A Little Break - Back to the Beach

The kid's bears, CB and Cocoa, at our favorite place, Cocoa Beach!

We are headed back to the beach for a few days... I will be without a computer, which will be both a wonderful thing, and a frustrating thing at the same time. You see, I will have my camera, and I love to take a picture or two. Or a hundred... or two.

I need a computer to download the pictures on, so that I may take a few hundred more. We only have one card, which I can get about 350 pictures on, but I know I'll need more... we'll be at the beach for goodness sakes!

Before we go we may need a destination... my Momma is at their house right now looking for us a condo on a nice quiet beach somewhere. I just am not sure where it will be! I love little surprises like that. This is a "Girl's" trip, with the exception of Cub... he'll be our token little man.

And, I'll also need to wash the kid's clothes, pack the kid's clothes and "stuff", as well as mine. I've not even done that yet. I like to procrastinate, hmm? I can almost hear the laughter from those of yall who know me. I am laughing with you, because if I don't I might begin to stress out... but, probably not. It'll get done!

Oh, yes... and we also have a birthday party to go to tomorrow morning! EJ's best friend from PreK is turning 5 and is having a swim party... we actually showed up for it on Saturday, but then I realized it was tomorrow. Silly me! That bought me a trip to Burger King and their play area to appease two very sad kids who wanted to swim and see the birthday girl... I am not a big fan of this particular play area, or the food there (I am a vegetarian - long story!), but it made the kiddos happy. And that made me happy.

So, I hope everyone has a wonderful week. I'll be back the beginning of next week, right before my big girl begins her first day of kindergarten... I can't even think about it right now, but she is so excited!

God Painted Us a Picture

This was our view over the old pasture between Momma and Diddy's house and ours last night... it was so pretty! BB had picked corn and we were all down at Diddy's barn as they shucked it. It was getting late, and a storm was brewing, but the sky was gorgeous.

Yesterday was also my Momma's 65th birthday - Happy Birthday Momma!

Yes, we do have a lot of family birthdays this month... as a matter of fact, I call it the birthday season around here. Both of our kids have a birthday in July, along with Momma's and Aunt Reynie's . Geoff's is in August... and Diddy's is then right around the corner in September (beginning of dove season!)... right now we are all on a sugar high from birthday cake!

Big Fat Worms

EJ loves it when we put up corn for one reason - the worms Grandiddy pulls from some of the husks!

Here is a picture of this years "crop"...


Of course we always sing that wormy song "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat some worms! Big fat juicy ones..."

I'd go on, but I think yall get the drift.

EJ is at her dance camp this week, so it's been a bit busy here, as usual! The camp is in town, and so it is a little drive to get there and back. Today is also (hopefully) catch up day with laundry and house cleaning, and grocery shopping (which I usually do at night, when Geoff is home and the kids are in bed!)... it's gonna be a full day!

Wordless Wednesday

This is my first time participating, but I love the idea. You will find other Wordless Wednesday participants at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Just This Morning...

A Fairytale Princess and a Knight in Shining Armor visited our house!

Ahem...

Meet Princess Sassy "I'm 5 now", and our Knight in Stinky Diapers.

There. Just keeping it real yall!

A Tub for Two

Elizabeth and Cub always end up in the tubs for a "swim" on the days we put up corn... it reminds me of when I was a little kid and I went "swimming" at my best friend (and 3rd cousin) Dixie's house. They had a dairy, and we would get in one of these galvanized cow troughs, much bigger than this tub, but the same idea. I wish I could round up a picture or two of that!


When we got older, her parents built a pool in their backyard, and my parents did as well. We no longer needed the cow troughs, and wouldn't have been caught dead in one as we got older anyhow. But, it was perfect when we were kids!

Too Tired To Tell...

We put up a ton of corn this weekend, and I know there is more of it to come... we also had the kids birthday party on Saturday, and family in town. Today is Cub's 3rd birthday, and tonight is his family get-together... I will be spending the rest of this week cleaning up from house neglect!

I am too tired to even think much today, but I will try again tomorrow. That is if I can find the computer again under all this clutter!

Happy 3rd Birthday Cub!

