You can call me crazy

I had heard rumors around town about how the corn crop this year looked.  BAD was the word... I hadn't been out to our field to take a look at ours until last night.  Now - I'm not one to 'worry' about things.  Especially if I can't do anything about it.  Sure, I get upset by things or things bother me - but to say I 'worry' about them is an overstatement.  

As I pulled ears off our corn stalks last night, I got a bit sicker to my stomach each time.  Granted, I've only been married to a farmer for 13 years, but I've never, ever seen anything this bad.  Some of the ears I found were only about 2" long so I didn't even bother with them.  These 3 lovely samples are what we have at our house:  INSERT SHOCK & AWE HERE....

I've seen years where the ears were small.  I've seen years where the kernels were small.  I've never seen a year of NO FREAKING KERNELS.  The money is in the kernels, people.  That's what B-rad combines & we sell.  THE KERNELS.  What are we gonna sell if we have no kernels you might ask?

Yea, uhm - nothing.  

So again, this sucks OUT LOUD & I have NO idea what we're going to do - but I'm not worrying about it. I can't go out & talk to the ears & make the kernels grow.  This is over...OVER.  We had NO rain & to add insult to injury we had scorching temperatures during the MUCHO IMPORTANTO pollunation stage.  (That's where the top of the corn stalk drops it's little pieces of pollen onto the ears & voila - a kernel is formed.  The super hot temps caused the little pieces of pollen to BURN UP before they could do their job.  Curses....)

I told you a good farm year to me is when I don't have to pony up any of my hard earned savings to pay farm bills?  Well - that's gonna be a real possibility this year so I've decided to start spending like mad.

Remember when we went to Vegas last summer JUST to see a certain singer?

 And how excited I was & how much money it cost me?  Well, I've decided to out-do myself...

So, I love Faith Hill.  Like I love her more than I love Celine Dion.  I've seen Faith Hill in concert like 6 times in 3 states.  I follow her on Twitter & last week she kept teasing about a special announcement on Tuesday.  Being the super fan that I am - I watched the live press conference... 

 Low & behold, my Faith is going to Vegas.  WITH her hottie hubby, Tim.  Oh, I.am.there.  Notice at the bottom how it says, "like you have never seen them before"?  Well sure I've seen her like 6 times but this will be like NONE OTHER.  I can't miss it....  They are there for 10 weekends between December & April.  Something about 'working around their kids' schedules' blah, blah, blah...

Of course, I immediately told B-rad, "WE'RE GOING BACK TO VEGAS!"  And I was partly serious.  Vegas is an expensive place.  It's expensive to get there, stay there, do stuff there & eat there.  And I'm cheap, ya'll.  This is a little painful for me...  B-rad is SUPER laid back about stuff like this.  He's like, "Tell me when to pack." I'm the nut job.  I have to have a 'plan'...it sucks.

By the end of Tuesday (which was the exact same day they announced it, if you're keeping track) I had decided on dates, flights, etc.  Done.  (Tickets for the concert didn't go on sale until Aug 13th... I hadn't actually BOOKED anything...just had my dates allll lined out.)  

When I got home B-rad said, "Now - tell me about this trip you have planned."  So I was all excited asking him if we could stay at ______ (more on that in a sec), of course he said yes & asked him if I could get the most expensive Faith Hill tickets known to man (he said yes again) & then I told him dates.  And I saw his face make a funny look - like he was actually thinking about what I had just said.  Uh oh.  NO thinking, B-rad - just packing.  He repeated the dates to me.  "UHM that's the farm show", he says.  "SOOO?", I reply.  "You know I love the farm show."  "SOOOO?", again from me... "And I'd miss the tractor pull."  

DAMMIT.

I commence to doing the flight of the bumblebee with flights & hotel dates.  I had it narrowed down to 2 different dates.  I liked the flight home more on one than the other & that's how I decided.  

Highly technical process....

