We knew it couldn't happen to us twice. The last time Amy and we tried to do our BUGS party like this, we ended up at the bowling alley. It was fun, but not exactly what we were wanting. Mother Nature was on our side this time. She gave us a beautiful day and painted the most gorgeous backdrop for our skeet shooting. 
Although most of the barrage was created by the guys, there were a few of us girls brave enough to venture up to the firing line. Even without shooting, ear protection was a must, unfortunately, my ears are still ringing! There were so many guns going off at one point, it's a good thing none of us are veterans, or I'm sure there would have been some flashbacks going on. Who knew it took $5 worth of lead to kill a 3 cent clay pigeon! That's 5 boxes of skeet, with 99 per box, with only seven left over equals a TON of shells! Thanks, Guys, for picking everything up. It made for a great Sunday!
Amanda is lucky to have such a good coach living right under the same roof with her. If she goes after shooting with the same passion she puts into all of her endeavors, it won't belong before she is dusting every skeet that is thrown out there. We'll all have to practice a lot together this winter!
Sue showed up ready to shoot - gun, shells, and earplugs in hand. And, lucky for us, she also brought the most delicious apple dessert in the world EVER! Apple Enchiladas, Rollups, Baked Pieces of Heaven, whatever you want to call them - they are, in the words of David Hump, "Like apple pie, only one thousand times better." Thank you, Sue, for bringing them. They even beat out the mac-n-cheese as Bryant's favorite dessert. We NEED that recipe!
Amy and Jody were wonderful hosts (not to mention, an adorable couple!). And don't you just love her new hair!! 
We had so much fun putting this thing together with them. True to form, as we are wont to do when we host together, we ran over budget. But it was so worth it as Tidewater Catering came through again with their yummy BBQ and collards and their legendary mac-n-cheese. It's just like Mom always makes. Of course, it was the only thing of which there was none left over!
And, naturally, what bonfire in The Back would be complete without a couple of Christmas trees thrown on for a spectacular show. I think these two were the final dregs from our bounty of two (three?) years ago. OK, everyone, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather up as many Christmas trees as you can this year. Just let us know when you've got them and B will come by and pick them up. They can live in The Back until we can all get together again for another day in the country.
Thanks, everyone, for coming. We'll try to get out there again in a month or two, so get those babysitters ready! Maybe an overnight - a little camping?
Although most of the barrage was created by the guys, there were a few of us girls brave enough to venture up to the firing line. Even without shooting, ear protection was a must, unfortunately, my ears are still ringing! There were so many guns going off at one point, it's a good thing none of us are veterans, or I'm sure there would have been some flashbacks going on. Who knew it took $5 worth of lead to kill a 3 cent clay pigeon! That's 5 boxes of skeet, with 99 per box, with only seven left over equals a TON of shells! Thanks, Guys, for picking everything up. It made for a great Sunday!
Amanda is lucky to have such a good coach living right under the same roof with her. If she goes after shooting with the same passion she puts into all of her endeavors, it won't belong before she is dusting every skeet that is thrown out there. We'll all have to practice a lot together this winter!
Sue showed up ready to shoot - gun, shells, and earplugs in hand. And, lucky for us, she also brought the most delicious apple dessert in the world EVER! Apple Enchiladas, Rollups, Baked Pieces of Heaven, whatever you want to call them - they are, in the words of David Hump, "Like apple pie, only one thousand times better." Thank you, Sue, for bringing them. They even beat out the mac-n-cheese as Bryant's favorite dessert. We NEED that recipe!
Amy and Jody were wonderful hosts (not to mention, an adorable couple!). And don't you just love her new hair!! 
We had so much fun putting this thing together with them. True to form, as we are wont to do when we host together, we ran over budget. But it was so worth it as Tidewater Catering came through again with their yummy BBQ and collards and their legendary mac-n-cheese. It's just like Mom always makes. Of course, it was the only thing of which there was none left over!
And, naturally, what bonfire in The Back would be complete without a couple of Christmas trees thrown on for a spectacular show. I think these two were the final dregs from our bounty of two (three?) years ago. OK, everyone, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to gather up as many Christmas trees as you can this year. Just let us know when you've got them and B will come by and pick them up. They can live in The Back until we can all get together again for another day in the country.
