Beaver Creek Day 3

Day 3 started with the trek to Beaver Creek.  Again, there were problems getting up there.  The gondola didn't open so we waited at a bus stop.  The first bus to come by was full so we had to wait 30 minutes for the next one.  We finally made it to ski school a little over an hour after we started trying to get there.  It looked much more like a zoo than a school.  After about 40 more minutes both the kids were settled and heading off with their instructors.

Since Tori has the stress fracture in her leg, the doctor told her she could not ski because the boots would hit her right were the fracture was at.  He said that as long as her pain level was low enough she could snow board.  That is why she enrolled in snow boarding school.  She really liked her instructor.  She spent the majority of the day on her bottom in the snow. 

Tina was with a group of kids that had a big range in ages.  She still enjoyed the day and I was even able to watch for her and catch some pictures of her coming down the slopes.

Rod realized that he didn't ski as good as he remembered.  Mark realized that he is aging.  Rick was still as good as he remembered :-)

Beaver Creek Day 2

Day 2 of our vacation had us all up a little early.  There is a time change and many of us are getting older.  The days of sleeping late are over.  So we all got up and headed to breakfast at Bob's Place for breakfast.  Then Rod, Rick, Mark, and Tina went to explore the town while Annette, Tori, and I went to Walmart to grocery shop.  Lots of food later, we all met back up at the hotel.

This day was basically just a "recoup" day and we were lazy in the room.  Tina beat Rod at her new game, Stratego. 

While they were out in the morning, they went up Beaver Creek Village.  Tina was so excited because they were giving away free cookies, had ice sculptures, and she said that night they were going to have FREE ICE SKATING. 

So after dinner ( Spaghetti and salad) we all loaded up and took off to Beaver Creek Village.  It was a challenge getting there because we thought the gondola was running and it was not.  We waited on a bus that didn't come.  Finally we walked a good ways to another bus route and finally made it up there. 

We found the outdoor ice rink and were ready to skate.  I was worried that with it being free it would be packed, but it was not too crowded.  Rod, Rick, Mark, Tori, and Tina were all going to skate.  Annette and I were going to take pictures.  I walked up to Rod after they had their skates and he told me that this "free skating" cost $75!!!!  The skating was free.... but the skate rental was $15 per person plus tax!!!!!!!

They skated for about an hour and had a good time.

The skating gang!

Warming her hands by the fire while on the ice rink :-)

Traveling to Beaver Creek

Christmas breakfast is over and it is time to head to the airport.  Our flight is on Frontier Airlines and is just shy of 3 hours.  This will take us to Denver and from there it is a 2 - 3 hour drive to Beaver Creek.  The flight was basically uneventful.  We all read, slept, or played sudoku.

After we landed, it took us about an hour to get our luggage and rent a car and hit the road.  Now it is getting close to 7 and none of us have eaten since breakfast.  At this point, Christmas morning seemed like it was days ago.  We started looking for places to eat.  Mark says "There is a Chili's sign, would that be OK with everyone".  To which we all replied "Sure".  So we exit the interstate and notice that all the lights are out.  Then it dawns on us that .... it is STILL Christmas!!!  So everything is going to be closed.  We should have eaten at the airport where there were still places open.  So now we are on a hunt to find someplace that is open on Christmas day that is not a rotating hot dog in a gas station.

We thought we were in luck... Denny's across the street... Nope, closed also.  Now Rick and I are both on our phones looking for a Waffle House, Huddle House, etc.  Anything that might be open.  We finally spot a McDonald's and a Carl Jr's.  WooHoo!!  They were both packed.  We settled on the Carl Jr's and were all happy to have Christmas Dinner.  Not exactly what was expected, but grateful none the less.  We certainly had a lot of laughs getting to that point! 

Here is the picture of Christmas Dinner 2011!!! :-)  I think Rod was the hungriest!

The rest of the ride to the hotel was uneventful and we settled in nicely and we all asleep quickly.

Happy Early Birthday!!!! Welcome home BEAR

Were do I begin?

4 weeks ago - I got a message from my vet (and friend) saying that she just got off the phone with the cane corso rescue and she couldn't wait to meet our new edition.  I couldn't believe what she was saying, so I sent her back a message and said "I think you meant this message for someone else"  She immediately called me and said "no, Brandy, they called and asked about you."  Well this freaked me out.  I could not believe that someone was using my name to get one of these dogs!!!!!  I wanted to call the rescue back, but Denise's caller id was not working. 

