He May Be In LOVE!

On Saturday, Shawn picked up his newest toy!! He finally purchased his saw mill....which I affectionately call "Mizer". On the way home, he had the chance to try it out!! We met up with him at the farm, and got to get in on some of the action as well! I have already started putting my order in for a picnic table...I figured that was a good first project!! If you have a tree you need made into lumber...Shawn's your guy!!!

So, this is basically what it does...you take a log and turn it into your own lumber. I was a little skeptical at first...but the thing is pretty amazing...and he already has a couple of people at work that have talked to him about cutting down some of their trees for lumber!

Grady's First Soccer Game!!

Grady had his first soccer game on Saturday!! He played a very good game...he dribbled the ball a few times down the field, but didn't try for any scores!! He claims they won....I have the whole game video taped, so we could find out....but I lost track but the general consensus around me was that it was tie....I do know, however that there were at least 5 scores for our side! His team has been working very hard and it really showed...all of the kids seemed to know where they were supposed to be playing instead of the swarm affect I am used to seeing in this age group! I do have to report...I do not have any pictures....Shawn was unable to be at the game, so I videotaped and my camera man decided to run off with some friends! Go figure! I'll do better next time!

Fishing Fun!!

Saturday afternoon we headed down to the Fox Farm! We will have very few free weekends....probably not any.....after this weekend, so we decided to make the most of it!! We had a wonderfully relaxing and peaceful time! We fished, climbed trees, explored Shawn's great-grandparents house, and had a picnic!! It was a perfect day!

When the Neighbors Came to Visit....Sort Of!

Yesterday, when I pulled into the driveway after having lunch with Shawn, this is what I saw......

then, I saw this.....

along with this....
Apparently, the grass is greener and tastier on the other side of the fence!! The poor Sheriff Deputy rounded up the sheep, got them back in their fence at the neighbors, while I snapped pictures! Hey, I'm no farmer....I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to get a sheep back in a fence!!! As Carla put it....Hey Toto, I don't think you're in Seattle anymore!!! I'd say!

Grady's First Day!!!

Today, the house became A LOT more quieter!!! Our little fella headed off to his first day of Kindergarten!!! We were successful in parting ways tear free.....I only had a lump in my throat, but I swallowed really, really hard....because by golly, I was NOT crying until I got the car! I made it!!! By the time I had hiked my way back to the Army, I had successfully swallowed those tears away.....how could I cry, my little guy was so excited!! I can't wait to hear about his day...I have been keeping myself busy all day...and I only have 1 more hour to go! I can't believe both boys are now in school.......who is going to entertain me now?! We are so proud of you Grady...you are such a big boy, we can't wait to see all that you achieve this year!!!

Watch Out 4th Grade....Here Comes Gabe!!!

Today was Gabe's first day of 4th Grade!!! I seriously do not know where time has gone.....I remember Gabe's first day of Kindergarten, how he ran into his classroom, not giving me another thought, while I stood there holding Grady....at least I wasn't going home alone! Today ran pretty much the same way....Gabe was way too cool to have Mom walk him into school, he jumped out of the Armada, ready to tackle a new school year, a new school and to make new friends! Gabe didn't seem the least bit nervous....in fact, he said he was excited to be starting school! He said it would probably take him a good 3 to 4 days to find some good friends, but that he felt good knowing some boys from football were in his class! Thank goodness he is so wise beyond his years...he definitely knows how to calm his Mom down......funny, I thought that was supposed to work the other way around! Gabe we are so proud of you.....We are praying for a rewarding and successful 4th grade year!!!! We love you!!!

Water Balloon Fight!!!

Sunday was fairly cool, but that didn't stop our boys from wanting to have a water balloon fight...silly boys!! They giggled and chased each other all over the yard....we tried to organize a balloon toss, but someone (grady!), just wanted to get everyone wet!!! What a great time with my favorite 3 fellas!!!

First Annual Fox Family Olympics!

Saturday evening The Fox Family started what I hope to be an annual thing!! We had a night of Olympics...crazy games, good laughs, great memories and spending time with people we LoVe!! I will come right out and say it...I was not excited about the Olympics from the start....it has been oober hot, I was physically and emotionally drained from moving less than a month ago, and frankly, I kind of wanted to be just plain lazy!! Thankfully, I came out of that mood fairly quickly...because I had a great time!! We had to cut the Olympics a little short...the dark of night set in a little too quick, but we were able to get half of the events in! We competed as couples in Horseshoes, The Three-Legged Race, Egg Relay, Hula Hoop Contest, Home Run Derby, and Lawn Bowling! I am happy to report no one came away with any injuries....not that we didn't try! Shawn and I took a running, crashing leap into the Three-Legged race finish line....I was pretty sore on Sunday, I still have grass burn on one knee and a bruise on the other...I think Shawn came away pretty unscathed!! I will start training for next year....soon....gotta let this leg heal up first!! HA!!! Thank you Fox Family for being a fantastic group to hang with!!!

