Great Grandma's Baby's Babies Babies'

Don't worry, Caleb, my parents used to pull that binkie trick on me too, when I was your age.
Caleb and Grandpa Bill........hey, grandpa, what's on tv?
The Phillips Clan......
What BIG eyes you have.......
Enough with the smooches already..grandma!
My Grandma Knight is pretty "great"....tee hee, I am funny, already!
Garret says: Hey, Cuz, it's nice to meet ya! MY babies.......Preston, Shelley and Darren
Me and those silly kids, they still know how to make those cheesy smiles after all of those years of pictures when they were growing up! (Well, except for Darren!)
Garret Says, "Hey, about those Nascar Races, Caleb?
Hey, there's still something good on t.v. Is that the food channel, Caleb?
Still cheesin' it up, Mindy and Shelley!

Me and Uncle Darren had a little too much to eat at Applebees..
I can't believe my mom made me wear these socks!

A Chicken Tail....

Wednesday night, July 5th, I went out to get the eggs and shut the coop, pet the dog, etc, etc. So, I got the flashlight and went outside…NO Dog….gate is wide open and she is gone. There is no way the gate just comes open, it is difficult to open, so anyway.. NO DOG..

So I went into the chicken coop, things don’t look or sound right in there, they are very quiet and I am missing 2 birds!.....I shined the flashlight around the floor and walls and I see something fuzzy with a tail…ewwww…a rat, I thought!...it was hiding behind their water bowl, so I kicked it and out ran a baby possum…..also dangerous to chickens. So I went and retrieved a rake from the barn and proceeded to chase him around the coop, finally he ran out, if I would have thought about the fact that I had on sandals and that maybe he might have run across my feet, I would have wigged out

……. . Still I have only 12 birds and no dog….what the????? I went into the dog’s pen, there are feathers everywhere, they belong to George the rooster!...OMG…poor George, got eaten by the dog,! I was very angry and upset. I called and called the dog, walked up and down the street yelling for her. So, I figured, she was chasing George and got ran over or something. I finally found one of the little hens in another part of the pen, poor thing was scared to death, I had to pick her up and put her in the coop on the roost, They can’t see a thing at night…anyway… I had to get to bed, so I went to sleep for a little while.

Bill had to get up at 3:30 to get ready for work. I asked him about the dog, he said he saw her about sunset in her pen. I told him about George and what I thought happened to him. Bill is upset at the dog, as she has eaten several birds during the last couple of years, I know she’s a dog, it’s natural, but I wanted to choke her!..Bill went outside and there is Sally (dog) lounging on the front porch like she is the Queen of Sheeba. He put her back in the pen. So, the dog is ok, but Poor George….

. SO,Bill goes off to work and I fall back into a light sleep. Suddenly I am awakened by George crowing…I looked out the window and there he is in Sally’s pen, just crowing at the top of his lungs. Sally is not chasing him and looks unhappy with her ears drooping. I put on my shoes and ran outside, grabbed the leash and went into her pen. I put her on the leash, left the gate opened and was holding her, trying to drag her towards George so that I could shoo him out of the pen, she won’t budge, she is scared of him…ha ha… he probably flogged her a good one last night with his huge spurs!...so anyway, I kicked toward George to get him moving, he gets confused and runs into the wall. Finally, he sees the open gate and runs out into the morning….did I mention that this is at 5:30 a.m. and I am in my t-shirt and panties???

SO, I take the leash off of the dog, and close her gate and now I am chasing George around the yard trying to get him back into the chicken pen. Round and round in cirlcles, just me and George in the morning mist!.. Finally I manage to get him back where he belongs.…….might as well stay up now, I got my morning jog in already!....

This is the text message I sent Bill….”.George is ok, repeat, George is ok, all birds accounted for, film at eleven!...”

Now ain’t I just freakin' Ellie May Clampette!!!!....weren't looking at no farflies t'night, pa!

I just wonder what the rest of the day is gonna be like……..

Footnote: the rest of the day sucked too!

My back Yard

I just love this picture because it reminds me of my backyard. Every night when I come home, I pet the dog, gather the eggs and close the chicken coop for the night. Behind the chicken yard is an area about like this one, with the trees and a large field, it is just loaded with fireflies this time for year! They are just beautiful blinking peacefully in the night,...there are hundreds of them, it looks like a small city and makes me feel peaceful and that I am " one with the firefly".

