sPiDeR BiTeS?

My poor little Abby got bit by something 2 weeks ago! This one on her face was as big as a quarter, puffy and hot to the touch. These pictures don't do them justice, they looked a lot worse!!:(
This one was bad. It was as big as a softball or baseball! It was very hot to the touch and it was welted up. In the middle was a cluster of small blisters and the center of it was hard.

The bite was on the inside of her right leg above her knee.
As it healed, the redness started to go away, the welt was getting smaller, and all that was left was the small cluster of blisters in the middle. Finally, after 2 weeks, it is all healed. You can still see a faint outline where the biggest part of the sore was.

My oldest daughter Whitney had a bite similar to this a couple of years ago, and it lightly scarred her leg. I had taken her to the doctor and he said to just put cortizone cream on it and watch it closely.

Our Little Friends

This first picture is turned the wrong way but this is one of our little friends that comes and hangs around. During the day he is in my flower garden and at night he hangs out below the swamp cooler where the water drips. It never fails, he is out there every night trying to cool off.
He wasn't too sure about the flash from the camera, he was trying to hop away from me.:)

This is our other furry friend. This bunny is always hanging out under our lilac bush in the shade. As you can see, he is pretty relaxed and comfortable....until Abby chases him away!:)

The bunny is looking our way because he heard Abby! Watch out....here she comes!!!

pEaS iN a PoD!

We picked our first big bundle of peas last night and today! My girls were excited to say the least! We have been waiting forever for these peas! We have picked a few here and there over the last week or so and just eat it right after we pick it. Mmmmm! They are so good! I love fresh garden peas. Our beans didn't turn out this year so we'll have to try again next year. Abby was my big helper in shelling the peas. We had three bowls of peas to shell. Now, we are waiting patiently for our corn to be ready!:)
Here is just a start:)

No Training Wheels!

It has been about a month now since Abby has learned to ride without her training wheels! I just haven't had a chance to take a pic and post it. She is so excited that she can ride her bike like her sisters.

There she goes!

Byron Days Fireworks

All lined up waiting for the fireworks to start!
Aren't they cute:)

McKenna wasn't cooperating:(

My beautiful Whitney

Mady and Whitney watching the fireworks. Don't they look thrilled!

Finally got a pic of McKenna. Things changed after Lily got there!

The black lines running through the middle of the fireworks in the picture is the fence around the baseball field:)

RED, WHITE, and BLUE!!

Every year the City of Byron has a fireworks show for the end of Byron Days. And each year it is organized and done by Chris Good who does an amzing job. He picks different music that goes along with the fireworks and it is so cool! Believe it or not, this was the first year that Ruben and I have been and have taken our girls! Yeah, pretty pathetic I know. When it gets to be that late at night, I am tired and the girls are beat and we don't want to go anywhere. But this year we made it a point to go and are glad we did. We hope to make it every year from now on!

4th of July Weekend!

Abby loves her Cozy Car....she was playing a little tune for us.

This is Roxy. She is my girls' favorite visitor. They love this dog. Roxy belongs to my Uncle Ross and Aunt Carrie.

Mmmmmm......Rib Eyes!!!

Uncle Ross giving Ruben a few pointers on cookin' some good steaks.

The Chef using his skills :)

My grandma hates her picture taken. I snuck and got one though :)

Caught Carrie by surprise!

Abby had a little accident...she got burned by the punk:( If you look closely, you can see her blister on her thumb. OUCH!!!

This was the view from my Grandma Bobbie's front yard! Isn't nature a beautiful thing!

Another view

This is Abby's "I didn't do it, I am innocent look."

Running fast after lighting her first firework!

McKenna lighting her first one.

Uncle Ross and Uncle Pat were teaching the girls tricks they could do with Black Cat fire crackers! This one Whitney is lighting was wrapped in the cotton from the trees. It was pretty funny as cotton went flying everywhere. They put a cap off of a bottle on top of one to see how far the cap would go into the air. Then they put an empty plastic bottle over one to watch it blow up, etc.!!! They had lots of fun!

Abby is holding a Roman Candle

McKenna is the only one not scared of Sparklers!

This is Whitney's first time ever holding a sparkler!:) She has never been fond of these things because of the hot sparks that come off of them. Uncle Pat finally got her to try it. She still wasn't too sure!;)

All three doing a little dance while lighting fire crackers. Yes, Uncle Ross was having McKenna hold the fire cracker while Abby lit it and then McKenna would hurry up and throw it! I couldn't watch very many of them because there were some close calls. But the girls were having a blast!

My pictures were a little backwards but oh well. Here Abby and McKenna were getting things ready for the Firework show:) We had a great weekend! My mom's brother Ross and his girlfriend Carrie came over from Rapid City for a couple of days. It is always fun when they come because they come prepared with lots of food and fun! My girls' favorite is the dog Roxy!! They play with her the entire time. They love Ross and Carrie too. Carrie always remembers every holiday and birthday and sends the girls gifts. Thanks Carrie for always remembering our special days. We had a great weekend with lots of food and awesome family!

Lovell's Days

My Whitney is looking so grown up!
Maricella and Ray on their 20th Class Reunion Float

Anessa and Abby waiting for the Parade to start

Abby getting her candy

The kids got a lot of candy!

The girls with Aunt Maricella

Anessa and Abby by the lake

Anessa, Abby, and McKenna waiting for the Fireworks to start at Horshoe Bend

The view behind us at Horshoe Bend just before the fireworks began....Beautiful!

We weren't into Lovell's Days as much this year. I was in the Follies as a Bench Dancer. Whitney caught the flu bug and was sick from Thursday to Saturday. So we really didn't attend a lot of the festivities going on. Whitney woke up Saturday morning and was feeling better so we went to Uncle Ray's house and watched the parade. I think it was a little better this year. Last year, I think it lasted a whole 15 minutes. Anyways, then we went home and took a nap. About 4:00 we went back over to Ruben's brother's house and had a barbeque. Mmmm...it was delicious! Then about 8:00, we headed out to Horshoe Bend and enjoyed the beautiful weather and fireworks. We were excited to have my sister in law come from Austin, Texas to attend her 20th Class Reunion. She was only here for 3 days. It was a pretty relaxing weekend which I loved!