Our New Neighbor & Fishing

Last week our neighbor Barb had mentioned she saw a large turtle down by Abby's swing set. Buddy was barking at it for quite a while so she checked it out. First she thought it was a dog toy, got a little closer - maybe a groundhog, got a little closer, yep - it's a very large snapping turtle. Her husband Frank, caught him Saturday morning and let held on to him so we could see him. He filled up the trash can at the base as you can see. Why most people say turtles are slow now amazes me. This snapping turtle could move his head and snap at you faster than you can blink an eye. Frank intended on relocating the turtle, but while he was in his backyard the turtle knocked over the trash can and escaped back in to the creek. So we'll have to pay attention when we go down to the swing set until he's recaptured.


Bass Pro Shops also sponsored "Reel" Time with Kids this weekend where the Missouri DNR and some other sponsors came out to provide some fishing fun for kids of all ages. They provided the pole and worm, Abby somewhat did the rest. She actually did reel in the line a little but not when the fish was on, Daddy took over. The pond by Bass Pro is extremely stocked so there was a 100% chance you were going to catch a fish. She also received a nice certificate as well, and now Daddy has the itch to fish with her every chance he can get. If you are wondering - she caught an 8 inch Perch.

Don's 60th Birthday party

This weekend we celebrated Don's 60th Birthday. Tim and Betsy organized a very nice party at Beaver Dam Park in Plainview, IL. The weather was beautiful and the park was very nice. They had a lake for fishing also, but only a few bluegill and crappie were taken from it. Betsy and Pam made a very unique fish cake for Don. Unfortunately Abby was suffering from a little stomach virus and didn't want to be with anyone other than Mommy, so that's why she is grouchy in the photos and not her normal "cheesy" self. They had about 30 people show up at the BBQ and I think everyone had a great time. The food was good and so was the company. Don had friends from college there, the volleyball crew as they call themselves. Also he had several brothers and sisters attend from his side along with his parents and in-laws.

18 Months and Counting

Here is one of Abby's 18 month photos. She is growing up so fast!

Memorial Day Weekend

The three day weekend is over and done with. It went by pretty quickly, with some slower parts with all the rain we received. Friday night the "Columbians" came over for a BBQ and some beverages. In honor of Julie and Nick's baby on the way we watched Knocked Up so they could get a glimpse of what's on the way. We turned it in to a drinking game as well. Saturday we did not get moving as quickly as hoped. The group headed to Marshall and Abby and I stayed home. Suellen and Maddy came over and Abby was very happy to have her own baby at the house. They played pretty well, and equally made large messes while eating so they had plenty of baths together.

Sunday the boys returned at a decent hour so Suellen and I could have some grown up time and go shopping without the girls. The evening ended with a BBQ again and early to bed. Maddy enjoyed LaBousch, her very own toy that runs without batteries. He's the most gentle cat with kids we've seen and is extremely tolerable because he gets abused by the kids quite a bit. Abby uses him as her personal tackling dummy.

Monday was the Honey Do list and Tim installed our new garage screen door. Our previous one was all torn and Abby could push through. This one is a slight upgrade with glass windows too. It went in almost without complications. The humidity kept things sticky. Other than that the day was wrapped up with a whole day marathon of Deadliest Catch. Just can't get enough of that!

Down on the Farm night

On Wednesday Abby and I went to the Parents As Teachers sponsored Down on the Farm night. There were kids everywhere! They had all sorts of activities from gathering eggs to the petting zoo. As you can see from the photos, they had some interesting animals to pet. Abby had no fear to touch the iguana. I actually had to pull her hand out of it's mouth, she was curious about it. Probably thought it was a cat.

The Swing Set

Abby is all about playing outside so with that we made the purchase of a swing set since the elementary school by us is having some construction. As you can see by the photo Abby "worked" really hard to help us and was exhausted. It was a two day project, you'd be surprised how many pieces this came in. We have been playing on it everyday and Abby can climb up the rock wall with some help. Her favorite is still the swing of course.

Abby's First Professional Haircut

Abby received her first professional haircut at Goldilocks here in Columbia. She did really well and held still the whole time. She looks so much older now with her new haircut!