Mi Nino Bonita

I always love the opportunity to share a sweet pic of my beautiful girl!

It's a Croc!

Well, after a couple of years of wear...ALL of these Crocs must be on their way to find a new home. Luckily, Grammie scooped up the opportunity to take our little miss out to find a replacement pair. WHAT would we do without 'do it yourself/waterproof' shoe wear!!!

Gotta Dance - Again!

She is pretty excited about starting back with ballet and tap.
She gave me a little preview in the driveway!


Her ballet backpack is just perfect to carry a change of clothing and her ballet shoes.


Luckily for me, the classes are back to back on the same day. She starts with tap with Miss Ang and then moves on to ballet with Miss Ashley and Miss Skye.

I was excited as she was to be back!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

My Sweetie turned 41 today!

These are the cupcakes that Campbell decorated for Daddy (and the rest of us!)

Campbell sure does love that Grandmother of hers!


WHEN do we get to eat the cupcake?

Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera!

I have always loved the thought of having such incredible arts programs for such a small town. I mean, when people ask me about LaGrange, I mention this as one of the 'bonuses'! However, enjoying the arts has, sometimes, taken a back seat to everything else. Here is a sampling of what we have:
LaGrange Symphony Orchestra
Lafayette Ballet
LaGrange Art Museum
Lamar Dodd Art Center at LaGrange College
Young Singers of LaGrange
LaGrange Chorus
LaGrange Lyric Theater
Lafayette Theater Company

Sons of Lafayette Men's Choir
New Horizon Community Theater, West Point
West Georgia Children's Theater, Hogansville

That does it! It is my goal to see as many local productions as I can afford and handle in the coming years. A nice start to this school year is The King and I. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the show - and recognizing some of the actors.
I'll keep you updated on our progress!

Discoveries Picnic

We had a great time with our Sunday School class out at Highland Park. As you might notice, there are lots of kids. Also, there was lots of fun, food and fellowship - in a beautifully casual setting.

Let's Bowl!

Some girlfriends and I loaded up our kiddies (and those of some of our friends that were at work) and went bowling for the afternoon!

How did I do?


Casually enjoying the afternoon...


M.M.'s turn at the pins!


What is a day without silly?


...and MORE silly!

N. giving me the look!

Three sweet girls, all in a row.

Hey There Campers!

Well, it is that time of year again. Time for the time-honored tradition of Camp Viola!

These three are a FORCE to be reckoned with! Wendy, Coleman and Lori handle this LIKE IT'S THEIR JOB! Well, I guess, for the week, it is. Anyway, they have two years under their belts, and the kids are better for it!

The crew!

Acapulco - Paradise Found

Upon our arrival to the room. No matter how cheesy these towel/flower 'sculptures' are - it did give me a smile. (can you imagine how long it would take to lay out all of those petals?!?! This was on a king bed!


The view from 'our' room. This is the same room we had on our honeymoon - so romantic!

Our favorite restaurant - yum!

This trip, we decided to take a little 'hike' to the top of the mountain. The Chapel of Peace resides there - it was WELL worth the hike. Just beautiful!

Until next time!

Summertime, and the Living is Easy...

OK, this should be SOME type of summer commercial!

This might be one of my favorite photos of my girl. She is incredibly happy with this watermelon! This photo should be dedicated to her cousin Kenny. He understands that my girl LOVES some watermelon. He says that he brought one just to watch her it it!

All this to say that I hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Happy Birthday USA!

As usual, this is a very busy, fun-filled day in our family.

We start off the day, bright and early, with the Sweet Land of Liberty Children's Parade.

The 'theme' this year was Red, White and Blue goes Green. So, Coleman helped Campbell wire up the tricycle with solar panels that powered a fan and a little radio. This year, she really enjoyed working the crowd! It is her 4th year, and it was her first year not being pulled. She was really proud!


Here is a shot of some of the neighborhood cuties working on the banner for the group.

