miscellany monday (evening)

1.  Long time, no talk...this past week was absolutely crazy.  I got really sick, but now I'm feeling a lot better.  Since then we've been up to a thing or two:

2.  My not-so-little brother...is 20!  We drove up to Cleveland on Sunday to attend his birthday party.  My dad and Renee's house was packed!! 

 These two are super close and I think it's adorable.

My dad doing his thing on the grill.  This was wonderful of him because it was really hot outside.  The burgers and chicken were delicious.

 

These two were in town from California...my cousins Britney and Martin.  When my dad and Renee got married Britney was 3 and Martin was only a few months old.  They have grown into two beautiful young people...I adore them (and their parents!).

3. March...march.  Today Jamison was in her first parade with her Girl Scout Troop.  She did an amazing job, though I didn't get a good picture of her marching.  I did get this picture of her before dropping her off at the staging area:

4.  My Homies.  Most of my closest friends are friends I've had for years and years...and then there are these two.  Tonya and Katie are indeed true friends.  They are my spiritual shoulders to lean on, friends who will tell me if I have something between my teeth, and two people who I can be completely me with.

Tonya had a cookout at her house today and she smoked her first brisket...it was amazing :)

{Friday} Favorite Things

I love this time of the week...when I get to share with you my favorites and things I'm thankful for.  Thank you Rachel for hosting each week :)

 This book about squirrels...written by Jamison:

The fact that her book had the cutest blurb (I might be a little biased):

Checking off items on my To Do list

Notebooks

Reading to Jamison

The book Crazy Love...so far (you should really check it out...challenging, but good)

The anticipation of the new Stampin Up! catalog (July 1!)

Remembering this scene:

Jamison helping me with dinner

Caleb trying to make his own peanut butter sandwich

Discovering new (to me) blogs...like this one

Jamison telling me a knock knock joke that made me laugh out loud

This soap (and another one called Eucalyptus Mint...so refreshing):

Today & tomorrow's forecast...70's, sunny & DRY!

Quiet evenings @ home

Making plans for a summer day-trip to IKEA

   

Seeing answered prayer

 Witnessing my kids share a tender moment together:

We Want to Know!

Today I'm participating in We Want to Know Wednesdays.  There are some really fun questions this week.

1.  If you could choose a Super Power, what would it be?

Ooh, the power to be faster than the speed of light so that I can get places fast.  Destin would no longer be 15 hours away, I'd be able to get to Texas to meet up with bloggy friends in a snap (sniff), and I'd be able to visit places that I've never been to but would like to go, like Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

 

2.  What would be your first frivolous purchase if you were awarded a million dollars tomorrow?

 

The key word here is frivolous...my first thought is an iPhone because that's what I'm wanting right now.  But I'd probably buy a new Honda Odyssey Touring...complete with DVD, Navigation, satellite radio, automatic trunk release, etc.  I know...I have big desires.

 

{3} What would be the hardest current luxury for you to give up?

 

Cable TV...and especially my DVR.

 

{4} If you were given a choice between being given great wisdom and great wealth, which would you choose?

 

Absolutely great wisdom...wealth can come and go.

 

{5} If you were to be stranded on a deserted island for 100 days what 5 THINGS would you pack?

 

My fan, my laptop (with internet access, of course), my cell phone, clothes, and a pillow. 

Come on, join the party...I'm nosy :)

Picture of the Week

I'm continuing my quest to learn my camera and to play around with some editing.  I chose this picture first because I LOVE it.  God is just truly amazing and this picture shows just how stunning He is. 

I edited this just a little in Photoshop...having the color of the water and the colors in the rainbow stand out just a little more...I wanted the rainbow to pop.  Eventually I'd like to print this off and frame it.

Here's what it looked like before...

:)

miscellany monday

 

1.  Fruit Snacks...yum!  I realized this weekend that not all fruit snacks are created equal.  I like Betty Crocker fruit snacks better than any other, especially Kellogg's.  Since I've made this discovery I have been sneaking Caleb's fruit snacks and might have eaten them all...maybe.  How's that for random?

