How far from animals are we?

So exactly what separates us from animals? From acting on basic instincts rather than thinking about our actions? Is it DNA or the fact that our brains are slightly more developed? Or is it that we are fat and happy?

That thin line that is keeping us above the animal kingdom is starting to blur. This gas shortage has people on the edge, ready to dive over the line. People are fighting while waiting in 3-4 hours lines for gasoline, taking baseball bats to each other, stealing gasoline from yards, drilling holes in gas tanks, and threatening to kill fellow humans.

What are we going to do when the real issues start. When there are food shortages, when there is no medical care, when there are no jobs, no money, no water? Because it is coming. This is just practice...

Scary isn't it?

Here are so photos from my drive around town. Most every station was out of gas, those that had gas ran out in hours. Lines were MILES long, and blocked the main lanes of traffic. Even stores were closed b/c of the shortage. I just heard on the news a local college is closed b/c of the shortage.

The Gas Shortage and Spending Crunch...

Most people aren't aware, but here in NC we are out of gas. Just a few stations are open, and the lines are literally hours long!

It make absolutely no sense. Other areas that are fed by the same pipeline are fine. It is just us...

Well, it means tightening the purse strings even more. No more fun trips unless they are to the store for a necessity, no more special treats...

We as a country really need to think about our daily habits. We drive and "go" too much. We consume too much. We teach our children to want too much. It is just too much.

We need to make serious changes... It isn't about more regulations from the government, it is about less government regulations, less dependency and more conscious decisions.

Kleptos, Car Rides, and Contusions...

Yup, that summarizes our day.

My Father-in-law decided to pick today to become a klepto. He up and stole Carl's wallet. Seriously.


Ok, so he isn't really a kleptomaniac, my husband left his wallet on the table and it is remarkably similar to DadDad's wallet, so he grabbed the wrong one and headed over to work. Needless to say he was quite disappointed at the amount of cash (or lack there of) in the wallet!

We left the house in a rush to get on the road and get the wallet. Carl had to catch an airplane in Charlotte in the AM, so time was of the utmost importance.

Well, Canyon had other ideas. After the first few hours, he decided that the car ride was not going to be comfortable for anyone. We stopped at every single exit for a good portion of Virginia. At one rest area, there was an unexpected turn of events...

Arden decided that walking wasn't enough fun, so he began to run down a handicap ramp towards the lower sidewalk. As you can imagine (and guess from the title) that this didn't go so well for him... These were taken after the dent popped back out.




We got to the Erwin Walmart as it closed and got 5 containers for gasoline. WNC is out of gas so bad that I had to get Carl and some friends enough gas to get them to and from work tomorrow. I drove from our house to Hendersonville to take Joyce and Mario some much needed gasoline at 5am this morning.

On our drive home, cops (or "the law" as another passer-by called them) were lined up at the few gas stations who had gas, it looked like martial law was in effect in Asheville.

We did finally end our trip about 12.5 hours after it began... not bad for a normally 6 hour trek eh?

Needless to say, I'm sticking around the house for a few weeks.

The Land of Fairies and Chicken Sharks...

Does anyone else live there? No? Well Grammy and Dad Dad do! We went to Grammy's and DadDad's house on the way home from the festival.

They live in a land adorned with fairies...



Of course we did some fishing in the land of fairies...


And while we were fishing, we came across the amazing "chicken sharks"... Now what are chicken sharks you may ask... well, they are sharks that eat Grammy's chicken for dinner...

Ok, and now that you are totally confused... here is our bait:


And here are the sharks:



We had a great time!




We also went to the play ground!



After a day of enchanted fish and fairies, the children decided when and where to go to sleep...

American Whitewater's Gauley River Festival

We made it up to the G-Fest for the weekend and as usual, it did not fail to impress!

Boats, boats, gear, and more boats! The funny thing is that Arden cannot pass by a boat without stopping to touch it and sit in it. (As you can imagine, it makes for a long walk at the festival!)

We stopped and saw Paul and MK at the PS booth...



We were lucky enough to hang out at the Jackson Kayaks area and meet EJ and his family. Congratulations to the newest member of their family, and I can say for sure, the smallest visitor to the festival! K.C. is beautiful! The are a blessed family for sure.

