Labor Day Weekend:

Friday:
Dwayne and I went to the fair and brought Ashlyne, Zach and Gracie with us. They were quite the chatter boxes on the way over but was too tired on the way home to make much noise.
We sat with Kenny, Shelley and the boys to watch the tractor/truck pull. We had a good time visiting with them. April and Mike sat with us for awhile and Blake sure enjoys "his April".

Saturday:
Dwayne and I went to the parade. For the past several years we have sat on the southwest corner of the courthouse square. All of my family meets there to watch the parade. It is a good time together. I really miss Andy and Dodie being there with us. My favorite float this year is below.

Saturday evening was Dwayne's 35th Class Reunion. The reunion was held at a barn between Belle and Bland. The owner's made the loft into a nice site to rent out for different events. They also had a band playing. Almost made us feel younger again, sitting around a campfire listening to music.


Belle High School Class of 75:

Sunday:
April and I went to church and then to Mom's for Sunday dinner. My niece, Kayla was down from Illinois with her family. It was a wonderful time visiting with everyone. We sat out on the porch most of the afternoon. I was glad Kayla was down, we hadn't seen her in awhile and the kids change so fast. Mariah and Brighton have both grown up so much since we last saw them. They are very cute (and well-behaved) children.
I didn't get any pictures of Kayla's kids but Mom had a camera and we got one with B Brighton in the corner of the picture.
Judy, Mom, Dad, Me, Wayne, Judy and Brighton at the table:

April, Ashlyne, Me and Dad:

Me and My Momma:

Dwayne then went to the Emge Place (our other land) to brush hog. He had been wanting me to come down and see the field. I took Ashlyne, Zach and Nathan home, and since it wasn't much farther, I went on down the hill to the land. When I pulled into the field, there was a huge mud hole and I didn't want to go to the left of it (the most obvious and logical way to go) as my truck would have gotten very muddy, so I thought I would veer to the right of the mud hole. After all, I could see that Dwayne had brush hogged that lower portion of the field. Wrong way to go as you can see below. The mud hole was hidden underneath the grass. I know it looks obvious in the picture but before I drove through it all you could see was the grass. I had on white pants and heels!! Just the outfit to wear when you get stuck!! I had to crawl out the passenger side of the truck and then walk down the field to where Dwayne was brush hogging. He kind of figured something was up when he saw me sitting in his truck and no other vehicle around. I found the adventure funny and laughed about it; guess it's better to laugh than cry. I think Dwayne thought I would be upset and crying, but I found the whole thing humorous. Dwayne had top tow my truck out of the mud backwards. Needless to say, "Little Chubby" (as Elizabeth named my truck) was very muddy!!

Monday:
What a beautiful day!! And since it was Labor Day, I labored. First time this year I have done any physical labor on the yard. I weeded flower beds and helped April take down the pool. We had a good day working in the yard.
I then went to Rolla to buy groceries, wash Little Chubby(she still has pieces of grass and mud stuck to the fenderwell and underneath) and pick up a pizza at Pizza Hut. Finished up the evening visiting with Todd, April and Mike.

We received the results of my Dad's heart tests and he may need to have a pace maker put it. I know this is a common procedure but Dad's heart is pretty fragile and the surgeon told us last Spring he couldn't do anymore for Dad. I think he meant stints, so I hope and pray that when Dad goes to the cardiologist in Springfield next week, we get good news.

I am so grateful for my family and the wonderful times we have together.