"Glorious are the woods in their latest gold and crimson,
Yet our full-leaved willows are in teh freshest green.
such a kindly autumn, so mercifully dealing
With the growths of summer, I never yet have seen."
~William Cullen Bryant
Friday, November 12, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Girls Weekend!
"Like a graceful ballet dancer, the autumn leaves flutter about."
This weekend the fabulous four girls went on our biannual girls weekend! The weekend started off on Friday night when Karen and I went to Jacksonville to spend the night with Debs. Saturday morning we were up and at Jan's place to pick her up by 9:00 and after a quick stop at Starbucks we were on our way to St. Marys, Ga. I honestly don't even know how I stumbled across St. Marys on the internet but I'm glad I did because it reminded me of a mini-Savannah. I absolutely fell in love with Savannah when we went there last November for our girls weekend.
We had such a great time in St. Marys! We got there Saturday morning and looked around at the shops down by the river. At noon we headed over to Lucky Dawgs to watch the Gator game. It was a cute little place with a Key West theme. We were successful in getting them to turn all four televisions in the place to the Gator game...don't forget - we were in Georgia and accomplished this feat! :-) After the Gators dominated Vanderbilt we left to check into our hotel room. Unfortunately, someone extended their stay and the hotel was forced to upgrade us to a suite for the same price as the double room that I booked. Darn!! :-) We had a dining room, kitchen with a stove and full size refrigerator, a washer/dryer, and then there was the bedroom. We had so much space! :-)
We left after getting settled into the room and did a little more shopping and then ate dinner down by the river. The restaurant where we had dinner didn't have much of a dessert selection so we walked down to another restaurant and we each ordered our desserts and we sat and talked and ate and laughed until we cried. It was fantastic!! Such a fun night!!
Sunday morning we had some Belgian waffles for breakfast and then headed out to a few places where I wanted to take pictures before we left. One of the places where we went was an old cemetery. I don't usually randomly go to cemeteries and take pictures but it was the history of this cemetery that appealed to me. We saw graves of Confederate soldiers and the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier! I was totally fascinated!
After that we headed back to Jacksonville because Jan had a baby shower that she had to head to but Debs, Karen, and I did a little more shopping before Karen and I left to head home.
It was such a great weekend!!!
This weekend the fabulous four girls went on our biannual girls weekend! The weekend started off on Friday night when Karen and I went to Jacksonville to spend the night with Debs. Saturday morning we were up and at Jan's place to pick her up by 9:00 and after a quick stop at Starbucks we were on our way to St. Marys, Ga. I honestly don't even know how I stumbled across St. Marys on the internet but I'm glad I did because it reminded me of a mini-Savannah. I absolutely fell in love with Savannah when we went there last November for our girls weekend.
We had such a great time in St. Marys! We got there Saturday morning and looked around at the shops down by the river. At noon we headed over to Lucky Dawgs to watch the Gator game. It was a cute little place with a Key West theme. We were successful in getting them to turn all four televisions in the place to the Gator game...don't forget - we were in Georgia and accomplished this feat! :-) After the Gators dominated Vanderbilt we left to check into our hotel room. Unfortunately, someone extended their stay and the hotel was forced to upgrade us to a suite for the same price as the double room that I booked. Darn!! :-) We had a dining room, kitchen with a stove and full size refrigerator, a washer/dryer, and then there was the bedroom. We had so much space! :-)
We left after getting settled into the room and did a little more shopping and then ate dinner down by the river. The restaurant where we had dinner didn't have much of a dessert selection so we walked down to another restaurant and we each ordered our desserts and we sat and talked and ate and laughed until we cried. It was fantastic!! Such a fun night!!
Sunday morning we had some Belgian waffles for breakfast and then headed out to a few places where I wanted to take pictures before we left. One of the places where we went was an old cemetery. I don't usually randomly go to cemeteries and take pictures but it was the history of this cemetery that appealed to me. We saw graves of Confederate soldiers and the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier! I was totally fascinated!
After that we headed back to Jacksonville because Jan had a baby shower that she had to head to but Debs, Karen, and I did a little more shopping before Karen and I left to head home.
It was such a great weekend!!!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
In the parade...
"Radiant joy is everywhere
Spirits in tune to the spicy air,
Thrill in the glory of each day.
