Camp Out on Ms. Beth's Mountain!

This is "Miss Kitty". She showed up on Beth's doorstep with a belly full of kittens. All she wants to do is eat and sleep ... right in front of the food dish! She's very sweet. We're waiting on the delivery.

This is Beth's Bungalow. If you look right inside the door, you can see her angel I mosaiced for her. Her front door is a gorgeous blue, but the glare was too much to photograph it. This is the bungalow we "house sit" for when Beth is out of town. It's a very calm and healing place.

These are the 3 amigos. This was upon departure from the top of Beth's mountain where we'd camped over night last Saturday night. The photos on this post are in reverse order because I'm too tired to think and I loaded them backwards. But hey, everyone is fed, bathed and in bed having sweet dreams! That counts for something! :-)

Beth and Cade pulling out tent pegs with heavy equipment!

Christian watching the camp break down and conducting his very own symphony, no doubt!

Austin helping Paul with tent folding. He's one heck of a helper!

Austin going into Ms. Beth's mansion tent to help break down ...

No doubt there is a lesson on life going on here ...

The view is exquisite! Paul is doing some weed whacking here ...

The pied piper. He spent a lot of time cutting, sanding and blowing into the bamboo seeing which had what pitch. Then he bound them together and made an instrument which he ended up gifting to Beth. She was absolutely thrilled.

Sleeping boys ... Austin on the left, Christian on the right.

Cade slept in the mansion with Ms. Beth ... no one had to be lonely! This is one sleepy headed boy!

Austin learning how to fan the camp fire so we can have s'mores!

Paul at dinner! Foil, with new potatoes, zucchini, summer squash, onion, bell pepper and hamburger with cheese in the middle ... "hoboes" .... YUM!!!! Perfect camp food.

Cade and Ms. Beth at dinner!

Austin & Christian at dinner!

Camp Beth . . . the kitchen, dining area

Ms. Beth's two room mansion. The boys were ultra impressed with this tent! As well they should be, it was quite a hit! Could've fit the whole gang in there!

Paul (having his first beer of the season) and Christian trying to make his bamboo a musical reed. Also, Christian and Austin's tent in the background ... however it ended up next to our tent on the other side of the camp. ;-)

Paul & my tent with the privy in the background. (objects are not as close to each other as they appear! thankfully)

Ms. Beth and Cade tending to the cook fire for dinner.

Introducing Beth ... our hostess and mountain camp owner! We are so very grateful to her for having us up to the mountain and letting the boys gain the experience of primitive camping in a very safe and comfortable environment.

The gorgeous view from the campsite.

Setting up camp ... SO much fun to watch the excitement in the boys eyes and hear it in their speech. What a TREAT!

Upon arrival ... setting up camp! All the anticipation has finally come to pass!

We all had such a wonderful time. We didn't actually get to the mountain top until about 4:30. It was perfect timing. By the time we had things set up it was time to start the cook fire. By the time we ate it must've been 8ish. Then we started the camp fire in the big pit for the smores and dancing around the fire things ... GREAT fun. We sang and played until we couldn't hold up, then we all crashed, slept hard and woke early. We had coffee and tea, hot chocolate and breakfast, broke down camp, packed up, cleaned up the site and left. I think we were back to the house by 12 noon. It was a PERFECT experience for 3 little guys who don't usually go camping. Left them wanting more! Maybe another night before they leave. We'll see!?!

Next post should be about gem mining...well, more like panning for gems. We're behind on the posts a little, but you'll get the picture!

Happy Trails!

Paul & Cheri

The Breakfast Club

Sausage biscuits, yogurt, cantaloupe & chocolate milk (on the back porch - such an easy clean up!)
Christian Giovanni Hall - 6 years old on August 6th, 2009

Jonathan Cade Adams, 7 years old as of February 9th, 2009

Austin Michael Adams, 9 years old as of June 18, 2009

We are on way to Beth's mountain. We are going to have a major cook out, camp fire, camp out! So ... if you don't hear from us, no worries ... we're slaying dragons (or something)!

Cheers! Paul & Cheri (Nana & Paul Paul)

Boys are Back in Town!

