Tuesday, May 19, 2015

A Perfect Equation


There is this really awesome formula that I have discovered and I thought I would share it with the world. I don't think you're ready for this jelly...but I'm gonna tell you anyway.

Nap Time * (Beautiful Weather + Spring Flowers) = Camera Time

Mind blown, amiright?! Yeah, you're welcome.

I am all about making an efficient use of time {stop laughing, all of you who know me in real life!} so when both of my boys and my grandmother went down to rest during our visit, I took the opportunity to wander. I know her property like the back of my hand, but it is amazing the new discoveries I make every single time I go exploring. This excursion was all about the flowers. They are out in full force and just begging for their portraits to be taken. I was happy to oblige.


I don't know about you, but this is just about the coolest onion I have ever seen.




Again, the bloomin' onion. Hey look, ma! I made a funny!



My grandmother loves her plants and flowers, but there are some that seem to pop out of nowhere that she hasn't even had the opportunity to enjoy since they are in the field above. That is a little far to walk and generally isn't a trek made by her. So I decided to take some shots so that hopefully she can enjoy them even without the hike.









There are quite a few blooms surrounding her house that have been there for years and return every spring to greet us when we visit. Some are intentional. Most are not. I love them all equally.





Somebody was hungry.



A yummy snack is always in order on a warm spring day.



This lean-to shed houses some of my grandfather's {and great grandfather's} farming tools. It has been around since a teenaged Methuselah built it but I have never explored it for fear of snakes and spiders...and tetanus. So I decided that this was the time to brave the place. Alone. Because I'm brilliant.




I am going to go ahead and proclaim my love for this shot - not because I actually love it, but because this is the reason that I risked my life in the shed. I could have died in there and this is all I have to show for it this is the reason why. Oy!



This place seriously never disappoints in blooms. You can't walk five steps before spotting something beautiful to feast your eyes upon. I am so thankful that we get to experience it first hand whenever we want.

Neiner, neiner.






Monday, May 18, 2015

Reform: A Day in the Life


Oh, hello. Fancy meeting you here. I just thought I would drop by to see how things are going and, oh I don't know, blog about something. I mean, why not? No one else is writing here.

We took our monthly retreat to the country a few weeks ago and I figured "now's an appropriate time to share." {50 million cool points for whomever can name that quote.}

So a few memories that I wanted to preserve are as follows. I hope you enjoy the stories that go along with these images, for they are the most important part.

Grandmama inherited a cat, named Beau, when my cousins moved to the next town and couldn't taken him with them. He lives mostly outdoors, but does come in every once in a while for some food and snuggles. He has grown fond of us, and we of him, and on this particular day that relationship came through loud and clear. Literally. You see, I began hearing a ton of noise come from the living room and went to investigate. Canon and Beau were staring at each other through the screen door and communicating...via meows. No, I am not kidding. The meowing went back and forth for about 5 minutes until Canon was allowed to go outside and hang out with his feline friend.


In fact, we all decided to go outside together. Canon and Grandmama fed the birds. We sat in the porch-style swing while the boy ran around in the yard, and then Canon got twisted up on the tree swing.


When we finally came back inside, it was time for breakfast and coffee. I couldn't resist a shot of this lovely lady.


Next up were the ever-important car races. Funny how Canon's car won every single time. Me thinks someone let him win.


This area is such a small, close-knit community. Case in point: the family fun day held in order to raise money for the volunteer first responders for the next town over from us. Canon got to sit in a real life helicopter and firetruck.



He took a couple of carriage rides, pulled by miniature horses. They are owned by our cousin so she always gives Canon extra time.




This woman right here. My heart. The matriarch of the family. I am so blessed to call her my grandmother. We are sitting in a building that was once the agricultural building of her high school. In fact, I found a picture of the graduating class that contained her and my grandfather on the wall here, along with the graduation photo of her youngest sister, my great aunt. I love seeing those little preservations of history that are so precious to us.


