Contemplating

So I haven't posted in quite a while. Oops. Life has been busy. I've been busy. Same stuff, different day, etc.
And I'm getting tired of the same stuff different day. I guess everyone does. That's why vacations were created right?
So I have started to really focus on taking pictures. I absolutely love everything there is about being behind the camera. I love getting lost in the borders of a possible picture. I adore focusing in on the things you don't normally focus on....a freckle, a hint of green in an eye, the way light hits the sand, etc. Boring to most, I know. But to me, it's amazing. I could snap away all day and be perfectly happy.
My close friends know this...and tolerate it pretty well. They also have been encouraging me to take it more seriously.
And so I think that I am going to.....Yes, I still want I better camera (I currently have a very high end "point and shoot". love it but really need / want a dslr). and yes, I need some schooling and a lot more experience. But everyone has to start somewhere right!?! So I'll keep you posted on my progress.
Also - here is an album of some of my favorites. Let me know what you think!!!

Snow Day

Christmas rewind

Thanksgiving was great. Christmas was great. I am ready for a great 2010! I am currently trying to clean up my house from the aftermath of the stomach bug going through both kids. Not my idea of a fun Saturday, but oh well. Needs to be done. Wanted to share some quick pictures from the holidays. Enjoy!!

the great outdoors

Bryan and I took the kids hiking and fishing along the Hooch a week or so ago. They both adored being outside and exploring along the river. The weather here is absolutely gorgeous right now...chilly at night and warm during the day. Perfect weather for going on an outdoor adventure! Both kids (along with Bryan) caught a trout. We even brought 2 home and ate them with dinner. Bryan really enjoyed showing them how to clean a fish...something I am not a huge fan of!! Callie decided that while she adores worms, she is not a huge fan of fish (note the picture below). Hope you are enjoying the Fall as much as we are!!

Halloween with friends

We had a great Halloween this year. The kids had a blast. They were so excited about having a Halloween party and trick or treating but I think they were most excited to have their closest friend Cody coming to stay the weekend. Just recently my friend Mary Glenn and her family moved to South Georgia. Bummed doesn't even describe how we felt about the move. So the kids were over the moon when they heard that they were coming up for Halloween! We had the GA vs Fla party at my house (MG usually does it) and then we turned it into a Halloween party followed by trick or treating. So. Much. Fun!! Of course they were adorable in their costumes and yes, Callie did go as Darth Vader. Some of our friends brought a four wheeler and trailer filled with hay and the kids (and adults!) enjoyed a hay ride while trick or treating. The next day Callie asked me when we could do Halloween again. When I told her next year she sighed and said "okay, but I want to be spider-man next year". Hmmmm.....we will have to see about that one :)

0 to 60 in 3 Days

This past weekend I went 0 to 6o in 3 days....sixty miles closer to a cure. This was my 3rd walk. That means that I have walked 180 miles over the course of 9 days. How crazy is that!?! So many people ask why I am involved with this amazing cause. And it's so hard to articulate an answer. Unless you have been there and felt the emotion. Seen the stream of people stretching out on either side of you. Danced through an intersection. Laughed at the size of a blister. Hugged a friend that has taken the journey with you. Watched a fellow walker cross the finish line with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face with the knowledge that she has been cancer free and healthily for 4 years. There are no words to really describe the feeling or the rawness of the moments. But they are wonderful and life altering. And I wouldn't trade the blisters and soreness for anything in the world.

fall in GA

It is officially fall in GA. The air has turned a bit chillier, the leaves are starting to change, and the traffic in the north Georgia mountains in backed up for miles. Last Saturday we decided to brave the traffic and head north for some fall fun. We headed to an apple orchard for some apple picking and lots of other fun activities. The kids had an absolute blast! They both loved running around the orchard, trying to find the biggest apples for our bag. They also loved the pony rides, milking a cow, chasing chickens, and watching the pigs race.

On the way home we saw a sign for an exotic deer farm. Exotic deer in the north Georgia Mountains? Kinda weird right? I thought so too, but of course we had to go check it out. So we paid the 15 dollars to get in. It was great. They had all kids of deer, pigs, horses, and llamas. The kids loved the fact that we got to take a "hayride" and feed the animals right out of our hands. And the money goes to help the deer rescue so it was for a good cause. I'm sure we will be going back soon.
We finally headed home but had to make one more stop to get a pumpkin. We avoided Burts Farm and stopped at a smaller pumpkin patch that was a lot less crowded. The kids enjoyed picking out a small pumpkin to paint and a large pumpkin to carve. They did not enjoy my attempt to get group photo. Oh well, can't win them all :)
Fall might be my favorite time of year. I think it is because of all of the wonderful memories I have from my childhood....apple picking, jumping in leaves, drinking cider, and so many others. As a mom, I want my kids to have the same types of wonderful memories. The kind that stay vivid and bright and don't fade into black and white. And I have a feeling that this day might be one of those vivid memories. And that makes me glad.