2.  It's time to party!  That is what it has felt like the last couple of months.  Everyone is having a party, whether it's a Tastefully Simple party (I was invited to two!), a Pampered Chef party (I went to one and am invited to another in June), or a thirtyone gifts party (that I had to miss over the weekend because I was sick).  It must be that time of year to gather things for teachers, summer parties, etc.  I've been having fun though...even if my wallet has not :)

3.  Summer reading list.  I'm getting together my Summer Reading list.  Over vacation I was able to rekindle my love for reading...I read two books.  I read Cross Fire by James Patterson and Ice Cold by new-to-me auther Tess Gerritsen (both highly recommended).  A few books that I want to read are Crazy Love, Radical, Calm my Anxious Heart, Lineage of Grace, another Tess Gerritsen book (The Surgeon looks good), and Primal (this one has been on my list for a while).  If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know!

4.  Choice night...sure!  I made up something called "Choice Night" where the kids get to pick what they want for dinner...from pancakes to a quesadilla.  They get SO excited about this and I giggle because I really created it for times when I don't feel like cooking...so really it's a win, win :)

Take a Picture

I mentioned in one of my posts about learning more about my camera.  I've had it for over a year and I don't think I'm getting out of it all that it has to offer.  I recently printed off the entire manual and plan on going through it and playing around.  I just need to pull my camera out more often....not just on special occasions.

So, tonight after working in the yard I was sitting back, looking up and decided today was the day to start playing around.  My camera is a point and shoot and has Auto/programmed settings as well as manual settings.  Tonight I decided to use the Landscape setting just to see what it has to offer.  I don't really know that I can see the difference between this and Auto so I plan on reading up on this setting tomorrow.

Here's my picture:

 We have a ton of trees in our backyard so this is what I see when I look up.

So...if you were to edit this picture what would you do?  That's another thing I'd like to work on.

 My goal is to take tons of pictures and post my progress each week.  Any other rookies out there?

Florida 2011 - WARNING...Major Picture Overload

Seriously, this is a really long post with tons of pictures.  I wanted to make sure I captured all of the wonderful moments on our vacation.

We were gone an entire week and it could have been longer.  My friend Tanysha was able to fly in from Atlanta (on Vision Airlines for $19 each way!) and stay with us for a few days.  I didn't get a chance to see my Joanna because her girls were sick :(

Overall this was the best time we've ever had in Destin and can't wait to return.  Here's a recap:

We had a ton of stuff...can you see Jamison?

We stayed overnight in Brentwood, TN and it was SO nice to finally see blue skies.

I am fascinated by the red dirt down south.

Driving over the bridge into Destin.

View from our balcony the evening we arrived.  I sat out there for quite a while.

Our view in the morning.

Our first day at the beach.  It was really windy and the waves were kickin' up...but it didn't stop us from having fun :)

Do you think we had enough stuff?  Ross, the lifeguard behind us, was really helpful.

I love the sandy little feet.

There were quite a few down moments...playing DS (I love when Caleb sits like this), napping, watching movies, playing Uno, and just enjoying the view.

Sweet Makayla had a few relaxing moments.

Jamison was thrilled to help out with breakfast one morning...she cracked all of the eggs.

There was a little time for homework...Jamison is writing a book on squirrels.

Many times we had the pool all to ourselves...nice:

There were quite a few water fights:

Tanysha and Makayla...the baby had a fun time in the water.

The kids showing of their "tricks":

I love this picture...it shows my mom with her beautiful genuine smile and a classic Jamison face.

Movie Star!

Best meal...Chez Wanda

We had an early dinner here...the food was amazing, the view was stunning, and the service was great.

This girl thoroughly enjoyed her meal...popcorn shrimp and lump crab.

Makayla even got a taste of the yummy mashed potatoes...she looks excited about that doesn't she?

We took some group pictures outside of the restaurant by the beach:

It rained this same evening and made the most stunning rainbow right over the Gulf.  God's creations are just amazing.

We drove to the other end of Destin...so beautiful.

We squeezed in some time for frozen custard:

I want her eyes.

On our last day we headed back to the beach.  This was the most beautiful day by far:

Can you see how clear the water is?

And this is what is looks like when you pull into home after midnight.

You still with me?  Anybody...Bueller?