Early Morning Drive & Family Reunion

(taken through windshield as we were traveling)

Yesterday, our family left early in the morning to travel over to Georgia for a family reunion. The early morning on southern country roads is so beautiful. There was a little bit of fog as the sun was coming up which created a soft, pretty light. I saw many sights that I wanted to photograph, but time did not allow it.

We attended a reunion on my hubby's side of the family. These were family members that we don't see very often, and it was fun to visit with them. We enjoyed renewing relationships and learning the family tree branches. (BTW, our son's his first and middle name come from this branch of the family)

(first cousins; red arrow points to Joel's mom)

The reunion centered around lunch which was the fabulous meal that can be expected in deep Georgia. I loved the flavors of the fresh veggies and smoked meats. I discovered Myrtle's Cornbread Salad and drooled over the ten layer chocolate cake.


We returned home after a long day, tummies full of yummy food and our heads filled with special memories.

For more pictures of the event, click here.

How We Survived Tropical Storm Fay

We were recently visited by Tropical Storm Fay. What that meant for us was a rainy, windy, stay at home day! So what's a family to do when they can't leave the house for twenty-four hours?

Have fun, of course! There's nothing like a rainy day for some family togetherness!

So, for those of you who've never experienced it, here are some tips for "surviving" the next tropical storm that comes your way:

*make pancakes for breakfast.


*spend lots of time on the computer: photoshop, blogging, facebook, twitter, swagbucks, etc.


*have plenty of iced coffee on hand.

*use the time to blanch and freeze zipper peas.

*play with playdough and watch t.v.


*stay calm when you discover that the wind is blowing so hard that water has pooled in the window sills.

*use micro-fiber cloths to solve the water on sills problem.



*dress up in your rain gear and check on the outside of the house. This will provide much needed exercise and entertainment for overly energetic young boys.

* make a big train track in the living room (I don't know why our son doesn't have his shirt on)

It's really not that hard to survive a tropical storm. All you need is your family and a fun attitude.

Fruits Of The Harvest

I just couldn't resist posting a picture of this:


Thanks to the generosity of friends and a little tomato picking trip in July, I've been able to can some goodies this summer! After seeing jelly jars used as decor in someone's kitchen recently, I decided to give it a try with my canned goods.


I like it. The tomatoes, okra, pears and pear relish make a colorful ensemble. Plus, it's fun to look up and admire the fruits of my canning labor!


Did you get to do any canning this year? What are your favorite items to preserve for use during the winter?

Birthday At the Beach Revisited

One of the fun things about our family beach trip this past month was that it was in the same place we stayed on vacation six years ago. In fact, this year we stayed in the house right next door to the one where we stayed six years ago. It was at the same time of year too! We celebrated our daughter's first birthday while we were there.

I took the picture on the left on the beach that day. I had written birthday wishes to her in the sand and sat her down for a picture. You can tell that the bright sun hurt her blue eyes, and she wasn't so happy.

I remembered this picture during our recent trip and decided to replicate the picture (on the right). Her blue eyes still don't handle the bright sun too well, but she looks little happier. And a lot older...and a lot taller...and a lot more grown up........can't keep her a baby forever, can I?

The Beach

Our lives have been in a little transitions lately, so I have not taken the time to write many blog posts. You see, we are transitioning from a laid back summer routine (full of lots of fun) to the more scheduled routine of school. And while I LOVE the flexibility and spontaneity of summer, it's always good to return to the structure of the school year.

So, before I get too far into the school year, I must finish telling you about our summer. Our most recent trip to the beach was a wonderful time for us. We met my hubby's family at Surfside Beach, South Carolina (near Myrtle Beach) for a week of togetherness. We rented a large house with a pool one block from the beach. All twenty-two of us gathered for family fun, and we're glad we did.



Right away, we gathered on the beach at evening for some family photo opportunities. You can check out how it turned out by clicking here and here and here and here and here and here. (Hey, if that's a lot of "heres" so you could just click on over to my photography blog and read and scroll until you've seen them all)
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We also had our Christmas in August celebration, and were excited by how much fun that was. You may recall that everyone was to buy a gift for the person whose name they drew. The only rule was that the gift could cost no more than $1 to buy. It's amazing how much fun it was to bargain shop and use coupons to accomplish this task.

Here's the run down on the gifts we bought:

To our nephew, our son gave a battery operated boat...perfect for playing in the pool or bath tub.

Our daughter gave one of the nieces a Barbie doll.

My hubby gave his brother-in-law 4 micro-fiber cloths for washing his vehicles.

I gave my sis-in-law a recipe package which included 3 cookbooks, index cards, pens and fingernail polish.

All of the items we gave were paid for with ECB's at CVS. When you sign up for a CVS card and purchase select items, CVS gives you Extra Care Bucks that can be used like cash at your next visit. I had accumulated enough of these for us to get our gifts and spend no money out of pocket.
Want to know more about playing the "CVS game"? Check out this tutorial at moneysavingmom. I highly recommend this program at CVS as a very effective way to save a LOT of money! While you are at it, check out all the other ideas for saving money on moneysavingmom.com

The gifts we received at the Christmas in August celebration were great, too!

