You might be a REDNECK if....

you put your canoe in your pool, lol!

and that's exactly what we did.

ok, here's the deal. Ronnie never asks for anything but last week when I asked "what do you want for your birthday?" he said "I really want a canoe"! I was on a mission (which I love). I called, googled and researched and by Wednesday knew what I was going to purchase. So with the help of co=workers, my admin, family and friends, I purchased a canoe.

Unfortunately getting it home and keeping it a surprise was a whole other deal (thanks John and Donna =).

But....it was purchased and definitely a big hit. I wrapped up the owners manual and after opening said...now we just need to pick it up, haha! He was a good sport and today we picked it up and really wanted to test it out.

When we got ready to head to the river, Cierra definitely wasn't a fan. She pretty much came unglued and referenced all the people that just lost their lives in the "river" (ok that was Missouri and a very different situation). So, Ronnie, Chase and I headed to Shepherdstown.


Hm....the water is moving pretty fast. (I guess the laugh is on us). We have had a lot of rain and from the looks of the flow, it appears it's just hitting our rivers.

Then we decide to go to the Opequon. Gee.....looks like the two of them are really analyzing. Nope, not today!

So how else can we try it out? This just might be one of those 'do as I say and not as I do' situations, lol!

Anyway, this weekend has been a blast and I can't wait to put the canoe in the 'actual' river =) I hope Ronnie had a great birthday!

Happy Memorial Day -

Let us all take time today to remember those who have given their lives in service of our country.

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday Dear Ronnie....
Happy Birthday to you!

I hope you enjoy the entire day, a day with absolutely NOTHING to do =) We wish you the best birthday ever and we all love you very much!

P.S. can't wait to see if you like your presents (wink, wink)

The best thing about.....

the past two days was this -


Yep! The scenery because baseball was ugly!

Memorial Day for us is baseball. For the past several years we don't go to the beach, we don't go camping, we simply go to a baseball tournament. In years past we have traveled to Winchester however this time we went to Purcellville with our first game being last night on this field -


And with the weather pattern we have been experiencing lately, we weren't surprised to end up in our cars with severe storms upon us before we even got started.

So after nearly an hour, we heard "game on"! The field had to be uncovered


the bleachers had to be wiped dry and then we were ready. Hmmm maybe it was just the fans that were ready because we ended up losing 12 - 0 in 5 innings. Wow.

Next game - today. 12:00 on a field at the Woodgrove High School. It was a beautiful complex but nope....still not a good day for Summit Point's 13U boys. We did score one run (thanks to Chase =) - final score 16 - 1

Final game - today at 5:30. Ok, somewhat better but still no win. Score you ask? Oh yeah - 7 - zip!

Oh well, right?! Regardless, we are still this guy's biggest fans =)





No more baseball for us this weekend but honestly, it's going to be kinda nice. We have the pool to uncover and a gazebo to get up so tomorrow just might be a day to get things done around here. Of course, we can't forget about a very important birthday, ha!

Tuesday's Thoughts...

First....it is very important to state that "I love my life". I enjoy the day to day activities and being challenged with schedules that require me to be two places at once but....I honestly think Sunday's prayer was meant for me - here's what Pastor Joanna prayed:

"O God, who is the rock of our salvation: Come and fill our hearts with your peace. Meet us in this place as we bring our over-scheduled lives to you. During this time, turn our focus from all there is to do what you are calling us to do. Rotate our attention from our Blackberries and e-mail accounts to you and you alone. We want to worship you, Lord. AMEN.

Wow....right in the heart.

As I sit here tonight after a busy night and read this prayer, I still think he is talking directly to me. Please tell me we're not the only ones that have such a busy schedule that we miss church, don't read our daily devotions and pray quickly with our eyes open.

PEACE to each of you....

Where it all started.....

