Celebrations

We celebrated Father's Day along with 3 birthdays.  This month has been (and will continue to be) so busy that we decided we were better off to just lump them all together and have one celebration.  It worked out perfectly.

That evening I was working on getting the food ready to put on the grill and literally, about 3 minutes after I got it all out there my weather alert on my phone went off saying we had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for our area.  We hadn't even been in a watch!  Nothing!  Just boom... a warning.  I was a bit skeptical until I looked at the western sky then thought, uh oh.  I turned off the grill and brought the food back into the house while calling to Marvin to warn him about the approaching storm.  The alert said to expect hail and winds to 60 mph - that there had been damage already with the storm.  He had just put 3 horses out on the back pen and didn't want to leave them there during the storm so he and Jackson took off to lead them back to the horse barn.  But, in just those few minutes, the front had already moved in.  I watched from the safety of our house with my teeth gritted as my husband, leading two horses without lead lines, was barely able to take steps forward because of the gusting winds.  Jackson had the third horse and was in the same shape.  Then the howling began.  I could  hear it in the house, but Marvin later said that it truly had 'that' sound... the kind that makes the hair on your neck stand up.  He said he realized at that point that if there truly was any rotation above him, it was too late to worry about it!  :)  Jackson, of course, just thought the whole thing was cool and was wishing he'd had his camera.

They struggled with the wind but got the horses to the barn then made a dash back to the house.  They were soaked by the time they got in but I was sure happy to have them back safe and sound.  Within 20 minutes, it was all over (crazy!) and I turned the grill back on to cook dinner (albeit late) while Marvin and Jackson led the horses back to the pen.  We were rewarded with a lovely double rainbow and a brilliantly clean looking sky.  So pretty.  And the temperature was perfect for our backyard meal.

Bella anxiously waiting for Governor and Shadow to join her again. 

We then got down to the business of celebrating; Father's Day with Marvin and Daddy and birthdays for me, Mama and Julie.  

Marvin, Mama, Julie, Daddy, Arayna, Jackson, Anna, Jonathan

Anna, Jonathan and Jackson showing you are never too old to enjoy a trampoline.

  although Jackson may be enjoying it a bit too much....  :)

Mama and Daddy gave me a lost treasure for my birthday.  They had somehow run across a copy of an old book of poems that I had written.  Daddy had the book published for me while I was in high school and I had been so proud.  But, ironically, while even today people sometimes tell me that they still have their copy, I had long since lost any of mine.  It was neat to look through it again, but a little cringe-inducing, too.  Oh, the teenage angst!  :)  Ah well.  Definitely something for my memento box.  

Compilation of poems written from age 6 to 16.