Obviously over the next several days, people kept saying "are you sure Rod didn't call them".  I assured everyone that there was no way that Rod would get another dog.  I mean these dogs are a MASTIFF!

After a couple of weeks, I basically forgot about it and didn't put too much thought into it.  Now it is around Thanksgiving and a friend from Rod's work comes up to the house with his dog that is none other than a .... Cane Corso....  Now I am back to being suspicious.  I then go through and assure Rod that if he is the one that has called, we don't really need another dog!  We have 3 already and Sugar is not friendly to new dogs.  I really thought we had dropped the subject.

Well not so fast.  It is now Tori's birthday.  I have planned a dinner for several of her friends and Rod, Tina, and Hayley head off for the day.  I don't have a clue where they are going, only that they will be back in time for dinner.  Around 3 in the afternoon here come some heavy footsteps in the door... My early 40th birthday present... Bear, a 2 year old Cane Corso Mastiff!!!!!  He is my new indoor horse :-)

Doesn't he look so massive and beautiful!

His tongue is ALWAYS hanging out

He can easily reach the counters...

Pig Sitting

Tori has a friend who went out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday.  She needed a sitter for their two birds and baby pot-bellied pig.  Chessly, the 6 week old pig, has been here since yesterday.  She squeal's every time she is picked up.  About 15 minutes ago, I heard someone pick her up.  After I got finished with what I was doing, I walked into the living room and asked who was hogging the pig.  Tina pointed to my bedroom door that was shut... Here is what I found - Rod on the bed with the pig wrapped up in his shirt and they were watching TV together.  (I don't think Rod liked that I took their picture)

Hot Cakes

The wood burning stove has only been installed for 4 weeks now.  All Tina has wanted to do was cook pancakes on it like Eva Gabor did on the television show Green Acres.  There have been several times over the last couple of weeks that we have had the stove running, but it has not been when there was enough time to cook.  This weekend we finally decided that she could cook breakfast.  It was the four of us, her friend Hailey, my Mom and Dad, and Rod's Mom.  Everyone showed up in their PJ's.  We sat downstairs and had Green Acres running on the projector.

It really wasn't hot enough to have the stove running, so we had it running and the windows open!  In the end, it took a long time for them to cook, but they tasted real good.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is a 4 day weekend for me. I am so ready for the time off! One of the goats is pregnant and HUGE. My hope is that she was finally going to pop this weekend while I was off from work. She is so large that I am convinced that she is having a minimum of 2!

Saturday morning I go over to feed the goats. Tori is out of town with a friend and Tina spent the night with my parents. As I get over there I hear the first sounds. I know we have a baby because they cry. I run back to the house and tell Rod to get the camera and that we have a baby goat. As I get back over there and look closer - there are two. Twins. They are both already standing and nursing. Looks like Maple did a good job by herself in birthing two cute little kids.

I am so relieved because she was so large. She has been miserable in this heat and I am finally glad to no longer have to worry about her.

Sunday morning I go out to check on the new babies. I hear they crying as soon as I come outside. But it sounds like one is out of the fence. I hurry over there because I am worried something has happened. When I look under the chicken coop what do I find? Another baby!!!! One of the younger goats that we did not know was pregnant had a baby! So we now have three more mouths to feed!

Hide and Seek - Chicken Style

This story starts with a little background information.  We let the chickens out every day.  They walk around, eat bugs, annoy the pigs, tease the dogs, etc.  Over the years we have had trouble with the dogs and other wild animals having them for a snack every now and then.

We also try to put them up at night.  MOST of them go into the coop at night just like they are supposed to do.  However, a few pick different spots to roost on that are outside the coop.  So once they go to sleep we go over there and pick those up and put them in the coop.  The hope is that if we move them enough they will eventually get the message and go to sleep in the coop... (so far that message is not sinking in)  Somehow there have still been 1 or 2 each morning that we don't seem to find and in the morning they are already out of the coop.

Two days ago, it was about 6:30 in the morning and I was walking past the window in the living room and watched a red fox run the full length of the back yard, across the drive, past the shed, past the trampoline, and down the other hill.  I ran outside and yelled at it so that it would keep moving.  That particular night the chickens were not put up and they were all out walking around.

