Girls are home....

Whew!! What a week! So glad the girls are home! They came in around 11am this morning...and I've heard bits and pieces, here and there about their week! From dancing, pranks (one particular involving another counties van, lots of vasoline and cling wrap...hmmm), fun roommates who keep their undergarments on the microwave, to a mattress falling off the bunkbed, to mysterious M&Ms, unwanted potato chips, breaking down in their own van & getting a new one with an emergency door sunroof, workshops~both boring and fun, and tons of other stuff!
Anyway here's a few pictures Amber had on her camera...this one was apparently taken by someone with a very shaky hand, it's just a bit blurry...Amber and Caitie are both in the picture...if you have a hard time figuring which one is which, etc...just let me know! All of these kids are from Washington County. This was taken last night before their banquet and dance and very late night pulling pranks. Amber said they slept possibly 4 hours total last night!
This is Caitie on the way home from Raleigh today...apparantly very much into an important text message!

and one of Amber taken sometime during the week!

Caitie~ Grand Champion Winner!

This is a picture from our 4-H Livestock show back in May! Caitlin won Grand Champion Market lamb and Grand Champion Junior Showmanship!! In the picture she is with of course her lamb and John (who represents A.R. Chesson Construction~ where he works) and Danny Wombleton (he is an elder at our church) and some other lady (they are both representing Farm Bureau Insurance Company) Both of these companies are Caitie's sponsors and they raised $1200 in prize money for her...she also got a $50 savings bond for winning showmanship and because she feeds her lamb Purina Show Lamb Chow she also gets a really cool jacket and this picture posted on their website. Here's the link to where her picture is posted:

http://www.betteranimalsshowseries.com/winners_list.php?atype=sheep&ltype=local

I think they posted her picture today as she's one of the first posted on that page...anyway pretty cool! You can click on the picture on the website to see it better.

Anyway just thought I would share!

I talked to the girls around 6pm tonight, they were getting their hair done to go to the big dance in Raleigh tonight!

4-H Congress!!

Well Tuesday was a hot and busy day! Corey and I traveled to Raleigh to meet Amber at a local high school (Avery something or another) it was right near NCSU (where her and Caitie and other 4-Hers are staying in dorms for the week) to see Amber compete at state level for her presentation on egg incubation.

We left bright and early at 5am, stopped for a scurumptious breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Rocky Mount and arrived at the high school in Raleigh promptly at 8:06 am. Amber was already there and signed in to do her presentation.

It was a huge high school! I'm talking at least 5, 6, 7...maybe 10 Plymouth High Schools put together! It was really nice! Her class room was #2204 or something like that if that tells you anything!! I definately got my exercise walking around the school! Presentations started at 8:30 am sharp! Amber wanted to be first and so she was! She did an awesome job!! I'm so proud of her!! She competed with 3 other girls her age. They were all awesome!! We left the room for the judges to make their decision and Amber was completely in her element with these girls! They talked about chickens, turkeys, ducks, etc....they were fun! Amber already met them the day before as they all competed in the Poultry Judging contest that was held on Monday. They are also all going to PSSI together the first week of August...and one of the girls will be Amber's roommate...so they talked about all kinds of stuff....(definately nothing I talked to my friends about when I was her age)...but it was awesome!

Amber ended up winning the Bronze metal!! (3rd place) I'm so excited for her! She is tickled because 1)this is her first year presenting and she placed and 2) if you win state Gold (1st place) you can no longer compete in that category at state level in that particular age level! She wants to do another poultry presentation next year...go figure! (I don't know if any monetary award is attatched to anything but the Gold winner but she's learning so much and having a ton of fun!)

I didn't get to see Caitie on Tuesday, they were doing workshops all day long at NCSU. Yesterday, they worked on a service project. They packed food in a big warehouse to be sent to feed people in Central America. Tonight they have a dance and a banquet and tomorrow around lunchtime they should be home!

Tim is planning to cometo see them next week!

