Look Who's Here!!!

Paul's mum and dad finally made it up to see us! We had a lovely visit and really enjoyed having them here. They stayed long enough to see Paul play 2 softball games (one he pitched!), visited our local antique shops, experienced Elizabethton, TN, and spent plenty of time just visiting! Dad and Paul got to play golf of Sunday afternoon, and it sounds like they had a wonderful time. They seemed to really enjoy sitting out on the front porch, as you see here!

It was also fun to have folks here to share our garden bounty with! Here you see our very first harvest, and now we've also begun picking beans and more squash. The corn is growing full speed ahead now, and hopefully in a week or 2 we will begin the "taste test" on all of that!!! It's been great fun ... both the company and the garden!

Also, for those of you who are wondering what the little white box is .... it is Paul's BEES!!!! He finally got his bee hive, so now he's become a great bee whisperer! Yep, almost certifiable at this point! He talks to them all everyday after work ... hmmmmmmm... bzzzzzzzzz, that is!

The weather is beginning to break from the heat, and the mornings and evenings have gone quite cool (60ish for the most part). So much for our 3 weeks of summer, it's gone now! We had a good bit of rain yesterday, thankfully ... we certainly need it! So, things have cooled off and we're headed into fall ... and it's showing in the trees and in the feel of the air! There are all kinds of fall festivals coming up and I'm trying like crazy to get the mosaics ready for the big wooly worm festival! Fun!

I'm working at Lowes part time, now transferred into the windows and walls area! Paul's still working with Garden Metalwork ... and the dance studio begins the fall season Monday. So ... hopefully we'll be busy enough to survive and not so busy that we don't have time to enjoy life! That is why we came here, after all!

Paul's been really busy with the softball league and he's absolutely enjoying himself! He grins from ear to ear while he's playing and we hear about the various play by plays for hours afterward! Soccer season begins in a week or 2, and he's planning on refereeing for the season, so he'll get his exercise and fun all at the same time!

Our internet service was out for a few days, and after having it restored (or whatever they did) this morning, there is a lot to catch up on. So, short but sweet, this is what's happening in Elk Park! Hope it finds you all well and happy. Paul & Cheri

Celebrating life!

AS I'm sure you can imagine, the pace picks up a bit around here when Christian comes to visit! These pictures pretty much tell the story of our past 24 hours. Charles came over yesterday evening and taught Christian how to drive the tractor ... after which Christian felt VERY important! He really did steer it and his eyes got very wide when the dirt was emptied out of the bucket. Thanks ever so much to Charles, who is a very good sport (and excellent with children! Must be why he was bus driver of the year!). After the hard work was finished, we celebrated the 4 year old status with ice cream and cake (of course!). Today we managed to find a local art show where there was an inflated jumping castle. Paul Paul and Christian struck out across the tundra in search of the fun ... I've never seen a little boy have so much fun (or become so sweaty!) in such a short amount of time. (this time the little boy is Christian - but you never know! ) But his steam began to run out, and all the other castle jumpers had to leave, so we hit the face painting booth. Now I have learned that even Spiderman needs a nap!! A man after my own heart! Christian has to go home tomorrow and we will be missing him GREATLY! But school has started for Christian, so he must go home. Another piece of evidence that time is flying by! Bye for now! Paul Paul & Nana!

The Garden Grows!

We're having a wonderful time watching our garden grow! Literally, Paul's first order of business every day when he gets home from work is to go out to the garden and take notice. He seems to be having a wonderful time with it all. The beans have countless blooms, the corn has started to tassel, the squash is flowering now and the lettuce, carrots and beets are getting bigger daily. We also have some tomatoes and are waiting to see if the pumpkins, bell peppers and cucumbers are going to yield anything. They are the slower of the crops ... but the plants look healthy and happy, so we're quite hopeful! As you can see, the now 4 year old Christian is also in on the gardening act. He and Paul weeded and de-rocked the middle row yesterday evening. Quite a duo, I must admit! The birds have planted some corn for us in our front flower bed as well ... always gifts to look forward to!

Paul's been playing lots of softball lately. I think the season is about over now, but he's had a great time. They have to place a coach of first base to tell him when to run ... but other than that, he does seem to be a natural. He's been catching and pitch hitting. And the smile that it puts on his face is delightful to see!

