A Day with the cousins!

When the kids were little, Trisha and I got together several times a week. Because we homeschooled we had such an adjustable schedule. Then a few years ago we both had to go to work and put our kids in school.

We realize now how spoiled we were then. I miss those times so much. So now we take advantage of all holidays and days off so we can get together again.

We ate a picnic lunch at Coolidge Park, rode the carousel and then walked across the Walnut Street bridge.

The weather could not have been any better. It was great seeing Emily again. She's now living with her dad in MD, and had come back for her Spring break.

I just don't think you are ever too old to enjoy a carousel!

The only down side was that Bailey got a sunburn on her little shoulders. See that cute top she has on? Cute, yes. But it didn't cover her shoulders. And she was the one that mentioned that we might need sunscreen. I was too lazy to find it. Bad mommy! I'll not forget next time!

How does your garden grow?

Gardening?? Me?? That's a scary thought. But when the church offered plots to use I was eager to give it a shot. So the girls and I headed out and started working.

It was quite a bit of work. The earth was already tilled, but we had to really rake it and get a lot of weeds out.

Bailey and Sydney really enjoyed helping. They are learning right along with me. (All I can say is look how limber this girl is!)

This is our cucumber hill. We also planted zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, okra, watermelon and strawberries.

Bailey's favorite part was watering the garden. She's a great helper!

Now I can't wait to see if anything actually grows!! Fingers crossed.

S'mores & Salamanders

Visiting Randy's parents in Bluff City is one of my favorite places to go and relax. On this recent trip, the kids begged to do a cookout again (particularly for the s'mores). MaMa was prepared as always and had all the ingredients ready to go. All it took was for PaPa to build a fire.

I rarely get IN the pictures since I'm the one taking them. But this time, Bailey began playing with the camera and caught me trying to cook my marshmallow just right.

I just don't like pictures of myself. It's a bad issue of self esteem I guess. I almost didn't publish this picture of Chase and I. We were being silly. He came and sat on my lap and we took a self portrait. You can tell how tired I was after a long day, my hair was windblown and I just really don't like my glasses. But I want to always remember this time with Chase - he still WANTS to sit on my lap, and he's still at a size where he won't kill my legs!! LOL!

Randy had his work cut out for him trying to help Chase keep his marshmallows OFF the ground.

Almost the whole weekend, the kids spent their time at the pond catching these lovelies. Usually they are brown and black. But this time they found a gorgeous orange one. It would make the perfect mascot for UT. GO VOLS!