Sorry about the light quality ... I really MUST read the manual for this camera. ANYWAY, soccer bopper on the front lawn. SO funny ... we all giggle in a gaggle! (If you enlarge these, the expressions on the faces are lots of fun. just double click on the pic)
A bundle of boppers! Believe it or not, Paul is behind this power package! Can you tell we'd been playing outside all day in the CRATERS in the yard! Boys and dirt ... perfect for the most part! Guess I'll get some of the OXY detergent I see advertised!

These guys had NO trouble hangin with the goats! Fearless, is the best word I can come up with for Cade. (if you enlarge this pic you can see Austin in the background inside the lean to trying to grab a baby goat! One finally came running out, bleating his little head off! :-)

Austin was a bit more tentative but totally interested.

Christian was NOT interested in the least, but tolerant of our enthusiasm and was sporting a VERY cool lightning bolt in his hair and a great outfit!

Cade got a lesson in holding baby goats the proper way ... as Austin just listened and took in the info ... not really wanting to put it into use right now. Something to do with having to support their little boodies ... not his cup of tea as you can tell by the expressions on their faces. teehee!

But Austin didn't mind petting the babies ... and Cade (ever the adventure seeker) didn't mind petting Paul! They are quite entertaining, I must admit!

Down by the stream ... using walking sticks and Indiana Jones intuition (I hope)

SOOOO fun to watch them work out how to maneuver the rocks and such. Christian was the one who was a tad tentative here. He doesn't like wet shoes much ...

A perfect "Tom Sawyer" moment ...

*we had grilled hamburgers, baked beans and cantaloupe for dinner

*we all had baths and/or showers before we went to bed

*we all slept very well in the 57 degree night

*I'm currently at work

*Paul & the boys came by and are out doing a small plumbing job for Caroline

Keep your fingers crossed that their afternoon adventure is fun for all!

* we are hoping for Otis to come by with his BIG earth moving equipment and put dirt into the craters ... then the boys will really have something to do!

Will catch up later in the weekend

I have next week off of work so I can properly organize Summer Camp at Nana and Paul Paul's house! Stay tuned ...

Happy weekend to all!

Paul & Cheri

Goat Watch - Summer 2009

They're almost tall enough to see over the grass ... but they hop every where they go! Bunny goats! HA! So funny to watch :-)
They are absolutely precious little things! Great entertainment.

As you can see, they're still itty bitty ... but they have grown! This one is the runt (petite princess, rather).

This one is a boy ... and he's very precocious. He leads the other 2 around with great confidence! They do a lot of running (hopping) and climbing up on the cables. Guess that's what goats do! DUH! They also chase mom for milk ... poor mom ... she spends a lot of time "shaking them off" ...

This is the middle one (I think) ... cute, cute, cute! Mr. Boone, who is the owner, is so proud of them. It's very sweet to see a big ole' gruff farmer so touched by a baby animal.

Cool blue eyed little things.

On Glover news front:

The boys arrive tomorrow!! Summer Camp at Nana & Paul Paul's officially begins when their little feet touch ground at our house. Hope we're ready!

Roots have been cut out of the craters (thanks to a couple of local guys from Central Mexico and Paul). It is amazing how much 3 grown men can do in just 2 hours. VERY impressive.

Otis was slated to fill the dirt back into the craters today ... hope that is happening!

Fill dirt will be ordered as soon as that's accomplished. Moving right along!

Paul's garage (treasure trove) has been organized and is looking AB FAB!

Most of the grass is mowed.

Back porch is clean and ready for summer camp activities and accommodations.

Our friend Sean, the one who had the brain surgery is home and doing GREAT. Amazing, brain surgery Friday, home Monday ... up and about Wed. WOW! less than a week. AMAZING!!

Paul is supposed to be finishing the loom today/tonight so we can put it in its place in the living room and begin our weaving lives. (I am a weaver)

Happy Mid week! Life is good!

Blessings to all,

Paul & Cheri

Austin Adams turned 9 years old!

Our first born grandchild, Austin, turned 9 years old on June 18th. As everyone always says, I can't believe how fast time has flown!

Austin is our "thinker". He is always assessing things and trying to come up with the best angel or strategy. He loves information, and is anxious to report each piece he knows! For example, his dad and Melissa took him gem mining for his birthday! COOL! He told me EACH detail down to the price of a bucket of gems (small and large bucket) and which gems he found in his bucket and which he kept, etc.

