My Valentines

Justin picked Wyatt up early from school yesterday and had some fun around the house. Wyatt splashed in the mud, got to ride the four wheeler with Justin to run GPS boundaries on some fields, checked out the cows, and shot the gun at a turkey target. He was all bundled up in his big puffy camouflage jacket and was so excited when I pulled in the driveway. He was waiting for me to get home so he could “go hunting a turkey.”

 

Since Justin is working today and Wyatt is spending the night at Mimi and Pop’s with his cousin Liam, we exchanged gifts last night. My boys sure do know me well! I got two adorable cards too!

I am so lucky to have these two in my life. I don’t know what I did to deserve them!

Strike Three at the Cook House

So we started out our tenure at our new house with roots in the septic tank and pipes, a frozen broken pipe over the kitchen ceiling, and we’re now rounding out the hat trick with a tree on the side of the house.

Home ownership comes with its share of fun and exciting times and its share of disasters we all have to learn from. Maybe we’re getting all of our trials out of the way quickly so we can enjoy the fun times more!

Last Sunday after church, Justin borrowed my dad’s tractor. Since we had Irwin EMC came by and cut down some trees, we had huge logs that needed to be moved over to the burn pile. While he had the tractor, Justin decided to cut down a huge bradford pear tree between the tennis court and the house. It shed so many leaves this year and neither of us are especially fond of bradford pear trees. I watched from a distance as Justin cut a wedge in the tree. It was hooked to the tractor for tension. Justin had me hop on the tractor, gave me a crash course on driving it, and went to start cutting the back side of the tree to make it fall. There was a loud crack and he jumped back from cutting the tree. He decided to call his dad (who we thought was already on his way) for backup. While we waited for Mr. Sheldon to get there, Justin tried to use the brute force of the tractor to send the tree down. It worked. BUT.

Pulling and pulling with the tractor in four wheel drive worked on getting the tree down. For reasons no one can even understand, the tree went in the complete opposite direction than it was supposed to and hit our house. Geez Louise, it was terrifying seeing a huge tree as tall as your house going down in slow motion. I couldn’t fully process what happened. I just started crying hysterically. I had a panic attack and couldn’t catch my breath. Justin consoled me and reminded me that no one was hurt and we’d figure it all out.

After calming down a minute, we checked everything out and determined that we only had two small broken panes in our window and the gutter pulled off the house. All easy fixes according to Justin.

Justin dug his chainsaw out from under the fallen tree and saw it bent the chainsaw bar. Mr. Sheldon, Michael, Jake, and Ben made it over to our house to help while Justin made calls to see where he could get another bar. I scrambled off to Tractor Supply in Cordele for the replacement bar and chain. After I got back, the guys made quick work of slicing off limbs of the tree, getting the chunks taken off by tractor, and piled up in the burn pile. It was almost all cleaned up by the time it was dark. I have said it a thousand times, but thank God for family!

 

We learned a good lesson this weekend: hire a tree trimmer or professional for the big stuff! We might have spent a few hundred bucks getting trees taken down, but we would have saved a lot of heartache in the process!

Jake, Ben, and Wyatt got to enjoy some time outside and Wyatt loved the tractor and chainsaw, so there’s always a silver lining!

 

Meet June

Justin was coming through Cordele last Friday afternoon with Wyatt in tow returning from the Turkey-rama in Perry. He saw one of his fire department buddies and stopped to talk. His friend jokingly said, “Hey! Want a dog?” referring to a small black and tan coonhound that was a stray. They had been feeding her but really didn’t want another dog. Justin got on the phone and called me.

Justin: “Want a dog?”

Sarah: “Sure! Why not?”

Justin: “Okay.”

After hanging up the conversation processed in my head for a minute. I didn’t know what kind of dog, male or female, how old it was, or anything! So I quickly called Justin back and found out he thought she was only about 6 months old and her breed. I stopped at Fred’s and bought her a bright orange collar like Jeb and waited patiently to meet her. She is just the sweetest thing! After taking her to the yesterday, we found out she is actually around two years old. She is going to be this small forever it seems!

