Dem Boys Done Gone Got Demselves a new Deer Camp!

um..........that should have been titled "Hunting Camp" because those boys don't JUST hunt deer here........they hunt everything that can be hunted.....deer - duck - hog - crawfish - squirrels - coons - and even rattlesnake WHICH THEY COOKED AT MY HOUSE LAST WEEKEND!!!  and yep....every single item is usually cleaned and eaten....cept the coons!!  I hope!

So.......................on the property that their dad bought and  they've been hunting on for the last several years, where they had a house to sleep in that was kinda...um.....gross.  (to say the least)  but served its purpose, their dad had a vision.

The vision of a beautiful legacy.

A hunting camp to pass down thru the ages. Where the kids can play and learn to hunt, the dogs will have free reign to roam and play and the adults will all have a comfortable place to sleep and hang and be together as a family!

Do you see all of that concrete OUTSIDE the house?  those will all be covered porches with rocking chairs to sit and admire the beauty of the land.

It's hard to see just yet because they haven't finished clearing but this will be the view from the family room, the kitchen and each of the 4 family bedrooms. It looks out over the flat hunting area where my boys are in their element! The bluff drops down about 50 ft from the house to where they hunt.  The grandbabies are going to have a blast playing here until they are old enough to hunt with their daddies and mama's. And even after they're old enough!!  Even ol' yaya will have her pergola with sweet smelling jasmine planted around it with a swing inside of it to watch the babies and time tick away!!

Look closely and you'll see the deer stand in between the two trees on left....that used to be a big boy stand but now that its visible from house, it may turn into Lilli and Austin's stand....so we can watch 'em!!  heheh.

This is the view from the front of the house facing the hunting fields....see all those holes? windows? I counted them today. There are 28 windows...to catch every view from every side of the house! We made all my kid's bedrooms big enough for a bed and a set of bunk beds or crib...whatever they need at the moment.  Shared bathrooms with each other. Of course, the cap'n and I have our own...heehee! Also a guest bedroom for any of those boy's friends or couple friends of ours.  And a bunkroom with many beds for those "other" boys...and they know who they are....or a playroom for kids when the big kids don't want them around!!!!  Hey! this ain't our first rodeo in the house building arena!!

Just look at this view from the porch outside the family room!!!  Oh yeah.....I see many evenings sitting here watching a sun set in the west!  And if I'm correct........the firepit will sit over here too.......and many evenings are spent by my kids and their friends around that firepit telling war stories of their days spent in the hunting fields!!

My boys are so happy...........and my heart is so full..........because we are able to leave our children and their children and THEIR children with such a special place to continue on the ritual of bonding thru nature and the beauty of the land~!

Happy Memorial Day!!

"For love of country they accepted death." 

~~james a. garfield~~

On this Memorial Day weekend, all of my family was together, along with many of our friends. We had such a fun time together and tonight my heart is so full of love for them.  Not to mention my belly from all the great food we had.  Much too tired to post all the funny pics tonight but will be back soon to do just that!!  Hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend~ !

Mornings at Rio Bonito .....on a Happy Birthday!!

You know you're a lucky gal when you walk out your front door and get to see this ^  first thing!  And then simply turn around and see this beauty!

Not only the perfection of the bleeding heart flower, but upon closer inspection.....the canouer paddling down the river at his own speed!

A shrimp plant that is special to the cap'n, my oldest son and his wife, for this is what they saw while at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala!

Just a few more steps and I spy my lil lettuce plant growing in its colandar!  Right beside the view from the deck over the river!

Yep.  It's pretty nice waking up at the ol' camphouse ........... in all its glory!!

Only thing that could have made this one better was to have had my sweet daughter-in-law, Rachel and her new bebe boy sharing it with me today!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEW MAMA!!

(me thinks she got just what she wanted for this birthday year -- and his name is Austin Rex!!)

Girlfriends at the Lake!!

                                               So we did!!!  Made it GOOD, that is!!

Talking, eating, drinking, laughing and watching this!

Perfect day with super memories!!

An adventure...

saw this on a blog and it hit me right square in the face!!!  I've been researching Italy for my trip until my eyeballs are bleeding olive oil, wine and cathedrals!!  I CANNOT WAIT!!

and yes!!  I'm sure I will get lost many times!!  woooooohoooooo!!!

A Thankful Mom!!

