Blast From The Past Saturday

Today I am taking Monkeys Jump and Brian to Meramec Caverns. This will be my second visit to the cavern. My first visit was many years ago on a family vacation with my parents and my sister, Kendra. I was probably 7 or 8 years old, so my memory is sketchy. We'll see how much comes back to me once there.

While I'm spelunking (there will be a full report with pictures), please enjoy the following images from days gone by...

My Daddy and me


My Mom, me and Mamaw Collins


My Aunt Francis and me


Maternal Great Grandmother

To Boldly Go Where No Gams Has Gone Before

I am having a wonderful time in Saint Louis! My daughter and her husband actually live in a little village called Charlack. The house they live in belonged to Brian's grandfather and before that, it belonged to the mayor of Charlack. The community is peaceful and quiet - so quiet, in fact, that you easily forget that you are so close to a large metropolis like Saint Louis! The house itself sits on a beautiful lot that is longer than it is wide with stately old trees that provide shade from the hot summer heat. One of my favorite spots is their front porch swing where I enjoy the cool evening breeze while watching the multitude of birds, squirrels and rabbits as they frolic - so peaceful and akin to a small slice of heaven on earth!
Saturday we went exploring (read Leia's account here) and had an awesome time just driving and taking in the scenery. We visited Grafton, IL by way of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway. The view was breathtaking with limestone cliffs on one side and the Mississippi River on the other.

One of my favorite places to visit while here is Main Street in downtown St Charles. The quaint shops, the folks in period costumes, and the city's historic significance are just a few of the reasons I love it. There were 2 couples being married at the gazebo and then enjoying a horse-drawn carriage ride while we were there.
We ended our day with a late-night viewing of the new Star Trek movie. Being a Trekkie, I enjoyed it immensely and appreciated the "back story" for the characters. If you are not a fan of the series/franchise, there is no need to worry - the story and action are compelling! There will be some "inside" jokes that non-trekkies won't get, but you'll never know that you missed anything! I highly recommend the show to anyone!

Blast From The Past Saturday

My Mom's parents and siblings



My Mom and me


Me and my Chatty Cathy

St Louis Here I Come

I will traveling to St Louis to visit my eldest daughter (Monkeys Jump) on Friday. I plan on staying a week. The drive is not too bad - only 4 hours from Indy and pretty much a straight shot on 70 West.
I am looking forward to spending time with my girl and her hubby but am looking forward to the wonderful food just as much! Indy just doesn't have the restaurants that St Louis does. My all-time-favorite pizza is from Nick and Elenas (I had her bring me 2 large pizzas the last time she came to town) and I can't wait to have it again. The crust is super thin and crispy and they have this wonderful cheese product called Provel that they use instead of mozzarella - it is glorious and melts to a creamy goodness instead of a rubbery, stretchy goo.
I'll have loads of pics to share but until then I'll be busy packing and visiting with my little guys before I leave.
See you in St Louie!!

I Heart Faces Entry Week 19

This is my entry for week 19 and obviously is in the amateur category. It was difficult to pick an all time favorite, but I kept coming back to this one for some reason. Hopefully the lack of technical skill will be overlooked and the cuteness of the face will prevail! Follow the link below the picture to see some amazing photos!!!!

I am submitting this photo into the http://www.iheartfaces.com/ Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Blast From the Past Saturday plus Proud Momma!!

Random shots of days gone by....


Gams and her JayBob


JayBob and my niece, Shelby up on the farm (my sisters place)



Daddy and the Dillybar

Big brother JayBob with the little Dillybar

My youngest daughter and my oldest nephew at the Indianapolis Zoo. She is now the beautiful mother of 3 sons and my nephew is now like 7 feet tall and in college!

Monkeys Jump when she was just a wee lass.

The above photo of my youngest and the Dillybar taken by http://monkeys-jump.blogspot.com/ who also happened to place 2nd in the I Heart Faces contest this week with another photo of her sister (this is the proud momma part)
http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/2008/01/week-18-top-ten-winners-adults-category.html.

Some day I hope my photos will be as good as hers!

How Grows Your Garden?

I've not done much this year in the way of gardening. If my employment status doesn't change, I may have to make other living arrangements so I didn't bother with planting anything extra this year (why bother if I won't be here to enjoy the fruits of my labor). I have a few flowers that I planted last year that are coming back nicely.

I love the color of this Clematis.


Hostas have always been a favorite and are thriving.

If I do relocate, I will likely leave the plants behind in hopes that future tenants will care for them or at least appreciate them; however, this guy is coming with me! Geeko calls it the "beebee." He stops to say hello whenever he visits.


Last year I purchased a few flats and I thought it looked very nice - especially considering it was my first attempt outside of potted flowers.

