Warning! Long post about one fabulous weekend!

A couple of weekends ago we decided to take the motorcycles and the gator up into the hills for a little ridin'! We packed a picnic and hit the road. Actually, the hills are only a few minutes from our house so, it didn't take long at all to get up there.

Halfway up the hill the kids decided to roll down their windows. The sudden stench that came through the car was horrible! If I didn't know better I'd of thought that we all had bad body odor. Seriously, that's what it smelled like. It turned out to be this beautiful flower. Who'd have thought this lovely specimen could be so stinky?

We set up camp in a beautiful grove of Pine Trees that provided much needed shade. Everyone was hungry when we got there so we ate quickly and got ready to ride!

Poor Dylan. He was so excited to ride his bike and it wouldn't start. Let me tell you, this bike never skips a beat. It always starts right up and we have never had any trouble with it. So, he was pretty dissappointed when he couldn't ride it.

Lucky for him, he has a very generous sister that let him cruise her 4-wheeler.

And we were off!!

Grayse and I and the Dogs drove the gator.

And of course, Grayse and Dill shared the quad!

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous!

And then we came upon this stunning little stream. And the kids had to play in it! It was super cold!!

         All in all it was a super fun day. Dylan had been asking to do this for a long time and we were finally able to go. What fun memories made!

~Cheech

A summer time favorite

One of my favorite things about the summer is crawling into crisp, line dried bedding after a hard days work. There is nothing like the smell of wild chamomile, sage and freshly mowed grass all rolled into one. There isn't a laundry detergent or fabric softner out there that can even begin to mimic that fragrance.

The kids ask me every monday, "Is it sheet washing day? Can you dry them outside, mom?"

I reminisce of my childhood every time I stuff my nose in line dried sheets and garments. My mom was an avid line dryer and passed on the tradition to me. I hope to do the same for my kids.

Not only is line drying good for the environment but it really helps on the electric bill as well!

~Cheech

Our Favorite Swimming Hole

Last year we discovered a lovely swimming hole out on the Teanaway River. It has the perfect amount of fun for everyone! Even my husband and I enjoy actually going in! There is a amall rapid area that feels like a waterslide, a nice beach area that even has shade, and pools of water for the people who just want to take a little dip.

We were blessed to go with friends and family today. Even though the river was a little higher than it is in late summer, we soon discovered that is was just as fun, if not, funner!

The sand stone rock walls are absolutely gorgeous. We could easily spend the whole day here. Somehow, time is lost.

The little rapids combined with a tube or floatie are perfect for a little thrilling ride!

Here is Grayse building up the courage to go down!

At the end of the ride is a fun little drop into shallow enough water that the kids can just stand right up.

We love lazy summer days. It's so relaxing to just spend the day having fun in the sun.

I hope your summer is going well, too!

~Cheech

A few pictures I took around the farm

I just love photography. I don't know much about it but find that the more I take out my camera and play with it the more I learn. I don't have any aspirations to become a professional but would like to get better so that I can capture priceless moments of my family.

I went out this evening and just shot a few views from the farm.

Here are the new wind towers going up. They are a new view for us. A few of our neighbors are furious that they are there. I don't mind them so much. They seem somewhat majestic.

I will leave you with this beautiful sunset. There are also some wind towers waiting for their wings.

~Cheech

A friendly horse race

A couple of weeks ago the kids decided to have a little friendly horse race.

I just happened to pull up in the golf cart just in time.

I just love Grayse's face! Sheer determination! Eyes are on the finish line!

As you can see Grayse and Cory won by a mile. Considering Cory's legs are as tall as Crisco's body, Dylan and Crisc never had a chance!

I love my kids!

~Cheech

Piknik

  I was recently browsing through some of my favorite blogs when I came upon this post from Jill over at "Homemade by Jill" that talked about this post here that had a great tutorial on using Picnik for your photo editing. I had totally forgotten about this site and best of all it's free! She even has a couple of video clips to demonstrate as well! How great is that? So, of course I had to go try it out! And here is what I came up with!




                                                                           
                                                                            Before

After

                                       

Before

                    After                      

Before

After

Go give it a try!!

~Cheech