That would be me!!  I had THE most wonderful mother's day weekend......and all because of my sweet sons, daughter in laws and my boyfriend. 

They came early on Saturday and cap'n made everyone those great griddle cooked hamburgers and french fries.  YUM!  During the afternoon, we hung out....laughed....played in the hot tub....had a few cocktails.  Just a great laid back afternoon.  Before I knew it, those boys were bringing in the CRAWFISH!! This has become an annual mom's day tradition -- middle son baits and then runs the traps until we have enough for the meal.  Then, together with babyboy and boyfriend, we all sit around while they're cooking.  I always say I'm going to photograph the final boil......potatoes,corn,mushrooms,eggs and the crawfish.  It is a glorious site to behold but my lil greasy fingers can never wait before digging in and by the time I remember to get the pic...........we've, um....kinda eaten it all!!!

But I DO have a few shots of the babygirl playing with this....while she was in the hot tub!!

A little different than her first crawfish boil back in april of 2010!

After all the play with him, he did, of course, grab her finger with his claws and HayHay had to do a little damage control!!  But it didn't take her long to ger right back into the action!  So, she had played so hard that even before we began eating, she was down for the night.  But first--everyone had a little prayer to thank Him for the perfect day and for all she loves!!

After they all had to go home on Sunday, my boyfriend took care of me ALL daylong!  He cleaned up everything from the weekend while I napped!  He took me for rides, he cooked dinner AND cleaned up again.....sweetest man alive!

Only thing missing over the weekend was my oldest son, his sweet bride and my new grandson, Austin...they've realized the hassle of traveling with a new bebe!!  heheh.  But they'll be here for Memorial Day weekend and I have a feeling that will be a "moonshine" kinda weekend too!!

Her first Mother's Day!!

There may be alot of things that I don't know the answers to in this life ..... but THIS is not one of them:

I love my children, and that man, more than life itself!!

A Mother's Day from the past....

This yr. Mother's Day falls on May 13th.  16 yrs ago, mother's day fell on may 12......I know this because on May 13th of that yr, my mom passed away.  She had been sick with cancer and for the last few weeks of her life, my brother and sister and I all left our jobs and our families and went "home" to take care of her. My boys were so young and busy but my boyfriend fell right into the role of mom/dad and took care of them while I was away. He will never know how much that meant to me....to be free of the worry of my own children while I took care of my dying mother.  It was her wish to be at home. And at that time, it seemed like such a small wish.....one that we could make possible.
My mom LOVED hot dogs!  In fact, the last food she asked for was a 'weiner'!  Go figure!! Guess that's where my love for them comes from!  So, on that mother's day in 1996, when we knew it was only a matter of days and that no matter what.....my mom would not die on mothers day.....we celebrated her, only a room away, with a meal of HOT DOGS!  I shopped for the food and bought the fattest and biggest weenies I could find, along with every single topping you can imagine to go on top.  My family gathered round at lunchtime and toasted each other, and my mom, with a raise of the loaded hot dog!!! I was quite pleased with myself for coming up with the idea and we all laughed and felt it was definitely most fitting for her final mother's day!  She left us the next day.....and I've never felt holier.   The closest anyone can ever be to an angel on earth is to be with a loved one when they die..........for you can almost feel the surrealness of a ~ swish-swish ~ in the room as they picked her soul up, looked me straight in the eye and carried her up to the heavens. Whew!  and that day was May 13.......which is Mother's Day this year.

So.......................in wishing all of my family and all of my friends a Happy Mother's Day, I also raise a

to my mom so she knows that I'll never forget her or all the crazy things I learned from her in my lifetime.  She's where THIS" crazy" got all her crazy from!!!

Crazy blogging Friends are the BEST!!

Isn't it just crazyasscrazy??  How this funny internet can bring people together in the strangest ways?  Most of you know that I've met some of my best friends thru communications by computer.....um.....as in, hosting 28 women from all over the world for a weekend at the lake??  As in....we had never seen each other face to face until that weekend; yet, every single one of us were bestest friends and it felt like we had know each other since birth??  um........yeah, THAT kind of crazy internet communications!!  BEST WEEKEND EVAH!!    Well, since I've been blogging, I've met that same type of friends, all of whom I've yet to meet in person, but will soon.....I can promise ya that!!  Yesterday, after finally getting home, I go to mailbox to see a surprise in there..........Yep.....my buddy, jane, from Artfully Graced http://artfullygraced.blogspot.com/ sent me a fun momento of her!! She knows my love of windchimes and now she has added to my collection!

