Family Fun

 The kids are always sending me pictures of what they're doing, so I've decided to share them here.

The first one was taken at Lake Cumberland. This time Suzanne is holding the fish that Matt caught this weekend while using Ray's brand-new fishing pole that Suzanne got him for his birthday.

The next few pictures are of Ody & his dad Brandon at a child's birthday party this past weekend.  

This picture is of Jack & his mom Jennifer Morris in New York City. 

This last picture is also of the Zac Morris family

I noticed that there are always pictures of certain members of the family who are always missing from the photographs.  They are the ones that are generally working, missing,  or maybe even the ones who are taking the pictures.  I don't mean to leave anyone out, so here's my sincere apology for that.   

More Kayaking Pictures

Suzanne even stopped to pick wild flowers

 

Kayaking with the kids

 The kids have been kayaking for many years now, but for me I'm new to it and this was my 3rd time.  The first time that I ever kayaked was at Eastern Kentucky University in a class that I took prior to 1990 with my daughter Suzanne.  There we learned how to roll a kayak completely around, but it was in a swimming pool with an instructor looking on and keeping us from drowning.

Then in 2023 Suzanne and Ray asked me if I wanted to go kayaking with them and I agreed to go.  It was fun, but getting into and out of the kayak was very difficult for me because of my recent total hip replacement.  I let myself down so hard on the kayak that I bruised myself and after that for a while I just fished from the banks of Owsley Fork Lake and any other lake I could easily drive myself to.

Suzanne & Ray use their kayaks to fish out of and to observe nature and the beautiful peaceful surroundings.  They see deer, big fish swimming by, green turtles sunning themselves on downed trees and tree limbs, and of course they watch the sun come up in the early misty mornings and the sunset in the evenings. Suzanne & Ray's grandson Carson also goes kayaking with them at times, and so does Matt, Victoria and her boys.  Kayaking is a family affair.

My other daughter Sharon, kayaks with her children & grandchildren, among other activities.  She has so many outdoors interests and you just never know what Sharon is doing from week to week.  Sharon may be on her Razor 4wheeling, her dirt bike, kayak, boating or camping primitively somewhere out in the woods, or on her motorcycle riding around the countryside or to another state all by herself.  There isn't anything out-doorsey that Sharon can't do.  I failed to name cycling 60 miles before breakfast on her mountain bike, mountain climbing or running in a marathon.  Sharon and her kids can do about anything they can afford and put their mind to doing.   

I've been pretty much a couch potato since Jimmy died, but then Rick came along and we fished and boated for a little while, but his job got in the way and we stopped going anywhere until Suzanne got me interested in fishing again this year.  Below are some pictures of last weekend when both Suzanne & Sharon got together and we all went kayaking, even me.......

We got on the lake very early.  

Suzanne & Ray arrived there at around 5:00 a.m., I got there around 5:30 a.m. and Sharon & Zac arrived around 5:45 a.m.

We immediately launched our kayaks when Sharon & Zac arrived and started on our journey.  Everyone except Sharon & I fished.  I didn't fish because it was all that I could do was to paddle myself around. Zac, Suzanne & Ray fished, but mostly we observed our beautiful surroundings and visited a lot.  Suzanne spotted a 5 foot long carp and we all got to see it as it fed around the banks of the lake.  It looked like a shark with half of its tail fin  out of the water.  No one wanted to cast near that fish because we all knew that it was way too big and would easily turn a kayak over.  I'll try to put the video of the large carp up on a later post once I figure out how to do it.

I'll attach 5 more pictures of us kayaking in the next post.  And also,  if you look closely at the last picture you will see a towrope going from Zac's kayak to mine.  We were on the lake around 5 or 6 hours with two very brief stops, so the last hour Suzanne suggested that I get towed for the trip back to the docking area.  Sharon volunteered to tow me and then Zac took over.  In the picture above, Zac is towing my kayak.  Getting towed is great and allowed me to take pictures, but only pictures of everyone's backs.  I was extremely sore the next day, but an Aleve helped with the soreness for a day or two.  My kids and grandkids are so considerate and thoughtful.  I love my family so much!  Even the ones who weren't with us.  I have a great family!!!

 

Playing Cards

Rick and I spent the afternoon and evening with Callie, Harold and Kathy yesterday playing cards, eating too much and just having fun laughing the day away.  We always have fun there.  Sometimes our card game gets a little heated, but we all understand that it's just a card game and what happens in the game has no reflection of how we care about each other and all hard feelings are soon forgotten when the game is over or we stop for a food break.

Rick is an avid cheater and we can always count on him to hide cards away for a later round.  Sometimes we catch him and sometimes he's so slick that he gets away with it.  Harold pretends to hide cards but he really doesn't cheat much anymore, anyway not like he used to when playing with Rick in the game.  Harold now just pretends he is placing cards in his shirt pocket to get Rick's goat.

