The violin

Abby got a chance to try out the violin this year. She loved it. Her instructor said that she was a very good student. He knows she would do well with any instrument she played.

First day of Summer!

First day of summer was packed full of fun!

Crafts

Watermelon

Library

Lunch

Swings

Smiles

Coloring

Running

Resting

Playtime with Daddy

Even the dogs had fun!

Tugging

Although it is a blur, this is the only picture that I got with all of Booty's feet off the ground.

Someone ALWAYS gets hurt!

Then the someone is tired.

Then off to bed!

Hope every summer day turns out this fun!

Random pics

Today we went for a drive to look at land. Grabbed a few pics while we were out. I am playing with photoshop. The old one works fine, but I want the new one!

Rodeo

A few guys from the rodeo.

Colleen riding a pony

The girls waiting to go to the rodeo

My favorite picture. I love his face!

Our visit to the Limestone Sheriff Rodeo.

Buckle Fracture

My oldest daughter is always getting hurt. It doesn't matter if it is a tiny scratch or not, she will cry as if she has a broken arm. Well, Easter Sunday it was a buckle fracture. She fell while she was riding her scooter, and started crying. I always give her an icepack, and that made it feel better. Worried that it might be a sprain, I wrapped it. There wasn't any swelling, and she stopped crying. The next morning she was still whining about it, so I took her to the Urgent Care to get an answer.

She loves her cast. It is a badge of honor. This one time she was really hurt. I do not have any pictures of me in my cast. (More likely because of me) Abby, on the other hand, LOVES getting her picture taken. This is Abs in her cast. They didn't have a Camo cast, but green was just as good for her.

Two of a kind!

I have not been out taking pictures today. I decided to find a picture that was taken today. Out of the past 10 years, I could not find one picture taken on May 8th. This one of Dutchess and Molly was taken on May 9, 2002. There are others that were taken around May 8, but I really like this picture. Not that it is taken professionally, but just because it is of two great dogs. Mine, Dutchess, is the black lab. Mom's, Molly, is the yellow lab. It was within this last year that both dogs died. A real heartbreak for our family. I love this picture because it shows how happy they were. Labs are wonderful dogs. The dogs didn't mess up the fence. It was like that before we got there... I think. If I could clone a dog, I would have had Dutchess cloned. I am sure the same could be said for Molly.

Wilson Family

This is the beginning of my husband's family. His grandmother Wilson has a collection of pictures from the family. She took great care of her pictures. Geneology is something I like to look at every once in a while. It is normally one of the pictures that pulls me back in. Who is that? Where was the picture taken. I bet I can figure it out. That is what gets me started researching again. On the back of this picture is the list of who is in the picture. I use the Census and Ancestry.com, my favorite source, keeps me busy. I am currently putting pictures of the Wilson family into a book. When I will finish, I have no idea. Then I can work on my side of the family for a while!

March 13, 1912

Front row: Alexander Friar Wilson
Minnie Mae Allen Wilson
Frederick Jonathan Wilson
Sierra Nevada Reid Wilson
Thomas Dobbin Wilson
Jane Eliza Wilson
Mrs Denton
Mr Denton
Maggie Erwin
Margaret Wilson Rittgers
Gretchen Rittgers

Second row: Leonard Herbert Wilson
Maggie McHarg
Cora Mima Rittgers Wilson
Nellie Rittgers
John Bauman
Mary Bauman
Mrs. Will Gracey
Elizabeth Wilson Strait
Robert A. Wilson
Elizabeth Jennings Wilson

Third row: Mike Rittgers
William James Wilson
Jasper Rittgers
Thomas Wilson
Mary Marcella
Mrs. Anderson
Robert Fryer
John Gracey
Mrs. John Gracey
Rebecca Fryer
Mrs. Fowler
John Rittgers

