Let's go on a picnic

This beautiful weather makes me want to pack a picnic lunch and head off for a leisurely afternoon by the lake.

Won't you join me?

Here are some menu choices.

Which sandwich looks good to you?

Corn & chick pea salad. (I love the little jars.)

Smokey BLT's

Herbed chicken with hot pepper sandwich

Avacado Ham Sandwich

Jam filled cookies

Lemonade for a cool drink.

Pineapple Coolers (love that basket)

(All photos courtesy of Country Living)

Let's enjoy our afternoon, shall we?

Atlanta Part II

Our Sunday in Atlanta was quite nice.

No hurry to get up and rush out the door.

We had a nice leisurely lunch while waiting for this one particular store we needed to visit to open at 12:00 pm.

Enjoy these pictures of our second day in Atlanta.

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This is that particuliar store that one member of our family said was her only reason for wanting to go on the trip.

Ahhhh, eight year old girl heaven.

She picked out her new friend and off we went.

On our next adventure we headed off to Stone Mountain.

It's quite a work of art. The carving is of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

You can kind of see the scale of this huge mountain of rock in this picture.

Well......guess who decided they wanted to see the top of Stone Mountain but didn't want to ride up like most normal people do. That's right - my wonderful husband thought it'd be a good idea to HIKE up the trail to the top.

Just starting out.

On the way up - just know that I did nothing to distort the angles/views in these pictures.

Taking a little break.

This is a gum pole we passed on the way up. My son thought it was hilarious.

More climbing.

Almost at the top. I can't believe I didn't get pictures of the last part of the climb.

Straight up with railings in the rock to help you climb up. Very intense.

I must admit that G and I didn't go all the way to the top.

She was complaining the whole way & when I saw those last few climbs I decided that we'd wait for the boys right where we were. (It was a good decision.)

Back down on flat land. Here is a closer view of the carving.

Overall it was a nice visit. We were all set to watch the laser show that night but the weather had other plans and rained everything out.

They have tons of things to do at Stone Mountain - we didn't even begin to explore all of it.

Thanks for coming along on our visit - have a good weekend.

Our Weekend in Atlanta - Part I

We were able to take a weekend trip to Atlanta, GA this past Memorial Day weekend.

Even though the weather didn't fully co-operate, we had a good time.

Here come the pictures of the Braves game from Saturday night.

In Underground Atlanta. We switched from the Marta to the buses that took us to the stadium.

B trying to catch some practice balls....no luck getting one.

Saturday was Military Appreciation Night.

The view from our seats - pretty good & they were covered so we didn't get wet.

The boys watching the Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays.

G watching & "patiently" waiting for it to be over.

Our first night there was quite fun and I'd like to sing the praises of their transportation system.

They got us in and out without much waiting and without all the hassels of parking and driving in all of that traffic.

Stay tuned for Atlanta Trip Part II coming soon.

Blogging for Dummies

Just a quick question to throw out there to anyone reading.......

Dummy (me) asking:

"How do you get those 'You Might Like These Stories' things to attach at the end of a post???"


Anyone? Hello? Can someone please help me to figure this out?

Please!!

I will really appreciate it & I will tell the whole world how helpful you have been.

Thanks.

Memorial Day & 17th Anniversary

Busy weekend ahead.

Don't forget to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day.

Teach your children the real reason - so they don't just learn it's the weekend the pools open.

We're heading to Atlanta.

Gonna take in a baseball game and some other sites in Hotlanta.

Stay tuned for pictures.

One more important event this weekend:

Our 17th Anniversary!!!

Thank you Rob for asking me to take this journey with you.

You are the best husband & father a girl could want.

The best is yet to come!

Everyone have a safe & happy Memorial Day weekend.

A Favorite Pastime

We are huge baseball fans. It's just a great way to spend a lazy afternoon or evening.

B's season is just about over and we have our tournament coming up sometime this week.

He's enjoyed being in an older league this year and has had a good season, both with his hitting and playing 2nd base.

Since Mimi and Granddaddy haven't been able to make it down for any games, I figured I'd do a post for them to see some pictures of him at work.

This is B & his good friend on 1st - right after I snapped this shot he was off to 2nd.

Awww. The disappointment of a strike-out.

Playing his favorite position - 2nd base.

This is what G does during the games - finds some shade and waits til it's over.