Life's worth living when we say, November"
This weekend is homecoming for the high school in the town where Ryan works as the market leader for Capital City Bank. His office decided sort of at the last minute to enter the parade so they didn't put together a float but they did want a presence in the parade. He went and picked up Libby from afterschool (because if you can't have a beautiful float you need a beautiful little girl!!) They threw out candy to the crowds and apparently they were a big hit. Ryan said that Libby was a little hesitant the first couple of times she tossed the candy but then she really got into it and they both ended up having a great time.
Here's the one and only picture from the evening (Ryan is in the "Twinkle" costume - which is the "mascot" for Capital City Bank). By the way, it was my idea to attach the Capital City sign to the side of Jason's truck. They were just planning on riding in the back of the truck and tossing out candy. Capital City has such a large presence in the town where Ryan works people would have instantly recognized the trademark star on the Twinkle costume but I thought it certainly couldn't hurt to have some signage on the truck, too!
Spirits in tune to the spicy air,
Thrill in the glory of each day.
Life's worth living when we say, November"
This weekend is homecoming for the high school in the town where Ryan works as the market leader for Capital City Bank. His office decided sort of at the last minute to enter the parade so they didn't put together a float but they did want a presence in the parade. He went and picked up Libby from afterschool (because if you can't have a beautiful float you need a beautiful little girl!!) They threw out candy to the crowds and apparently they were a big hit. Ryan said that Libby was a little hesitant the first couple of times she tossed the candy but then she really got into it and they both ended up having a great time.
Here's the one and only picture from the evening (Ryan is in the "Twinkle" costume - which is the "mascot" for Capital City Bank). By the way, it was my idea to attach the Capital City sign to the side of Jason's truck. They were just planning on riding in the back of the truck and tossing out candy. Capital City has such a large presence in the town where Ryan works people would have instantly recognized the trademark star on the Twinkle costume but I thought it certainly couldn't hurt to have some signage on the truck, too!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Month of Thanksgiving
"Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky, How beautiful it is?
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness there is a poem,there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring. When the spring comes
it again fills the tree with the music of many leaves,
Which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life."
~Krishnamurti
Last year we did a Thanksgiving tree
...each night for the week leading up to Thanksgiving we would each write something that we were thankful for on a leaf and attach it to the tree. I loved how it turned out so much that this year we are doing it all month long! I didn't post a picture of it yesterday because I had to finally get caught up with posting about the Halloween weekend but here it is today. It's pretty bare since we are just two days into it but by Thanksgiving it will be full of autumn leaves stating all of the wonderful blessings in our life for which we are thankful! 
By the way, while I enjoyed decorating our entry table in Halloween decor for Libby I'm so happy to have my fall table back! :-)
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness there is a poem,there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring. When the spring comes
it again fills the tree with the music of many leaves,
Which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life."
~Krishnamurti
Last year we did a Thanksgiving tree
...each night for the week leading up to Thanksgiving we would each write something that we were thankful for on a leaf and attach it to the tree. I loved how it turned out so much that this year we are doing it all month long! I didn't post a picture of it yesterday because I had to finally get caught up with posting about the Halloween weekend but here it is today. It's pretty bare since we are just two days into it but by Thanksgiving it will be full of autumn leaves stating all of the wonderful blessings in our life for which we are thankful! 
By the way, while I enjoyed decorating our entry table in Halloween decor for Libby I'm so happy to have my fall table back! :-)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween weekend
"There is nothing quite like a fall day. The cool crisp air, pumpkins in the fields, and playing in the leaves. The smile on your face can warm a chilly day."
Saturday morning Libby and I met up with Karen, Amanda, and Sarah and we went to the last fall festival of the season. We got there early so we didn't have to battle the crowds that we experienced the weekend before and it was well worth getting up early. We spent a few hours at the festival and then we left and Libby and I were off to Starke for a family gathering for a few hours. We made it home in time for me to be able to watch the Gator game (and thank goodness the Gators were able to finally get another win...whew, October was a ROUGH month!).
