Merry Christmas From North Carolina!!

We spent Christmas in the Smokey Mountains!! My brother Chris came all the way from Houston, my Mom and Dad from Dallas and we of course only had to drive a few hours north of Atlanta. We all had a really nice time and got a little snowed in ;)
Matt and Uncle Chris taught Genevieve how to Ice Skate!
Nonni took Genevieve sledding. I think they went down the hill a hundred times!!

We all had tons of fun, even Garrett although he didn't get to Ski, Sled or Ice Skate. He was stuck hanging out with Mommy most of the time. Next year sweet boy I promise!!!
~MERRY CHRISTMAS~

Tire Swinging

Getting a few good swings in before the weather gets too cold!

She sure does like to go high!! What a cutie......... I think Garrett was taking a nap while we were sharing a mom and daughter moment!

Did I mention that you're a CUTIE!!

Annual Pumpkin Patching

We took our annual pilgrimage to Bert's Pumpkin Patch where they have the best pumpkins for carving, decorating with, and taking pictures on. This year however we hit a new spot called Yahoo Farm, and I do recommend it if you want to stay away from the crazy crowds at Bert's. It's a much slower paced kind of place and offers attractions that Bert's doesn't, like pony rides, a bounce house, barn yard animals, corn cannon, and a butterfly garden.





Had to add this one..... Genevieve and Garrett stopped and posed for pictures. The wall behind them was the hind ends of those same animals. I really entertained the idea of making them take the picture using that side, but I was feeling generous for some reason that morning and didn't...... It would have been just as cute, butt funnier, Hee hee!



Happy Fall!!!

Happy 4th Birthday!!!

Today Genevieve celebrated her 4th birthday at The Bounce House" with all of her friends. They had lots to do, some bounced, some played with toys and a few hung around outside the party room waiting for the party to start. "I think they were just eyeballing all of the cupcakes I made"!!

Everyone had a great time and Genevieve got lots of wonderful gifts. Thanks Everyone!!


Friday Nonni and I brought cupcakes for Genevieve's class. Garrett was there too and had a good time sitting at the big kids table while they ate their cupcakes. He's going to turn 1 years old Friday the 24th so he was just practicing for the BIG DAY!

Happy Birthday Big Girl, We love you!!!!!!!!1

Heritage Hometead

TEXAS TRIP!!

The kids and I took a trip home to Texas and while there we did lots of fun stuff with my parents, family and friends. Amongst other things we took a short road trip down to Heritage Homestead, it's a little north of Waco and a pretty interesting place. A self sufficient community similar to what we think of as "Amish" although they do use electricity and drive cars.

We started out in their little cafe for lunch. They have a great "Sweet Potato & Jalapeno Soup" homemade ice cream, pies and cakes. Fun Times!!!

Pool Initiation

Garrett has been afraid to get into Genevieve's pool. I thought he might be more open to splashing around in a smaller one... Hence the beer tub. Hmm, does that make this a "Red neck" kiddie pool? Probably so, Tee Hee! I put his bath toys in it, and it worked FUN-FUN!

After splashing in the little pool for a while the big pool didn't seem so intimidating. Look! he got right in and didn't fuss about it at all.

He didn't even mind Genevieve splashing around him and dragging him in his turtle around the pool.

The two of them had such a good time playing together... I'm glad he finally took an interest in the pool and wanted to get in with her.

Genevieve has been taking swimming lessons and is doing very well. She wears her goggles whenever she gets in the pool so she can practice going "Deep Under" as she calls it.

They are both the cutest ever !!!!

Check These Out!

To make these wonderful homemade Popsicles visit Bakerella for all the details. She gives great tips and advise on all sorts of fun baking projects. She's in my blog roll if you ever want to check her out, but I suggest you book mark her site so you can reference her often. Bakerella is always a good place to go when you need to create confections for special occasions or if you just need a creative outlet. I've made several of her cake pops and cake truffles.....Always a hit with kids, adults and teachers.
Happy Summer!!

4th of July

For the 4th we stayed pretty close to home, we didn't have any big plans. Saturday night we took Genevieve to a little carnival to ride rides and watch fireworks.

She had lots of fun getting to spend some QT with her mom and dad. I think she liked not having to share us with her little brother ;)

Sunday, Genevieve played in the pool. We BBQ'd and enjoyed our neighbors big fireworks show.

Monday we took the kids and Grandma to Helen. Matt, Genevieve and I went tubing through Helen. We really had a fun time even though it was pretty busy. We will definitely be doing this again soon!!