I waited patiently until today at 10 am for the tickets to go on sale before I got flights or rooms.  I was all ready to go & noticed it said '10am PDT'.  UGH that's 3 hours behind us.  So I waited another 3 hours to get on-line & hopefully get the tickets for the date I wanted.   Lucky for me, I had no problem!  When you order tickets online did you know you can pick your exact seat now?  I was able to click on available seats & see the prices & everything.  It was awesome.  

And by the way, I got 2 seats...on the 3rd row.  I am giddy....

Last year when we went it was our second visit & we did things a bit different & better than the first time we went.  And in keeping with that tradition - we're going a bit bigger this time too...  Do you remember my obsession admiration of these fountains at the Bellagio?  I love them.  I could watch them all.day.long... 

And since we're staying at the Bellagio....with a lakeview room - I CAN!

 AND there's another thing.  The first year we went we saw a Cirque du Soleil show.  It was awesome & even B-rad enjoyed it.    I really, really, really wanted to see 'O' last year when we were there but I had dropped so much cash on seeing Celine that I didn't want to pay for that too..

However, in an attempt to spend my entire lifes savings - we're going to see 'O' too.  I am jazzed....too bad I have a few months before the trip!

And in the spirit of full disclosure - if you would like to know how truly CRAZY I am & how much all this stuff costs, just ask.  I have no problem telling you.  I just didn't want anyone to think I was bragging.  This is reason #42 I don't have kids. THIS is what I save money for - to be able to do FUN stuff like this with just a teeny bit of no guilt.  

Farming 101

I agreed to let you ask some questions about the farm & then I fell off the face of the Earth.  I'm SO sorry that it has taken so long!  You so kindly got all nosey on me asked your 'what's this farmin' thang all about, Willis?' questions & I left you high & dry.  Sigh.  

I'm going to answer all your questions, but in TRUE Jaime Mac style - I'm going to add my extra commentary as well because you didn't ask some of the right questions.  

And this is another looooong post....

First - a reminder of the story:  B-rad & his brother farm together.  Their dad owned the farm when I met B-rad.  At that time, they grew popcorn & had a whole operation at the farm.  They had employees & everything.  About a month before I had met B-rad, the popcorn processing building burned to the ground.  They had to start all over with what wasn't destroyed.  B-rad & Brian had to purchase some of the land their parents owned after the fire to keep it in the family.  (So at the ripe age of 18, B-rad bought 200 acres.)  In the following years, their dad phased himself out of the farm.  B-rad & Brian are it now.  Sometimes our nephew Brady helps them now that he's old enough.  He's 15 & 3/4 & will be able to drive legally soon.  They farm about 1200 acres total.  That's a LOT, people.   (The boys own a total of 700 now & we rent the rest from other people.  Which we pay those people for...)    

Recently, B-rad & Brian purchased their parents farm (aka 'the barn') which included another 300 acres.  (Even though their parents phased themselves out around in the early 2000's they still maintained ownership of the 'barn' & the land.  They decided to sell it to the boys about 2 years ago.  Their parents still have a place there on the farm that they live in when they're here.  They drive a semi so they are gone a lot or stay on the houseboat.)  That's the hub of the operation.  It has the barn (duh) where they work on equipment & 8 grain bins for storage.

Ginmommy asked:  So, a serious question....what would happen if the weather destroyed your crop? Is that possible? Like hail or a drought? Would you just be sol? I assume you get paid for the crops, right? Or is that wrong?

YES it is most definitely possible & in fact, is happening right now.  The answer is 2 fold.  Yes, we are sol (which for those who don't know is shit outta luck) & yes, we can get some compensation.  Without going into too much detail about actual dollar figures, we have insurance on our crops.  However, we would MUCH rather have a good crop than get the insurance to pay out on the policy.  Anyone who has dealt with insurance knows that:

 A) it's a pain in the ass to mess with 

and B) having whatever you had before your claim (house, belongings, vehicle, grain) is usually worth WAY more than what insurance will give you for it.

