Keepin' Cool

It is so blazing hot here in the summer! You HAVE to remain in air conditioning to survive. A quick trip to the mailbox will find you retreating to your home dripping in sweat, seriously. Yeah, it rains daily. That doesn't cool things off at all, it just makes the air all steamy and ridiculous. It cracks me up to see fall things in store ads and back to school images of apples and falling leaves. Four more months people.... FOUR MORE MONTHS. November is the magic month here when you can maybe crack a window in your house for some fresh air.

So, back to my point, keepin' cool. The boys have
been at the lake jet skiing. They ride with Jeff, of
course. Holden is definitely more daring. He and
Jeff race across the lake at top speed and then
spin and churn the water and jump the waves
they've created. He loves it. Jackson does more
than you would think.(and definitely more than me!)
I don't even want to discuss what a baby I am.

Disney Magic

Our family had a wonderful Orlando vacation with the Dennis family. We spent one VERY hot week cooling ourselves in the hotel pool and traipsing around theme parks. The boys enjoyed fishing in the hotels stocked ponds. They nearly won the fishing derby on Thursday. The story I got was "the scales were broken". To view a slice of our magic, click on the play button below.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Fishing Fun

My boys have been especially busy at Mimi and Poppy's lake this summer. Every chance they get they are running down the sidewalk with their fishing poles and tackle in tow. Holden is so serious about it that he watches the fishing shows during his tv time and flips through his Poppy's Bassmaster magazine and Bass Pro Shop catalogs constantly. He's learning crazy knowledge about this obscure topic. It's sad when you can't keep up with a 5 year old. He's fallen prey to the commercials too. If he hasn't had much luck in a while he'll say: "Ya know Mama, In order to catch a fish you need the right boat, the right motor, the right rod, the right reel and the right kind of lures." Um, baby, is that what they told you on tv? Because really, if those fish were hungry, you could drop a simple string with a ball of bread on a basic hook and catch yourself a fish. But, what do I know?

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

New Neighbors

It's true that the house next to ours is for sale. We've anxiously been awaiting any news about potential buyers from our current neighbors. The market just has not been in their favor. BUT, unexpectedly some locals were checking out the digs and decided to move right on in. OUR GRILL. Now, this grill DID NOT have a sign out front and is lacking many upgrades that are basically standard these days. Nonetheless, a pair of Carolina wrens have been tirelessly working to make it "home" to their last clutch of the season. I truly am not an avian expert, but felt the need to do a little research after noticing the nest earlier in the week. Check this out...The male makes several makeshift nests. The female then checks each one out and ultimately decides which is best. She then either continues building the nest on top of his creation or rips his apart and starts over in that location. Of course, the male does a lot of the grunt work, bringing back the twigs and what not and she fashions and weaves it all into place. They build these tight little cave like dwellings. So clever. After the nest is complete she begins laying her eggs, one a day, usually 3-6 total. She proceeds to pluck out the feathers on her belly which has increased it's blood flow and is quite bloated. She vigilantly keeps her eggs warm, only leaving the nest approx. 6x a day. Which is considerably less than the house wren which averages 26 times of abandonment in a day. The male brings her food hourly. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and the pair take turns caring for them. They then are coaxed out of the nest and are looked after for about 2 more weeks until they become completely independent. Oh, and Carolina wrens mate for life. Only exception is death. What's not to love about these new neighbors?? So what if we have to broil our meat for the next month.

Hi. I am Jenni and this is my family.
Take everything I say with a grain of salt..
after all, this is "Jenni's Jabber".