A Field of Corn

As I told yall a couple days ago, the corn is ready. I fully expect tonight we will be covered in silks and the kids will have found new pet worms... if not tonight, then Sunday will be the magic day. Tomorrow is the kid's birthday party, and that is all this Mommy can take in one day. It'll be at a "jumpy" place in a town close by, and there will be kids in age from 2 on up to jump and bounce as we celebrate EJ's 5th, and Cub's 3rd birthday.


Yesterday we went over to Uncle Bud and Aunt Betty Jo's house for lunch. Family is in town from South Georgia, and a lunch was prepared. Garden fresh sliced tomatoes, corn, and green beans, along with a huge ham. For dessert, a lemon zest coconut sprinkled cake that was delicious, and I am not a coconut fan. But this was awesome...

Bud and Betty Jo, along with their son Kirk and his new wife Stephanie have a family owned dairy. Above is a picture of one of the corn fields, by their house. You can see the dairy in the background.

Now, this is a corn field yall. Sure, it is for the cows, but I always love seeing it nonetheless... it is really an awesome site as you stand by it. Really!

Never one to be without the camera, Aunt Betty Jo, Nana and I decided we'd get the kids picture by the fence, in front of the corn. It took a little coaxing, but we got my nephew Jeffrey and EJ out there without much trouble. Cub was a different story... he wanted to go in the corn, not sit on that silly fence! He was very adamant about it too, and cried me a river about why he was not going to have his picture taken on the fence.

He was going in the corn... got it?

So, I have no cute pictures of Cub, except his for the one of his back, as he heads into the forest of corn below. I did manage to get a couple of EJ and Jeffrey, but they were headed into the corn field themselves!




Happy Friday! I hope yall have a great weekend!

The Road to "Momma's House"

For some reason, we call my parents house "Momma's house"... Diddy lives there too, of course, and they built it together 38 years ago this coming October.

Good thing it was completed then, as I was born a week early that December! The fact that I will be 38 in December, I will just overlook for the moment...

Anyway, this road is great as it is the short way to "Momma's", and now that my kids are old enough to walk over, it is a well worn path. They have to ask the adult in charge (usually me or Momma) if they can walk to the other house, and then off they go...

Elizabeth doesn't usually tarry along the way. She is on a mission to get to Momma's, or back here, and will keep her pace. Little usually stops her, except maybe if an animal catches her attention.

Cub is gonna be my day dreamer... he ambles along at a snails pace, stopping to pick up rocks, sticks or even venture through the corn rows before he remembers where he is going. By the time he gets to the other house, he has had many little adventures along the way.

Catching Up

I never got around to posting anything about our visit to the lake on the 4th of July. I had a lot of pictures to show, but have condensed it to three in view of time. For some reason it takes me a long while to post pictures here.

Here is Elizabeth on "Big Bertha", the innertube, with her cousins Olivia and Aiden. Their Mom Karen is my first cousin, and her husband is Mike. They live in San Antonio, Texas, and were at Karen's parents lake house (my Aunt and Uncle's) at Lake Oconee for a long summer visit.


Karen, her brother Bob, BB and I were close growing up. Sure, they lived in Atlanta then, which is an hour away, but our family finds all kind of occasions to get together. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, sunny days, rainy days... you get the picture.

FYI... one thing I miss about my job as a flight attendant are the nice layovers. (Notice I said nice layovers... there is a difference. I'll save that for another post one day) I always loved my nice layovers in San Antonio, as I got to spend time with my family!

Elizabeth loved riding the innertube - loved it. She cried when it was time to get out... Cub wasn't so sure to start out with, and then decided he wanted to give it a try. So here we are, Cub and Mommy, taking our turn.



He didn't like it. He wanted back in the "big boat" pretty quickly...

Another thing this family does well is talk, and eat. It was supposed to be a sandwich fixin' kind of lunch/supper, but that never really happens with all these cooks around. Look at the counter on the right... it goes on from there too! Food for days, and the yummiest caramel cake you will ever taste.


We had a great time and enjoyed seeing everyone... the kids always love being with their cousins, and playing together with the toys from the "toy closet" at the lake house. There are toys for days in there, and the kids know it well!