I'll make due without the landscaping for this year in hopes that next year I can color my little corner of the world.
So, internet... how grows your garden?

Raining Again with Purty Birds

Poor Rugby has been practicing his rug impression all day...

The geese are scarce today (perhaps they've found a bigger, better home!) but this handsome fella showed up.

I don't see them often, but the Blue Herons that visit are just glorious! What purty birds they are!

Goose Poo Redo

I finally captured a picture of the "Octo-goose" and her gazillion offspring! They've obviously decided to give Brad and Angelina a run for their money - either that or there's some quacky goose fertility experiment going on. Seriously, I have never seen so many goslings belonging to one set of parents! Instead of a field of dreams, I'll be having dreams of a field...filled with poo!!!


Click photo for a better view

Week 18 Laughter - My First entry at I Heart Faces

I struggled with which picture to enter out of the thousands I have archived. Ree at
http://thepioneerwoman.com/ is this weeks judge - picked a heck of week for my first time entry, huh?! While photography is just a hobby (ok, an obsession) I do try to get quality shots with my limited knowledge. So... here goes nothing!

Be sure to visit http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ for some really awesome photos!

Obi Wan Do-You-Know-me?

Obi Wan do you know me? Well, let me introduce myself. I am Gam's to 3 young Jedis. While I have attempted to guide my young charges in the ways of the Force, I didn't sign up for this and wish you would holograph yourself here immediately (or send Yoda if you're busy)! The light saber battles are too much - I am posting my proof below.

The photos above were taken by my talented daughter, Leia.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeysjump/

The Battle Ensues


The Littlest Jedi


Oh, and Obi Wan, about the littlest Jedi.... you'd better be quick as the Force is strong with this one and I'm afraid he may be leaning toward the Dark Side.

Happy Mommy's Day

Wishing everyone a beautiful Mom's day. Thankful for the woman who is my own Mommy...



So proud of the beautiful girls that are my daughters and their mothering spirits.

A Blast From the Past Saturdays - A Trip Down Memory Lane

Saturday's posts will mainly be pictures from the many thousands I have archived. Most were taken by old point and shoots and many were film shots I had transferred to disk.

A toddler train.

Come on let it rain.

Pappy's Boy or Stop and Smell the Roses (or whatever the heck that flower is)

The Dillybar Boogie

The Dillybar sleepover has ended. The funnest part of a sleepover at Gams' is getting to stay up as late as you want - thanks to Pappy who is a "twittering" night owl (check out @IndyEnigma on Twitter) who lovingly carries the very heavy 4 year old upstairs after he has finally crashed.

I am suffering with "day-after-a-sleepoveritis," and will shortly be seeking my bed. I will leave with you my all time favorite video of the Dillybar hoping it will bring you a chuckle or two. He is about 20 months old, or there about.

We're Having A Sleepover!!! Dillybar Edition

Guess who's having a slumber party with Gam's tonight?!





Dillybar, Dillybar, Dilly, Dilly, Dillybar....bah bump bump bum!







There will be games and cuddles and lots of Nickelodeon! Unfortunately there will also be repeated watchings of the same episode of Drake and Josh (argh... I wish On Demand would change episodes weekly instead of monthly)!


The sleep over tradition started a long time ago...



...things were a bit calmer then. There is nothing like a nap in the recliner with a sweet, cuddley baby!



These days, the activities are bit more rambunctious.



I am surrounded by Power Ranging...



Colts playing...



Bike riding...



Tree climbing...



Cuteness!

I'll let you know if I survived!

Rainy Days, Not Monday's, With Goose Poo

There is a Christian school just up the street that has an almost lifesized Ark on it's grounds. If the rain keeps up it's good to know I'm not far from safe harbor. Geez, enough of the wet already!



These little guys are lovin it though.







At last count there were 34 babies that live at the lake behind me.





They are the cutest little fuzzies! Hopefully they will grow up, leave home and become responsible young geese and NOT move back in with the folks when times get tough. There is more goose poo than grass right now. I don't want to think about the massive amount of poo generated by 34 additional full grown geese. My patio stays relatively poo free thanks to the efforts of Rugby.



At least it did until his run-in with a momma goose. Now the poor fella just lays around waiting for the little poops to grow up and leave the neighborhood.


I'll have to tell you about the other wildlife that comes around to torment him in another post - who knew squirrels were so mean?

Let Me Entertain You

Who needs tv when you have this around?
Or this....

The Force is strong with this one. I've lost count of the number of Light Saber battles I've witnessed - Obi Wan would be so proud!

And this guy... Mr Attitude/Personality/Imagination. I could devote an entire blog to this one! Stay tuned for details of his antics.