A Visit with the Alpacas

josh was finishing up this job in winterville today and en route to the site, i noticed a sign for an alpaca farm...i called it and a super nancy answered and was excited for us to visit. turns out that she lost her son in '93 and needed a distraction, so she and her husband started to breed alpacas (which i learned today are in the CAMEL family!! no way!! the camel is sort of the dad of the family, then the llama and then the smaller alpaca....what makes them a camelide is their lack of upper teeth and their 2 pronged toes) they are smart and sweet and their fleece is soooo soft....it was a really nice evening....i am so glad we met and she seems so anxious for us to come back...

Comments Open

so, i only recently realized that i needed to disable something on the blog to allow anyone (more than just people who also have a blog) to comment...so i did this....but please don't feel like you have to ever comment....i know i am a rambler and do this more to feel connected to my mum than anything i think...but it IS fun to read comments too...so feel free if you'd like! and thank you for reading it too...it is fun to know that in my little world, there are people who think it interesting enough to check in every once in a while.

Anything in a Tortilla

well, josh is off to finish the job at dodd's house...and the kids are napping...and i am snacking. i couldn't find just the right thing to eat, so i put a little of everything into a tortilla.....
peanut butter, babyfood applesauce, raisins, rice crispies, apples, mixed nuts and of course, marshmallows. =)
mmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Inaugral Jog in the Double stroller!

we made it about 2 miles....and i was DONE. i haven't exercised in so long....of course josh did most of the pushing of the stroller....when it is just the 3 of us me thinks we'll probably only make it to the mailbox and back for a while! what a beautiful morning though! i cherish these times when it is the 4 of us....we are so very blessed to have eachother ...i pray a lot that i never take that for granted.

Oi-Vey

last night i retired the toaster until i can clean it out properly bc esme stuck a plastic spoon in there...and i found out as the house was filled with acrid smoke. peering into the top, it looks like blue slime everywhere! this morning, we were all set to go to church, when somehow the 4 of us ended up outside in our church clothes sorting through wood!....and then playing in the grass....and "working with tools" so it was decided we should go for a jog instead and try out the new stroller! i was so excited, i ran back inside to change my clothes and get snacks for the kids....and somehow knocked the NEW olive oil on the tile floor....trying to clean it up brought juan valdez images and droopy ducks to mind....it was a MESS!!!

headless photos by jack

this tilted one is sort of artsy

Snuggling with Jack

josh and esme are asleep and we aren't far behind....but right now enjoying sitting in front of the computer chatting and looking at stuff. he is such JOY to me!!!

Visit

matt and moe came over today for a while...always good to see them. matt brought a montage poster he made of tiny pics of esme and jack..i'll photo it tomorrow...it is AMAZING!

PS

i am really liking josh's new do...hairdo that is. it is the longest i have ever seen it....very sheep-esque...and wooly....which is redundant i suppose...but anyway,
i think it suits him!

Josh on a Hot Tin Roof

well, warm tin roof =)
what a beautiful day!!!
he is doing a job for dodd, a guy david introduced him to in winterville....he worked from sun up til sun down yesterday and today but didnt' quite finish...so he'll put on the final touches this friday.
the roof was rotten, so he removed it and then reframed it and put on tin....
the kids and i visited at lunch time and hung out with dodd and cameron's kids....bliss and pop =) cute names (pop is short for dodd)

Our dinner table

tonight, the kids ate apples in the bath and josh on the toilet (not really "on" the toilet) and me wandering....i mean, a family that eats dinner together in the bathroom has less likelihood of having kids go off the deep end, right? =)

Honey Bees

what you cannot see very well on this photo are the myriad of honey bees! i walked out our front door this afternoon and wondered what the humming noise was all about...and looked into our compost and saw it was COVERED with the fellas! we had 2 hives last year (which i'd actually had for about 7 years) that swarmed...straight up out of their box. one day we looked WAY up about 60 feet above their hives and saw they had built a beautiful hive in the tree! i then found a hive in a hollow of a tree directly across from their box....both of them didn't like our placement...i wonder if these are from the same family??

Random wood

i am not a horder...probably slightly the opposite actually...if i haven't used something in awhile, off it goes to the thrift shop, but i have a weakness for wood, windows or rusty things. josh is doing a job today and tomorrow for a guy in winterville...tearing down an outhouse and building another...this was some old wood in his dump truck that i couldn't help myself...i know the ends are rotten but i can cut them off and use them for something! =) right?

The Grass is Greener

they were trying to get to the next "playground" ie...the golf course

Playing with Mabry and Evy

jack is pretending to take a shower here...

i said "give your sister a hug!" which he did and then sortof threw her down afterwards...the next scene was esme trying to get up when the hat covered her eyes...

mabry listening to the wind blow through the grass

Tool Collage and...

jack the teacher =)
while ez slept this morning, jack and i made a collage. we went to the library yesterday and found in their "for sale" section, a paperback about tools for $0.35 cents...i did most of the cutting and jack the gluing (hence, we have quite a few the wrong was around =))...
when we were finished i gave him a pointer and explained how to teach someone about tools....he caught on quickly and was chatting and pointing and answering my raised hand...until esme woke up and wanted to pull off the pictures and eat them....i explained to jack that doesn't usually happen in a classroom but you have to be prepared for anything ...when they couldn't work it out, i decided it was time to change our mission for the morning...and just then, mb called and wanted to play at the playground! yippee!!! so off we went.

Josh and Company at Work

josh and the brothers (that's holder brothers =) hand hewing some HUGE timbers...36 feet long!!! basically, they are taking trees and turning them into timbers with an axe that will be in a church at the end of the day. wow, wow and wow. check out their blog to see some great photos!

Remembering the day esme was born

"we're workin hard mommy!"

Cozy Coup Auto Body Repair

there is a little hole in side of this car that jack lost a screwdriver into...so this morning, i took a jigsaw and cut out a hole to get it...which made a wonderful boot!...or trunk...he and esme have been loading and unloading tools all morning! =)