My WORTHLESS dogs were asleep on the deck.  When I went out there yelling at the fox, Sadie just stoop up, stretched and yawned.  Sugar didn't even get up, she just sleepily opened her eyes, and Abby was out by the tree and never even looked my way.  Remember this fox is right there, not 20 yard from them!!!!

This is the not the first fox we have seen up here (Rod even killed one last hunting season with his bow and arrow while deer hunting)  Of course if I had my gun quick enough I would have taken a shot that morning as well.  Fox, Coyote, etc are all fair game because they kill the chickens.

So now the last two nights we have really been trying to put every chicken up and make sure none get left out.  So two nights ago Rod and I went over there with a flashlight and looked and looked to make sure we got them all.  But yesterday morning there was still a chicken out.  Somehow we missed one.  I couldn't believe it.  We had spent probably 30 minutes looking to make sure we got them all.

So last night we again are going to try to get make sure.  We are looking all around because we know at least one of them is hiding from us.  Finally I shine the flashlight in a tree.  There are not any low branches and there, right by the coop is the missing chicken.  She has been sitting there for nights watching us get all her sisters in the coop staying perfectly quiet so that we miss her!  To get into that tree, she had to get on top of the coop and fly up there for the height of the coop.  She could not have flown that high otherwise.  So Rod and I had been outsmarted by a chicken.  I promise they are not as dumb as you think!

Two year run comes to an end

Rod took a two year vacation from getting on a lawn mower... After getting some topsoil, having it in piles around the house for months.  We finally got it spread, raked the rocks out of it and sowed some grass seed.  It has taken some time and not sure how much of it will last until next year.  For this year, we have enough that Rod has finally had to mow.  So this is pictures of the first grass mowing at the new house!  Obviously if Rod realized it was going to be a red letter day, he might have put on a shirt if he knew I was taking pictures :-)

Culvert Part 8 - More Gravel

I wish I knew the number of times that I have posted about gravel.  I'm glad that I don't know the amount of money that I have paid for gravel in the last 2 years.  I'm sure it would have bought a small car by now.  However, more gravel was purchased.

First Rod took the backhoe and pulled some logs around and lined the driveway.  Then three more loads (at @ $450 or so a load) of gravel was delivered.  Rod and I were home alone and we worked until late in the evening spreading the gravel.

Rod also got to find out how fast the backhoe will move.  I was on the 4 wheeler and driving around the gravel to get some chains out of my truck.  The 4wheeler has a tire that doesn't hold air very well and was low.  That tire slipped and the next thing I knew, I was under the 4 wheeler.  It rolled and I was pinned up against the fence with the 4 wheeler on top of me.  Luckily I was not hurt and my phone was in my pocked.  Rod had driven the backhoe back up to the top to pull another log down.  I called him on my phone and said "I am not seriously hurt, but I am pinned under the 4 wheeler".  He came flying down the driveway on the backhoe, jumped off of it before it was totally stopped and then started to head toward me.  Then the backhoe started to roll some more toward the pond and he had to jump back on it and drop the bucket so it would not roll.  Rod was able to lift the 4 wheeler for me to get out from under it and between the two of us we were able to get it righted.


Now fast forward an hour and I am on the little tractor using the box blade.  I get too close to the side where there is about 12 - 14" of fresh loose gravel and the tractor back tire slides.  At this point I am a little scared and I tell Rod I am nervous.  He takes and tells me I can just drive it out of the spot.  I tell him, I have already been under the 4 wheeler and I was not about to tip the tractor over.  So he gets on there to "show me how it is done".  At the point where the left two wheels are coming off the ground, I tell him to stop.  So he was going to take the backhoe to pull it out.  Only the backhoe fuel filter was clogged and it wouldn't start.  So now we get the suburban down there and pull the tractor out.  Rod decides that he is going to get one more scoop of gravel with the little tractor - and blows a hydraulic line!!! At this point I say "We need to stop and go up to the house!"... our luck have obviously run OUT.

Destin, FL and Parasailing!

Laine needed to get away from Middle Tennessee for a little bit. A friend of hers has a condo on the beach in Destin and it was not rented for the week following Shelton's funeral. She asked me if I could go. I took a couple of days off from work and we headed to Florida with Tina and her friend Hayley in tow.

The condo was amazing and it was exactly what Laine needed. A place where Shelton loved to just go feel close to him. We didn't try to do much other than go to the beach, the pool and one afternoon of adventure.

