Friday and Saturday were busy.

We finally got the renters out of our house on Friday. You can't imagine what kind of mess they left. How do people live in such filth??? Their sons bedroom was still wall to wall toys and a playpen full to the top with clothes. The hot wheels toddler bed was also filled with toys. All the floors were covered with trash and stains. Two windows were broken and had blankets stuffed. They had ripped up the master bathroom carpet except under the stool and in front of the tub. We took away 5 pickup loads of trash. We hauled 5 pickup loads to the local auction. I sorted through the clothing and ended up with a trash bag full of boys clothes to take home and wash. There were 6 jackets that looked new, lots of shirts and shorts, and some nice jeans. We also salvaged lots of toys. A VTech/VFlash game system with 2 games, a battery operated 4 wheeler, lots of trucks and motorcycles and WWF action figures. Needless to say I disinfected everything! We started on it Friday afternoon and were cleaning like crazy because a couple wanted to look at it Saturday at noon. When everything was hauled out of the house we began cleaning ceiling fixtures and walls. I had to empty the vaccum cannister 2-3 times per room. The couple liked the house and we rented it. They agreed to finish cleaning and plan to paint and put down new flooring that we will pay for. How lucky is that?? We're also putting in all new windows since the existing ones are so old.

There was a truck pull Saturday evening. So even though we were tired from all the cleaning we decided to go. This is a video of our first truck pull this season. I apologize for the shaking. It's the first video I've taken with my camera and I thought it did pretty good. The truck wasn't running top notch and Larry was disappointed with his distance. I'm sure he'll do better at the next pull. I'm always thankful that if he can drive it off the track and it doesn't need to be towed. So Summer has officially begun for us.

Been awhile since I bored you with a story.

It's been awhile since I posted. I had a couple of swap pictures to share but I accidently deleted them. I thought I was adding them to my picture folder and so I deleted them from my camera card. When I was done deleting, I decided to take a closer look at the pictures in the file. Crazy me! I didn't get them in there and now they're gone. Just glad it was my fun stuff instead of family pictures. I'll pay more attention next time!! Since I don't any any pictures to share I'll bore you with another grandson story......
Last week I got a call from two of the boys saying they wanted to go to church with me. I went to pick them up and at that time was driving the Silverado which has an extended cab and dual rear tires. It's like commanding a ship if you're not used to it. I was taking pains not to get too close to the other vehicles parked in their driveway. Their drive is on a steep hill. The boys came out and got in the back seat. I was in deep concentration thinking about how to back up and turn the truck around. I didn't turn around and look at them when they got into the truck but I said "Good Morning" and asked if Cole was still asleep. They said he was still sleeping so he wasn't going with us. Still planning my escape route, I asked them if they were both buckled up. Jared said yes but, Darrin said no because he was having a hard time buckling with one hand. This finally got my full attention. I turned around and there he sat with a proud smile on his face, one hand on the seat belt and the other hand up in the air. I wasn't sure I was seeing right so and I had one of those "Double Take" moments. There my adorable grandson sat holding a long whispy snake skin! He said "Look grandma." I screamed at him and said "What are you doing with that thing???" He kept smiling and said he wanted to show it to a friend at church. I said "Get it out of here now!!!" He lost some of his smile and then I realized that I had been shouting. I tried gently to tell him that his grandma is not fond of snakes or anything that has been tightly wrapped around one. He insisted that his friends would think it was cool. (In my head I could hear all the girls/women of the church screaming! I knew it was an exaggeration but, you never know.) I insisted that he step out of the truck and take his treasure with him. He started laughing kind of rolled his eyes at his brother then and said "OK Grandma." At that moment I felt like the child! He hopped down from the truck and laid it down gently in a spot where it would be safe until he returned home. He jumped back in the truck and buckled easily now that he had two hands free. Still smiling at me he said "I'm ready to go". So I turned the truck around and down the hill we went pretending nothing had ever happened. But I know this little 5 yr old is sitting behind me smiling sadly and feeling sorry for his old grandma because she is such a sissy!! And I'm thinking how much of a "boy" he is and so grateful that it was only the outerwear and not the actual critter that he wanted to "show and tell".
I shared this story with his dad the next day. I recieved no sympathy.....just hilarous laughter and a "That's my boy!".
Now you see why I need a granddaughter!!! We will have tea parties, scrap wonderful pages together, shop, and play dress-up. I will teach her to sew and make crafts. Yeah right.....get real! . She will be a "sassy" (which is what I've already nicknamed her) tomboy who would rather follow the boys around than do any scrapping and crafting. Do you think she'll like to fish and truck pull??? It doesn't matter either way. Boy or girl, each grandchild is a blessing!!! Except for those moments that they scare the heck out of you.