 Rick is a loud boisterous card player and if he draws a good card you know it.  He shouts, screams and makes the games very exciting, and if he's not playing our card games are very quiet and subdued.  None of us have a chance of winning a game most of the time when Rick is playing.  Granted he cheats most of the time, but even when he doesn't cheat he's a very good card player and wins most of the time anyway.  I think he just cheats to make the game more exciting to him, and to make the games more challenging.  He also doesn't like to lose, and refuses at times to play on if he loses or gets caught with too many cards in his hand when someone else goes out.

Even if Rick cheats or anyone else cheats, I still have fun playing.  To me it's not all about winning the game, but just laughing and having fun.  I win once in a while and I do enjoy winning, but it's not all that important to me.  Granted it's a challenge to win against all of these good card players, so when I do win it's a very rewarding feeling, and I ask Callie our score keeper to put a great big star next to my name.

Family: I love every precious moment that I get to spend with them!!!!!

Since I've been here last I have taken several pictures of beautiful flowers, my two cats Jybow & Squeak, and several videos.  I'm only going to share the most important moments.  

First, because gas prices are getting higher and higher with each passing day, Rick and I drove the Prius to work, that's Rick's work,  I don't work, I just hang around waiting for the year that Rick will eventually retire, and maybe hopefully I'll still be around and able to do things.  On our way home from his job we stopped by KFC for a bite to eat.  The buffet was open for the first time since the beginnings of this Covid-19 pandemic.  

 It's a buffet and we pigged out!  We shouldn't have, but we just couldn't help it.  The food was so good too!  We both decided that we won't be doing that again soon, or we'll weigh 300 lbs for sure.  I even think that the next morning we didn't even bother with breakfast, because we were still full from the buffet.

Next, one of my nieces graduated from High School, Eliana Purcell.  Below is a picture of Eliana, Natasha and Talon at her graduation.  Congratulations Eliana!  I just can't believe how these kids have grown up so fast.  It seems as if my time here on earth is running out and everyday the day just slips away faster than I can think.  Eliana and her siblings are the children of Allison & Jason Purcell, and the grandchildren of Laurel & Dennis Diaz.  We're all so proud of these kids.  

Yesterday I traveled to Boonesboro State Park and visited with my daughter Sharon June who is camping there for a week.  It's Sharon's birthday week and she had so many fun activities planned for her birthday, but that four wheeling accident put a halt to those plans really fast.

Sharon wasn't alone there yesterday.  Megan had stopped in before I arrived and dropped off her two kids, Lyv & Myles, and while I was there Suzanne showed up and then Zac stopped by to drop off Jack, and then Zac had to go on off to an important business meeting in Lexington, Ky.  

I took a picture of the first two great-grandchildren to arrive to spend the week with their grandma Sharon.

I keep forgetting that Sharon is not completely alone while camping.....her cute little pup, Bo is camping there with Sharon.  Bo goes everywhere with Sharon.  That dog has had more outdoor experiences than most people.  There is nothing that dog can't do.  Here is a group picture that Zac took of us before he had to leave.  

And then the last picture is of me after Sharon put my hair in a pony tail so I would feel cooler in the 90 degree heat.

The kids spent their day riding bikes around the campground and seemed to have a great time.  

Lyv had to leave with her dad's mom for a little while and then came back after we had lunch.  Lyv got to go swimming with her granny and she loved it.  She said that she was there with lots of her other cousins and had the best time.

When Suzanne left to go pick up her grandson Carson, Sharon and I loaded up the boys and went into Winchester to Sir Pizza where we picked up a Royal Feast pizza and brought it back to the campground to eat.  The boys, Myles & Jack packed up a lunch (pizza) and rode off on their bikes for their own private picnic, leaving Sharon and I to enjoy a quiet lunch by ourselves.  I stayed until around 4:00 p.m. or maybe a little after and then I started for home.  When I texted Sharon  to tell her that I got home safely, she told me that Suzanne & Carson were on their way back to the campsite.  I'm sure that Carson had a great time playing with his cousins there at Boonesboro, and I wished that I would have stayed longer.

Sharon looked extremely well considering, but she is still very sore and moving about very slowly.  I could still see several bruises even after 3 weeks, and I could just imagine how bruised up and injured she had been.  Her broken bones and spirit will take time to heal, but they will heal and she will see life differently now.  There is nothing like a close call that makes you see life differently, and thru different eyes.  Relationships are better and people are more appreciated, and thankful.  Not that she wasn't thankful and blessed already....sometimes you just can't explain how things change after a close call with death.  

When I got home things didn't go as planned and Rick was upset at me.  But, this morning I found out why and it wasn't me that he was upset at, anyway not entirely me.  We had planned on driving the Prius to London, Ky. around 5:00 a.m. for his job, but we didn't.  

I enjoy going to work with Rick because it's the only time we go anywhere out of the ordinary......out of the ordinary for me anyway, he still has to work but I get a change of scenery.  I miss the days when we worked together because now I don't have anything to fill my time with.  Yes, I could clean house, but what fun is that and who notices anyway?