Laine is scared of heights. She saw the parasailer's and said "if I could do that, then I think I can get through anything". I saw that as my mission - to show her she can survive this. Life without Shelton is going to be hard, but she can do it.

So I called the company and booked us on one of the evening trips. For several minutes, Laine was scared but then a certain calm came over her and it was amazing. It is so peaceful when you are up in the air. You can't hear the boats, the ocean, the wind. It is unbelievably quiet. It is certainly a moment that I will always treasure and I think she will also.

I have WAY too many good pictures, so I am going to limit myself to 5...

Tina and Hayley were the first!

A close up shot of Tina and Hayley

This is a picture of me and Laine after she had relaxed and we were on our way back down. At this point we were ready to stay up there a lot longer.

The view from our balcony!

And what boat is complete without two hot guys. Tina and Hayley enjoyed the view while on the boat.

Mom's Away

Well, I guess it doesn't matter why I am not at the house, If I am not here something is going on.

I am staying with my mother-in-law for the several days to help support her. One night I am sitting on her couch with my email, facebook, etc up trying to catch up since I have not been online in a while. What do I see? Tori posting a picture of her running the backhoe!

I don't know if she did it because she wanted to run the heavy machinery or because she knew Rod was in trouble for letting her do it!

MCO - otherwise known as the Orlando Airport

I have been to the Orlando airport many, many times.  Fortunately there have not been too many times where i was waiting... Well today we want to get home.  We got to the airport at about 10:00 and our flight didn't take off until 4:00. 

Since the night before was a long, stressful, upsetting night... Tina used the time as best she could.

As soon as we landed, be went home. I quickly changed my suitcase and put clean clothes in it and we all headed to Laine's. I was glad to finally be back where I needed to be. I took several days off from work and stayed with Laine.

What a Turn of Events

Wednesday morning started off the same... I went to work and they went to play :-)

Today was going to be different, Rod was going to keep the rental car.  They took me to work and were headed to spend the day at the Daytona Beach (which is about 45 minutes from my corporate office).

They didn't spend too much time at the beach because it was really hot.  While there they found a jellyfish on the beach that was dead and all took turns touching it.  Just silly stuff.  They did buy a float and Rod used his hot air to blow it up.  It was a huge whale!  All in all it was a fun time.

After work we ate at the hotel and headed to the pool.  Tori played basketball while Tina swam.  At about 9:00 we were headed back up to the room when my phone rings.  It was Rod's uncle who was calling to tell us that Shelton, Rod's stepdad, had a heart attack.  In our minds it just meant that he would have open heart surgery and probably be fine.  We waited on a follow-up call to see how he was.  It was a total shock and unbelievable when we were told he did not make it.  Shelton at the age of 61 had passed away.

This sent me into shock as well as crisis mode.  I called the front desk and told them we would check out in the morning.  Then I called the airline and asked about flights home.  I got us all on a noon flight on Thursday.  Then I called my boss and told him I was leaving to head back to Nashville and would not be in the office for the rest of the week.

Sea World

Tuesday - same story.. I headed to work and they headed to play.

Today was a Sea World Day. We have all been to Sea World before. One of the funniest stories from our travels happened at Sea World back. We all like roller coasters - the higher, the faster, the better! The Kracken is one of our favorites. So a couple of years ago before we went we checked the height requirements and you have to be 54" tall. We checked Tina and she was right on the nose of 54". So that morning many years ago we walked up to the height bar and she was just shy of touching the height of the bar. So Rod asked the guy if it mattered what shoes she has on. The guy said "all I care about is if her head touches this bar". So we went to buy platform flip flops, walked right back over there, her head touched the bar and we were in line for the ride. When we got ready to load... yep she had to take her flip flops off but it didn't matter. That day we rode that coaster at least 5 times. They loved it.

Obviously she has grown in the last couple of years and is only an inch shorter than me... so nothing like that happened this time. They bragged on a new coaster that is now their favorite - the Manta. Wish I could have been there with them. Guess I will have to hit it the next time.

There are not many pictures from Sea World, but here are a few.

Islands of Adventure

Day 2 took me to the office and Rod, Tori and Tina to Islands of Adventure.

Because I was headed to work before the park opened, they were going to have to take the shuttle from the hotel. They went down to eat breakfast. Tori looks up and says "that looks like a van out there". So Rod heads over to the desk to ask when the shuttle left... only to be told "you probably just missed it". So all three of them go outside, look around and see it at another hotel and they take off running. They get there just in time to get on the shuttle!