For example:  If our crop insurance bill is in the $100,000.00 range (& YES.IT.IS), then if we are deemed to have a $70,000.00 loss - we have to pay a $30,000.00 bill.  They do not give us the cash for the pay out. 

If the Federal government declares areas our fields are in disaster areas we will get some moolah from them as well.  However, again - not as much as if we had a crop to sell.

Amanda wants to know a bunch of stuff:  (she's my kind of gal...)

1. Was hubby a farmer before you got married? Like did you know what you were getting in to?

 B-rad has been a farmer since he was VERY young.  They tell me stories of when he was like 3 years old they would put him in the drivers seat of the truck, (with pillows to prop him up) put it in gear & let him drive in the field while they picked up rock.   

When we met he was in high school so he wasn't as immersed in it as he is now, but I knew what I was getting into.  I used to ride in the tractors with him for HOURS because that was the only way we got to see each other sometimes when we were dating. 

I always maintain that I knew what I was getting into when I get mad because he's 'too busy' for this or that.  And that's true - I did know... but I still reserve the right to complain about it.

2. What kind of crops do you guys plant?

We raise corn & soybeans.  But the corn is not like sweet corn you all are thinking about.    B-rad could explain it all to you - but he's a punk & won't comment.  Our corn (if we have any this year!) is currently contracted to be sold to Tyson's in Ramsey to feed the chickens that you eventually eat!  (So you can see why when people start bashing farmers I get pissed.  Farmers feed everybody - even in a round about way...)  The soybeans we take to Consolidated Grain which is off the Clark Maritime exit off 265.  It's right on the river.  They load the barges, send us a check & I have no clue where they go or what they use them for.  Years ago we grew a type of soybean that crayons were made out of.   Your kids are welcome...

3. What do you do at harvest- like do you sell the entire crop at a warehouse kind of thing or the farmers market??

Great question!  We do not sell at farmers markets because what we grow isn't a 'from the field to the table' kinda thing.  

We are lucky to have as much storage space as we have to house our grain after it gets harvested.  They are called grain bins & most farmers don't have near as much space as we do.  This allows us to play the market with prices & sell when the price is up. Farming is a gamble in more ways than one.  

WE don't set the price of what we'll be paid for a bushel of corn.  Like-we don't say, "Hey Tyson's chickens - we'll sell you some corn for $4 a bushel!  Sound good?"  No, no, no.  The stock market decides what we will be paid.  Isn't that crazy?  If you sell a car YOU decide how much you will take for it.  Not so with our grain.  Again-that's when it comes in handy to have all the grain bins.  We can hold onto it if the price is too low & we can watch the market so when/if it goes up - we sell.   

4. Are your crops very profitable? Like enough that you guys could live off of what you make just on the farm? Does Brad work another job in addition to the farm?

More good questions.  There's no black & white answer to are the crops profitable?  Sure, on an average year we make money.  (And by make money I mean break even...more on that in a sec...) But it takes BIG money to put our crops out.  Like 6 digits worth of big money.  So like this year - we spent 6 digits putting it out only to watch it burn up in the field.  We will NOT make our 6 digits back out of it to cover the cost this year.   (How will we pay our bills then?  UHM, not really sure?  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  I don't worry about stuff like that.  I can't do one.single.thing to change it & worrying about it doesn't do anyone any good.)

Here's what I'm talking about when I say 'break even'. The boys are relatively young farmers so most of our equipment, ground, etc has a loan on it.  (We didn't inherit our ground.  It was NOT handed to us on a silver platter.  We have loans on it.  We inherited some equipment from their dad but is was old & worn out years before that so now the boys are having to invest money into newer, updated equipment.)  The boys have never collected a 'salary' from the farm.  (That's not to say that the farm hasn't paid for things sometimes instead of it coming from our personal accounts.  Like tires on their pick up trucks...which they use....for the farm...) I consider a 'good' year when the farm can pay for itself.  Meaning we don't have to put in any of our personal money to pay some of the bills.  That has happened before...& it sucks...  

