Saying Good-bye to our old friend Eppie

This morning, Eppie's old body finally failed her. She just layed down on the grass and couldn't even raise her head. Her breathing was very labored. Kathy & Britney called me at work and I came home and lifted her into the truck and took her to the vet. They gave her a sedative and I patted her head for about 10 minutes until it took effect. She still had that affectionate look in her brown eyes until she closed them. The Vet then injected her and her breathing stopped after just a couple of minutes. I brought her home and we buried her in the back yard.

It was pretty hard to see her go. She has been such big a part of our family for almost 15 years. From going on runs to her fetching obsession, she was the best pet ever. She brought lots of people joy and was known by park visitors as the Rockeater. We will miss her a lot.

Visit to the Airport

On Saturday, we made a visit to the airport. Britney and I took a ride among some big puffy clouds at about 7000 ft. and Ezra got to sit in the airplane and fool around with the controls and go for a ride in the tug and the tractor.

Tree Cutting

We noticed that there was a very large dead tree at the back of our property this summer. It was actually on Karl Kalber's property, so I asked him if I could cut it down for the wood and he said "go for it". The night before Jeff and Elise left for Atlanta, Jeff suggested we go and try to cut it down. It took about 45 minutes of cutting with the chain saw, but it finally fell. It is a hickory and is so big in diameter, that I had to cut the wedge in three segments with my 16" saw and use the end first to make the final cut in the back. The video at the bottom shows it actually falling.

Skydivng Experience!

Since I didn't get to go to Jeff's graduation, we decided it would be good for us to go on a little adventure together. Skydiving seemed to be just the thing. We flew in the RV to Jonesville, NC on Friday, 6/11. After 15 min. of training and waiting for our turn to come around for a couple of hours, we took off in a Cessna 206 with our instructors. We climbed to around 11,000 ft. (10,000 ft. above the ground) and then prepared to exit the airplane. Jeff and his instructor went first and we followed shortly. The first step was a big one. We got to free fall for the first 5000 ft. and then rode the canopies down the rest of the way. It was awsome!!!





Flight in RV to NC to go Skydiving


Skydiving plane leaving the grass strip


The Landing

Britney & Ezra Arrive

We went for a hike to the Indian Grave and did some dead tree tipping while we were at it.

Getting to know each other........Reid is much more "forward" than Ezra.

Reid caught in the act pulling Ezra's ear until he cried. Reid was just trying to be friendly.

Jeff & Ezra on the scooter.

Visit from Jeff, Elise, & Reid

This is Reid in the wagon Grandma bought at one of the many yard sales she has visited lately.

Reid thinks he is Eppie's best friend. Eppie doesn't really know what is going on anymore, so it works out good for both of them.

A little attitude!

Photos of the Homestead

The Front Yard

The new electric fence to keep the deer out.

The side yard. If you look close, you can see Jeff, Elise, Reid, and Eppie.

The back of the house.

The front with Elise and Reid in the wagon.