Our daughter got a diary complete with a lock and key. She was THRILLED!

Our son got a child-sized basketball with the Florida Gators logo on it. He was THRILLED!


Joel got an autographed poster of Tim Tebow. He was THRILLED!


I got goodies for a pedicure, a manicure set and a pretty toothpick holder (its a pineapple, which I love....a great southern icon which symbolizes hospitality). I was THRILLED!

Everyone had fun giving their gifts and telling how they had purchased them for $1 or less. It's amazing what you can did when you get creative!

We also celebrated our daughter's birthday while we were at the beach.


She turned seven even though I didn't want her to. I made a sand bucket cake since we were at the beach, and she opened gifts from grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins.


Nana and Papa and two other families pitched in to take her to "Build-A-Bear."


She's been wanting to go for a long time and knew exactly what she wanted to get. It was fun to see her having so much fun.


I think this is the longest blog post in recorded history. Thanks for sticking around long enough to read it.

This Boy Loves His Daddy!

One night this week, my kiddos and I were working on thank-you notes in the kitchen while hubby was reading in our bedroom. After a little while one of the kiddos went to check on Daddy and found him asleep.

We went on about our writing until bed time. After pjs were on and teeth brushed, I was helping our daughter clean her room. I realized I hadn't seen our son in a while. After a quick search, here is what I found:


Our son had crawled in the bed RIGHT next to his Daddy.....cuddled as close as he could get...and fallen asleep!


How absolutely sweet and adorable!


You can tell they are father/son! Do they have the same ear shape?

Pretty Hairclips and a Silly Son

One of the really awesome gifts our daughter got for her birthday recently were these hairclips:


Her Aunt April made these for her (a very timely gift since the hair is suddenly shorter). These clippies are completely covered with pretty ribbon. The inside is covered with a fabric that helps to keep them in place in the hair.


These are just one of the many CUTE items for sell at April and Dawn's blog, Something Girly. You must get over there and check it all out. The items you'll find make great gifts for daughters, nieces, and other girls in your life.

See how they just dress up the new hairdo?



Of course, in my son's world, nothing is used for its original purpose! The ever experimenting young whippersnapper keeps us grinning! Here's his version of how to use the clippies:


Oh, and did you notice the red kool-aid mustache? That's a permanent sight around here!

If You Don't Get What You Want By Asking...

...take matters into your own hands!

That's what my daughter did recently. She's been asking for a while for a short haircut. I couldn't bring myself to agree. I just knew that cutting her hair shorter would make her look so much older, and its really hard to admit my baby girl is no longer a baby! I also love her strawberry blond color and wanted her to have lots of it.

Anyway, a little while ago, she came to me and told me she'd cut her hair. I am ashamed to say, I hit the roof! We'd made it to age 7 without any hair cutting incident...I thought we had made it safely to an age where she understood not to do that. After I calmed down a little, she told me that she had been combing it, gotten the comb "stuck" and had to cut the comb out. I flipped out a little more exclaiming that she should have asked me to help her untangle the comb! Then, after I calmed down again, I took these pictures of her:




Poor girl! Do you see that distraught look on her face? I guess that's what happens when her Mommy flips out.

A few days later, we went to the hairdresser to correct the problem. My daughter was very excited to get a real haircut, and by that time I had calmed down and was a little excited myself.

Here she is getting the much wanted hair cut:




And here is the result:

After all the kicking and screaming I did in resistance to a hair cut, I must admit that I love her new 'do! Now I wonder...why did I get so worked up about this?

And We're Off!

Today's the day! We are leaving bright and early to trek across the Southeast to Myrtle Beach. I hear we have internet access at the beach house, so I hope to keep you updated. If all goes as planned, watch for portraits of the whole clan on the beach, great $1 Christmas in August gifts, and birthday party pictures.

Now, gotta go see if I packed the sunscreen!

Step Four: A Birthday On The Road

Our daughter will turn 7 while we are gone on this trip. Because we don't live near my hubby's family, our daughter doesn't usually get to celebrate her birthday with them. Needless to say, she is very excited! She will be partying with her nine cousins!

So I am gathering all the things I need to decorate and celebrate! We sent invitations earlier in the week which our daughter helped to color. We will decorate the table with beach items and I'll be making a "sand cake" in a beach bucket. Gotta make sure I take the candles.....

Step Three: Christmas In August

My hubby's family is taking this rare opportunity of being together to celebrate Christmas...but with a twist. We all drew names for buying gifts. Here's the twist: we could only spend $1 on each gift. Sound impossible to you? We did it... and we got some pretty neat gifts to give! It has been fun to find deals, and I can't wait to tell you what we bought (since the family reads my blog, I can't divulge, yet)! I also can't wait to see what other creative shopping took place. Off to wrap the gifts.

Stay tuned.....