Recently the bill for our land payment came due.  This is for the 200 acres that B-rad & I own together.  The top line is the annual payment...the bottom line is what we have left to pay... 

UHM yea, THIS is why B-rad farms....we do not have $13000 just laying around...

Of course we live on some of those acres so essentially he is working for where we live.  Sheesh, no pressure..

It's not free...he definitely pays a hefty price.

Yes, B-rad has another full time job besides the farm.  He has to be up at like 4:30am or something stupid.  He works in a machine shop all day & then comes home to work on the farm until 10:30 or 11:00 at night during planting & harvest.  His lifelong dream is to be able to quit his 'day' job to stay home & farm full time.  (That's just crazy talk if you ask me, but he LOVES it!)  However, you know B-rad has become accustomed to a certain lifestyle...& well, I want silly things like a roof over our head, groceries & electricity & my salary just won't cut it.  They are working towards finding a way for the farm to support paying B-rad to work there full time.  Brian is a bit apprehensive to make that leap & I can appreciate that & this year will NOT help B-rad's case at all.  No crop, no money, no B-rad salary....

This is where we live!  I know ya'll love my ghetto white lines marking where our field is!  That's the 112 acres where we live.  The other 100ish acres we own is in another county.  Our house is there in the corner on the right.  It is a seriously massive field.  Right above the bottom white line is a grayish line - that's the road we live on.  We have a lot of road frontage. (which according to my mother in law is good...)   It is one of the biggest 'all together' fields we farm.  When he plants or harvests here it takes a day or 2.  (Most our other fields are around 50ish acres.) B-rad works really hard for this & what other mid 30ish aged couple can say they own THIS?! 

And yea, ok -  the view is crazy cool.  

(Don't mind the helicopter spraying...it's the only pic I could find on quickly...) 

 It's lush, rolling hills of green in the summer...

And towards the end of summer, it becomes the perfect scene of a crisp, fall day...

I wanted to show ya'll where the 'barn' is in relation to our house.  You read about B-rad being there all the time.  It's about 3 minutes from our house.  Start on the right side of the screen at the yellow marker & follow the blue line to the orange marker on the left.  

(B-rad will NOT be happy with that pic of the farm on Google Earth.  It was taken in June 2010.  Notice the dark places in the green on the left?  We had some seed issues that year & he had to go back & re-plant it.  This really shows where the seed did not come up!)

The barn is marked at the top (yea, I did that...fun, huh?). This is also where some of  the 300 acres we bought from their parents a couple of years ago are located.

 The storage bins are towards the bottom.  (They are the gray circles.)  This is where the grain gets stored.

And I left the best farming questions for last.  

Alicia asked:  Do you ever make out in the tractor while you are out there all alone? I want pictures!

Typically I try NOT to ride in tractors anymore.  My butt is too wide & too old for the crappy places I have to sit.  B-rad comes home every night so (most) nights I'm able to talk to him for a few minutes.  There are some nights he's out later than I stay awake.  If I get really bored I will ride around with him but there is no making out.  Poor B-rad...

And my FAVORITE question of all comes from Denise:

Will you and Brad will the farm to your future children? What if your future children don't want to farm?

We will not be willing the farm to our future children.  I say to hell with them.  They haven't worked for anything - they don't deserve it.  If my future children don't want to be farmers, screw 'em.  Kids are so ungrateful nowadays....

Thank you so much for asking your questions.  I am obviously passionate about this farming life of ours & I love explaining it to people who have no clue how it all works.  If there's anything else you want to know especially about what we're going to do with the farm when we die & leave it to no one please feel free to comment!  Thanks again!

A story I wasn't allowed to tell...until now...

Do you stalkers remember the ill-fated motorcycle trip to Deal's Gap from like a month & a half ago?  

If you don't - you can read about it here. 

There have been SO many after shocks from this trip I can't even begin to tell you.  Even though the accident didn't happen to B-rad, he was affected nonetheless.  The repercussions of this trip have changed our lives forever.  Bum, bum, buuuummmmmm....  Seriously...forever.... 