Thanks, everyone, for coming. We'll try to get out there again in a month or two, so get those babysitters ready! Maybe an overnight - a little camping? And, before I finish, I would truly remiss were I not to mention that none of this would have been possible without the help of the Bairs and Moyles. Thank you for helping us set up on Friday night (Kak and Julie-champion torch setters), thanks for letting us use the skeet thrower (which we broke from so much use), and most of all, thank you so much for helping out with Reeves. You made it so easy to get all this done, knowing he was happy and well taken care of.
we played outside, running between the hedges on the fromt walk, just like we used to do when we were children.
Grandmother and I took Reeves on a walk to see the ducks. We didn't see them, but he did fall sound asleep in the stroller. I put him straight into the car, where he remained happily dreaming, kissed Grandmother and Poppa goodbye, and took off down the road, calling Mimi to see if she was home.
Just kidding. Reeves was fascinated by the old fashioned lawn mower and insisted on pushing it and "fixing" the tires. Now, when he grows up, and we ask him to mow the grass, Reeves can officially say that he has been doing it since he was 17 months old, isn't that long enough. (BTW, he's 17 months old today. Monthly update - maybe.)
As the sun dipped into the horizon, we began our trek home. It was sad to leave both houses, but I will always treasure this special day when my son and I visited each of his great-grandparents. We were both exhausted, but it was that really good exhaustion you get from spending the day with family, those people who make you feel completely comfortable and totally loved. And there is nothing like seeing the love in your grandparents eyes, not only when they look at you, but especially when they look at your child, and you realize that being a greatgrandparent must be three times as amazing as being a parent, and your mind cannot even fathom that because how could anything be more amazing than being a parent? I know time is fleeting, and someday I'll be the oldest generation in my family. I can only pray that my grandchildren will take the time to bring my great grandchildren to visit me.
Here we are at the top of the stairs. For those of you who know me, you know that I am deathly afraid of heights. No rails + no banister + 12 feet up = one very uneasy Kak, hence my deathgrip on the boys' hands. It's bad enough when I'm high up, couple that with having my child and nephew up there, and I am nearly shaking. But, we all made it down safely, no thanks to any nervous caution on the boys' parts!
This is one of the few shots where you will find Reeves not trying to drive the golf cart. Grandy loves his boys, and they adore him right back.
Reeves was determined to help his daddy with the grill. I don't think he yet quite understands that the grill is hot, but he's getting there.
(OK, probably not, but I did see a lady there with an American flag hat and a R,W, and B outfit on and realized that it doesn't mean she loves this country any more than I do. It just means that she is probably also the person who dresses up for each and every holiday in the corresponding, pre-planned outfits. "Oh, Arbor Day's coming up! Honey, go get my pine needle sweater out of the attic!")
By some twist of fate, Mama ended up being the one to scoop out the guts. I'm still trying to figure out how this happened! I'm supposed to be the one with the camera in her hands, not the one with her hands in the pumpkin! Reeves was there to supervise Anna and me. Try as we might to get him to help, he would only watch.
Reeves was anxious for some action other than checking out the insides of pumpkins (been there, done that now), so once we bundled him up against the cold night air, he grabbed Anna's hand to drag her to the barn, insisting to walk across the jump ring rather than around it, as we were all doing. True to form, Reeves was not scared of these gentle giants at all.
He even let them eat right out of his hand. We couldn't believe it!
On Halloween night, we headed out to the country for the trick-or-treating hayride. I, of course, got stuck in every possible bit of traffic because the drivers around here are complete idiots with no concept of how to drive by an accident without stopping to gooseneck, all the while secretly hoping to see at least a little bit of blood and gore so that they can go home and tell their families, when the news coverage comes on, "Oh! I was there, right after it happened. I SAW the guy being put in the ambulance! I swear!" What a morbid fascination.
Reeves was halfway through a lollipop when I got on, so I was instantly covered in stickiness for the rest of the night. Good thing the little jacket I had on is dry clean only! (I should have known better, but it's hard to think about what you are wearing that night at 7:00 in the morning, forgetting you aren't going to have time to stop by the house before the candy gathering!) 
By chance, Julie had picked out a dinosaur costume for Preston that was very similar to Reeves' dragon. They were too cute together. And, i couldn't believe it, but both actually preferred to have the heads on!
Here is the gang from the hayride. The children all love it, but it is equally as enjoyable for the parents. And thank heavens for the cool weather!
Of course, Reeves was only content in the hay for so long. It wasn't long before he was wanting to be the one driving the gang around!
Leeze came over to play on Saturday morning, and suddenly, we realized it was much too quiet in the house. Looks like these two are already plotting some sneaky schemes together. Can't wait to see what they come up with as their cognitive abilities improve!