The game was close and I was helping Libby get ready to go trick-or-treating during the 4th quarter of the game. Newberry chose to do their trick-or-treating Saturday night instead of Sunday night which really helped my weekend flow more smoothly. The only problem is that the 4th quarter ended just after it was dark - which means it ended just when I had promised Libby that we'd leave to go trick-or-treating. That would have been perfect timing - except that the game went into overtime! It actually pained me to turn the tv off and head out of the door to take Libby trick-or-treating AT THE BEGINNING OF OVERTIME! Can you believe that? Yeah, neither can I! Just a few minutes later we were walking down the street trick-or-treating with the hundreds and hundreds of other children and a lady in front of me on her cell phone screams out, "WE WON!!! WE WON! 34-31!" The street eruped in applause...that made everyone's night to hear that we finally won!! :-) I told Libby that she wouldn't quite understand it now but one day she'd understand just how much I love her by knowing that I left at the beginning of overtime during a Florida/Georgia football game to take her trick-or-treating. :-) I think that act alone puts me at the top of the list for Mother of the Year! :-)
Trick-or-treating was fun. I LOVE trick-or-treating here. So many of the houses are all decked out in Halloween decor and you have hundreds and hundreds of children running back and forth across the streets in their costumes and it just makes me feel like I'm in a Disney Halloween movie! Last year I took Libby into the haunted house that one house makes up every year and she was terrified. This year I was sure we'd skip it but she said that she definitely wanted to go. It still freaked her out a little bit but she did enjoy it. :-)
When we got home she took a shower to wash the black hairspray out of her hair and to wash off all the makeup and the three of us had family movie night where we watched Scared Shrek-less. :-) It wasn't the best tv special staring Shrek that we've seen but it was nice sitting with our little family, eating popcorn, and spending time together.
Sunday afternoon Libby and I met up with one of her friends and her friend's mom and we headed out to the corn maze. Just like last year it was an afternoon of fall fun. There is so much for the children to do out there that you can barely squeeze it all in. They rode the barrel train (twice...and the driver even made me and the other mom ride up front with him),
and we took a tractor ride (the bumpiest ride of my life), 
and a hay ride out to feed the cows and horses.
they played in the corn box (like a sandbox but filled with corn kernels) 
played on the tower of hay,
played on the obstacle course,
rode the pedal cars
and the tire swing 
and we made our way through the corn maze
It was such a fun day!
And I still have more things to look forward to because this upcoming weekend is our bi-annual girls weekend. Me and three other wonderful ladies are heading out of town for the weekend and I CAN'T WAIT!!
Saturday morning Libby and I met up with Karen, Amanda, and Sarah and we went to the last fall festival of the season. We got there early so we didn't have to battle the crowds that we experienced the weekend before and it was well worth getting up early. We spent a few hours at the festival and then we left and Libby and I were off to Starke for a family gathering for a few hours. We made it home in time for me to be able to watch the Gator game (and thank goodness the Gators were able to finally get another win...whew, October was a ROUGH month!).
The game was close and I was helping Libby get ready to go trick-or-treating during the 4th quarter of the game. Newberry chose to do their trick-or-treating Saturday night instead of Sunday night which really helped my weekend flow more smoothly. The only problem is that the 4th quarter ended just after it was dark - which means it ended just when I had promised Libby that we'd leave to go trick-or-treating. That would have been perfect timing - except that the game went into overtime! It actually pained me to turn the tv off and head out of the door to take Libby trick-or-treating AT THE BEGINNING OF OVERTIME! Can you believe that? Yeah, neither can I! Just a few minutes later we were walking down the street trick-or-treating with the hundreds and hundreds of other children and a lady in front of me on her cell phone screams out, "WE WON!!! WE WON! 34-31!" The street eruped in applause...that made everyone's night to hear that we finally won!! :-) I told Libby that she wouldn't quite understand it now but one day she'd understand just how much I love her by knowing that I left at the beginning of overtime during a Florida/Georgia football game to take her trick-or-treating. :-) I think that act alone puts me at the top of the list for Mother of the Year! :-)
Trick-or-treating was fun. I LOVE trick-or-treating here. So many of the houses are all decked out in Halloween decor and you have hundreds and hundreds of children running back and forth across the streets in their costumes and it just makes me feel like I'm in a Disney Halloween movie! Last year I took Libby into the haunted house that one house makes up every year and she was terrified. This year I was sure we'd skip it but she said that she definitely wanted to go. It still freaked her out a little bit but she did enjoy it. :-)
When we got home she took a shower to wash the black hairspray out of her hair and to wash off all the makeup and the three of us had family movie night where we watched Scared Shrek-less. :-) It wasn't the best tv special staring Shrek that we've seen but it was nice sitting with our little family, eating popcorn, and spending time together.