Rory and Arden (and Canyon) played most of the day on the kayaks and with Dane as I made burgers to feed the masses.

Thank you to the Jackson Family for the hospitality and for the tee shirts!

On the road again...

We headed up to the Gauley Festival for the weekend. As usual we stopped to see Granny Eva while we were in town. The boys love their Granny. She is one of the sweetest women alive, I wish we got to stop and see her more often. I'm hoping to stop by Monday on our way home too.


Someday, (I hope) this will be my homestead, all of the land is ours (ours being my mom's and our family's) I want to build my home in the the back right corner, by the woods.

Painting/finishing foamies...

We are leaving for G-Fest in the morning. Long weekend ahead! Hope to blog each night though!

I love my MIL

This is my new toy she got me :)

It is official.

My kid is a bully.

Arden pinches, hits, pulls hair, bites, pushes, etc. He even picks the smaller kids to do it to. He also does it to his big brother. What can I do?

Sorry Joyce :o( I know that Jax has done it in the past to my kids, but I feel bad that the table turned.

Diarrhea in the Potty Training Toddler.

Need I say more? My day has been a non-stop journey of cleaning poo.

Learning About Life...

I sometimes forget that even the most simple moments are learning experiences... For example, finding a box turtle in the yard:

We went to the fair last night!

It was a blast. I have to download the photos. Joyce and Mario brought their little guy Jax and met up with us. I'll get more tonight or in the AM.

I love babies...

My friend and I were due at the same time with Arden and E.

The this year we were due on the same day with J and Canyon. (The girl had to show me up and have J before I had Canyon).

But because of crazy life circumstances, we haven't gotten to hang out much any more. She did get to come out today with J and E, such cutie pies! I took a few photos for her, I have some more, but this was all I have gotten edited:

Fall is arriving...

It is hard to believe, but the summer is coming to a close, and the signs are all around us.

The fog is hovering longer and longer, today at noon, this was still lingering:




And the temperatures are dropping. The boys can now wear their wool pants:





The seasons change so fast... almost as fast as children... where did the summer go?

I lied

No new blog for tonight. Joyce wanted some photos of her and Mario, but that fell through because he didn't want to take off work... so maybe next week.

Tomorrow I have to drive to Bristol to get some stuff. Fun times.

I'm sleeping on the floor tonight... my back is out.

Long Day, no pics

Long day, we had a lot to do. Dentist, cell phone, and more.

We did get to go see Sonya and the girls even though I had forgotten (some friend eh?)

I'll have a good blog for tomorrow...

Summer Memories...

Do you remember being a kid and eating fresh fruit by the basket full? We had a peach tree, plum tree, and apple tree while I was growing up. I remember picking fruit, running from the bees and feeling the juice running down my face. It was pure heaven.

We don't have any fruit trees right now. But we do have an AWESOME local farmers market, and they do have great prices if you find the right people... Today we ran by there to get some:

Watermelon:


And some peaches:


The boys didn't even wait until we got home to dig in! (I'll get a picture of Rory eating some later today.)

Spiders Everywhere!

Ok, so as many of my readers know, we have Black Widow Spiders all over the place... Today while we were cleaning up the yard, we found one... It was just a little one, I am hoping to have my camera on me when I find a bigger one.


I also got to see this beautiful guy (or gal)

Brithdays, Breastfeeding, and Fun!

Monday is Jax's 2nd birthday; today, his wonderful Abuela and Aunt threw him a Birthday Bash at Fun Depot.

The Cake was fablous (as all of Jodi's cakes from Short Street Cakes are).

It was a BLAST! All of the kids had a great time! Boy as an adult I find it overwhelming! I feel like coming home and turning into a hermit after all of the excitement! Phew, I swear it gives me an anxiety attack being around that many kids and adults.

Arden spent most of his time in the soft play area playing with Jax.



Rory got to ride the indoor AND outdoor go-carts! He and dad even got into a cart accident!!



While Carl and Rory finished up a round of mini golf, Arden and I sat on a bench and shared a goody bag while I nursed Canyon... and apparently ruffled the feathers of a rather prim and proper old lady... Joyce had the luxury of seeing her looks/expressions about it! LOL! As you probably guessed, I just smiled and kept on nursing...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAXON! And thanks to Mario, Joyce, and the rest of the family for being so wonderful!!!!