I'm hoping to get Amber's room ready for her for a surprise...it will be a surprise for Amber and Caitie when it's done...as the poor girls have had to share a room for a year now!

I also have a great appreciation for all the dedication the girls have to our animals...it takes me and Corey 2-3 hours total to feed all the animals each day...not to mention the added time it takes to clean up after them...YIKES....can't wait until they come home!!

Visitor's Day at Camp

Sunday, we were allowed to visit CJ at camp. After 2 1/2 weeks, I was ready to see my baby girl. We hugged and cried FOREVER when I first saw her. Once we calmed down - we went to find dad - he wasn't allowed near the cabins (with all those girls running around). Here is a pic of CJ and dad at camp:


We got to bring here home, out to lunch and around town before heading back to camp. We ate at our fav restaurant - Papas & Beer! We also did a little bit of shopping. CJ wanted this book: http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Saga-Book-1/dp/0316015849

After shopping and ice cream at Marble Slab, we went back to camp where CJ gave us the grand tour. Can you believe she climbed to the top of this:

3 more weeks until she comes home and I can't wait.

Busy, busy, busy SUMMER

Hey guys! It's been a long time since I've posted anything! Sorry about that! It's been busy! Thought I would post a picture of the boys that Mama Jean took at her house last Saturday. They spent the day with her and I'm pretty sure they had a great time! I went to the beach with a friend of mine and spent the day cleaning beach houses. I'm going back tomorrow and more than likely every Saturday for the next month or two. It's a little pocket money and actually kind of fun. Amber, Caitie and John went to the livestock auction last Saturday (the boys didn't want to go...that's why they got to go to Mama Jean's for the day) They almost came home with a llama! LOL! That would have been a trip. Amber sold a couple of chickens for $20 a piece, she was happy, to say the least!

Next week is super busy!! Amber and Caitie are going to Raleigh for 4-H Congress from Mon-Fri. Tuesday is Aaron's Birthday. I think I may be going to Raleigh with the girls maybe Monday-Tuesday...maybe! Amber is competing in the Poultry Judging on Monday and also she won District Gold for her Presentation on Chicken Incubation so she will be competing at the state level on Tuesday! I hate to miss it!

The following week Tim will be here to visit them....

and...

the following week Amber will head back to NCSU in Raleigh for PSSI (poultry science summer institute) which she's really really looking forward too! Hopefully I'll remember to get some pictures of something this summer. I've been really bad! Corey went to the Edenton Steamer's baseball camp this week and I managed to forget my camera everyday...he also finished his swimming lessons and I never got a picture of that either...LOL! I swear I need to wear my camera around my neck!

Love you guys!

Stampin' Up Christmas in July Workshop

Yesterday I attended a SU workshop. This is what I made...

A picture goes in the red block on the bottom card. I will have to take one of CJ to put there.
Here is the inside of the "truck" card...

Had a lot of fun card making with my friends.

Coon Dog Day

Yesterday was Coon Dog Day in Saluda, NC. Cliff and I went down to spend the day with some friends of ours that live in Saluda. We left the house late and did not make it to Main Street to catch the parade however, we ended up stuck in traffic along the parade route and got to see most of it while sitting in the car. Cliff was being grumpy about the whole being stuck in traffic but I was enjoying our nice seats - the most comfortable parade seats I've ever had. Anyway, this being our friends 10th year in Saluda and their 10th Coon Dog Day - they put a float in the parade to celebrate. When their float came by - we got in line behind them and actually drove the end of the parade route, waving at the parade watchers - what a HOOT!
We ate a LOT of really good food and Cliff played some football with the kids. We ended the night by sitting with our friends on the porch then drove home around 10:30pm. I do believe a good time was had by all.
I have a couple of pics - not as many as I would have liked - and I will post them sometime this week when I get a chance to download them.
See ya later!

Cody's First Fish

We went fishing yesterday and Cody caught his first fish. We have gone fishing in the boys would rather throw rocks in the water than hold a pole.