They enjoyed their day and when I got off from work I joined them at the park. After I got there we only have time for about 3 or 4 rides before the park closed down for the evening, but we still had a good time.

Tina really liked the twister ride - or at least all the cool pictures and sets that you walk through. The cow was her favorite part. We were going to buy a stuffed cow with the goggles on when we went back on Thursday... but that ended up not happening.

Universal Studios Here We Come

All the trips to Orlando that we have been on, we have never went to Universal Studios, we have always done Disney. I finally need to go back to Orlando for work during a time where the family can go. It has been a while since they have went with me. This time we decided that we were not going to Disney, but instead we were headed to Universal Studios.
Like all of these types of trips, we fly down early on Sunday so that I can spend the day at the park with them and the rest of the week I go to work and they go play :-)

So Sunday we arrived before noon and headed straight to the park. We are all Harry Potter fans and enjoyed the Harry Potter exhibit. The Dueling Dragons was a great roller coaster!

Brandy and Rod

Which way to Hogswart?!

The castles that were built were impressive.

Tori, Tina, and Rod standing in front of the Harry Potter ride.

Scrap Metal

Ok, finally a little money back into our pocket! Rod loaded up the old culvert, some other junk around here and headed to Steiner Lift. Of course, he called ahead to find out their hours. They were open on Saturday.... So the suburban is loaded down, and he heads out. Meanwhile, Tina and I are running errands when my phone rings.... "Brandy, I got here and there is not anyone here". Oh no. I tell Rod that I will try to call them and see what they say. In the meantime, someone sees Rod and walks over to tell him that the heavy machines that do the "large" scrap metal do not operate on Saturday. So now he is all the way downtown pulling the trailer, loaded down and is not able to dump it.

The person that Rod talks to tells him he can take it to a place in Hermitage. Now Rod has called me back, I am sitting in a parking lot looking up the location, the phone number, etc. I finally call and get someone to answer and verify that they will take the specific scrap metal that we have on a Saturday. They will! So now Rod has to head to Hermitage. Remember my suburban is definitely not liking this....

Finally when he gets there and unloads, it ends up being 2 tons worth and they are paying $230 per ton. So certainly only a drop in the bucket of what we have spent replacing the old culvert that was on the trailer, but $460... we'll take it.

When you look at the picture below, notice how the suburban is squatting!

Puppies are now gone.

For 3 of the family it is a sad day.. for Rod it is two less mouths to feed...

We are leaving to go out of town on Sunday. Rod was determined to find the puppies homes before we left. He put an ad on craigslist on Friday morning. Since you are not supposed to put pet ads on there, his ad was flagged and removed. However, before that could happen a man from Ashland City called. He has 23 acres with horses, chickens, pigs, etc. Sounds very much like our place. He wanted both puppies to help guard his chickens. I am sad to see them go, but happy they are not going someplace where they would NOT be on a chain. They will have lots of room to play and going together makes me feel better about it as well.

This morning it has been sad to watch Abby looking for them.

Culvert Part 7

Well it has been a while since I have posted an update on the culvert. I even had to go back and look to see what # post I was on.

On Wednesday, Rod and I had a funeral to go to. Since the visitation was earlier in the day, we both took the day off from work. Rod set it up with Mark to work on the driveway in the afternoon. To prepare, he had to divert all the water. He rigged the water so that it would come through the culvert and through another pipe that he had attached with ratchet straps.


When Mark got here, he sat in his excavator and put the bucket on the hill, Then Rod used his backhoe to bring down the rip wrap and started dumping it over the side (yes.. we had to buy MORE - another $500 worth). Then Mark took his bucket and pressed it into the hillside. In the background of this picture you can see where Mark loaded the old culvert onto the trailer for Rod to haul away.




After they got all the rock in place we called Metro Ready Mix to bring us 6 cubic yards of concrete. Mark took his bucket and they loaded the concrete in the bucket and then he drizzled it over the rocks. This was to create a barrier so that the water does not run under the rocks and wash out the dirt underneath. Rod had to get up there and move his "temporary" flume zoom around so that they could get concrete under it well. This should prevent the dam from eroding away. It is not the pretty rock waterfall that I would like, but it needs to be functional rather than pretty.