Also, in direct contrast to academia, Austin is an athlete. He runs fast(est) and works HARD. His body is one lean muscle mass and his mind is set on "go". It is very hard for Austin to be still ... sleeping is the only time. He is much more concerned with "doing" and what order things will be in than resting! He is ultra coordinated and quick to learn the moves and rules. He is often frustrated with the lack of that same quality in his team mates!

AND, Austin has some very incredible dance moves which he was demonstrating at Jon's wedding and which we have pictures of for evidence. His rhythm was excellent and his showmanship qualities were right up there! (Probably in his genes some where with all the artists on his dad's side of the family tree.)

Austin is also a very good older sibling. He takes excellent care of Cade, who is 20 months younger than he is. He is very cautious with him and very content to be the news reporter who reports Cade's every move. Also the sweetest older brother a guy could ask for. He makes sure Cade is protected, safe, warm, and taken care of. A perfect mix of love and sibling-ness!

We are very proud of our 9 year old grandson, Austin. It is our distinct pleasure to be his grandparents and we welcome his precious little soul in to our lives. God bless you Austin and a very Happy 9th Year to you!!!

Happy Birthday Austin Adams!

Nana & Paul Paul

Happy Father's Day!

We really just want to wish all you Fathers out there a very Happy Father's Day!

Perhaps a reminder here of how truly important fathers really are . . . how much of who we are is credited to these guys? In my case it's gobs and bunches. I'm lucky. Here I am over half century old and I still am a daddy's girl. Yep, even though my father has passed on, I still absolutely adore and respect him. Paul also with his father, who is thankfully still here amongst the living and doing pretty darn good!! Happy Father's Day, Mel!! And to Paul himself a dad, Happy Father's Day honey.

I watch with great interest as my son has become a father, and a very good one at that. And also as my son-in-law has become a father, also a very good one. One of the very sweetest things is to watch these men hug these little children they've created. You can honestly feel the love they have for these little boys. And for that I am ever so grateful in knowing that our grandchildren will grow up adoring and respecting their fathers too. So as I gush with pride I will also throw out a Happy Father's Day wish to Jon & Victor, who are doing fabulous jobs with their roles in fatherhood.

And to all the rest of the dads out there ... all the best for a wonderful day filled with relaxing father's day activities. Whatever might make you happy dads for a day!

Happy Father's Day,

Paul & Cheri

So much to do, so little time ...

Morning siesta! First they wake me up ... yep, both of them jump up on the bed, paw at me until I roll over in their direction, purr until the bed shakes and beg me to please get up and feed them. When I get out of bed they tear through the house to beat me to the food bowls and stand and meow their morning chorus. I must feed them, although I'm always sleep walking at that point. They each go to a bowl and absolutely gobble their breakfast (which means I've put the food in the bowl apparently). Geez, they can't be that hungry, they always have "crunchies" in their bowl. But ... as I make coffee and pack my lunch & breakfast for the work day, they race (Indy style) through the house often catching one another by the rear leg wherein screaming uncle ensues. After running several races, and engaging in wrestling matches, they come into the bathroom the moment they hear the shower start to settle in so when I get out of the shower and we have our morning meditation time. Now that the weather is warm, Artemis meditates from the window sill. Spartacus is still on the towel on the floor ... wet towel only please. As I move from room to room, they follow me around, just watching and talking. By the time I'm ready to go to work, which is generally about 8:20 but should be 8:00, they are in REM sleep. This is Spartacus's favorite new sleeping spot ... corner of the kitchen.

This is Artemis ... this chair is tucked under the kitchen table so he is hidden. He does NOT like to be vulnerable. So he sleeps where he thinks he is most safe ... to him that is hidden from plain site. He always seem a bit surprised when I find him just by looking under the table!

Paul has begun finding old chairs. (treasure, you know ...) This one was beaten to death with an old rotten wicker seat hanging off of it. He brought it home, sanded it down, oiled & stained the wood, and bought some garden twine from Brinkley's. He spent one evening in front of the TV weaving this beautiful chair!! Artemis has now decided it is his new favorite place to sleep. So glad Paul could accommodate him. Cats are funny creatures. Paul is really creative and a great weaver of obscure ideas.

Beth went to England and brought the man back this sack of goodies. He was thoroughly tickled, and I'm sure he felt like an 11 year old again holding this bag in his hand!

Beth asked him what he wanted and the only thing he could really think of was licorice torpedoes. So by golly, that is what he got ... a million or so! He's still grinning.

