Like Father....

Like Son...remember a few weeks ago when Ronnie tried out his canoe in the pool?! Well, Chase must have thought that would be a great idea while we were 'out', lol! Luckily Cierra always keeps my camera handy and snapped some memorable photos.

And here's how it goes - Once Chase took his first canoe trip and caught this -


he was 'hooked'. So...he took his birthday money and shopped -


and shopped....and shopped =) But eventually purchased his kayak. We went to one of our favorite spots last night so he could fish and just paddle around -


and of course, fish


and he was lucky - catching a black crappie...


which according to this guy -



was unusual....crappie are usually an 'early Spring' catch.

Yep, we had our first 'meet and greet' with the Game Commissioner =) Luckily, we checked out just fine, ha!

I LOVE it on the river, it is so peaceful, calm and beautiful...especially on a night like last night.

Cunningham Falls

Now that we are canoe owners (wink, wink), we are always looking for new places to go. On Saturday Cierra went along. She was pretty happy



But eventually got bored, lol!



It was a pretty nice place that isnt too far from home.



Gee, I wonder how many people get hurt climbing up the Falls?! Crazy tourist, lol!

Cierra found the biggest rock to lay on -



and we just decided to 'sit'....hmmm.



So if you're close to us and looking for someplace to go canoeing or hiking....check it out!

Look at me!

I'm riding a horsey Dabby!


We enjoyed sharing Kayden's first riding lesson. She was just the perfect student =) She learned how to balance....and ride with NO hands!



and when I want to stop him, I pull back these reigns, ha!


and I can balance SO well, I can even sit backwards =)


and when I'm all done?! I can walk him around....YAY me!

Yep, she did a FINE job! Before we know it, she will be a pro....LOVE her =)

Happy Anniversary!

19 years ago today was a wonderful day! Everything went as planned but who would have thought what was planned was so much more than a simple marriage?! It has turned into everything I have ever dreamed about and so much more. We have seen, experienced and survived so many things during these years and are looking forward to many, many more.

Every day I have at least two hours of non-stop music listening time which gives me a chance to...... relate to, love, dislike, and laugh at all the songs on the radio. I switch back and forth from classic rock to rock to country, whatever I'm in the mood for. I really like Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton and fell in love with "I'll be your honey bee", lol! I took a stab at my own version (hehe). It goes like this:

I'll be your soft & sweet
If you'll be my strong & steady

I'll be your gin & tonic
If you'll be my glass of wine

I'll be your St. John Island
If you'll be my Junglewood

I'll be your Allison Krauss
If you'll be my Kenny Chesney

I'll be your shade tree
If you'll be my sunny day!

So there you have it, 19 years and still going strong, living 'happily after' on our Corner...right smack in the middle of Virginia



and Maryland -



So Happy Anniversary, Ronnie. I'm glad each other's voices are the first thing we hear when we wake up and the last we hear each night!

54 Years!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad - It's hard to believe it's been four years since we put everything together for your 50th celebration and finding this picture was one of the best things =)



So here's to you and 54 years together.....Congratulations and we wish you many, many more!

For the most part...

all good things come to an end (that's what they say anyway =) and that just happened to be the case yesterday evening when 4H camp held the closing ceremony. Ronnie and I got there around 4 and these were our first glimpses of the kids since Monday morning -




just a little happy, huh?!

By the end of the week everyone is considered your family - definite bonding....



and Chase even played his part really well, ha!




And when it comes time for the chiefs to burn the 'spirit stick', it always seems sad to me.



and from the looks on their faces, they agree ;(



And as we walk away, the burning continues...



but as good-byes are said, smiles definitely come back.



In a lot of cases, these friends only see each other at camp each year but they tend to pick up right where they left off.

And here comes the 'stuff' (Cierra needed a little help)



I think the two of them even 'bonded', lol!



So this morning while the clothes are washing and the bins are put away there is NO doubt all the memories will remain!

Day 2 -

Back to Junglewood!

As part of our stay, we had to let the owners know what time we wanted breakfast. We chose 9:00 a.m. in order to have a few cups of coffee before it was time to actually eat (plus, we could sleep in a bit..wink wink). So just about 9:00 we heard the 'jungle' music playing so knew it was safe to head down to the patio. (it felt like Christmas, lol). Once down the steps what must we see laying on the table but this...



WOW! I guess that noise we heard the night before in the woods while we were in the hot tub was a bear!

Here's what our breakfast looked like...




Monkey bread, how fitting!




Cereal, juice and fresh fruit - yum!

We decided to check out Seven Points Marina -




Check out ALL the boats! This is truly boat country. From marinas to storage to boat launches, everywhere you look there are boats. In all our travels to 'water' places, we have never seen so many boats.

And look what was on display!




So there ya have it! Bears ARE here, lol.

Oh well, what can we do? We head over to Lake Raystown Resort and have lunch. It's another beautiful day. If you look just right of the center, all the way at the top, our treehouse is beside the house with all the windows. Pretty cool view -



The fish are biting today, ha!



After a few hours on the lake, we head back to Junglewood. Upon our arrival, the owner approaches us and asked if we 'got the note this morning?'. Of course we say we did and he goes on to share that the Game Commissioner had just left. Basically the bear was right around our treehouse while we slept in that morning. It's a 400 lb. black bear they have named "Boston". He has been coming each morning and evening and the owner was actually ok with it. He explained that Boston mainly keeps other bears away. Unfortunately the neighbors aren't so happy and want him taken care of. There was talk of putting a trap out to catch him and if we didn't see him that evening they were fearful that was what had happened. :(

We cooked on the grill early, very aware of our surroundings, chilled out in the hot tub but no sign of "Boston". Even the next morning our breakfast was safe: No Boston.

Since it was Father's Day...this was stuck in our coffee cake -


cute....

After another wonderful breakfast and just enjoying the resort



we headed home. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm sure another visit is in our future!

If any of you ever get the chance, check this place out....you can't go wrong. We promise.