It's Time!

Oh boy... Diddy just called me to let me know.

The corn is ready for picking, shucking, silking, creaming, blanching, bagging and freezing. And, of course, eating. I can not wait to get some of the first batch... there is nothing like fresh corn from the field, creamed or on the cob.

We eat it like it is ice cream here...

Diddy was on his way in from a late night at work, and decided to check the corn in the fields as he drove down their driveway. Sure enough, it's show time yall! You may think I am playing it up, but I kid you not - sometime in the next few days we will have ourselves a "party" of sorts. Probably a few of them... Our entire family gets involved, like it or not, and gets a job. I usually silk, blanch and bag it. Our kids play with all the worms we pull from the shucks, get real muddy from the Georgia red clay we have here, and see who can eat the most corn... uncooked at that.

I am not surprised to get the call tonight... I knew it was about ready, as it usually falls the very same time each year, depending on when planted of course. For the past few years it has been the same weekend as the kids birthday party. It just makes the whole process that much more crazy, and is only par for the course.

My brother Billy (otherwise known as Uncle BB, the Rock Star here at our house) and Uncle Milton are the ones to thank for planting it all, and so here is a BIG THANK YOU!

I will be sure to have the camera, as some of my favorite pictures happen at corn picking time. Tall tales get told, sweet tea and beer get passed around according to preference, and bags and bags and bags of "gold" are stored away in all our freezers for the year ahead.

Come winter, as the corn is cooking on the stove and the aroma fills the kitchen, I always remember these sweet summer days, and the family gathering together to make it all happen.

And, the red dirt from the fields in the kids clothes, big fat worms that my kids will deem as their new pets, and endless barrels of corn to silk.

Precious memories are made of this.

The Family Reunion

We survived the trip to Tallahassee, but it sure did take us forever to get there. I never in my life dreamed we'd make it Friday night... the kids were tired and fussing with each other (and me!), the Suburban (though large) was cramped with all us in there, and we decided to stop in Dawson for supper at a Huddle House.

Oh my word was that a long wait! There was only one waitress, bless her heart, and one cook... bless his too. There weren't really that many folks in the restaurant, but it was a lifetime before she even got our drink order. EJ was sulking because, well, she's 5 remember? And Cub was pretending to be Buzz - trying to get up on top of the booth and fly from the top, all the while loudly announcing he was going to "infinity and beyond!"

I would have gladly boarded any spaceship available at that time myself.

We made it to the hotel, and it was late. The kids had gotten about a 5 minute snooze just as we pulled into the city limits of Tallahassee, so of course they were now wide awake.


The next morning we got up early and went to the pool, then the hotel's continental breakfast, went back up and got dressed, re -packed the bags and took off for the reunion. I was exhausted from it all by the time we got to the event center, but it was great to see everyone. There were a lot of family I had not seen in many years, some I don't think I have ever met before, and EJ and Cub were the hit of the show. EJ drew pictures for her cousins, and Cub charmed them with his flying skills...

This is a picture of our branch of the family tree... not nearly everyone was able to make the trip this year, but the three siblings all made it with their significant others. On the front row is my Aunt Runelle (Momma's sister), with Uncle Gene behind her. Then my Momma, Betty, with my Daddy, Bill, behind her. EJ is in her lap. Then there is me, with Cub in my lap, and my Uncle Melvin (Momma's brother) behind me. His wife, my Aunt Sarah , is sitting next to me. My Grandmother died last May, or she would have been there if physically able.... she loved her family more than anything. Well, except Jesus of course!


Our trip home was less eventful than the way down. We avoided the infamous Huddle House, and in turn went to one of our favorite places, Cracker Barrel. The kids were still fussing, but hey, who could blame them really? It is a long ride for kids, regardless. We watched two Veggie Tales movies, and began Return to Neverland twice before I think I dosed off. The kids kept awake the entire way home!

One interesting thing we did do on the way home was stop at Mack's Melon Market... we got a great watermelon to eat this weekend. The kids loved the kids swing sets, and they had sunflowers in their field too!

Look at those huge watermelons!

Just Because...