Here he is, telling her his stories from childhood about candy shoppes and etc. Just for the record, my presents included MUCH cooler stuff than candy (my opinion - I don't even LIKE candy! well, except for the chocolate my mother in law gives me. It's always excellent! thanks, B.) But my gifts from Beth will be left for another post ... they deserve a spot all of their own!

When I got home Wed. night, this is how I find my entry way ... Holy loom! My sweet and slightly exasperated husband had begun the assembly! Hallelujah! However, during said assembly the discovery was made that we are missing some parts. (drat) Well, that explains a few things! So he hopped on the blog and found a hugely helpful and very sweet weaver who is helping us get it together, very very generously taking pictures of her loom to help us out with the explanation. Thank you immensely Marie!

You can almost see the smoke coming out of his ears! It's hard to put something together that has missing pieces and no directions! Thank goodness he's a genius! We're going to the weaving room tomorrow to see what they have to say ... and to just sit in the midst and watch some weaving. Can't wait!

Meanwhile, we're sprucing up the place ... and hanging new shutters (along with pressure washing the siding and cement). So imagine our surprise when ...

Paul pulled the shutter off of the house and found this little guy !! I'm sure we were ALL surprised. For one thing, he was awakened while it was still quite light. EXPOSURE is an interesting concept and lesson. We knew something was behind there, but thought it was a bird's nest or even, not hopeful, a mouse. But it was a bat, for all the world, a bat!

SO ... Paul actually called me from the ladder and told me to bring the camera out and ready to shoot. Once I got outside, we were only privileged enough to take 3 pictures. And unfortunately I missed the photo op of the barred teeth and puffed up body language as the camera was resetting. This is where he began crawling toward Paul's hand ....

Then he showed us his teeth, flexed his little bat wings and was G O N E ... history. He was really pretty cute and endearing until the whole teeth display thing. So, we bid him farewell and moved on to hanging the new shutters (after we washed the house where he'd been snuggling up against the warm siding in the sun. :-)
Now it's Friday night, Paul has pressure washed the front of the house (oh yeah, he scrapped the old paint off of the window frames and repainted them too) while I dug and planted some beautiful dalias and black eyed susans that we were gifted to us. We are hoping for a beautifully sunny, warm Saturday so we can carry on ... and hope the momentum stays with us through the weekend. However, since we didn't have any internet or cable last night because of hell storms, we're both catching up on our correspondence this evening. I am doing so with an incredibly delicious glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Cartlidge & Brown (cheers, Scott!). And I might even go for a second glass ... it's pretty good! I hear fresh pear & blue cheese calling to go with.

Our friend Jennie (from Jennie & Chad) has a little brother who is 19 or 20. He unfortunately had to experience brain surgery today after an unexplained brain bleed and clot that was discovered because he had a really bad headache for two days. We understand he is doing great, and we have said plenty of thank yous for that! If your head REALLY hurts and there is not a good reason that you can think of for the pain ... you might wanna get checked out. Please. Swift healing to you Sean. Hugs to you, family! Jennie and Chad, let us know what we can do.

Work is totally picking up and I'm a limp noodle after the day at the office today. But really, it feels good to be busy and see everyone again.

Paul is no longer thinking the second shift thing is a viable hope after talking with the company this week, so we're on to really putting all of our energy and spirit in to finishing the building and opening the iron biz. Sometimes it just takes a little time for unquestionable direction to find its way. I think we've got it now. We're going to get some men (who are also out of work) to come and help pull all of the roots out of the crater on Monday. It'll be worth the expense to get the help. It's an overwhelming job for one person. Needs to get finished. So ... the biz will obviously need lots of tweaking, but it'll be a fun adventure putting it all together and meeting LOTS of new people.

I talked with Jon last night and all is well with them. The boys will arrive via Jon on Thursday! I talked with Jenn, who is on her way to Charlotte for a weekend workshop. She will be picking everyone up on Sunday, the 5th. SO, we will get to spend the 4th watching through the eyes of the boys. WoWzEr!

Paul talked with Nina this evening, and sounds like all is well there too.

LIFE IS GOOD!

Yesterday was Austin's 9th birthday. I will do a birthday write up on him this weekend. He is such a grown up already! Can't wait to see them all! (yeah, I know I might have mentioned it once or twice)

Will update growing goats with pictures too. So much to do, so little time!

Happy Weekend!

Paul & Cheri