Sunday afternoon Libby and I met up with one of her friends and her friend's mom and we headed out to the corn maze. Just like last year it was an afternoon of fall fun. There is so much for the children to do out there that you can barely squeeze it all in. They rode the barrel train (twice...and the driver even made me and the other mom ride up front with him),
and we took a tractor ride (the bumpiest ride of my life), 
and a hay ride out to feed the cows and horses.
they played in the corn box (like a sandbox but filled with corn kernels) 
played on the tower of hay,
played on the obstacle course,
rode the pedal cars
and the tire swing 
and we made our way through the corn maze
It was such a fun day!
And I still have more things to look forward to because this upcoming weekend is our bi-annual girls weekend. Me and three other wonderful ladies are heading out of town for the weekend and I CAN'T WAIT!!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Storybook character costume parade and more fall fun
"I love the leaves I do not know why.
Is it their colors or how they fly?
They crunch and crinkle under my feet;
I pile them up and take a leap!"
~Beath Paulsen
Schools were out today so yesterday was the Storybook Character Costume Parade. Libby decided to be a vampire this year. Except at first she wanted to be either Bella or Alice from Twilight. Ok, so I'd dress her in jeans and a shirt and that would be her costume? So, she settled on more of a Dracula look. :-)
Thursday night after dinner Libby made our annual chocolate covered apples but this year both of us were very impatient when it came to making the apples so it was a little more frustrating than usual but they still turned out tasting delicious! :-)
We also finally carved "Maggie" her pumpkin. Libby drew on the face that she wanted and we both said goodbye to our beautiful pumpkin and then I pierced her perfect pumpkin skin and made Maggie into a jack-o-lantern.
Tonight after dinner we got a phone call from the mom of Libby's best friend Maddy asking i Libby could come spend the night. This was the only night this weekend that a sleepover would work so I agreed and she took a quick bath and got her stuff together and I took her over to Maddy's house. When I went into Libby's room to tell her she was spending the night with Maddy she started shrieking and jumping up and down...it was too cute! :-) I will be back over there to pick her up at 7:15am in the morning because Libby and I are meeting Karen and Amanda to go to another (and our last) fall festival. Tomorrow is going to be a busy, busy, busy day but I'm really looking forward to it! After the fall festival Libby and I have a family thing to go to in Starke for a few hours, then we'll come home to watch the Florida/Georgia game and then it will be time to get ready for trick-or-treating because Newberry is doing their trick-or-treating Saturday night so the children aren't up late on a school night. Sunday afternoon Libby and I are meeting a friend of hers at the corn maze for an afternoon of fall fun. This weekend is going to be amazing!!
Is it their colors or how they fly?
They crunch and crinkle under my feet;
I pile them up and take a leap!"
~Beath Paulsen
Schools were out today so yesterday was the Storybook Character Costume Parade. Libby decided to be a vampire this year. Except at first she wanted to be either Bella or Alice from Twilight. Ok, so I'd dress her in jeans and a shirt and that would be her costume? So, she settled on more of a Dracula look. :-)
Thursday night after dinner Libby made our annual chocolate covered apples but this year both of us were very impatient when it came to making the apples so it was a little more frustrating than usual but they still turned out tasting delicious! :-)
We also finally carved "Maggie" her pumpkin. Libby drew on the face that she wanted and we both said goodbye to our beautiful pumpkin and then I pierced her perfect pumpkin skin and made Maggie into a jack-o-lantern.
Tonight after dinner we got a phone call from the mom of Libby's best friend Maddy asking i Libby could come spend the night. This was the only night this weekend that a sleepover would work so I agreed and she took a quick bath and got her stuff together and I took her over to Maddy's house. When I went into Libby's room to tell her she was spending the night with Maddy she started shrieking and jumping up and down...it was too cute! :-) I will be back over there to pick her up at 7:15am in the morning because Libby and I are meeting Karen and Amanda to go to another (and our last) fall festival. Tomorrow is going to be a busy, busy, busy day but I'm really looking forward to it! After the fall festival Libby and I have a family thing to go to in Starke for a few hours, then we'll come home to watch the Florida/Georgia game and then it will be time to get ready for trick-or-treating because Newberry is doing their trick-or-treating Saturday night so the children aren't up late on a school night. Sunday afternoon Libby and I are meeting a friend of hers at the corn maze for an afternoon of fall fun. This weekend is going to be amazing!!
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