 (This is a really long post... put the kids to bed...you don't want to be distracted... it's good...)

A large group of guys from the motorcycle gang headed down to Deal's Gap back in June to ride the twisty & windy roads.  Ya know - to drag knee, drive fast, eat bologna sandwiches, fart & burp.  Disgusting boy stuff. 

I told you vaguely about the accident, me going with his wife to get him, blah, blah, blah.  Well, if you've been observant stalkers - you may have noticed in recent posts where Brian & Shauna went to the lake with us, etc - Brian was wearing a neck collar & had his hand in a cast.  Yea, he's the guy that was hurt...  

So let me break this down for you.  When I did that blog post Brian was in the hospital waiting to have surgery.  They really didn't want information about him on facebook, etc because his parents are facebook stalkers.  I'm sure you can ALL imagine how upsetting it would be to see information (& bits & pieces at that) about their son on facebook when even his WIFE didn't have all the information yet.  We were going down interstate 70 to Tennessee with our hair on fire...in the middle of the night & there was really NO GOOD WAY to communicate with the guys on the trip.  It was lovely.  So, to respect their privacy - I didn't even tell ya'll details.   

When we got the call, all we knew was the Brian crashed & had been taken by ambulance to the hospital with a broken hand.  Ok, not too bad, right?  My job on the road trip was to patrol facebook to see if anyone had posted pics and/or tagged Brian in them.  
And I came across this pic... & even though I knew he was fine...it took my breath away...

 A guy they were with posted it on facebook...and it started a MAJOR shit storm.  He wasn't 'tagged' in it so the probability of his parents seeing it was low.  BUT if someone else had shared it & they were friends with his parents...uhm, you can see where I'm going with this...

So...people DO NOT survive crashes like this.  His bike was broken in HALF.  Look at the tires...they are facing the opposite direction.  I could tell you all the other things that happened to it, but I don't understand them so that would be pointless.  I told you in my last post that my opinions of bikes may surprise you.... I do NOT like them.  

You are out in the open for God & everybody.  No metal walls around you.  Nothing.  Not only that, but people in cars do NOT pay attention.  Everyone thinks they own the road & that's a big reason why motorcyclists get hit.  They aren't seen as easily as a big ole car.

 NOW, on the flipside of that - I am not so naive that I don't know that some riders are irresponsible.  They ride wheelies on the highway, they ride between lanes of traffic or on the shoulder.  Foolish?  Yes.  Saying because they do that they 'deserve' what they get when they are hit or killed?  No.  

As a car driver I speed sometimes.  I whip around people sometimes in traffic.  Doesn't almost everyone?  No one is perfect. It still doesn't mean I 'deserve' to have bad things happen to me.  

When a woman wears provocative clothing & gets raped, did she 'deserve' it?  Of course not.  Certainly she didn't help the situation by dressing that way...but she doesn't deserve to be violated.

Wow...I'll get off my soap box now....

Ok, so B-rad is an adult.  I'm not his mommy & I can't tell him what he can or can't spend his time doing (within reason...). He enjoys speed, he enjoys the friendships & he works hard everyday.  It's not like he goes out every night & drinks himself into oblivion or does drugs.  So, I'm not one to be miss bossy pants on telling him what he can or cannot do.  However, I don't have to like it...

This crash was especially difficult to understand because by all accounts, Brian did nothing wrong.  They were not going at a high rate of speed (around 55-60mph).  Don't be mistaken - they drive fast a LOT. That's what these bikes DO.  But during this instance they were not.  According to the guys, they were coming out of a corner & the bike practically fell out from under him.  The official term they all say is, 'the tires let go'.  

B-rad & his friends ALWAYS wear gear head to toe.  And even Brian will tell you it saved his life.  B-rad was directly behind him when it happened & it still haunts him.  He watched is buddy slide across the pavement. The bike hit the guard rail & broke in half.  Then one half come back & hit Brian which threw him back into the street.  B-rad had to swerve & brake just to avoid running him over.  

