Macon Fun of the Grants: July 2009

I know, I know. I have been a complete blogging slacker. I just can't seem to get motivated to post on this thing. Ok, so here goes:
Since we left off, Ben has graduated law school, moved back to Texas, lived in Austin for 7 weeks taking a prep course for the Bar exam and, as of Thursday (his birthday) he has officially moved to Abilene and into our new house. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.
We celebrated Ben's birthday at the swim club. I forgot my camera so just take my word for it. Ben, you went from:
This cute little thing

To this... little thing

To this handsome thing. Happy 27th birthday and I love you very much!

Just a cute picture of Eleanor

While Ben was gone, Penelope decided to catch some poor little bird and then bring it in the house for no other reason than bragging rights. It was still alive and I was screaming and sweating profusely (I don't handle rodents or other wild animals in my house well) with my broom trying to sweep it out of the house. It would move everytime my broom would hit it and when I would jump back and scream, 3 cats would pounce causing a blood bath which I really wanted to avoid in my house. Penelope finally got the bird away from me, took it into my bedroom and proceeded to eat it under Ben's bedside table.

I have been keeping our work cat at my house for nights and weekends. We have a new kitty for our farm at work but it is just too hot to keep it in the workshop. Fitz doesn't want anything to do with him but Penelope sees him as the son she'll never have. My clients decided the name "Midnight Rodeo" fit him perfectly. I refuse to call him that so he's just "Midnight" for short.

Early this afternoon, Ben was in our office studying and I was in the living room watching "Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day" on HBO. He comes out of the office and says "Ummm...I think we have a mouse in the office." Midnight and Penelope were in there so he shuts the door. I become frantic. At one point, I made Ben put a towel at the threshold of the closed door just in case the mouse flattened his body and escaped out the bottom of the door and then I went to sit on the kitchen table with all the chairs pushed up really close to the table so the mouse couldn't use them to climb up and kill me. While Ben and I were trying to figure out what to do, we hear the mouse scream (remember, he is locked in the office with two cats) and we are hoping they got him. Ben puts his boots on and goes back in. At one point he is holding the desk up and Midnight goes under it. He is calling for me to come in and move the cat so he can put the desk back down but I told him that is just NOT going to happen and that I was very sorry I could not help him. Midnight is the only cat with claws but has the attention span of a...cat. Penelope, as you can see above, can catch just about anything without claws but couldn't concentrate since Midnight was trying to play with her. I could hear Ben saying to Midnight "Ok, get ready. When I move this back, you go in and get him." It just wasnt' working. We call around to see if anyone has a bb gun. My nephews had theirs with them at the river so that was out. Finally, after all ideas had failed Ben went in with... a golf club. He walked out 10 minutes later and said "Holly, I'm a changed man."

As tradition, every July 4th we go to Leakey with Paul and Susan to their cabin on the Frio river. It is always really fun and this year Heather and Taylor joined us. Here is our weekend in pictures. I took a lot of pictures but for some reason I didn't get any of us at the river or at the parade. I suck.

Heather waiting for the fireworks to start

Ben making Will laugh

Nathan on the swing

Anna playing with fire

All the kids and grandkids

The girls (Susan, Heather and ME!)