Bryce the Barber

Bryce decided that he was going to be a barber last weekend. His first client.....Callie! While she was very happy with the look he created, I was not. So we took a quick trip to Pigtails and Crew Cuts. Thankfully, they were able to fix most of the damage. She still has a layer (luckily not a very obvious one) of hair that is really short. I am missing her long hair, but she does look really cute with a chin length bob. And just in case you were interested in Bryce's services as a barber...he is no longer in business!!

baseball and life lessons

We are in the middle of fall baseball. I am loving it. Bryce has played at this park for several seasons now. I am familiar with the fields, with the schedules, and with a lot of other parents (tends to happen when you have been on 3 different teams). I like familiarity. And I really like that I get to spend a couple of hours with a few moms that I have become friends with over the last 2 seasons. Callie loves baseball too. We made sure that Bryce got on the same team with another boy that has a sister Callie's age. They became instant friends last season and she is very excited to be able to hang out with her again this season. So everyone is excited.....except for the baseball player himself. He started off excited. Then "it" happened. "It" being getting hit in the face with a baseball. "It" has completely changed his view on baseball. He no longer wants to play. He begs me to let him stay home. He tells me he wishes I had signed him up for soccer. The latest is he wants to play tennis because tennis balls are a lot softer. It's so frustrating to see him loathing something that only a month ago was one of his favorite things. So I have stood my ground and not let him quit. And I have told him that the more he plays the less scared he will be. Last night as I was tucking him in he asked "mom, don't you care that I'm scared?". Hard question. Really hard question. After much thought I told him that yes, I do care that he is scared. But one of the best lessons he can learn is to not run from fear. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and face your fears. I told him that sometimes you will find that the thing you are scared of isn't scary at all. That it is fun!! And I reminded him how scared he was to ride his bike, which is now one of his favorite things to do. He just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Kind of a deep lesson for a six year old. But it's one I hope he learns.

Here are some pictures from the season so far.... and notice that once he gets there he still smiles and has fun!!

disco fever and fever minus the disco

There is a lot of "fever" going around our house these days. Callie has been sick all week. Went to the doctor on Tuesday and they said possible flu and to keep a really close eye on her. Thursday I got the feeling that something just wasn't right (fever was 103.5, coughing was increasing, and she started throwing up) so I called the pediatrician and thankfully they squeezed us in. The diagnosis....pneumonia. Today was the 5th day of fever, coughing, etc. We are really hoping that the medicine kicks in and she starts improving tomorrow. For the most part she is a really happy sick kid, but she is extra whiny this week and goes to tears at the drop of a hat. I know she is getting stir crazy as is her mom!!!
Tonight Bryce got his own kind of fever....disco fever!!! They had a disco night at his school as a fundraiser for the PTA. We worked hard to find just the right outfit and the end result was pretty good. And I got an extra laugh at the fact that he wore girls jeans (slim at that!) to his first ever school dance. I really wanted to go but with Callie sick and Bryan working there was just no way. Thankfully the mom of a friend from school and baseball was happy to let Bryce tag along with them. The report at the end of the night?....he had a blast. And I was told that he is quite the dancer and a huge hit with the girls. Thank goodness he got his rhythm from me and not his dad!!!

Wishing

Bad Week..Really bad week. Not going to go into specifics but ranks right up there with most stressful bad weeks. ever. So there's that. And it has me thinking and wishing tonight for lots of things.... Wishing that instead of being in rainy Ga, I was here..

Or here....

Or here....

So here's to wishing. But you know, wishing can only get you so far. So I'm thankful for being blessed with great family and friends. No wishing needed in that department!!!

New beginnings

So I know I haven't blogged in like, forever. My crazy, busy life has been getting in the way of certain things. One of which is blogging. So I am not going to go back and rehash the summer, and the beginning of school, and all of the wonderful things that we have been up to. I will just try my best to keep it up to date from here on out. And for those few people that are interested, I will post a couple of my favorite photo's from the past several months.

First Days of School...

The Beach

vacation here we come...

We leave in the morning for a much needed vacation. Where, you ask? To Alligator point, Fl. Don't worry if you have no earthly idea where that is. I didn't either until we started looking for places to go. Just in case you are curious, Alligator point is located south of Tallahassee on the gulf. It is a really, really small peninsula. So small that the house where we are staying sits directly on the beach and directly across the driveway is the bay! We will be surrounded by water and I can not wait!! It should only be a five hour drive to Tallahassee (where we will pick up Lauren at the airport) and another hour or so to the beach. Oh, and here is a picture of the house where we will be staying...pretty nice!!

Ketchup

Life had been crazy, busy, chaotic, and fun lately. I have not had a spare moment to think, let alone blog. So today is "ketchup" day. Thought it might be a good idea to bring everyone up to speed before we leave for the beach on Saturday. I can not wait to sit in the sand with a drink and a good book. The kids are both at an age where they can play without needing me next to them at every moment. and it will help that there will be 5 other adults there to help entertain them. Relaxation here I come!! But back to ketchup....The kids both had their birthdays and we had a fabulous joint "Princess and Pirates Party". Fun was had by all and the kids enjoyed getting to spend time with their friends. I can't believe that they are 3 and 6! They are such wonderful, amazing, funny, smart kids and I thank God for them every second of everyday. How strange is it that I had 29 years on this earth before kids and yet I can't seem to remember what life was like without them. Nor would I want to. Being their mom is such a privilege and even in it's hardest moments I am so grateful to have been given this "job". Bryce and Callie both went to summer camp at their school and had a fourth of July parade...it was so cute! We have also spent some more time at the lake with friends. This is one of my favorite summer activities!! Callie is loving her new "big girl bike" and Bryce got a new hair cut, a faux hawk. So, that's it in a nut shell. Enjoy the pics of my 2 cuties and come back soon to see what is going on with us at the beach....did I already say I can't wait :)