~See Ya Later Alligator!

~Philip the Alligator~

                                                                           
~The newest addition to our swimming pool extention project arrived the other day.  Philip, the alligator (named for the pet alligator from the book "The Red Pyramid"); formerly of the Union public pool has made himself quiet at home behind our house.  Having been rudely fired from his job at the local public pool in favor of a giant polar bear, Philip found himself abandoned on a public storage lot where his only companion was a large pile of mulch.  Seeing him there, looking so very sad; Dad went to the Parks Department office to learn more about the situation. To his horror the lady said that poor Philip was dew to be taken to the city dump!  After making several very long phone calls to the people incharge of the pool and the parks it was arranged that Philip would have a new home. And so two weeks later he found himself being loaded onto a trailer and hauled out into the country, where he was unloaded in our back yard. And so the tale of Philip the Alligator has a happy ending after all. He has a home where he will be loved and played with for many more years to come. Just another random thing that happened in Beaufort, MO.

~Tractor Sledding!

~Tractor Sledding with the Kids~

~Tractor sledding (of my own invetion) is one of our families favorite summer activities. With helmets on heads my siblings and the many kids that seem to be perpetually spending the night at our house all summer line-up in two's for their turn. The pairs hop onto the large sled (an upside-down sandbox lid with blankets in it), which is tied to the back of our farm tractor. With them firmly seated, I put Granny (the tractor) in 3rd and take them for a spin around the pasture.  After about 5mins of figure-of-eights, U-turns, and loopty-loos I drop them off back at the house and pick-up the next group. We will often do this for hours on a nice day. Just one of the things we do here in middle of nowhere Missouri.

~And so it begins...

~So my blogging begins!  Oh my, I have no idea what I'm doing. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon. Anyway we'll see how this works. I'll try posting again soon.