So...even tho she's an Auburn Tiger-aaacccckkkkk, I love her everso and have so enjoyed getting to know her thru this crazy medium that has become a way of life for us all.  AND??  she lives in Florida so I WILL be meeting her on her turf soon!!!!!   Thanks again Jane.....you've  made my heart warm once again!  (I also have one of her original paintings!!

What the Cap'n might be thinking......

"I start from the premise that no object created by man is as satisfying to his body and soul as a proper sailing yacht."
~Arthur Beiser (The Proper Yacht)~

Blew Bayou anchored outside Rio Dulce Guatemala while the cap'n gets cleared for entrance into the country.

Rio Dulce... a natural treasure

Rio Dulce means "sweet river" in Spanish and it is aptly named. The waters of the Rio Dulce are fresh, clean and clear. There is no heavy industry anywhere along the system of rivers and lakes that make up the Rio Dulce, so pollution is non-existent.
Rio Dulce has many visitors because of its location, on the way to the northern part of the country and 25 miles from the Atlantic Coast. It connects the biggest lake in our beautiful country, LAKE IZABAL, with the Atlantic Ocean. You may travel easily from Rio Dulce to other destinations such as Tikal, Quirigua or Livingston in Guatemalala, and Copan in Honduras. You may even go by water or land to Belize. All of these world famous destinations are visited by people throughout the year.

HURRY HOME CAP'N.......WE'VE GOT CRAWFISH READY TO BOIL!!

Sweet Dreams, Blew Bayou!

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."
~~William A. Ward~~

The time has come once again to park Blew Bayou for hurricane season.  She will sleep in Guatemala for the season where she will be protected from wind and storms. The marina also helps to keep watch over her to make the cap'n comfortable leaving her there until he can play again!  He loves central america so he sailed her around the Bay islands this year, having his base at Roatan.  He came home first of April but had to go back last Saturday to make the final trip to Guatemala.

The most well-known of the Bay Islands are Roatan, Guanaja and Utila. Roatan, which is only 30 miles long and a mere 3 miles wide, is the largest of the eight islands and almost 60 cays that comprise the Bay Islands. The Bonacca Ridge, a submerged mountain range, created the spectacular isles and a thriving barrier reef, second only to Australia’s Great Barrier.

He left shore at 3 am this morning and I just received these pics a little while ago.  As you know, Saturday night was the Super Moon, meaning the moon was closest to earth that night. But the full moon was on the 6th.....which was the perfect light for sailing the seas .... a beacon for the sailor!  As if the perfect moon wasn't beautiful enough, take a look at what greeted him as the sun came up!!

Sunrise in the Caribbean!  5-7-12!

"The ocean has always been a salve to my soul...the best thing for a cut or abrasion was to go swimming in salt water. Later down the road of life, I made the discovery that salt water was also good for the mental abrasions one inevitably acquires on land." Jimmy Buffett

Sweet Dreams, Blew Bayou!!

and HAPPY 1ST ANNIVERSARY to Josh and Hailey!!  Hard to believe a whole year has gone by since we partied and cried and laughed and watched them pledge their love to each other! 

My lil Cinco de Mayo grandbabies!!

So.  It's very obvious that our family loves so many different things...........my boys have always been "outside" guys, meaning they love everything nature oriented.  And as I've mentioned here before, they love the deer camp alot.  A whole lot!!  So............middle son, Lilli's dad, is at the deer camp this weekend with his sweet family and their friends.  After their work was done today, they went to check the crawfish traps and gather for their crawfish boil tonight.  This pic is of my sweet Lilli riding in the boat being pulled by her dad on their way out to the traps!!   um...........yeah, I think she is getting a well rounded education in the outdoor world!!

and here she is at the duck pond last week.  It was a beautiful day and the duck pond called our name! A memory maker, for sure.....

And then there's Austin!  Sweet Sweet baby Austin............he turned 3months old on May 1st.  He is a doll and such a good baby.  and always full of smiles for everybody!  When I was there last week, we did a lil shopping and found this precious hat.  And how perfect it is for a Cinco de Mayo celebration.  He looks just like an amigo ready for some tacos!!

I just love that all my children are having so much fun with their babies!