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NEXT!!
Off to the 'Farm'. Anyone that knows me, knows that I could live a thousand years in air-conditioned surroundings. However, I have grown so to love the farm. Campbell LOVES visiting with 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins. We go fishing, play at the creek, ride the Ranger, see donkeys and cows...you get the picture.

These SWEET children are just one of the reasons I love to visit the farm.


First of all, if you didn't know from hearing me tell the stories - 8 of these 12 children are siblings. I think I am in awe, because I can't imagine that I would have a hair left on my head if I had 8 children. Their parents, however, seem to be the most laid back. Secondly, Jodi, in the red/white stripes - LOVES my little girl, and she LOVES her back. She is so attentive with her, despite their age difference. There are reasons to love each and everyone of them (including their friend Austin on the right, who gave me his 'picture smile' each time I took a shot!).

Here is another reason to love it...see this 2 year old? She is catching fish in a bucket (See, the cliche is right!). Someone brought back a little blue-gill from the lake to take to their pond.


She just reached right in and picked it up. Too much! I guess, when you have 7 older siblings - you aren't afraid of much!

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LASTLY!
We went to Franklin to watch the fireworks. It was so nice and relaxing.

It is a very family friendly atmosphere. Just sitting on a blanket near the river.

We went with Casey and A.G. It was this little one's first time seeing fireworks. She thought it was AWESOME!

Campbell loved it too - she just doesn't LOVE the initial BOOM. So, she brought her trusty hunting headphones. Just like her Daddy, always prepared!

WHAT A DAY!

Until Next Year!

See you next year, Mexico Beach!

Be Careful What You Ask For!

HEAD'S UP - LONG STORY!

While romping around the room, playing with Ethan...she decided to stand on the arm of the love seat. She proceeded to fall off and hit her head on the a/c unit and fall into a pile in the corner of the room. It was pretty hard, she seemed really hurt - but, there was no 'bump' on the head. All I've ever heard about tough knocks is that you need to know there is a bump coming out - not going in. She appeared alert, but, crying.

Anyway, Mom goes to her room to get a cold pack for her head and calls the front desk. She wants to know that, because we are in the middle of nowhere, there is medical service available - if needed. Of course - no problem.

2 minutes later, I receive a call.
"This is Ambulance Service."

WHAT? I just need to know it is an option - we don't need one now. She asks me a number of questions. I tell her that we are keeping an eye on her - she is completely responsive, etc. No problem - call us if you need us.
End of story, right?

NO! We went to Mom's room to call Daddy on the computer - and my nephew comes over to tell us that the police are banging on our room door. They want to SEE the now TERRIFIED little girl in question. The policeman and another man from the hotel are asking her questions, having her track movement with her eyes and squeeze her fists.

She is fine - they were concerned - all is well. I'm guessing that they want to ensure no abuse was happening and that we weren't intoxicated? Well, neither of these things happened - just a bouncy little kid that may have inherited some clumsiness from her Mom.

I guess we are happy to know that the hotel, being in the middle of nowhere, is VERY prepared to care for us in the event of a medical emergency! Maybe she will be a little more careful next time!

How Do You Know the Ocean Is So Friendly?

So...the two of us are casually enjoying breakfast on the balcony of our room. She looks over and asks me this question. Of course, I go deep and start explaining that the ocean isn't always friendly - as there are sharks and other bigger fish (circle of life, yada, yada).

She gives me a few blinks and says.....

"Because it Waves!"

She cracks me up. It had to be several weeks ago that she and her daddy were reading a kid's joke/riddle book. She remembered and whipped it out in context. LOVE IT!

Mexico Beach

We arrived yesterday. What's not to love about Mexico Beach?

Lots of sun - Grammie kisses...

Each year, Leah or Mom always celebrate their birthday here. This year - it was Leah's turn. We went to our favorite place in Port St. Joe - Sunset Grille. You can see that Ethan was too happy to help Mom blow out the candle!