Life of Landry

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Parker, a chapter of life...(updated)


From the day we dropped him off for basic training to the day we picked him up as a Veteran of the Army 2010-2014

Graduation from Basic ~ Ft. Sill, OK Feb 2011
Air Defense MOS: Patriot Missile

First taste of freedom!!


Getting ready to leave for Korea for a year ~ Aug 2011

Korea 2011-2012 ~visiting a famous memorial- Hill 303

~ just a good photo ~ taken in Korea ~

While in Korea, he made the post softball team!

Home from Korea ~ Aug 2012 ~ with Brody and Sam ~ next station, El Paso, TX
MOS: Starting a new unit for the Thaad Missile, in charge of the Armory

Oh, and while in El Paso, he played a little softball, like 3-4 days a week, every week for 2 years. Won the championship most seasons ~ just sayin' ~ Played for "Toxic" mainly, some other teams here and there, and the post team. Along with playing flag football and working out at the gym. Job, work, you ask? Yes, he did that too.

The next chapter of The Life of Parker: University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX... stay tuned...

We are proud of Parker! Proud he joined, proud he's out, proud he's headed to college!

Just a little story about him joining~ Months before, Luke had joined the Marines, well signed up but had not left. It was something that Luke discussed with us a good bit, we knew of his interest. So all summer, we would tell people that Luke would be going into the Marines in Jan 2011 (was suppose to go in Aug 2010, but broke 3 bones in face, had surgery and had to wait 6 months before they would let him in), so we would tell everyone that Parker was going back to ABAC in the fall, he would be our college student. WELL, one night we were sitting around watching TV and it was getting late and usually Parker would have gone upstairs by now, but was still hanging around chatting, so I causally asked Parker what he was up to the next day, you know just making conversation- WELL, he said, causally, "I have joined the army and tomorrow I am going to Jacksonville to be sworn in." WHAT???? Where the heck did that come from??? Total surprise - TOTAL! I mean no discussing this with his parents first, nothing (which explained why he was still hanging around that night - he was probably trying to figure out how to tell us- he knew he had to and time had run out). Of course we were fine with his decision (and in the back of my mind I was thinking- whew, I was just about to send in his tuition, like the next week!! that was close- don't know if they give refunds or not). So Luke joined like the beginning of the year and had to wait a year before leaving. Parker joins in Aug and leaves in November!! It was all very quick and very much a surprise. Oddly the 4 years did go by kind of fast, even though he only came home 5 times in 4 years, and we went to visit him twice in Oklahoma (once when Luke was there too) and once in El Paso. So I saw him 0nly 8 TIMES in 4 years - that makes me sad. But he is here now and for 6 weeks. I will enjoy each day of it!!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Jack came to visit!!! And he brought Luke and Hannah!! whoop whoop

Well the visit was a total success!! Jack and Landry got along great. They seemed to enjoy the way the other one played, and boy did they play. But the best thing was, there was no fighting, growling, and getting really annoyed with one another. Landry could not get enough of Jack. He was in his face licking (loving) him constantly - and I mean constantly!! It was a bit much. I have to give it to Jack, he handled it like a champ. Jack is a really good gentle dog and well behaved - that was nice :) (I have some very short videos that I was trying to edit to just have one 3 min video, but that has proven difficult. If anyone has some tips, please share.) But when Jack first got here and they were running around, Landry would jump over Jack's back while walking or running along side him. Like jump lengthwise, not head first over, but whole body sideways- parallel to Jack. It was pretty crazy! I have it only once on video. So, to sum up the week- fun, fun, fun. And best of all was having Luke and Hannah home!
Get ready for picture overload- just be glad that Jack is black and was a bit hard to photograph and that most pictures were a big blur, or there would be tons more.

And this is how they played-Together, close, tight, and mouthy- poor Ernie (he did survive- well, he is in waiting for surgery). They were so loud too, just all that breathing! Oh WAIT, that was only Landry, Jack is as quiet as a mouse. But goodness at all the mouthing that went on. And I should mention that Jacks head was always wet, from Landry's lovin.

Check out Jacks teeth in the top left!! Ferocious - looking! Too funny with this Frisbee- this may have been the only thing they did that brought some tension to the party- but just a little tho.

