2016/May/31 - Back to Work

After four days off, Grump had to shock his body back into servitude, forcing himself to get up at 5:00 am and make his two hour drive into work.

Phooey!

None of us really like Grump being out of town so much, but it's still a heck of a lot better than working for the stupid lizard folks.

Grump has finally conceded to reality, and begun taking a new approach to retirement, as shown here:

Maybe he'll get lucky and one of his numbers will hit?  (Don't hold your breath!)

Peace!

2016/May/30 - Water Park!

Happy Memorial Day!

Lots happened today, (shopping, of course, and a wonderful party in the evening with yummy, yummy roast pork), but the most significant event was our first ever trip to Sandy Beach Water park.

Wow!  We all had a blast, even Old Grump!

If you're ever looking for something to do in middle Georgia, this is a GREAT place to take a family, (i.e., a wonderful opportunity to let your kiddos run amok, tiring their little bodies out so they don't trash your house, at least for one day).  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Dodong, Sweetie, and Kuya in the car, as we prepare to drive to the water park.

Kuya in the water

Lola, Sweetie, Dodong, and Kuya in the water

Under the dunking machines

Old Grump and Dodong

Kuya splashing again

We lead a relatively quiet, uneventful life, (discounting the trips to the emergency room due to allergies, of course), but even so, sometimes things happen that just can't be explained.  For example:

What is this?

Peace!

2016/May/29 - Picnic!

Today we went to a picnic at the Sanford estate in south Macon.

But first, Grump had to check on his dahlia, which was very unhappy about being moved yesterday.  Today it was fine, growing vigorously as if nothing had ever happened.

The dahlia acting as if nothing had recently bothered it.

As mentioned above, the highlight of the day was a mid-afternoon picnic at the Sanford estate.

Mr. S himself

Kuya met a new friend there; the two of them played in a wading pool most of the afternoon.

Water fight!

The Sanford estate has two houses on it.  One is occupied by Mr. S. and his wife.  The other is occupied by a person who loves to garden, as you can see by these photos.

A cool raised bed growing beans

Back in Sweetie's hometown in the Philippines, lantanas are considered noxious weeds!  But here we fuss over them, and grow different varieties for their different colored flowers:

Weed or prized garden plant?

Although a bit past their prime, the lilies were still beautiful.  (That's Sweetie's and Kuya's legs you see in the background.)

The front house is very old, being built by Mr. S's grandparents I believe, and these days is in need of some Tender-Loving-Care.

Ouch!  This poor old house needs a band-aid!

Peace!

2016/May/28 - We Love Saturday!

The day started early, because we wanted to get some yard work done before it got too friggin' hot.

The first task of the day was to finally move the banana plants from their spot in front of the satellite dish, where their big ol' leaves sometimes interfered with our TV reception.  No TV is no loss for the adults, but the kids like to watch Disney Jr., so the bananas had to go!

The banana plants at their old spot, in front of the satellite receiver

Kuya helped to dig up the banana plants.

Dig, Kuya, Dig!!

Meanwhile, Sweetie, Dodong, and Lola were inside, taking it easy:

Sweetie, Dodong, and Lola taking a nap

Eventually, after lots and lots and lots of digging, the bananas were moved to their new home:

The two main cuttings of the banana plant in their new location

Grump's next tasks, (after the bananas were moved Kuya abandoned him and went inside to relax in the air-conditioning!), were to move the dahlias to better spots, and then to attempt to clean up the garden bed where his columbines were growing.

The dahlias were dug up and relocated, and immediately sulked; dahlias don't like to be moved.

An Unhappy Dahlia (see the shadow of Grump's hand in the lower right?)

Grump was starting to get tired when he began to work on the Columbine bed.  He didn't get it finished, and it still looks icky, but at least he started to control the weeds.

In the evening all of us went to Riverside Mall to buy Kuya some new clothes, as he has outgrown his pants and underwear.  (Kids do that!)

Lola and Sweetie helping Kuya try on some new pants

Dodong, Grump and Kuya being silly in the dressing room

Colorful department store display

A creative department store display

Kuya and Dodong wrestling while waiting for Sweetie to try on some shoes

After all the hard work shopping we rewarding ourselves with some ice-cream:

Lola, Kuya, Dodong, and Sweetie eating ice-cream

After the ice-cream was gone, and we got back home, it was now evening.  Grump and Sweetie went for a walk around the neighborhood.  Grump was impressed with some of the neighbor's plants, and since he had his cellphone with him him, he took some pics.

Peace y'all!

2016/May/27 - Vacation Day!

Although it was Friday, Grump was back home in Macon, because he took a vacation day.

Kuya had his last (half)-day of school, so after dropping Kuya off Sweetie and Grump went ...... shopping at the mall!

Sweetie and Grump preparing to shop

Whilst there they both posed for pics:

Sweetie

Grump

Meanwhile, back home, Dodong slept:

Soon it was time to pickup Kuya from school.  Once back home, Sweetie played on the computer, Dodong enjoyed eating a popsicle, and Kuya blew bubbles.

A Candy Crush Addict!

Silly Dodong!

Umm ...... YUMMY YUMMY!!

A boy and his bubbles

See the bubbles?

Lola and Sweetie have been working very hard with the plants.  Their efforts are paying off!

Our daylilies are beginning to put on a show:

The passionfruit vine that Grump has been letting grow under, (and through), the porch, (the same one that Lola and Sweetie pulled out last year, causing all manner of teeth gnashing), finally flowered:

Grump's pride-and-joy, a purple flowered salvia of some sort, continues to do well:

I'm not sure you can see it in this pic, but we have lots of little lizards in our yard.  They're very, very fast, so it's hard to get a good pic of them.

Finally, the day came to an end with Kuya participating in a piano recital.  He played a song he wrote, "Flower Power":

Kuya's Piano Recital

Peace y'all!