Happy 4th!

Pool Party!

We had a pool party, we'll a kids pool party! Our friends Maci & Todd brought their girls Allyn & Hollis over to play and hang out.


Garrett likes watching the ladies in their bathing suits... He likes watching them change in and out of their bathing suits even more, WhoooHooo!


We dusted off the smoker to see if we could BBQ a brisket......See for yourself! I think we know what we're doing!!!! We'll we're not quite professionals but we're getting there.

Destin Beach Beauties

Ahhhh, soo tranquil! I'm not a photographer but there are some settings where I can't help myself if you know what I mean.......

Hand in Hand....2010

Hand in Hand 2008....... I'm going to keep these going throughout the years. One day it will be Genevieve holding her daddy's hand and helping to steady him along the beach......

Garrett and Nonni (my mom). He wasn't a big fan of the the sand and surf this time however, he loved to watch it from a far. One day we'll have to drag him away kicking and screaming I'm sure.

My sweet little beach bunny! Some of my best shots of her are candid. She's so photogenic!!

This is Chris (my brother) consoling Kaylee. I think the waves got the best of her just before this shot.

Here she is again, building sand castles totally unaware of myself and the camera.

If you want to see more pics you can view them on facebook!

Yay Eli!!!! Gotta Watch This!

Go Eli & Janelle!!! What a wonderful news.....How Exciting!!!

Janelle Jenkins is a friend of mine from Orlando. She and I used to work together. Eli is her youngest son and when he was born experienced many unexplainable complications. I've been following Eli's story for the past 2 years, there is a link to Caringbridge on my blog roll if you'd like more information on their story.

We just received a notification that their trip NIH in Washington DC was successful and they were able to diagnose Eli's condition, YAY!!!!

They ran a story about Eli on a news station in Orlando, and also interviewed her while she was still in Washington DC. Click on the link below to see the news clip via YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oKyt0C2eKM

Destin or Bust!!!

Ready or Not Here I Come!!!!!!! 10 Days and counting.....I'm so ready for some sand between my toes, sun kissed skin and the noise of screaming kids drowned (no pun intended) out by the sound of waves and maybe a few pesky seagulls! Ahhhhhhhhhh

Sizing or Starch?

This post stems from my "domestic" side so to speak....... I am pretty domestic I guess and have been compared to Martha Stewart in the past, "I really don't know that being compared to her is any kind of a compliment". (Nothing to do with the time she spent in prison, if you could call it that). I really just find her abrasive, overbearing, and uninviting. I honestly would be afraid to step foot in her perfect, ready to shoot a BHG magazine Ad home.
Regardless, back to my reason for posting this....... I hate ironing. I really HATE IT. I purposely buy clothing that does not require any such measures for that exact reason. I have argued this point to my husband in the past when he has proposed that we try and save money by refraining from taking all of his clothes to the cleaners.
Anyways, I have been pressing his shirts and slacks for the past few months and have used aresol, and non-aerosol starch. Regardless of what the label states, it makes flakes all over the place, even on light colored khaki slacks. While at Target the other day I decided to try "Sizing" instead. I've always thought that sizing was more for sewing/quilting and have never tried it until now. Frankly, if you don't require stiff starch, then sizing is the better way to go. It hardly flakes even on dark colors. If it does all you have to do is wipe it off with your hand, no fingernail scratching required....Try it, you'll like it!!!!!!!!!
P.S. It smells better than spray starch!

It's Alpaca Not Ice Pack-a

We got the pleasure of visiting an Alpaca farm this morning. It's nestled right in the downtown area of out itty bitty town. Actually, we've driven past it numerous times and never knew that it was there. To make a long story short, I've been looking for manure for compost heap and my mother in law "Mary Frances" mentioned a lady in her quilting guild that has alpaca's. Their manure is supposed to be really fertile, I believe its referred to as "Gardener's Gold".

We took the kids to see the Alpaca's and collect some of their "leavings behind". I did a little research on alpaca's a few days before and found out some really interesting facts about them. They are Super Cute as you can see below..

A cross between a camel and a Muppet!! I love his bangs don't you?

They only stand around 5 feet tall, and they don't kick or bite. There were 9 total and they are pets basically. She spins their wool for personal use, in fact they are scheduled to be sheared around the first week of May so we'll probably be back soon after to see what they look like naked!Genevieve had lots of fun feeding them.

And posing for the camera!!!!