My husband took these pictures on Sunday... this hummingbird loves my pink petunias! I have two baskets of them on our back porch, and Geoff was quick with the camera when he got these shots.

On the Road Again

We are headed out for another little adventure this afternoon. I am not prepared, and before I can get us all ready, we are going to the city park with the Mom's Club I am in... I signed up to be the craft coordinator for the summer, and so last night I came up with something I hope the kids will enjoy.

For those of you who may not know me, I am a procrastinator... I do my best work the later it gets. Some things never change!

Then, after the park, we'll grab some lunch, go home and I will furiously pack a bag or two! We are headed out to Tallahassee, Florida and a large family reunion, on my Momma's side.

There will be my parents, Aunt and Uncle, two kids in car seats and myself in a Suburban, charging down the road this afternoon... my husband has a busy day tomorrow with church activities and some tractor pull preparation (plus looking out for the puppies!), so he won't make the trip this go round.

It will be a quick little jaunt, as we will be back late Saturday night... so, I leave you with these pictures of Buzz and Jesse until then. They are getting the potty training business better now we changed our strategy, thank goodness!

Yall have a great weekend!

Froggy and Our Princess

Last night I went over to pick the kids up from Momma and Diddy's. When I walked in the door, I was greeted with a big grin from Cub, as he yells "MOMMY!", followed by a huge hug. He is always so sweet - he'd only been there an hour or two, but he doesn't care... he treats it like it has been forever, every time!

Elizabeth held up a container. I knew it must have some new pet in there, but there was just no telling what it might be this time. She loves animals - all kinds. We just got over the loss of her "newest" pet wormy who mysteriously disappeared from it's home, a pink insect house, that stays on our porch. It never ceases to amaze me how such a girly girl can also love slimy worms and the like. But, I guess she comes by the "loves animals" part honestly... it's the "girly girl" part I wonder about.

Anyway, in this tin container was a cute little frog... a very jumpy one at that. We got it home successfully, and after introducing Froggy to Daddy, they transfered him to the pink insect house. Then Daddy stuffed in leaves for him to use as cover.

All was fine last night. This morning, first thing, she went to the porch to check on Froggy.

"What will he eat?" she asked, as we watched him jump, jump jump...

I tried to explain to her that frogs need insects to eat, and that he liked water. I also suggested that it was great to have him as her pet, but he might be very happy out in our rock garden. With all the million other froggys... who talk to each other every. single. night.

She pondered this for awhile, cried a bucket of tears, and determined all by herself that she was gonna "let Froggy go".

Somehow, through those lingering tears, she transfered him back to the container she caught him in, and we walked over to Froggy's new home.

(Just overlook the unsightly black lining/low water in our little lily pond... we are in a drought, and besides, the pond has a leak somewhere! We fill it back up for special occasions...)

Froggy was a bit resistant at first, surprisingly, as he sat there on the container handle... maybe he was deciding his next move. He was probably unsure of what to do with all the silly humans watching him so closely. Oh, and one little princess was trying to hold back tears again as well...


He eventually jumped and began to swim, free at last. I sighed a breath of fresh air as we had made it through yet another animal saga. Princess Elizabeth was pacified with the fact that Froggy was happy, close by and with his friends. And, she can see the rock garden from her bedroom window.


Here he is, sunning himself on that green leaf... I am so proud of our sweet girl for making such a difficult decision, all by herself. She loved that frog more than I can tell you, though she'd only had him less than a day. That's just the way it is for her. I was really prepared to go find insects to feed the frog. But, after learning he'd possibly be happier in the pond, where he could find insects and play in the water, she listened to her heart and decided to let him go.

What a beautiful morning it has been!

Just a Few More...

Okay, so I lied. I didn't mean to, it just happened that way!
I was done with sunflower pictures, I really was... for the year anyway.
Until yesterday. Yesterday was a test of my patience here at the house... no naps for the kiddos and lots of "boredom".
So, what does any self sacrificing Mommy do in that situation?
I picked out some clothes, got the kids dressed, grabbed our camera and went outside to see what we could find.
At the moment, sunflower fields are what we find, along with corn just about ready for eating...
I also got some pictures of the kids in the field between our house, Momma and Daddy's and BB and Reynie's. I'll share some of those along the way too, but I always love the sunflower ones best.
Even when my son moves so fast he is usually blurry, it just reminds me how active he is. And when EJ gets moody and doesn't want her picture taken... well, she's 5 now. She knows it, as she reminds me hourly. I just move on, and then she usually forgets her little mood, and joins back in the fun.