Tonight we're going to have a get together in honor of Christian's 4th year of life! Although we just don't know many children here, we have some adults who are game. So ... Charles is going to bring his tractor for Christian to ride on, and we'll have a cookout and maybe an impromptu game or two. I love having the big yard, it certainly opens up the options for entertaining!

It's been quite warm here. I had to get some anti-freeze in the car finally. Just couldn't stand driving in this heat! It's been up in the upper 80's and lower 90's, although I hear that'll be passing this weekend. Atlanta has been over 100 degrees for 2 weeks straight, and I think my sister has melted in Tennessee. It was 103 in Chesnee, SC yesterday when I drove through to pick up Christian. I will not complain as I know in a couple of months I will be freezing again! Believe it or not, some of the higher elevation is having some changing leaves already. I definitely was in surprise mode when I drove through yesterday and saw some red leaves on the trees!

Now that I'm back to work so many hours, there is not a lot of project finishing going on. We knew it would slow down, but since there is still so much to complete, it s kind of frustrating! Oh well, we do have the rest of our lives to finish it. I guess we'll just worry about that tomorrow (Scarlet).

Paul & I did get to go to an auction last Saturday night. We picked up a formal living room chair for $2 and a spindled desk chair for $1, a guitar for $3 and a coffee table for $7 ... it was a fun night again, we've really enjoyed the ones we've attended so far. Each one is different and there are lots of people to watch! Great fun for treasure hunting!

There are bunches of birthdays and such coming up. Pennisu and Scott celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary with a ceremony blessed by the church on the 10th. Congrats you two! So lovely when a relationship is that special! I understand Sarah Evertsen is having a 13th birthday this weekend, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sarah!!! I know all you guys in Orlando start school on Monday, and I think everyone here does too, so GOOD LUCK to everyone in your upcoming academic year!!! And Good luck to the Dancer's Pointe and The School of Performing Arts as the new season begins!! So You Think You Can Dance is such an inspiration to the dance world, I hope you ALL have been watching and are taking good notes!!!!!! I sure am! I am so tickled for Sabra to have won this year! Yeah, GIRLS!!!! But my daughter and I agree that Danny can do things human beings can't do! What remarkable dancers they are!

Well, I'm hearing "Nana" in the background every 2 or 3 seconds now, so I must go answer my call!!! Happy Friday to All!!! Paul & Cheri

Life comes at ya FAST!

I love Artemis! He just takes his lizard and goes to bed! And as his bed is constantly changing, we just never know where we're going to find him ... but he is always at peace when he's found a nap spot! He certainly reminds me to keep my perspective on life in general!

Paul & Charles made these driveway reflectors for us! I am so tickled to have them on display at our house! In particular, when you're approaching our house from the Tennessee side of life, it's very difficult to pick out our driveway in the dark ... these will certainly make "the runway" stand out! Thanks, guys!

The garden continues to grow (thank goodness!) as the weather has warmed up again and the sun has decided to come out! The growing garden is certainly a time table for how quickly the summer is flying by! I, for one, am so very grateful to be able to dry out a little bit! It was getting pretty soggy around here ... things are much better after a couple of days of dry weather and heat. So you can see the flowering beans ... and the squash is on the verge of flowers too so gardening is looking up! Paul is still very intrigued with the whole process. He's been out hoeing the rows and checking things on a daily basis. He mowed and gardened while I worked this past weekend. That outta keep him out of trouble! Who knew! It'll be great fun when it comes time to harvest ... I can't wait to get pictures of him picking beans ~ the neighborhood will be entertained, to be sure!

Christian turned 4 years old yesterday! I can't wait to get some pictures of the breakdancing birthday party he and his little friends had last Saturday! I'll be sharing as soon as I get them! He is supposed to be visiting us next weekend, so I'm looking forward to us having our very own birthday bash with him, albeit breakdancing free I'm thinking! Maybe we can just hokey pokey or something! :-)
Well, it's costume time for me, have 4 more of those tops to make for the cloggers, so must go get started. So much to do, and only an allotted amount of time to do it in! Do hope all is well with everyone and that those of you preparing to go back to school are doing so with ease and no stress! Happy trails to all! Paul & Cheri