We packed a lot of "activities" into one day since we had to get back home for soccer games the following day, but during nap time for everyone else I managed to slip away to enjoy some gorgeous scenery. I will share my finds with you tomorrow.



Thursday, May 7, 2015

There's no trouble in your bubble...


...when you're floatin' along! If you know where that comes from, then you too suffer from what I like to call "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse SingSong Syndrom". It is serious. Once it is in your body, it never really leaves. You could find yourself singing the tunes from the show at any time, however inopportune the moment. Years after your child grows out of the show, you may even find yourself quoting lyrics in a blog post that you write, which admittedly has nothing to do with The Mouse at all. Very worrisome indeed.

Anyway, back to the bubbles. My mom found these really cool bubbles that said that they stacked on top of each other so we were anxious to try them out. I am very well aware of the fact that she brought them for Canon, but we had to test them first. Only so that Canon could chase them, naturally.


The bubbles were very colorful and thick and seemed to float forever.


Eventually, they would land on leaves and flowers without popping. The ground was covered with them.







You know what they didn't do, though? Stack. We even tried them during Canon's bath time that night and I actively tried to catch them so that they would stack on top of each other. Would.not.do.it. Marketing liars.

This guy loved them though. He spent the entire time outside chasing the bubbles and having a blast.


And that's what really matters. I guess.





Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Atlanta Dogwood Festival


A few weekends ago, we heard that the Atlanta Dogwood Festival was being held in a part of the city that we hadn't yet explored. A free day in the park during a break in the rain? Yes, please.



The boys took full advantage of the wide open space to run around and stretch their legs, while I stretched my...lens. Yeah, that was taking things a little too far.




Canon has this thing. You see, anytime he sees flowers he wants to give them to me. A bouquet in the grocery store? "I want to buy them for you. May I have some money?" A planter in front of his school? "No, Canon, you may not pick the flowers from someone else's garden." A field of weeds wild flowers in the middle of a public park? Now, that is perfect.


In addition to an arts-and-crafts show, they had a kids section with carnival rides and every bouncy house/obstacle course known to man. When it came to the inflatables, he did every.single.one. I don't know why. I mean, once you have slammed into the wall of one dragon's mouth, you've slammed into them all. Amiright?!


I could not get over the beautiful buildings that stood just on the other side of the park.






Canon was not too happy with me when I told him he had to stand there so I could take a picture of him instead of going to play soccer. To be fair, those were intramural teams for adults and it wouldn't have been fair for him to beat the pants off of them. You know, being five and all.



My dear, sweet husband made me hand him the camera and take a picture with my son. I don't have many of those so I cherish the ones I do.




Remember when I told you he was angry for having to take photos? Well, he got over it pretty quickly when he started hearing music. My baby likes to get down with his bad self.




Ok, we are not health nuts by any stretch of the imagination, but we tend to steer clear of things like sodas and a ton of processed foods as much as possible because we like to eat well-rounded and healthy meals. On some occasions though, your kid just really wants a corndog. So we got him one. And then he proceeded to tell us that it was the best corndog he had ever eaten. And man, he loves corndogs. And he wished he could eat corndogs everyday. And...let's just say I am glad that we got him this crap-on-a-stick because he was one happy little dude.





After we had walked through the arts section of the festival, we stopped at the playground for a bit of kiddo fun.


There were so many kids that I hesitated to take too many photos. I didn't want any parents thinking that I was stalking their child. Or thinking that I was searching for the next top model. Or spying for the Irish government. What? I look Irish.



"Hey Mom, take my picture in front of this huge tree! It is even bigger than a monster truck!"



Turns out this Atlanta Dogwood Festival has a lot to see: an arts-and-crafts show, a dog show, carnival rides, and easy access to a playground. You know what it didn't have? Dogwoods. Not one dogwood tree did we see. I mean, who names a festival after a tree that isn't even there?!

Atlanta, that's who.