Well, that's all from the ballfield for now.

I'm sure there will be some mention of tournament results when that actually happens.

If it doesn't stop raining, it may be a while yet.

Mimi & Granddaddy - hope you enjoyed the pictures and maybe you can come down for his fall season.

Favorite Kitchens

Probably my favorite room in any house is the kitchen. I guess it comes from the amount of time I spend in there. I love for our home to always smell like it has something in the oven. It's such a welcoming feeling to walk in and have the wonderful aromas of chocolate chip cookies or brownies baking for the children to enjoy when they come in from playing.

I have a long wish list of things I'd like to do to my kitchen but for now, let's just browse some of my favorites that I've found online.

So, do you like my inspiration kitchens as much as I do? Which one is your favorite.

I like bits & pieces from all of them, but overall I think my favorite is.....the 3rd one up from the bottom. I love the brick walls & the coziness of the overall room.

Now, I wonder what my husband would say if I started adding a brick backsplash to our house......nah, I'd rather not think of that right now.

(All photos found at Southern Living or Better Homes & Gardens. Go check out all of their inspiring ideas.)

Happy Mother's Day

To all the current mother's in blogland and to all the future mother's....

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Enjoy your families and have a wonderful weekend.

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"The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached to someone who isn't getting enough sleep."

- John Fiebig

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on magnets and what they do. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?" The teacher was astonished to find that almost 50% of the kids answered - Mother.

- Unknown

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day

With little time to stop & pray

For life's been anything but calm

Since You called on me to be a mom

Running errands, matching socks

Building dreams with building blocks

Cooking, cleaning, finding shoes

And other stuff that children lose

Fitting lids on bottled bugs

Wiping tears and giving hugs

A stack of last weeks mail to read

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet when I steal a minute Lord

Just at the sink or ironing board

To ask the blessings of Your grace

I see them in my small one's face

That You have blessed me

All the while

And I stop to kiss

That precious smile.

- Unknown

Kentucky Derby Time

As you've probably heard, this weekend is the 135th running of The Kentucky Derby.

If you know me in real life, you know that Hubby and I actually lived in Louisville, Ky for a while right after we were married (years ago).

This time of year is always special to me. I have fond memories of all of the week long celebrations that go on in this wonderful city during the week preceeding the Derby.

One of my favorite parts of horse racing is finding out the horse names.

Seriously, I think they have the coolest names.

Here are a few from this year's race:

Nowhere To Hide

Mr. Hot Stuff

Advice

Hold Me Back

Join The Dance

Chocolate Candy (may be my favorite)

Summer Bird

Pioneer of the Nile

West Side Bernie

Musket Man

Firesan Fire

Papa Clem

Aren't they fun?

It gets me thinking - what you name your horse?

I like Carolina Dreamin' for mine.

Are any of you having a Derby party to celebrate even though you can't be in Louisville for the big event?

In case you are, I thought I'd include a mint julep recipe for you to enjoy.

Mint Julep Recipe

4 fresh mint sprigs

2 1/2 oz. bourbon whiskey

1 tsp. powdered sugar

2 tsp. water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar and water in a collins glass.

Fill the glass with crushed ice and add bourbon.

Top with more ice and garnish with mint sprig.

Serve with a straw.

Hope you have a great weekend - hopefully it won't get rained out and remember to catch the Derby on TV Saturday afternoon.

Spring Planting

I've never really been what you'd call an avid gardener.

Don't get me wrong. I want a beautiful yard with lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers however when it comes to actually doing the digging, well, let's just say that I don't really DIG it.

I've been known to do it and at times....semi-enjoy it, but I'm not usually rushing out the door with my gloves & hat to play amongst the worms & bees, however.......

this Spring seems to be a little different. I'm not sure if it's because this yard is still new to me or if it's just been a really long winter but guess what we've been doing.......

PLANTING.

That's right. G and I headed out to the local garden center and came back with three of my favorite bushes - hydrangea's.

Here are some pics of the little beauties after we got them in the ground. I can't wait for them to get big & bushy.

Take a look:

They've already turned a deeper bluish-purple. I love how they do that.

We also moved several hosta plants that were kind of spread out around the porch so that they could have a nice home underneath my crepe myrtle's by the driveway. (Sorry, no picture of those but they're doing well in their new home.)

So, have you been doing any Spring planting?