Landry LOVES Jack- to the point of being obnoxious :)

A little play and rest time ~ all with Sock Monkey

Jack and Landry in some of the calmer moments :)

Landry loves all this attention and love

Seriously, Landry could NOT get enough of Jack - Jack on the other hand, could get enough of Landry :/ Is this not precious and ridiculous all at the same time :)

The visit wasn't all about dogs! Had a belated birthday party for Luke!!

Jack sits so politely watching his dad open his gifts!!

And the cousin's all meet- and they had a blast! Jager maybe the smallest now, but the next time they meet- that will not be the case! Future weights of full grown dogs: Landry- 70-80lbs, Jack 90-100, Jager 100+ (I think). Next visit will be interesting, and in November! *notice the photo is blurry- they all were, shows just how much activity was going on*

Meet Jager - a mastador @ 17 weeks. He is the puppy of Hunter and Elizabeth

Meet Jack - German Shepard/Lab mix @ 6 months. He is the puppy of Luke and Hannah :) aka our granddog! and I must say he is a really good dog (not just to be bragging and all....but)


Jack has huge paws! Landry's paw on top-Jack's bottom(only 6months old, I remind you!)

The following pictures are of the aftermath. Landry sighed -at ME- all the next day. Like I made them all go home....

Landry never lays here at the back door- so sorry y'all couldn't hear all the disapproval he was putting out.

Still pouting....

And it came down to this. HA!! Tim made him feel all better. (the things we do)

Monday, May 26, 2014

HaPpY 25th Birthday to PARKER & LUKE!!


On their first birthday :)


Love these boys! So much fun over the past 25 years.


They have always brought much joy, happiness, and laughter to our family.

Luke- what a character - Love his zest for life!!

Parker -in his first triathlon -he is such an encourager!

This is just a brief summary of a wonderful 25 years. I could not be prouder of the men Luke and Parker have become. I want to thank them for being good children to raise, for not talking back, for not going down the wrong path in life, for their positive attitude, for their love of adventure (and no, I didn't have a heart attack - even tho there were many times y'all about gave me one). Thank you both for being independent, responsible, caring, generous, fun, exciting, quick witted, and always confident enough to be yourself!! Stay true to yourself and always trust and lean on God for guidance, comfort, and strength.

I love you, admire you, and absolutely adore you both. Wishing you a happy birthday today and many many more in the future!!!

I mean, can you get any more handsome than that - I think NOT!

a Little side story on Landry:

His bed in our bedroom is on Tim's side, right next to the bedside table, which is a round table with a cloth on it. Well, the long cloth under the topper is just a sheet, and I have the long extra ends nicely tucked under the table (so not to look like I cheated and used a sheet and then didn't bother to hem it - and know I'm telling on myself). Well, many days I notice that Landry has pulled out all that extra material! So, I always fix it back and wonder what makes him do this! (and of course think Pete never messed with this, why is Landry). Well, today Landry was still asleep when I got up and was getting dressed (and the only reason he would still be asleep is because it is MONDAY- and that dog is slam pooped after a weekend and he never gets up on time or even when we do, he will eventually get up and go straight to his kennel. It takes him to about Wednesday to recoup). Anyway, today, I noticed he had done it again!! So I tip toe over to see why - and that dog is laying his head on it like a pillow or his blanket!!! Oh my lawd - this dog cracks me up. It is totally my fault, I'm sure. I am the one who always gave him a blanket and made him a pillow for his kennel- and he LOVES them. He curls up with his blanket and pillow just like a baby would - precious. So I guess to save my table, I need to give the poor little fellow a proper blanket for his bed downstairs! Bless him.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

This Saturday I went to my cousin's Renewal of Vows Ceremony. It was with my Ray family, and I have to say I LOVE my family!!! I am truly blessed to have such wonderful families in my life- on ALL sides - Rays, Clements, Hendrick, White, and Gibbs. They are all large, all loud, all fun, and all with their quirks and uniqueness, and ALL AWESOME!!!! Needless to say we had a great time. We usually see the Rays only at Thanksgiving (some times being 2-3 yrs before we can all be there), so to be together again was fun! My cousin and his wife are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary, and being they didn't have a wedding the first time, they wanted to renew their vows in front of their family and friends. Honestly, it was perfect, such a sweet special ceremony!! I wish them much happiness with their growing family (they already have a precious little boy and are expecting TWINS!). From the first time I met Karen, I knew she was perfect for Daniel! They are just too cute together and she is a great addition to our family!