That's right.....TWENTY years ago our first 'date' was here, Merriweather Post Pavilion, to listen to this guy -


I had an extra ticket, no date (so to say) and really wanted to go to this concert. So, Ronnie was a trooper. While this wasn't the type of concert he would prefer to attend, he went along and honestly, we had a blast! To this day, we still have fun with many of the songs sung that night =). But, the friends we went with ended up 'not so happy' after we got there so basically disappeared. With that said, we had a lot of one-on-one time and decided we kinda hit it off, lol.

Yesterday after Chase's game in Purcellville (we only watched one...thanks Mo) we decided to head to Wine in the Woods which is held at Merriweather Post Pavilion.


Notice that blue sky and no rain?! We were loving it! We have only been to two other wine festivals and both times had a very enjoyable time.

Once parked and inside, we realized very quickly that this festival was HUGE and somewhat overwhelming. There were six wine tents (spread way out) and 30 - 40 non wine vendors. Plus, there were many, many different kinds of food. Wow!

It typically takes me a few minutes to get my bearings and plot our way on the map. We decided to start at the back and work our way forward.

We marked our little corner of the world...
then headed off. So many wines, so little time =) We found some really cool bottles, like this one -

Most wine festivals we go to, we rarely see people obnoxious or out of control. This definitely wasn't the case here. I'm not sure if most hadn't experienced wine before or if that's typically what they do but we saw lots of interesting sites, let's just keep it at that. Here's some I thought worth sharing -

This was a real woman! (there was a man, too) - every now and then you could catch her blink but she definitely stopped many 'wine goers' in their tracks, lol!


And this guy was so excited to rinse our wine glasses with his powerful water gun =)


And it wasn't raining but umbrella's were all around us....


Some for shade and some to make their 'spot' a little easier to find after a few bottles.

Anyone need a bathroom break!? Just look for the big, purple row -

And this woman?! She said "NOPE!" You aren't getting my bottle OR my two glasses!

And this guy's wife should NEVER worry about leaving her purse with him. He's very, very attentive-


Suddenly though, it was gone...and we weren't sure what happened -

but fear not, once he woke up, this woman was sure to find out if he knew it was gone, lol!


And look - even a little baseball player was there -


Turkey leg anyone?


It looked like he was talking on his cell phone but.....his lips weren't moving and his eyes were closed.....hmmm


Bottom line? There were people EVERYWHERE!


And bottles?! Everywhere, too. Even some places that they shouldn't have been. It does make me mad that people don't pick up after themselves..








So it was definitely a little bit wilder than we are used to (or like) but we did have a great time. We met these two ladies, who kept our seats warm while we walked around (wink, wink)


We enjoyed a bottle of Symphony wine (the festival was held in Symphony Woods).


Then headed out. We had hoped to have dinner where we ate 20 years ago but unfortunately it wasn't there any longer=(. We opted for Olive Garden which was very tasty. It was a great day, life is good!

Locals....

Last Friday night we discovered a new 'favorite' place to hang out and the best part about it is that it's right here in our town. So in about 12 minutes, we are there. And in 12 minutes, we're home. Live music, great people and just a little bit of fun =).

We have never really been one to visit Charles Town and honestly, don't really do much shopping here. With me working in Frederick, it's just easier to pick up what we need there. But.....I got an e:mail about Third Thursday and the shops of Charles Town staying open later, live music, some fun for the kids.....and yesterday was the first of the season. The rain cleared out (thankfully!!) and the sun came out so we headed in.


It was very nice. Lots of people just walking around, live music in front of several stores and just an all around beautiful evening.

We ended up back at the Dish where we were greeted by Jennea and we chatted with the owner. We have become 'regulars', lol!

We will definitely add Third Thursday to our calendar and the coolest part is that we actually are 'locals'! Wonder if there's a bumper sticker like Ocean City?! (just kidding).

These same streets that we walked on last night were the subject of some beautiful pictures a few weeks ago.....I just have to share because I can, lol!







I LOVE this one....the smiles say it all.