I think I'm up to the day after Valentine's now. St. Patrick's Day was last week, so I'm officially behind only a month.
The weekend James was gone to Texas and my folks were in Cleveland with us my dad promised the kids a campfire and cookout. I was going to post some pictures from James' weekend but I've had no success stealing photos off of family members' Facebook pages. Usually I can swipe pictures no problem, but today it's been acting ugly about it. Suffice it to say that the weekend was wonderful, and a terrific tribute to Grandpa and Grandma Lee's 60 years of marriage.
The kids got the campfire they wanted. Amelia and I had been at the barn most of the afternoon because I was running a birthday party for a friend's daughter (also Amelia's friend). That was a lot of fun. Anyone want to throw their kid a horse birthday party? Let me know, I'm happy to oblige. Anyway, when we were heading back from the barn Amelia said maybe we would have a camp fire because they had asked Grandad about it. Sure enough, as we pulled in the driveway there was a small fire my dad had built below our house just off the trail.
He had also been to the store just for hot dogs and marshmallows.
We added loaf bread, apple slices, and chips, and voila, dinner flambe!
This is so much fun, Grandad rocks!
Step 1) Find a stick and skewer the marshmallow. Step 2) Place it in the flame and set it on fire. Step 3) Haul it out of the fire and make your fellow marshmallow toasters/pyros think you are going to set them on fire as well. Step 4) Blow it out and eat it, ash, dirt, and all. Yum!
The warm days we've had every now and then in January and February have truly been my favorite gifts of the long, cold winter. Thanks, God! We take advantage of those rare days. Having a golf cart and a creek help.
This is an early February day and it was quite bright. Bright = overexposed pictures when you are a photography dummy like me.
We enjoyed a picnic by the creek...
Then some creek stompin'.
And then I figured out the camera setting. Yay me!
"Mom, this feels great!" actually means "Dang this spring water coming off the mountain is colder than Antarctica, but we're not going to tell you that 'cause you'll probably go all mom on us and make us get out!"
And then the world took on a sepia tone. Nobody really knows why for sure.
Days like this are such a lift to the winter weary soul.
Then one day in February, the unexpected happened. I got to go out with girlfriends. Without kids. It was the strangest thing...and the most fun!
Alison, Jenny, Rebecca, and I painted pottery at "You're Fired" in Gainesville. All of our creations turned out cute, if I do say so myself. (This is the "before" shot. They weren't all white after firing. Though for the uncreative/uninspired such as myself, it was tempting just to paint the whole mug white and call it a day!)
Then we had dinner. Apparently everyone and their grandma, grandpa, dog sitter, and 5th cousin thinks PF Chang's at the Mall of Georgia is the place to be. So, turning down their offer of a two hour wait, we settled for Thai elsewhere. And we were happy.
And then we had Starbuck's, and we were really happy. Back to cold nights- that one was cold!
As if the Valentine's date and girls' day out weren't enough, I went out a THIRD time. My birthday was on the 18th, and it happened to coincide with the first of monthly Girls' Nights Outs (Girls' Night Outs? Girls' Nights Out? I dunno...) Alison had put on the calendar for our Sunday School class ladies. It was supposed to be for all the February birthdays in the class, but it just so happened that I was the only one. So I pretended that 15 ladies got together to go out just for me! It was a great time, and every time I get together with others like that I remember why the saying says that laughter is the best medicine. I came in past bedtime, in high spirits despite yawns. Fun times. It makes birthday number 37 go down a little bit easier.
There's a lot I could say about my feelings on getting older; looking at myself in pictures and not seeing anything resembling my 20's anymore, finding grey hairs, watching the beginnings of crows feet forming, noticing how there's so much more of the country's population that is young and dumb than ever before...but perhaps I'll save my ponderings for year 40. Hugs and kisses from the kids along with their cards and wishes, and with a sweet card from James with a gift card for another massage *yay* helped make 37 easier as well. Every year older you get means you got to spend one more year with the people who really matter. Love you guys!
With the busyness of the camp season upon me, plus school, working on taxes (ew), and many other extra things besides the usual routine, it'll be a wonder if I post the next batch of photos before Christmas. I think I can, I think I can...
Before I go to bed, I'll leave you with a couple of Elizabeth quotes from the month. One day recently she was painting with watercolors. Actually she was destroying a paint brush by splaying out it's bristles beyond repair. She looked at the brush's haphazardly arrayed bristles, laughed, and said, "The paint brush has staticky hair!"
I had forgotten how hard it is to get a two year old to understand some things, like pronouns for instance. She has some panties with My Little Pony on them, and always says to me while putting them on, "I've got on your little pony panties." I try to explain, no those are MY Little Pony panties...I mean, YOUR Little Pony..." Then I usually scrap it because I have no idea how to proceed from there.
And finally...
Spontaneous sweetness.
Goodnight!
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