I miss Brandon Hatcher too & Krystal and if they are reading this.  Sharon will be camping at Boonesboro until Saturday.  Stop by and surprise her.  I'm sure she'd love to see you.  Her birthday is Friday.

My Family

I love spending time with my girls whenever I'm able to, and I plan on spending more time with them from now on.  I'm with Rick and Rick doesn't seem to like doing the things that I like doing, so I've decided that I guess I will just have to go ahead and not put off what I've been putting off for a very long time.  Rick can do his own things, the things he likes doing, and I will do the things that make me happy.  After all, I am older and I'm retired and Rick is still working.  I can't wait for him to retire, just as Jimmy couldn't wait for me to retire, and I'm glad that Jimmy insisted on me quitting my job so that I could spend the rest of his days by his side.

Here are some pictures of my girls and their families:

 

Great Visit

I was pleasantly surprised to have two visitors last weekend.  Natasha had been at a camp at Eastern Kentucky University for a few days and Allison stopped by and picked her up when camp was over.  We got to watch a wonderful display of some of the things that the students learned while at camp.

A GREAT WEEK IN REVIEW-ALL CHAMPS

Cookout with The Hatcher's

Today Brian, Reva and Brandon came over and brought their own grill and plenty of food for an army, and we had a cookout.  Brandon was supposed to mow, but he didn't feel up to it and Jimmy didn't either, so Brandon will return tomorrow to do the mowing.

While eating we had kitten problems.  One little blue-eyed Hemi look-a-like kept escaping and it's two mama's kept having to come carry it back to the den.  It wasn't shy and would follow our feet, then later, two kittens made a run for it and both mama cats had to come rescue their runaway kittens.   We could hardly visit for watching the kittens, careful not to step on those tiny little baby cats.

Jimmy came out to eat, but he didn't eat much.  He is still not feeling so well and he seemed to get worse as the day wore on.  After visiting, Brian & Reva packed up their left-overs and we will probably see them tomorrow when they bring Brandon over to mow.  Of course, I got to keep a large container full of Reva's yummy potato salad, and I gave them some of our cantaloupe to take home.  Jimmy always tries to get them to take a kitten or two with them, but like everyone else, they always decline :(

All in all we had a good visit, but we just wish that Jimmy was feeling better.  Reva even thought to bring marshmallows and Brian cut us some long branches and we roasted marshmallows.  It had been a long time since I had roasted marshmallows and that was a real treat for me.  I just wish I would have roasted more, but I was full.

Thank you Brian and Reva for being so thoughtful, and for bringing us such joy.  We love your visits and we love people who bring food ready to eat, Yummmmm.

Hanging out with Myles and Sharon

We spent yesterday with Sharon and my great-grandson Myles.  I have never been more surprised as I was yesterday over Myles.  He has grown so much since we last saw him and he is talking so well now.  You can actually carry on a conversation with him and his speech is very clear.  He's so funny too and, for once he recognized who we were because we don't get to see him as often as I would like because of Jimmy's chemo.  Myles is pretty healthy, so we get to see him more than our other little ones, and my granddaughter Megan said that he was asking about us a day or so ago.  So, I guess we were fresh in his memory :)

Sharon was so sweet to drive us around Lexington, Ky. yesterday.  We had a great time and will have to do this more often.  Since I had Sharon captive, lol,  I took the opportunity to have her stop at the nursery that is right next to Chili's on Richmond Road and I bought her two hanging baskets of flowers for her upcoming birthday and just because I love her so much!  She mentioned that she had been wanting some after I told her that we had stopped to look at some for her at Kroger's. 

Below are some pictures that we took yesterday, and as usual, if you want to see more just go to the right side, scroll down until you find, My Family then scroll down to SANDY'S PHOTO ALBUMS and then for the latest May pictures look in the folder titled,  May 2014 James Wallace.

 Myles, his usual lovable little self.  

He always has a hug for everyone,

even his Papaw :)

 Papaw helping to put Myles

into his carseat.

 Sharon with her two hanging

baskets of flowers.  Good thing that

her new car has a big trunk,

and it was empty.

 Myles just can't give his grandma

enough kisses.  It's still hard for 

me to realize that my daughter's 

are now the grandma's,  and not me.

 Jimmy still gives out kisses too!

 Peekaboo,

I see you :)

 Sharon found a place to hang her

baskets of flowers and they look

so pretty.

Sharon must have really been

surprised when she got home

because, 

 Megan surprised her mother

with this pretty planter of flowers

when she got home :)  

We also got to see a pair of geese with baby geese.  When Myles and I approached them they felt threatened and walked across a parking lot drive and held up traffic.  Apparently the geese are not afraid of cars because they weren't in any hurry to cross the road.  We also found our Senator's office in Lexington, Ky. by accident.  Now I know where to go if I have a complaint,  or just to thank him.