it's really polyester. Not that I'm proud of it, but it's so classy and elegant for an almost 8 year old.

Of course, it's not as twirly as her highness prefers, but I have a feeling she'll get over it.

Personally, I love the keyhole back. That cinched the deal for me.

The transitional photo................

SuperGirl started ukulele lessons today, and she loves it!

So much so, that she's given herself blisters playing/practicing. I certainly wouldn't have chosen the uke as a first instrument, but hey, it TOTALLY fits her personality. And you know what, if she's interested in trying something new, I'm all for it. Far be it for her to try the flute, violin or piano. LOL

And just for a little trivia Merriam-Webster describes the ukulele as "a small guitar of Portuguese origin popularized in Hawaii in the 1880s and strung typically with four strings". Did you know this? I certainly didn't. I assumed it was Hawaiian. You see what happens when you assume. :)

And not to leave SuperBoy out, he hit the jackpot with his Daddy earlier. SuperGirl did too, but don't tell him I said so. Daddy found each of them 3 lizards to keep in a jar for a half hour or so. SuperBoy, being a boy, did not want to part with his and kept bringing them in the house. I could just see them getting loose and SuperGirl freaking out because she couldn't go to sleep with those "slimy" things running around. Thankfully, we were able to talk SuperBoy down and return the lizards to their families to eat dinner while we did the same.

Poor little lizards had to go back to the wood pile. What a life.

Soon,

SuperMom

Happy Boy. . .

Our neighbor is getting his driveway fixed, so it doesn't wash out during heavy storms. Yay!

Adding links I frequent to the sidebar. ..

I'm trying to add most of the links I frequent so folks can jump over and enjoy them too, but it won't let me add all of them, hence the space between. Ideas? Rachel? People with computer know-how? I use to be one of those folks, then I had kids. Unfortunately, while they were in utero, they absorbed all of my brain cells, along with their much needed nutrients. Well, upon speaking, they seemed to assume they know everything. Odd, how this happens. All too soon (read 20 to 30 years), I believe they'll realize we aren't such bad folks after all.

Lol,

SuperMom

Food Issues. . .

O.k., I need to get this off of my chest and see if we're the only interestingly odd family floating around. In an effort to get our 3 year-old son to eat his veggies and other various foods he doesn't feel like eating at a particular time, we've come up with a way to make it fun.

Ready?

We give food wild and exotic names to make it sound much more interesting. Oh, and did I mention they're usually disgusting, too? The first time we did this, we had rattlesnake (the meat, which I forget), maggots from a rotting Himilayan camel carcass (rice), and bumblebee eyes(corn). SuperDad, SuperGirl and I usually concoct these adjectives, and sometimes SuperBoy even helps.

Other delicacies we've had include: Komodo dragon (deer tenderloin), Crocodile teeth (fish sticks. . .SuperBoy thought this one up) and Bigfoot Burgers (manwich).

So tell me. . . Are we all alone here on Fox Hollow?

SuperMom

SuperGirl's Apron. . .

Ta-Dahhhhh. . .

Here it is. It should last her a while. Let's hope it does!

SuperMom