Amanda and Matt......the wedding day

I should have put this in June , but as usual, I am behind. On June 17,2006 Amanda Haltermanand Matt Raper tied the knot .This is really my favorite picture that I took all day, just Amanda, she looks very happy!Here's the two sisters right before the wedding, what great smiles. Amanda is so nervous, she says she wishes they had just eloped to Vegas..
Taking their vows.
I just love this little church, it is really just a cute little chapel and was perfect for a small wedding.
This is Brad, Amanda's brother, and Kristin, his girl friend. I had such great time with them the whole day, they are so funny!!
The cake, of course!
The feeding of the cake.....always love this part. Below are the bridesmaids and groomsmen, already in their comfy clothes. It was a beautiful wedding and I wish Amanda and Matt the bst of luck and a happy life.

Red Hat Wahinies

Mom and I had our turn at being the hostesses of the June Red Hat gathering, so we decided to have a Luau. Janet arrived in style on her motorcycle, all decked out with her red hat stuff.

We had sloppy joes, Pork BBQ, potatoe salad and slaw outside in the warm evening breese..and I do mean warm! They look like they are enjoying it.
Everyone received a pair of funky sunglasses, along with their own ice cream sundae dish and a rubber duckie!...So we just had to strike a pose.
Ok, we finally really got into it....striking the pose that is!
What's a luau without a Piniata???? Rhae is completely lost...well, that's not really unusual, but she can't find the piniata...it's right in front of you girl!
Pat was relentless she beat it to the ground...
And then beat it to a pulp.....I think she has "issues"...:)
Never throw candy in front of middle aged ladies....

Everyone is making their own sundas....
Here's me.....
Here's mom, looks like she's have a great time too...*hugs*
This was one of the door prizes.....some people just have to show off!..

These are such a great bunch of ladies, can't imagine having anymore fun than with them...
hugs for everyone.

Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire.

When entering the Renn-faire gates, the first thing you see are these musicians. The lead singer is announcing in a smoothe DJ voice."We are playing hits from the 1600's".....they were very good, most songs were foreign, but of course, this is the French Renaissance, and Europe was well traveled even back then. Many songs were in Spanish and French and a few English favorites were among their "hits".
This was the "Cardinal"...he was quite the character and was giving away little cards that said "Get out of Hell Free"...they looked like the monopoly Get out of Jail cards, with the same little man on it! This guy talked with a lisp and was hilarious.
These are the Limey Birds, a singing trio that told jokes and used members from the audience in their act.
They took quite a liking to Bill, singing about what a great lover he is....what do they know, they are from Toronto.......(seriously, they are).....

I entered the little fairy village. There was glitter all over the area and for some reason this tree is upside down....Here is a strange woodland creature that was wandering around the fairy garden, squeaking. I tried to get her picture a few time but she kept running away into the woods. Finally got her though.
Uh-oh...someone knows Bill has Turkey Legs.
This was a beautiful and interesting sculpture in front of one of the vendors. It is a globe and is made up of people....a close up is below.
Even all of the countries were made up of masses of people....
A monk.
This was a strange fox/pirate/person and another pirate girl with stripy sox.
I was giving him the rabbit ears....no comment from him
Just me winking at Bill...
It had rained alot and so the regular joust couldnt' be performed due to the deep mud and would be hard on the horses, so the jousters just rode on each others shoulders and did the joust which turned into a mud fight and was actually more fun thant he regular joust.
We ended the day at the "Dead parrot" tavern with some lively Irish music.

Baby Garret three months old and smilin'

Paging Dr. Garret, Paging Dr. Garret.........Mom had been in the hospital for a week when these pictures were taken. The good news is that she got to come home on this day and to see baby Garret was just an added bonus. Garret didn't want to give grandma any bad germs, so he wore his mask like a good boy.....
Here is Garret with mom and dad at Colonel Sanders, he got his first taste of mashed potatoes today too. Garret is a centerfold........he looks like he thinks he is the coolest baby on the planet.
It's all in the attitude, son!
I guess he thought that was pretty funny.....
Ok, I guess he thought that was REALLY funny...
He's trying to fool us by looking innocent, but I think he has a little twinkle in his eye!!! I can already tell he is full of it!

Garret's first taste of ice cream at grandma's ice cream shoppe on his 3 months birthday. He's not too sure

Sharp dressed man

I don't think this is what ZZ Top had in mind when they wrote that song.........

During Memorial Day weekend Kent came home to visit. He is such a nut case....he tried on all of mom' s Red Hats...I think this one is most fetching....the Harley Davidson shirt is a nice touch! Besides the "hat" eposide, we had a good time going out to dinner and then Kent and Bill went to Tony Smith's going away party and mom and I stayed at her house and watch movies!