Five Years of Joy

Happy 5th Birthday Elizabeth! You have brought us so much, taught us so much, and we love you so very much...

There's a New Sherriff in Town...

A Little Time Out

Today has been a lot of things, but productive is not one of them.

I want to post some pictures of our weekend, and I will, but it takes a while to pick out the better photos... and time I do not have. I also have something to post for EJ's birthday, but as before, that will have to wait as well....

So, I will show you a new picture of the puppies for now. (Aren't they cute?!)

The laundry is staring at me... as well as a thousand other tasks that I try to begin, but cannot seem to complete with my children vying for attention as well. And, I will look back one day and not remember the messy house, but the laughter and joy on my babies faces, right? I know I will, but this house is in dire need of the attention too...

So, onward I go to clean up the playroom with the kids... well, what I really mean is, onward I go to clean up the playroom. The kids do sincerely try, but become distracted with whatever toy they have found to play with when they get in there. Honestly it works for me... at least I know where it all goes and get it back to the correct basket/area. I do get them to pick up certain things, but for the most part, it works well this way.

I know, it seems I have a touch of OCD? Maybe... but if you saw my house you wouldn't think so!

Happy July 4th Weekend!

Today is Elizabeth's birthday - she is 5 years old! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BooBoo!

We are celebrating tonight in the rock garden (rain permitting), but since Cub's birthday is in 2 weeks, their "friend" party is together, in a weekend or two at a big jumpy place. We always celebrate the "real" birthdays with a small family gathering.

Yesterday, we packed up the Surburban (Nana's car is still here with us from our Cocoa Beach trip!) and went to my Aunt and Uncle's lake house at Lake Oconee, about an hour and a half away. I was going to post some pictures, but I took so many the battery is dead (!)... after it is recharged, I will have to show you my brave girl as she rode Big Bertha (the tube) with her cousins on the lake... of course, it was behind my Uncle's pontoon boat, of which my son was a huge fan!

Happy 4th of July!

A Family Gathering

Last night we gathered up in the front sunflower field, by Aunt Betty's house. Taking family pictures is sometimes a tiny bit stressful, and really it is more because of the kids not wanting to, you know, stand still! (Even for just a little second!) Or, look at the camera for goodness sakes, and just try to smile for me at all... but, I've come to expect that, so I just go with it.

Kudos to Reynie for taking this photo of Geoff and me... have I mentioned I do not like pictures of myself? I love pictures of Geoff though... ain't he cute?!

Here is the family picture... Momma, Diddy, BB, Reynie, Me, Geoff, Elizabeth and Cub! Cousin Karla took this picture for us, so a big thank you to her too - we are actually all looking in the same direction and everything!

Now it wouldn't be a good post if I didn't include one of our babies, though I post one of them most every single day... I captured one of them both still, looking at the camera, and grinning! Actually, I really took a better one, but I just loved Cub's expression in this one, so I decided to share it instead.


This is Momma and Diddy... I think yall know I am a BIG Daddy's girl, but my Momma is one of my best friends. I am very blessed.


This is my brother Billy (BB) and Reynie. They just celebrated their one year wedding anniversary in May... congratulations!


I am so glad Geoff took this picture of the three of us... though I still don't like pictures of myself, I will probably frame this one too...


This is a picture of us, along with Aunt Betty, and cousin Karla... we had a lot of fun taking these family pictures. The kids were just happy to run through the rows and play with the dogs, but I am happy with the results of the evening. We'll have lots of pictures to share, and frame for our homes.


This is my cousin Renee (Aunt Betty's daughter) and her husband Evan, with their 4 month old, Addyson. I took their pictures the night before last. Sunflower pictures around here are popular!

Are yall on sunflower overload yet?! I think we are too, for the season... I will be taking some more of other family/friends - but unless I just can't stand it, I promise the sunflower posts are done!