Our Humble Abode!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know this is way past the promised time I said I would have these posted...but it has been a little hectic around here! Both boys are now having practices, so our only free evening is Wednesday, which has been designated as Yard Night.....once school starts, this will free up Wednesday, as I plan on going solo on the yard thing! We also had a little issue with the air conditioner! It stopped working on Monday evening....yikes, bad timing a/c! Thankfully, the wonderful technician at T & J here in Augusta, got it back up and running by Tuesday afternoon! We spent most of the day on Tuesday in the basement...which surprisingly stayed very cool all day! So, on with the virtual tour of the house....Enjoy!

View of living room as you enter the house!

View of living room from the hallway leading to the bedrooms.


The front door....viewed from the doorway of the dining room.

The kitchen from the dining room.

The dining room viewed from the kitchen.

The hallway leading from the kitchen, living room and dining room to the rest of the house.

The office, for now. In several years from now, we are hoping to add on a large dining/formal living and a large family room. So, this room would probably transform into an actual guest room.
The upstairs bathroom, viewed from the master bedroom.

Again, the upstairs bathroom, viewed this time from the hallway.

The master bedroom.

The master bedroom.

Downstairs, this is the family room....i.e., the boys area!

Gabe and Grady's bathroom.

Gabe and Grady's bathroom!

Gabe and Grady's room.....these are the full size bunk beds! They are perfect...and once they decide they are done sharing a room, we can take these apart and they can be used as a regular full size bed.

Gabe and Grady's Room The toy room....eventually, this will be transformed into another bedroom. We will need to add a closet.

She Is Home!

On Sunday, we brought home the final member of our family! Princess, has been living with family, thanks Mom and Dad Fox and Greta!, for the entire time we were in Washington. We are so thankful they were able to help us out!! We are so happy to have her home with us....and while I do not speak dog, I think from the continuous tail wagging, Princess is overjoyed to be home as well! The boys have been spending a ton of time with her....Grady was even able to teach her to fetch! Everything is complete...we are home!

Hay Is For Horses!

Part of our 9.5 acres is a hay meadow....so last week, it was transformed from long grass to huge round hay bales....very cool! I snapped pictures every step of the way....the whole process took 3 days, from mowing, to raking, then baling and finally loading! Now, you may be asking yourselves, what would the Foxes need hay for? Very good question, we don't! So, the fella, Manny, who put up our hay and who has agreed to do it again next year!, bought it from us. So, not only did he do ALL of the work, he paid us for it! Now, we didn't get all of the money, he took 2/3, but after all, he did do ALL of the work, while I sit on my lawn chair, sipping ice tea, and taking pictures!! Enjoy!

Mowing the hay!

Raking the hay into nice and neat piles!

Rolling the hay into round bales!

Loading the finished product...in all, we had 17 bales! Manny said next year we should have a lot more. Because the hay was not put up last year, it decreases the quantity and quality of the hay. Who knows next year we could be millionaires from our little hay patch!! HA!!!

We're BAAAACCKKK!!!!

Well, well, well, where does time go??!! It is hard to believe we have been here for 2 weeks! We are 99% unpacked, there are 3 boxes of dvds to be unpacked as soon as we get the entertainment center downstairs all set up! We have mowed the lawn 4 times...yes 4 times since we have been here, hung curtains, cleaned out 25% of Greta's basement, made 15 zillion trips to Target, Walmart, and Lowe's, and made about that many returns because I am challenged in too many areas!! HA! I had forgotten how crazy hot it is here...sure I can watch the weather channel and see 100+ degrees, but I had really forgotten how that felt! As I sit here in my wonderfully air-conditioned house, I am also forgetting, but will be brought back to reality in about 2 hours when I am sitting outside watching Gabe play football! Oh yes, we practice in even this crazy, hot, icky weather! The only good coming from this hot is I am getting DARK....I can't believe how dark I am getting...I have been a very good girl wearing sunscreen every time I walk outside, but it's still happening...I'm sure the 12+ hours on the mower has nothing to do with it! Well, I just thought I would let you all know we are here, we are alive, we are well, and we are hot! Hope to check back later this week with finished pictures of the house....of course, we would like all of you to come visit for yourselves, but for those of you who can't, we will get those posted by weekend!

****By the way, the picture was taken from our front yard by Grady on our first night at the house....BEAUTIFUL! Sunsets like this make the 100+ temperatures a little more bearable!

Happy Birthday, Gabe!!!!!

In the midst of all of the craziness....our big guy turned 9!!! Thankfully he is a pretty low-key kind of guy, so he didn't mind a pretty low-key kind of day! We started off the morning with Reeses' pancakes and bacon!! We then headed off for All-Star sports and Arby's! This was not his first choice...but since we have been gone for a few years, we are not fully aware of everything that has closed down..boo! The boys played every arcade game All-Star Sports has, and unfortunately it was blistering hot, so we didn't do any of the outside stuff.....our big guy is now a football player and as per coach request, on the days of practices or games, NO OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ALLOWED! That evening we had tacos before practice and cheesecake and gifts after!!! Gabe received many great gifts, cards, emails, phone calls and visits!!! Thanks everyone for making our big guy feel so special! We love you, Gabe and are so proud of you!!!! H.A.P.P.Y.B.I.R.T.H.D.A.Y.G.A.B.E.