So after driving 6 hrs up Saturday, and driving 6 hours back on Sunday, Tim was ready for a jeep ride when I returned home at 5:30 pm. Sure, why not, I say. Nothing like a good jeep ridin'!(of course I'm the driver, so I should say a good jeep drivin'). So we fill up with gas, and off we go. We ride by the new high school that is being built, drive out to Cool Springs, drive thru Ellenton, ride out towards Reed Bingham, but decide to turn right instead of into Reed Bingham. Now turning right is new territory for us, neither had ever been this way before. So we ride and enjoy the beautiful turf fields, I mean really! The land all around us is just breath taking if you take the time to enjoy it. God has put it out right in front of us, and I want to thank Him for it! Riding around seeing fields, hills, trees, cows and such is pure enjoyment. So we are just enjoying our ride and views, and turning right each time we have to decide which direction to go next. We ride some more, go thru very small communities (like a store at cross roads, but houses are closer together), make some more right turns.... you get the picture. Just so you know, at this point we have NO idea where we are AT ALL! So we ride some more, thinking we may have entered into Cook Co, but should be headed back towards the Old Adel highway. Then we ride by something that says Valdosta! So Tim finally pulls out his phone to see JUST where we were. We were almost at I-75, near Valdosta, 45 min from home! So it (GPS) tells us to go to the end of the road and turn RIGHT- ha, ironic! So when we did, we see a neighborhood that says Hahira- wha?? Truly it looked just like the neighborhood that Lela lives in- I mean how many gated communities does Hahira have?? We are now traveling this nice small hwy, we cross over "MeetingHouse Creek" what an odd name- and it was big- who knew it existed! (ok, you world travelers- yes this is just hwy 122- but at the time, I had NO idea where I was, and I do not go to Barney nor Hahira, so all new to me). So in minutes we are in Barney- which means PEACHES!! What a pleasant surprise, so I whip in there and get me some fresh peaches!! How fun is this adventure, I ask! So, on the road again, for me I am still on unknown roads, until we get to the crossroad that right takes you to Berlin, left to Morvan, straight Pavo. We go straight. At Sand Hill we make the decision to go on to Pavo. I mean, why not? So from Pavo headed home, we decided we needed food to grill, so Coolidge is now the next stop of our trip. So we take some strange dirt road to cut over to 319. It turned out to be such a pretty dirt road, trees on both sides of the road for miles - no houses, no fields, nothing but trees - just lovely- at this time it was getting to be after 8 pm. So, our nice little jeep ride took us a little over 2 hrs, 1/4 tank of gas and to 5 counties: Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, Lowndes, and Thomas!!! Pure enjoyment! So glad we decided to take unknown roads, and were able to explore and see the beauty all around us. It was a great day, and a great weekend. Just wish we had an app like MapMyRun - such as MapMyTrip- would love to see our path :)

New Jeep and Landry :)

and to carry on.... MONDAY the 26th is Luke and Parker's 25th BIRTHDAY!!! Whoop whoop! I mean 25!!! Love them so much!!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

The cousins stayed the weekend!!

Landry had so much fun playing soccer with his cousins, Brody and Sam!

They checked out the fish

They played sword fight- all 3 having their own sword!!

For Landry, it doesn't get much better! Brody dropped his pillow and the second it landing on the floor Landry was lying on it! Then to have Brody's little feet on his back.....heaven !


And this is were it got fun! The yardwork (no you can not come to my house for the weekend and not do anything!) So with a lot of persuading, and a little imagination the "games" began!!! Of course I didn't get their attention until I announced the score was Hayes- 2, Brody and Sam-0! oh it was on....

Starting with "First stick ever" which lasted for about 20 sticks, until Brody said "you know this isn't really our first stick ever anymore!" Smart kid! Then we switched gears and played pick up 5 or more: pinecones, then big sticks, then skinny sticks, how many sticks can you hold in your arms, who can find the biggest stick, sticks with pine needles still attached...then Sam announced his legs could not do any more and he needed to go inside for some video time... job well done guys, job well done!!

We started the day with Brody's last soccer game of the season- which they won and played really good. Brody said they were undefeated, couldn't anyone beat them! This is Brody and his friend Harrison with their trophies.