B-rad was convinced he just watched his friend die.

UHM...that's heavy...

After Brian was thrown back into the street, B-rad watched in his rear view mirror as he miraculously stood up & ran out of the street to not be run over by the other bikes that were coming up.  B-rad says that he said out loud, "Thank God - he's alive!"  It's a story I've heard 8,732 times now & it does NOT get any easier to hear. (But, we are able to joke & laugh about it a bit more now...)

(Disclaimer:  ALL the photos I'm showing are on facebook now.  I totally stole them from Brian's page...)

When he hit the ground his glove had like these metal protectors on them.  They were pushed back into his hand which broke 2 of his fingers.  He had a ligament sticking out as well.  When B-rad said to call the ambulance, Brian was NOT happy about that.  B-rad explained to him that his hand was pretty messed up & he needed it looked at. 

He spent about 5 hours in surgery to repair his hand.  

He's healing well now, and in a couple of weeks they will remove those pins.  Yikes!  It's extremely painful (duh) so he will get knocked out for that.

He's lucky chicks dig scars...

So, are you wondering about the neck brace?  Why in the world does he need that when his hand is broken?  Well, people - let me tell ya THAT story...

***15 minute intermission***  

Walk away from the screen, go to the potty, get a diet coke...

B-rad drove him 3 hours north that night in the passenger seat of his truck.  Shauna & I drove him home another 3 hours in the back seat of her Honda.  He slept most the time because he was hopped up on meds. Shauna is a nurse & when they took him back to the emergency room at Jewish she asked them to do some additional tests on him.  And guess what an MRI showed?  
He.had.broken.his.neck.

UH, yea.  It was a bad, bad deal.  The hospital down south never even checked him for anything but his hand.  His only pain complaint was his hand so that's all they treated him for.  I haven't been to med school or anything, but I would think if a dude went sliding across the road & then was hit back into it with something that weighs thousands of pounds, I'd check for a few more things.  Call me crazy.

We went to their house & got on their nerves to visit a lot when he came home.  Brian couldn't do anything but sit or lay.  How boring is that?  

He hasn't been able to work so he's home all day, everyday.  He couldn't drive himself anywhere so he was stuck.  Oh, the humanity...

The story is almost over, I promise.  Brian is doing MUCH better now.  Like I said, the pins come out soon.   Then he'll probably have to do physical therapy.  His neck is healing & he can lay on his tummy now when he sleeps!  Score!  He still has to wear the neck brace most the day which means he still can't go to work.  (I think that part sounds like Heaven...)

In closing... (YAY!  Congrats - you made it to the end...)  B-rad has decided to hang up his helmet.  No more motorcycles for him.  Sure, he may get on someones & take a spin but he has sold ALL of his motorcycle stuff.  Thinking he watched one of his best friends die really takes a toll on your head.  Not only that, but what if that happened to B-rad during planting or harvesting?  The farm would be screwed.  There's a reason it's called McAfee BrotherS farm.  Sure, there's an element of danger to anything you do.  Hell, my dad was hit by a truck walking across the street.  But getting on a motorcycle of any kind takes that danger level up by 75% & getting on the kind B-rad drove knocks it up by 110%.

HOWEVER.... have ya'll met my hubby?  I mean- did you think he was just gonna ride off into the sunset & grow old with no hobby...nothing to spend money on?  Oh, tsk...tsk...tsk...  Back in the day, B-rad used to drag race his old Mustang.  Basically you go down a short, straight track as fast as you can.  And since he has a need for speed...

Now, we have THIS!!!!!!!!

It's ANOTHER Mustang!  YAY, we have 2 now!!!!  (insert sarcasm here) A matched set!

This was Butterflies drag racing car.  Since he's all about training & boring stuff like that - he hasn't messed with it in years.  B-rad bought it & now Butterfly & him are working to get it put back together so they can drag race.  

  I have to laugh so I don't cry...Seriously...

