Dear John...

My parents bought a John Deere last week so Kris and I went out to Texas to sample the ride.

Along with the John Deere they bought a house on 16 acres. Property? BEAUTIFUL - complete with horse stables, a pool, an orchard of fruit trees bla bla.

The house? A work in progress...but the first few weeks are always the most exciting!

1. Pepper, the resident Geigle family dog, won't even lay down on the old carpet


2. I had to switch rooms three times - for some reason creatures kept wanting to climb into the wall every night, wake me up with all their scratching noises, and then die - leaving a lovely odor around the house
   
3. The land, while beautiful, is full of noxious weeds. One of which, Kris and I got to bring home as a delightful souvenier called POISON IVY
   
4. The neighboring property is an exotic African animal war zone - people pay to go inside and hunt. We hear weird loud noises in the morning coming from that direction.
   
5. Last time my parents experimented with being ranchers my mom set the yard on fire and my Dad fell off the roof...and the horse


6. At the local military base, they build mock Iraqui villages to practice. The locals get paid $12 an hour to dress up and play the part. Kris and I were DYING to do this but didn't have time.


7. Fire ants...that's all I have to say on that subject.


8. Whenever my Mom talks to the locals she instantly breaks into a southern accent - totally throws me off. When I protested she said, "I HAVE to or they won't understand me..." Hahaha. Oh brother.

Side note:

When my parents got married they chose an adventurous lifestyle. They have moved 14 times, (including Rio de Janiero, Brazil and London, England). SOMEHOW everything they touch and everywhere they go is dusted with magic.

I consider them city slickers trying to pull off the ranch thing; however, while the house needs a bit of an update :) - their eyes were twinkling as the remodeling began. I see magic in the making and I do believe this will be their finest project :)