Our Critters

This is Derrik's Syrian hamster, Bertha. She is the one who gave birth to eight babies last summer. She is sweet, cute, friendly and energetic.

This is the little black dog who would love to eat Bertha for a snack. We won't let him get close to her, so he bothers Virgil instead. (see Virgil below)

Virgil lives in our backyard. He comes up on the back porch every evening in warm weather to feast on bugs. I'm not sure how many years he's been there, but quite a few. Rocky pesters him some, but Virgil is pretty tough & unflappable.

Going Away Party

Lynn Hockaday organized a going away potluck for Rick & Shelly Larson to be held on a Sunday afternoon. She recruited me and a handful of others to help pull it together.

Some of the attendees:



Norris & Richard Hockaday
Margaret Ann & Farley Holladay












Our family--I wish Derrik had changed into something a little less casual. Oh, well.
Patrick Hockaday and his flame--Teresa Newton from Texas.



Kristi & John Morton and children, Adriane and Kyle.

Rappahannock Riverfest

We enjoyed an evening with Rick & Shelly Larson at a beautiful farm alongside the river. It was a fundraiser, but it's a wonder they made any money since people were really getting into the crabs. It was one of the last times to get together with the Larson's before they move to Minnesota.

Beach Getaway

Dwayne & I abandoned our children and went to the beach for a few days. A co-worker had an extra room available in the beach house she & her husband had rented for the week. We were glad for the affordable opportunity to go.

It was very windy every day at the beach. The first day was also cloudy. We still enjoyed walking in the sand & the waves. We also rode bike every morning.

Dwayne had homework to keep up with. He sat at this little desk on the landing that had windows looking out at the ocean. He also brought his reading assignments with him to occupy him while sitting on the beach.
The house where we stayed had five bedrooms and only three got used. It had a pool, hot tub and a pool table. The water in the pool was VERY cold, just ask Dwayne. I stayed poolside. We really enjoyed the hot tub and pool table.
My co-worker Karen & her husband Jimmy were great to vacation with. We enjoyed their company, but also felt free to do our own thing.

Camping

We spent a weekend on the Virginia/North Carolina border camping with the Hockaday family. Kurt & Christy have two little fellows, Caleb (5) and Daniel (1). Daniel was getting brave about the water and we had to remind him he needed a life jacket.

Our campsite was wooded and not far from the beach area or the bath house. This shot captures Dwayne cooking and Derrik playing his GameBoy.
We spent the days on an island in the middle of the lake or on a beach at the campground. We were enjoying ice cold watermelon after soaking up the sun for awhile.
Kurt & Christy brought their boat and a tube. Caleb & Devin are getting ready to take a ride. It's a bit bouncy, but great fun.
Rocky loves sand. He got hot enough to get in the water once or twice. The island is his favorite because he doesn't have to be leashed. We also like it , because it has great sand and is private (most of the time). A few jet skiers and a couple of boats dropped by for a little bit.

Kurt & Christy on their boat. It was a fun weekend, except for the scare with Caleb's asthma attack that landed us at the emergency room at about 12:30 a.m.

It also was the hottest at night that we've ever had camping. Usually we camp in the summer and it cools off enough to sleep. We waited until September so it would be even more tolerable for the Hockaday's and it was so hot that none of us could sleep. Go figure!