Summer of neglect

After visiting Mom and Dad's a couple of weeks ago, I was horrified by what I saw when I drove up. Not only was the house unrecognizable, it darn near reached condemned status after Dad's summer of discontent. Between the overgrown yard, fenceposts falling over, to Mom trembling in the basement, saying, "I'm batman....I'm batman...gotta rid...city of villains...," I could tell that my presence was more than needed. So after trimming the yard, fixing the fence, rebuilding the mailbox, and ridding the house of Annie (unsuccessfully), the house was back in order and Mom regained her sanity. As for Dad, you don't want to even know what the before and after pictures even resemble. Get well old man!

The lawn mower still worked, although it had more cobwebs on it than my scriptures...

The house was beyond recognizable, but shockingly, the truck still ran!

"Mickey Mouse is alive and well and building fences in Sunnydell, Idaho..."

Luckily, I brought my machete, not to mention my DR Lawn and Field Trimmer...

Finally, here are some of the pictures when the work was finished. The house was restored to it's original state, complete with enough dog hair to keep 1,000 eskimoes from freezing in Alaska.

After the work was done, my hand looked worse than Dad's back. Luckly, I escaped without Annie trying to lick my wounds...

Jason Little

So Jason and I just finished the summer working for TNT, and as usual, it was nothing short of an extraordinary summer (not). It didn't take long for a nickname (Chicken Little) to get attached to the little guy, and I couldn't fathom a more fitting moniker for Jason. Although the sky may be falling around him, he remains steadfast with his uncanny ability to lead his band of misfit friends on one adventure after another.

At Grandma's House

During our summer in Idaho we made some new friends:

Annie

and sweet baby Gwennie

We pondered the beauty of our Gem State

and danced until sunset...which is really really late at Grandma's in the summer.

This kid loved Idaho's wide, open spaces-

He could just run and run and run....

We Miss Grandpa

Things just aren't the same around here.

Dam Project!

Check out Aunt Jan's story on www.Rexburbia.com. My blanket request for stories from strangers that I posted on Rexburbia a couple weeks ago was fruitless, so I had to cajole family into participating for me. Aunt Jan was good to comply. Keep checking Rexburbia during the week for more "family history." (I tried to not make it appear that I was only utilizing family by asking relatives with different last names.) I swear this Rexburg journalist-ish gig is difficult for a chick living 16 hours away from Rexburg. Who ever knew.

Holland, Nolte booked on charges of lewd drunkenness

Sunday night was auspicious occasion in rural Maricopa, Arizona, as famous actor Nick Nolte, and his accomplice, Holland, terrorized the town and gave new meaning to the saying, 'Paint the town red.' Nolte is well renowned for his acting ability, but more well known for his ability to hold a drink. However, in a rare case of a child prodigy gone mad, he couldn't hold a candle to this young toddler he caroused with that night. "She was pounding them left and right..." reported an onlooker, who was unable to stop Holland from out-drinking everyone in the joint. Eventually, the party spilled outside, where young Holland screamed at oncoming traffic and reportedly shouted various threats to members of a nearby crowd, directly her vile toward her arch rival, who's only known as 'the baby with one eyebrow.' The chaotic situation eventually calmed down when police arrived to haul Nolte and his 'mini me', as he was calling her, off to the county jail. Holland, who showed no remorse for her actions, only offered this statement to reporters, "Give me fruit snacks...and a cold one."

Viewing pleasure 3

You better believe I was the X-factor...or at least I tried to be, until the old, cranky security guard came up and told me he would make me eat the flag if he saw it again...