HHH, parade, and frisbee

J had been asking for Hungry Hungry Hippos for quite some time.  His mom spotted it at a kids' consignment sale and made J one happy boy that day!  We played that evening, and it's been played with several times since then.  I'm not ashamed to admit I enjoy playing it with him. 



At the end of April, our town always has a huge festival.  It's devoted to the cooking and partaking of a particular animal, so we don't participate in that part.  We do, however, enjoy the parade.  As a teen, I marched in the parade along with the rest of the high school band.  That time of year is flaky around here, weather-wise.  It's usually either broiling hot, pouring down rain, or occasionally freezing cold. 

This year it was a bit chilly to start with, and J needed his jacket and hood.  (I promise, Mr. GV wasn't angry at the time.  I'm pretty sure this picture caught him mid-chew of a snack.  lol) 

The kids around us all had silly string, and I closed my eyes to the fact that it is probably made from the most toxic substance known to mankind, and bought a can for J.  He had the best time with it.

A freebie Frisbee, given out by a parade participant brought on this big smile. 

This was a church float, and Mr. GV pointed out that he wasn't aware that sunglasses and lollipops were part of the dress back in biblical times.  We had a good laugh over that. 

A college band participating in the parade was performing a medley of Michael Jackson songs.  The field commander dressed the part, and by walking backwards was essentially doing the moonwalk. 

J loves Scooby Doo, and his mommy promised him one if he was good throughout the majority of the parade. 

Loved watching what I presume to be a dad and his mini-me.  Just two cowboys, hanging out at the parade. 

Later that day, K left J here at our house and we hung around outside.  Here's Macy, thrilled to have a stick in her mouth and that J was running around trying to get it from her.  She loves to play "keep away." 

Practicing his Frisbee throwing.

Trying to wrench it from her jaws. 

I just love the cuteness in the next two pictures.  I'm a proud Auntie, what can I say?

Sorting for the sale and cake!

There was a big sorting job that needed to happen before my mom's yard sale.  The bookshelf in the den needed sorting.  Most of the books and magazines you see here belonged to my dad, and most of those were put in the sale.  The tchotchkes mostly belong to my mom. 

Needs a little work.  My dad was a HUGE reader, and kept all his books.  And magazines. 

J the helper.

....which turned into J the lounger soon after.  ;) 

Quite a while later, I had it mostly organized. 

Expecting an "after" photo?  I'm afraid I don't have that yet.  Perhaps this weekend when I'm at my mom's house.  It does look much better. 

J and his mommy baked a cake before she left to go with Nana to an appointment.  Which meant J and I got to frost it. 

Strawberry frosting!!  It was good, but oh so sweet.  J enjoyed licking the spoon afterward.

All in all, it was a productive day and we got to eat cake to finish off the day!

Finished product!

Hazardous recycling

In May, our community held hazardous material recycling day.  I am so thankful for this yearly chance to get rid of things in a safe way instead of throwing them in the landfill.  My mom sent over some things she found when cleaning out my dad's shop, plus we had some items as well.  

Old oil and gasoline, fluorescent bulbs, random chemicals, and a bag of batteries.

Non-working bread machine and mouse, more bulbs, and an old modem.

Too much ugly in this post.  lol  Thought I'd add a picture with some beauty, my Asiatic lilies. 

Pressing Leaves and Yard Sale Prep

J likes to collect leaves sometimes.  I thought it would be fun to press a few and put them in wax paper.  He was rather ambivalent about the whole thing, so maybe he's not old enough for this activity yet. 

Magnolia leaf from my yard

He got to touch the iron, with supervision of course.

We worked out in my dad's shop, sorting through 40 years of tools and other items.  It was a huge, HUGE job.  We could have used a few more weeks to get ready for the yard sale, but just kept on working as long as we could. 

A fun toy, all outgrown.

My dad stored his books and old clothes up in the attic of his shop.  It was a lot of trouble to get them down, made even tougher by the fact that my dad loved his books so much and we knew they were almost all going in the sale. 

My dad was not a hoarder, but he did have a *lot* of stuff.  He had a use for most of what he kept, and he was good at fixing things that to most other people would be considered beyond repair.  He had a rough childhood, and served in Vietnam.  He wasn't much of one to talk about his feelings, although as I grew older and so did he, occasionally he would open up and I would get a glimpse of how tough his life had been and how it had shaped him as a man and as a father. 

Mr. GV up in the rafters, lowering things down from the attic space of my dad's shop.



Pearl feeds herself

When Pearl was with her foster mom, she was eating Pedigree food.  We have been feeding our dogs Halo for a few years, so Pearl needed to transition.  I bought a small bag, and it was just about empty when the following happened. 

I came home (and just dropped my grocery bag in the floor, as you can see) and watched Pearl try to feed herself.  First she went over and got the bag from behind the dog feeder, walked it across the room, and then decided to just help herself!

Carrying the bag

Getting ready to rip it open

A sweet treat and a fun time

Another fun day at the park.  I believe this is one time he did not get hurt with me!  He seems to have accidents on the swing when I'm around.  Once he fell flat on the back of his head and another time he smashed his mouth up pretty well. 

Working on chin-ups....with a little help.

Balancing

Climbing

The ice cream truck came by, playing that music that turns kids into zombies.  I grew up in the country and had never even seen an ice cream truck until I was in my 20's and living outside of Nashville.  So I can understand the thrill that comes when you know the ice cream truck is on its way! 

Enjoying his ice cream

The aftermath

Relaxing

It's the simple, easy times that you cherish the most.  Hanging out with my husband on the deck, reading, putting my feet up, still in my PJs?  Yep, it's the best.