The craziest thing about the whole situation is that while I was waiting for Justin and Wyatt to make it back to Ashburn with her, I just knew I would love to name her June. It goes well with Jeb and we prefer old-fashioned names (can’t you tell with a dog named Jeb and a son named Wyatt?). After meeting her and loving on her, I looked at Justin and announced that I wanted to name her June. Justin just smiled and laughed at me and shook his head. He told me he had thought of the same thing! With Jeb, we each had to make a list of names we liked and saw what overlapped. This was the easiest naming of a pet ever!

I know Justin has always told me blue heelers were active and hyper, but I never realized how busy Jeb was until I have seen how calm June is! She is the most laid back, nearly-lazy dog I have ever seen. She gets along great with Jeb, except for the fact that she commandeered his bed. She is sweet with Wyatt and comes when called too. It’s nice to have another girl around the house to even out the male/female balance!

 

Circus fun

Friday night, a small one ring circus was in Ashburn for one show only. We were so glad that we were able to take Wyatt to his first circus. We have a free ticket for Barnum and Bailey, but they rarely come anywhere near us so we might wait until we have some more time to travel.

This seemed to be a family circus. I looked on the Fantazia website and it seems that way. Their Facebook page has an updated listing of scheduled dates.

 

Wyatt had been out with Justin and some guys at the Turkey-rama in Perry and only had a piece of a nap, so he was cranky to start with. We really enjoyed the performances. It began at 6:30 and by the 8:00 intermission Wyatt was almost drifting off to sleep. He was exhausted. We slipped out after the first half, but I am sure the second half of the show was just as good.

I especially enjoyed the fact that one of the clowns dragged Justin up to the ring with some other dads and had them dance and act silly. Justin said he really appreciated the clowns now that he has fire clown training. He understands all the hard work they put into their act.

 

 

 

If we had known it was a cash only circus, we would have brought more money, but all said it was very affordable. Wyatt got in free and it was $30 for Justin and me to get in total, but that was money well spent! If you went to the movies, it would be that much for a family of three. I will definitely be on the look out for when they come back to town!

Antiquing in Madison, Georgia

Last Sunday, Mama, Sami, Wyatt, and I made the trip up to Madison to pick up an antique bicycle Daddy bought. He was feeling pretty terrible with a virus, so he stayed home to catch up on some rest. We ate at a great pizza place on the square in Madison called Amici Café. It was awesome. I strongly suggest you try their antipasto salad as an appetizer. We ordered a large and split it among the four of us. It was amazing! I would have asked for no artichokes if I had known they came with them though!

 

After lunch, we went to two antique stores. I didn’t buy anything for myself at the first one, but Wyatt got some books. The second store, where Daddy’s bike was, was much bigger. It was a mix of antique, vintage, and new items with varying prices. Sami and I stumbled upon a booth that looked like the remaining stock of a monogram shop. I snagged this awesome door letter for $6.50 (originally $40)!

When we got back, Sami played around with Wyatt snapping his pictures every opportunity she got. I love the one of him kissing Pixie the donkey!

Helping Pop put his new ride in the shop!

       

Instagram shots from my phone:

    

Wyatt is doing so well recognizing his letters! He didn’t spell out his name on the bathtub wall, but he can tell you what they are!

Exploring with Aunt Sami

I am not going to lie. Having a sister that takes photos like this is one of the best things a girl could ask for! Wyatt is finally coming around for his Aunt Sami and saying, “Cheeeese! Cheese cheese cheese!” for pictures and man does she get some good ones! Check out her photography website or Facebook page for more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Here is something I love to do. I snap pictures of Sami as she is doing her thing. It is amazing to me the difference in what I see and what she sees through the lens of her camera!