Watch Out for the Paw!

This weekend, we went to Augusta to visit the Guinns for their annual pool party, and we had such a fabulous time! Connie and Jake are wonderful hosts, and they open their home to all of the McMottes - event the ones with four legs.

They also have pets, and Lullabelle is fascinated by the cat. Can't take her eyes off her! She will follow Smokey around and just stare.

Smokey isn't phased by the attention - until she has had enough. Then she bats at LB's nose.

Boom Boom Pow

Sandy barks a big game - you would think she is fearless. But one little rumble of thunder, and she becomes a quivering ball of fur. During a recent thunderstorm, she was pacing and trying to find a place to hide from the very evil thunderstorm. So Marc made her a blanket fort.

It worked! She calmed down and stopped pacing. But Lullabelle still periodically checked on her to make sure she was okay.

And for the rest of the night she was fine, as long as Marc was in sight.

You Learn Something Every Day

As I was reading the comments on an article in today's Athens Banner-Herald, I had an earth shattering revelation. (which, from this paper, is extremely rare!)

Remember this song?

Yankee Doodle went to town,
Riding on a pony,
Stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni.

Macaroni actually has a meaning!! Did you know that? I thought it was used just because it rhymed with pony.

Back to the paper - there was a discussion of the definition of a hipster, which led to a declaration that a hipster is a modern day macaroni.

Huh?

Lucky for me, another reader provided the definition of Macaroni:
1. small pasta tubes: hollow tubular pasta, usually produced in short lengths.

2. well-traveled dandy: in 18th-century Britain, an affected, foppish young man who adopted the fashions, manners, and customs of the other countries he had visited.

Who knew?

Happenings in Hampton

While there isn't much to report at the McMottes, there are some changes in Hampton at the McDonalds. I mentioned that my parents were having a tree taken down, and it was removed this week. It's not as empty as I expected, and I like how it opens up the area around the porch.

Mama McDonald has decided retirement is the perfect time to take down the red barn. Now that they have the garage built, they don't need it for storage, and it will open up the view from the kitchen window.

Where Are You?

Sorry for the lack of activity lately.

While there is a lot going on, it's nothing that I think is worth posting . Marc and I have work, work, work. (UGA will have a very busy August and September and in our respective areas, we are trying to get the planning complete.)

But we are all well, happy and healthy.

My New Favorite Picture

Taken by Marc

Thank Goodness! They Were Smelly. . .

The dogs got groomed, and that calls for some pictures!

Grooming always wears them out. That's the only reason Sandy lets LB get so close.

She kept her bows in for over an hour - it was a record!

Check out her ear - the one on your left. It was stuck like that for a few minutes. And instead of being good doggie-parents and fixing it, we got out the camera, took pictures and laughed.

Oops I BBQ'ed my Pants!

While we in Pensacola, we ate at one of Marc's favorite restaurants - McGuire's Irish Pub. But before we could even eat our food, the busboy spilled barbecue sauce all over Marc's shorts.


It wasn't the guy's fault and he felt terrible, so we didn't make a big deal out of the accident. But Marc was not thrilled to have to eat (and walk out of the restaurant in front of people) in that state.


So he had an Irish Wake. It made the accident a little easier to handle!

Rub-A-Dub

Our dogs hate bath time - HATE it! Usually they go to the groomers once a month for a good scrubdown. Then for the rest of the month Sandy will get sprayed with doggie spray and Lullabelle will get a bath every weekend.

Once we got down to Pensacola, the girls were stinky. So we decided to give them a bath. This was a little different, though. Instead of in my bathtub, we were outside in the back yard. Can't you see the joy on their faces? :-)

Lullabelle actually got a bath twice in two days. The second came after she had the most fun ever in her doggie life. I had not felt well that day (I took a pain killer on an empty stomach and paid for it all day) and I was laying down. When I got up, I went to check on the dogs in the backyard and got a surprise.

See, the LaMottes have a fenced-in back yard and the dogs just love to be out there without their leashes. And we can leave them out there alone and not worry about them getting out. Sandy rolls in the grass and basks in the sun, while LB sniffs the smells and chases squirrels.

But the LaMottes have a neighbor who has a tree that is too close to the fence. And the roots from that tree are pushing the fence up. If it weren't for the following event, I wouldn't have even noticed.

So as I was saying, I go outside to check on the girls. Sandy is basking, and when I look for LB all I see is her bootie sticking out from under the fence. She was TRYING TO DIG HER WAY OUT UNDER THE FENCE!!! I ran over to her and yelled her name. She scooted out to see me, covered in dirt and sand, with the biggest doggie smile I have ever seen. Lullabelle was having the BEST time!

She has never tried to dig before, and we have no idea what possessed her to try and tunnel. Chuck (Marc's dad) fixed the hole and blocked off the area. And as Marc was giving her the second bath, I was wishing I had gone outside with my camera. The doggie butt sticking out was so funny, and that grit-covered grin was priceless. I wish I could show it to you! But I guess that's a moment that LB and I only will share.

Lullabelle Loves a Car Ride

Oh, How Time Flies

Years ago, Marc was a counselor at a recreation center for the City of Pensacola. Whitney and William were two of his campers. (Will actually ended up being one of his counselors when he became the Assistant Director). Now Whitney is a mama and Will is a newly married Marine.

Marc ran into them before the fireworks in Pensacola and introduced them to me. It was amusing to see how much of an influence Marc had on these two young adults, and it was quite obvious how much they cared for Marc and how much he cared for them. William will be heading to Afghanistan and while Marc wished him all the best, I could tell that he was really concerned for his well being.

Happy Birthday America!

Three days late.

Actually, the McMottes celebrated on the correct day in Pensacola. We went down for a visit with Marc's family over the long weekend. And I bought a new camera - woohoo! It's really nice, but now I have to figure out how to use all the bells and whistles. Here are a few of the pictures I took.

Marc waiting for fireworks

Marc and his Mama

The crew watching the fireworks

The Arnold Family

Marc's turn with the camera

One of Marc's faves - he taught Jack to respond to O-H!

Bye bye tree - hello deck!

My parents recently added a screened porch to the house. They will soon add a small deck, but to do so, this tree will have to go. I am sad about the loss of the river birch, but it is evidently a messy tree - always dropping leaves and clogging gutters. And I am not a fan of my parents on the roof cleaning gutters, so farewell, river birch!

Happy Birthday Mama Dot!

This is my 200th blog post. Yay me! But more important, today is my mama's 62 birthday. Yay Mama!

I came over to Hampton last night so I could spend the day with her (and get her a facebook page - friend her now!) Last night we went out for a birthday dinner at Red Lobster - yum! And my parents love me so much that we had to get some photos before we left for dinner.

Today Mama and I went shopping and then hung around the house. Here are some pictures she took of her beautiful garden.