Uncle Frank

Just before Christmas, we had a surprise visit from my Grandma's "baby" brother from southern California. I absolutely LOVE this man! He is calm and soft-spoken, sweet and gentle and wise. We are always having him tell us the stories he told us when we were little and we still get as excited as we used to. Oh my gosh, I wish you could see how amazing he is! His house in California is straight out of a fairy tale. He grows oranges bigger than softballs in his front yard and there are avocados (yum!) and a tree just dripping with fresh lemons. My grandma's house was just like that...I wish more places were like that "nowadays". Do you ever wonder what the world will be like when WE are the old people and all of the old people we looked up to are gone? It's a weird thought.

Anyway, this visit was a bit bittersweet with Uncle Frank, as it might be our last chance to see him, :o( so I tried to blind him with the flash of my camera! The poor man couldn't keep his eyes open for many (it is a shockingly bright flash), but he was a good sport. I'll try to post whichever ones didn't make him look asleep. :o) Look at my dad's face while he's with his uncle. I didn't capture it well because I was trying to soak up every minute with my great-uncle, but he was just like a little boy again!

The Kind of Nurse I Might Have Been

Last night my mom was involved in a car accident. Don't worry--She wound up being okay, but she did have to go in an ambulance to the hospital to get checked out. When my brother and I got to the scene of the accident (after the ominous call that my mom had been in a wreck, but couldn't talk to us), we were met with the sight of a three car pile up and a crazy amount of flashing lights from emergency vehicles. My poor little heart was pumping away! The first thing I heard about the accident was that my mom's car was hit so hard that my grandma's wig flew off her head. Go ahead and laugh--She's the one who told me the story! She was just upset that she didn't notice it was gone and had been walking around talking to people. That woman is a hoot!

Anyways, I, being the hospital guru that I am at this point, decided to ride with my mom in the ambulance. We went through all of the paper work and x-rays and fun tests for vitals, etc. It was a very serious atmosphere. The nurse (a guy named Will) came in right after the doctor had left the room and said, "Before you go home, there is one more thing the doctor wants to have done just as a precaution." Mom said, "Okay, what do I need to do?" (Still very serious atmosphere in the room) Will nonchalantly replied, "We need to give you a quick enema." Just as my mom's pulse jumped to 110 (I swear her eyes just about bugged out of her head!), Will said, "I'm just kidding!" Mom got punk'd! It was totally priceless!

Mom's a little sore today, but otherwise, she is great. If she wasn't, I promise I wouldn't have laughed so hard at the enema joke. (*snicker, snicker*)

Since I Got Called Out on International Radio this Week For Being a Boring Blogger...

I will now begin to post a crazy amount of posts (at least, that's my intention...). I will begin my crazy blogging with the topic that started it all: Leaf Blowing! (For the full story, I guess you'll just have to visit the NextWave Live archives--hee hee--Like my shameless plug, Craig? ;o) ANYWAYS, my husband absolutely despises yard work, but I can't stand being the only crappy yard on the block, so every fall, our compromise is one, huge leaf clean-up. This year, we bagged a record 12 bags of leaves (from our front yard alone!!) It was no easy task with Landon "helping"--He kept shooting through the giant pile of leaves with his tractor--Ha ha ha! I loved watching Andy getting more and more frustrated as the day went on. Maybe next year he'll take my advice and do yard work more often! Here are some pictures from this year's fall clean up. :o)

My Son

Landon and I were outside earlier this week when he started getting a little rambunctious. I can't remember exactly what he was doing (hitting me with a stick or something...*sigh*), but I reprimanded him and marched off angrily toward the front porch. What did I hear my precious child mutter from his rope swing as I walked away?..."Mommy, you are a REDNECK."

Pause...Hmm. Now that's a new one.