Happy 4th!

What a great day it was for the family! We started by decorating foam hats & "Uncle Sam" door hangers Thursday night. Here's a look at the kids' handy work:



Of course, the decorations were not complete until we applied the ever festive tattoos:



We then loaded up & traveled about 2 hours to a state park with a neat zoo & play park. OK, this was probably not the best idea in the south, in July, in the middle of the day, but we lathered on the sunscreen and grabbed the H20. Here's Joe & the kids enjoying a break at the end of our nature walk where we saw everything from grey wolves, to bison, to lemurs...





The pic above is of the alligator habitat. Even adventurous, daring Micah, knew not to lean or climb on the railing...Thank goodness! Here are some of our prehistoric friends. I wonder what the 2nd guy has been snacking on???





Rebekah & Micah had the chance to climb into a replica of an eagle's nest as well as participate in a "long jump." The jumping area was marked off in different animals by how far they could jump. Rebekah was similar to a mouse, while Micah jumps like a flea. You know how spastic fleas can be! :)





Finally, it was time to head home for the fireworks. We stopped by Loco's for some much needed nourishment. If you haven't tried their Rooster Salad w/ the house dressing....mmmm. Here they are waiting for the fireworks to begin. We did kill some time playing Go Fish, Candy Land, & Slap Jack in the back of Joe's truck.



Here's one of my favorite poses that you can often see Micah in...with his arm around Joe's neck. Priceless.

My, Well Somebody's, Big Redneck Baby Shower

To begin with, let me just say that the family farm is a very special place for my family. My dad & his other 7 siblings were born & raised right here. We love to have lots of get-togethers & celebrations here, but this time was probably one of the most comical.


You might be having a redneck baby shower if ...

The "table" for the gifts is actually a hay trailer loaded with freshly harvested red new potatoes:


Your uncle is seen handing out "appetizers" (a.k.a. new potatoes taken from the trailer, washed in the spigot, grilled with butter & seasonings, plated on fine Chinet, & "served" directly to your mouth from the end of a pocket knife). Think I'm joking???


Need hydrating? We have the freshest, straight from the spring, water around. Shoot, you don't even need a bottle! Heck, you don't even need a cup or glass!


Hot? Flies & gnats gettin' to ya'? Why, we even have a 10hp eee-lectrical air conditioning system w/ built-in pest deterrent capabilities!


Some of your gifts actually come "wrapped" in a farmers' co-op paper bag!


Your decorations include this chair & "cleverly" hidden tool shelf...


And finally...any of your pictures feature farming equipment in the background!


Note: Do NOT reenact a portion of Diary of a Mad Black Woman in front of an audience where only ONE person has seen the movie! Let's just say that the dad-to-be was taking a little too long opening a present & as soon as I said "rip it," the drama demon possessed me. I was full-out Madea in the walk-in closet. For those of you not familiar with Madea...RENT the movies!!! I wish I had a photo of everyone's expression, except for my twisted sister, Tammy, who knew exactly what I was doing.