another brew ha-ha

Freudian slip?
"I was just thinking of you Laura and missing your sweet plastic cheeks."
Yes, since I've started dying my hair green, I can definitely see the resemblance between the freaky German manikin and me. If the cutie only had some tattoo's and piercings then we would be an exact match! Another picture brought to you by GQ...or was it QG? Yes, yes it was QG...Quasi-Geniuses."Standing here makes me feel angry.""Standing here makes me feel happy."Water is nice. I can imagine Beethoven composing his 5th Symphony right here.

Chad on another drinking binge.....don't let relapse prevention know....oh, wait...he is relapse prevention. (quickly backpedaling) Chad on a quiet evening enjoying a liquid beverage of the carbonated soda variety. Riding around the Bavarian countryside. Chad could give Lance Armstrong a run for his money. Well, maybe not.

Working hard? or hardly working?
Quiet part of town.

thespians, pedestrians, equestrians

The 24th of July has been full of Singing, Dancing, and Performing and that's just at home. Aubree, Raina, and Brandt have found their callings in life...thespians on stage. They did such a great job performing in the Broadway Review...part of the celebration here in Monroe city, aka "Little Green Valley".

Raina and Aubree singing "I feel Pretty"....(they know they are too!)

Cleaning and scrubbing... this wasn't a hard stretch for Raina to act out...she does it everyday at home. I make her use a toothbrush though. Brandt is singing "I Won't Grow Up", "Bushel and a Peck", and "Be Kind to Your Parents" <---(That was my favorite one)

Can you feel the drama? My drama queen 'Mama Mia'd' all over the stage with a smile on her face the whole time. What is it with girls and phones? We call Aubree "quick-draw",because she is so fast on the draw to answer any phone that rings....even if it isn't hers. Talon the pedestrian....still......., but closer to becoming a motor vehicle operator. He has his Eagle project done, now for the paper work, and he will officially be allowed to get a license to drive.

He is on the Monroe City Youth Council and got to throw candy to all the happy parade goer's.

Army thing in the back there....I think a paladin, but not sure. Anyways I thought I would throw it in for Chad's viewing pleasure.Brandt and Jamen...two kids full of so much energy that they could power an urban city if we could only harness their energy. "I'm so happy to be WALKING in this parade." says Talon. "I love walking, walking, walking. Walking is good for you, ya know. I'm walking and not driving in memory of the pioneers. Yes, walking is good because it helps save the planet. I am not leaving a big carbon footprint like all of you foolish, greedy, hate-mongering car drivers. Al Gore would be proud. Walking, walking, walking."
Talon feeling the thrill of riding a horse. "Not as good as walking, you know.", says Talon. We went to FHE with the Tribes and they were kind enough to saddle up one of their trusty steeds and led us around the yard. It was fun...until Talon got bucked off. We'll not bucked, but persuaded to unmount.
Raina, the next Rodeo queen of Sevier County. I guess we better get a horse now.

I've been missing Chad a lot lately, but instead of dwelling on my personal mini-tragedy of being lonesome for my hubby, I've decided to look on the bright side of things.

For two whole weeks I don't have to cook real food...

or shave my legs....

or brush my teeth...

And I get the whole bed to myself.

I also pretend that my children are mini-robots and force them to pull weeds for 12 hours a day plus I've decided that I'm pretty good in goat-lingo. Nellie our goat is becoming well versed in literature arts, so I sit on a stump in the backyard and we discuss enlightening events while monitoring the progress of the robots...er I mean children on their weeds. So far they have pulled 1,855, 319 of them and only a trillion left to go. Needless to say, they have calculated down to the second how much time is left until dad comes home.

I have been thinking about something lately and decided that.... ....the Appliance Gods are against me. They really are. Every time the hubby leaves on a mission for the UARNG I have a major appliance break down. In the past, we have had a freezer full of meat defrost, dishwasher gone to the dump, oven quit cooking, washing machine madness and lawn mower blues. Mind you, these are not el cheap-o brands, but the big kahunas like Maytag, Amana, and Whirlpool. What is the world coming to? Who do you trust now a days? Fortunately..... (???) we had our freakish fallout before Chad left this time. ...it was a telephone-tizzy, washing machine woe's and a basement full of water. Handy tip---you can't wash pens or tooth-brushes in a front loader...just doesn't work that great.

Strangely enough, we are free of the wrath of the appliance gods ---so far--- yet we're facing pestilence and famine. I have a hornets nest the size of Delaware hanging off of my eaves and a wasp's nest in two other locations. Chad suggested that I spray W-D40 on it and Talon wanted to smoke them out, (not with Marlboro's but a big torch thingy) and I even thought of using duct tape on the suckers, but alas, we called the Bug Smith. As of now, we are pest free, but the famine remains....just ask the kids. I haven't touched raw meat or cooked it in any way shape or form for many moons. But the kids are getting lots of dark green leafy vegetables from the garden. Plus the all important dark brown and white... Oreo's from the neighbors. It's a win/win!!

Introducing the New Kid on the Block. NELLIE!! We adopted a little gal and have been learning about goat care and what fun and frivolity goats provide. She is an escape artist plus I call her the eating machine. She is the boss over the chickens, dog, and cat and will head butt them whenever they get out of line. For awhile, Nellie had to stay in the chicken shack, with the chickens of course, and they were so chicken that they quit laying eggs. Thank goodness she now has her own place and can romp and bleat to her heart's content and we are once again enjoying fresh, organic chicken eggs.

A face that only a mother could love.

Hohenfels, Germany. Chad is training army officers from the Republic of Georgia (formerly of the Soviet Union) in the military decision making process.




The Danube River.

Hero of the Republic

My Hero of the Republic is gone for two weeks to protect liberty and provide freedom for other nations of the world. He has been gone less than 12 hours but I already miss him dreadfully. Why do I miss him? Let me count the ways.... He looks so dang handsome in his uniform. Next picture of him will be with major's rank. Yeah!

He loves our country and serves with honor, courage, and loyalty. He is a history buff and can tell you really cool stuff about the Civil War and Gettysburg.
Ramadi our dog was named while Chad served in OIF.

He takes us on lots of trips and hikes, and even carries the water most of the time.
When it comes to Shakespeare, he is fearless and will take on Othello any day or night.

Ever since he returned from Iraq, he has read a story to Brandt almost every single night. Chad even played King for a Day to help teach some young people about how to be a gentleman.Chad is the best coach and trainer because he helped me complete the St.George marathon.I am the luckiest person in the world because I am married to my best friend.