OK.
Well, this post is dedicated to you then. I intend to answer two pressing questions, “Which of the 500 pictures of kids on your blog are YOURS?”, and “Why did you give your kids such weird names?”.
I’ll take the second one first. A.P. and Maybelle are NOT weird names. They are also not my childrens’ real names. I have a possibly irrational, very Mama Bear-ish instinct to protect my cubs by giving them fake names.
Who are the real A.P. and Maybelle? I’m glad you asked. I am a (very) distant relative of the great musician ‘Mother Maybelle’, aka Maybelle Carter.
WHAT?? How can you not know who that is? Maybe this will ring a bell – The Carter Family?
June Carter? June Carter Cash? Now are we getting somewhere?
Yes! Johnny Cash. Maybelle’s pseudonym- namesake is The Man In Black’s Mother In Law, and my third cousin.
A.P. Carter was Maybelle’s brother in law, and also part of the Carter Family. I can see that some of you really need to brush up on your folk music history. PBS has a good documentary (are you asleep yet?) about my kin the Carter Family that you can get at the library (wake up; pictures are up next) if you are interested.
So now for the first question. Thus far, none of the pictures on my blog have actually been of my children. I think it’s time you met them; so I found some pictures from many of the activities I blogged about this summer.
The first three were taken in July, when we spent a week in Florida with Mr. Binder’s family.
Maybelle and her cousin Cynthia (driver’s seat), also two years old, got themselves into a go-kart, buckled in, and ready to go. We were very glad they couldn’t reach the petals, and also that they live 1400 miles apart as they were quite a team.
A.P. and his cousin, swimming in the hot tub.
A.P. and Maybelle at the Lowry Park Zoo Manatee Exhibit, just a few minutes before we were caught in a torrential downpour and lightning storm.
A.P. coming out of the ‘smoke house’ at the National Baby Food Festival.
Maybelle at a K.D.L. Literacy Program which my friend Char blogged about.
Char also blogged about a trip to the fire station, where we met the world’s grumpiest fireman.
A.P. feeding the chickens at a WMAES program, wearing his GRPL Summer Reading Program t-shirt. Why, yes, he did dress himself. How could you tell? 🙂
At Crossroads Village to see Thomas The Train.
And with our friends at Blandford’s Story Hour.
There, now you have it! Everything you wanted to know about the Binders!
Big Binder 
Hmm – thank you for the pictures (I think!)… I had to laugh at the last one though because this was the second blog I’ve seen a little girl wearing that same shirt on today – and Becca has the same shirt as well. 🙂
So are you related to the Cash or Carter family? I am so confused 🙂
OK. Johnny Cash married June Carter. June Carter’s mother is Maybelle Carter. Her maiden name is Addington. So is my Grandma’s. They are second cousins.
I had no idea I knew someone related to fame! 🙂
Get OUT!!!! I am so all about the Carter/Cash family right now. I just finished John Carter Cash’s book “Anchored in Love” and have just started “Cash”. I was inspired to read more about the Cash/Carter family after seeing Walk the Line of course and their “real” story is even more fascinating than was portrayed in the movie. I have got to see if my library has that PBS documentary! I can’t believe you posted about this; get out of my head! 🙂