Books

I was surrounded by books from day one. My Mom, Sister, Brother, and Grandfather all love to read. Mom was a Librarian, so I also grew up in the library. My sister was "the reader." You would think that I loved to read also. Nope, not really. I liked the way the books looked. Mom's older collection in this picture are my favorite. Not to read, but as decoration. I wanted these books because of the colors and gold writing on the spine. When Mom moved, she gave them to me. Wasn't that nice! Why? Because I have three girls who love to read. They are too young to read these books, but in time I am sure they will ask. Now that I think about it, my oldest could read them. I am really proud of how well they read. I have to admit, as I have gotten older I have become a reader. It really began when I was in the Navy. I was so alone, that reading was a good way to spend my time. I am not like Mom, she can read 3 books at once and not get them confused. I also do not like to stop in the middle of a book. When I look at my bookshelves, I feel pleased that I have a large collection of pretty books. One day I will read them.

Tink

Tink is our Border Collie. We got her 3 years ago from the humane society in South Carolina. I was going to adopt my niece, Whitney, and she wanted Tink. She had a connection with her. Adam and I decided we would let her join our family. Things fell through with the adoption, and Whitney had to go back to Oklahoma. It was too late for Tink though, she was ours. She wasn't the best dog to begin with. She had accidents, she barked, and would not calm down. That was 3 years ago.

Now, Tink is my baby. Adam has trained her to not bark. She has calmed down with age, and we know her schedule so she doesn't have accidents anymore. She makes me laugh. Has so much patience for Booty and the girls. Booty is so much smaller than her, but Tink amuses her by playing tug. Tink knows she could take the toy away, but it is more fun to let Booty try. It is fun for me to watch. The girls love to throw the Kong for her. Almost as much as she likes fetching it. When she is done, she lays down under the patio table.

She spends most of her time at the window next to our front door. From that point she can see everything. The birds, rabbits, squirrels, and neighborhood cats that play drive her crazy. I know exactly when the girls are home because her tail starts wagging. If she whines, that means Adam is home. She has a huge hold on my heart, and this picture is half as pretty as she is.

Memories...not a sound from the pavement

This has more to do with what I remembered when I took this picture, and nothing to do with pavement. When I was in Highschool, I went camping with Candace's family. There was a group of us girls that went, but exactly who is beyond me. We went to Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. There is a part of the road that always has water passing over it. It might be called a bridge, but the fact it doesn't completely go over the creek makes it not a good bridge. Anyway, when there is heavy rain in the area that bridge gets closed. We figured it was only closed for cars. We could cross that bridge. Well, we got halfway through and all but 2 went back. That left me and someone else, and we decided we could handle it. As stupid teens we crossed a bridge that shouldn't have been crossed. There we were on the other side of the bridge away from everone else. Now, how do we get back with our dear friends? We had to take the detour to get back to the camp ground. I was one of the two that crossed that bridge. All of those feelings came rushing back looking at this creek. A creek, that three days ago you could walk across. So clear, you could see the fish hiding at the bottom. Now, I am scared to stand next to it. Not a stupid teenager anymore.

My camera

While moving to Alabama from South Carolina a hole in the exhaust caused my camera equipment to be melted. I didn't know about the hole when I got my camera out of the truck. I thought the battery had malfunctioned and caused a chemical reaction. We finally figured out the issue that night, but it didn't matter to me why my camera was melted. It was the fact I lost one of the most important things that I own. The camera, lenses, external hard drives, memory cards, and my HD video were gone.
A month after, my sweet husband got me a new camera and lens. He got me a Canon 1D Mark ii. I LOVE it. I took Tink for a walk today and tried to take pictures. There are new settings that I needed to figure out, but it is pretty much like my old camera. I wanted to take pictures of Tink, but when we got out to the field I couldn't let her off the leash. There were 5 rabbits that I saw, and I knew she would want to chase them. I tried to get pictures of the rabbits, but Tink kept jerking my arm. So we walked back home. I got a couple pictures of her playing with a frog, but nothing to run and get framed.
Adam got off work and wanted to go walk by the High school. There is a path that is next to a creek. On a normal day you could see fish swimming around. There was a big storm yesterday and the day before. There was a flood warning north of us, so the creek was crazy today! It gave me a chance to play with the camera.