McAfee overload

After one of my riveting 'spending a weekend at the lake' posts, Alicia said it looked like fun & she invited herself along.  That was A-ok in my book!  I never even thought of asking them because they have a camper, they are so busy & they go to the lake with her parents.  Of course that's not the same as hanging out with us - but it's the same sort of activity.  I texted her right away & said, "Lets do it!!!"  It took 6 freakin' weeks for the stars to align for us all to get together!

Sam was excited to go down the slide right away.

 Brian took her boys out on the jet ski.

 Nora was ready to get in the water!  She could hardly wait for Daniel to get his vest on.

 Nora was pretty shy around us all.  She was sitting on the back deck, facing the water.  B-rad sat down behind her & opened a package of candy.  I swear to you, she turned around, walked over to him & plopped right down.

 UHM, what kind of Aunt & Uncle would we be if we didn't give kids junk food? 

 (I fully realize we're not these kids' aunt & uncle - it's just a great excuse to do what we DO!)

She usually had one worm in each hand.  That's why God gave her 2...duh...

 Lake full of McAfee's !

 Nora wasn't going to be happy just sitting on the back deck watching all day.  She gave me several heart attacks climbed down those steps a thousand times.  

She was headed for the water...she didn't care if there was no one there to hold her.

 Daniel wanted to take the jet ski on his own.  He put on my mother in laws vest at first...B-rad made fun of him since it had a pretty birdie & ribbon so I offered him mine.

 It's much more manly.  I mean - it's BLUE & BLACK for crying out loud.

The manly detail in the back is really what sets it apart.

 If her little legs would've been long enough to get up those stairs - she would've gone up them.  Still clutching a worm...

 

 These kids are good kids - obviously they have their moments like any kid does.   I try to always respect the parents wishes unless I think the wishes are stupid & try to make their kids do what they expect from them.  Daniel & Alicia are big into manners & I'm all about that so it's a no-brainer.  The kids would ask us for stuff & not use their manners.  I would stop them & have them correct what they should have said.  I finally told them, "Listen kids - I've been around ya'll long enough to know what your parents want so you can forget getting away with it with me." 

 After that, it was all manners, all the time... Kids are so funny.

Alicia was giddy about going out on the jet ski.  She forced me to come along asked very lovingly & sweetly for me to ride with her.

  We had some trouble parking the jet ski so Daniel was kind enough to swim out a bit & pull us in.  And by "in" I mean, he dumped us off the jet ski.  Hmph.  Sam didn't believe that I would jump off the top of the boat.  Yea-I showed him...

 All the McAfee boys went out in our little boat to ski for a bit.  

 And it was time for us girls to talk & have a couple of drinks.  Alicia brought me some grape Smirnoffs.  Yum.  Me liking it has nothing to do with the fact that it's purple.  I just now noticed the label is purple.  So weird...

When dinner was finally ready, Alicia had to round up her crew.   

My favorite line of the day from Alicia, "OK, McAfee's...come to this table to eat."  UHM?!....  

She had to improvise by adding, "OK McAfee's...under the age of 10... come to this table to eat!"

B-rad was a super popular guy when the chewy sprees came out.  These kids were nowhere around until they heard that package open.  

 Notice every.single.one of them got sprees.  He's such a sucker.

 I'm not sure what happened next (because Alicia & I were downstairs cleaning up dishes), but when we got back upstairs, the kids were running around like banshees hopped up on sugar looking for the sprees & Daniel & B-rad were giggling like 12 year old girls.  

 All it takes is sprees & worms, people. She'll be your best friend.

 Finally, the big kids let the little kids know what was going on & Sam took NO time in climbing up on the counter & getting those sprees down.  Look at Jake's face.  I'm just sad I didn't get any pics of them screaming for the sprees.  It was hilarious.

 Ah, success!  See what sugar will do to a kid?  Ruin 'em, I tell ya...

We had a great time hanging out with the other McAfee's.  We don't get to do it nearly enough.  I'm so glad Alicia invited herself.  She must do it again!