Harli

As I mentioned previously, this birthday hit me pretty hard...I passed a milestone and felt 'old'. In spending time with my family recently, I've become more aware of my increasing age and my non-increasing height. My cousin, Harli, is eager to prove how much taller she is than me every time we're around each other- even though she's only 15. This is a difficult pill for me to swallow since I held her when she was born, accompanied her to her beauty pageants when she was 6 months old, listened to her "Winnie the Pooh soundtrack" over and over again during a 14+ hour drive to PA, and watched her grow into a teenager. It amplifies even more when I look back over pictures of her through the years...so I thought I'd share, just to make my point!

Labor Day Weekend

There hasn't been that much going on lately; at least, nothing exciting enough to write about.

I got to spend the long Labor Day with friends and family, which was very exciting! I baked peanut butter cheesecake brownies for Becky's housewarming party which was an adventure in itself. Since my parents were camping near her home, I stopped by to see them and spent a little time with my stepfather's family who were also there to visit.

Becky's house looks very different now that there is furniture in there...furniture I helped load and unload! This was the first time I had been back since I helped them move in so it was very nice to see if all put together. Madelyn was so happy to see me and wanted to spend the entire evening "swinging with Am-Bah". ( I swung until I was too nauseous to swing anymore!) It was nice to spend time with Becky's family...her mother is mean and sarcastic just like me!

After the party I went back to the campsite and put up a tent all by myself! We had a bit of an ant problem and although they never made it into my tent, I didn't sleep very well because I was worried.

My view from the tent --->

The next morning, I went fishing on the boat with Mom and Bob but didn't have much luck. Later in the day, Aunt Debi, Aunt Dianne (and her husband), my cousin Harli, and Aunt Robbie (and her husband) showed up for a fun day on the water. We all loaded on the boat along with a big ol' tube and a long rope....time for tubing! It was so much fun to watch Aunt Debi, Aunt Dianne, Aunt Robbie, and Harli being slung around in the water. The pontoon doesn't really go fast enough to make it very difficult but there are enough waves to make it tons of fun! After those of us who wanted to had taken a turn, we all hopped out for a swim and then headed back to the site for dinner. It was really nice to have the family altogether but I really hate that Brandon had to miss it. Oh- all of my brownies were eaten!Labor day was a holiday for us at work, so it was nice to sleep in and rest from the busy weekend. I was invited to join a friend from work on a trip to Chick-fil-a for lunch and then to the bookstore to browse books. She began a book club at UGA and wanted to purchase the current selected book, The Timetraveler's Wife. Afterwards I rode with her to do some errands and just do some sightseeing in the country! It was so nice to be out of the house and to be in the presence of good company!

That night Brandon and I went to his mom's house for a cookout and then hung around to play Wii with the family. By the end of the day, I was exhausted but in such good spirits. It was truely an excellent weekend for me...even though my entire body was sore from the beating it took on tube!

Tallulah Falls

Brandon's birthday was August 1st so we took a trip up to the mountains in North GA. We stopped along the way and did a little shopping before heading on to Tallulah Gorge State Park. This is a beautiful place. The gorge is two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. There is a suspension bridge that sways 80 feet above the rocky bottom and there are beautiful views of the river and waterfalls.














There are several hiking trails that you can explore, through the woods and near the water. It was an extremely hot day but we spent about 3 hours walking around and taking in the sites. Connected to the park is a campground area, with a 'beach' and fishing location.

We were able to find a quiet cove with a hanging swing that we used to rest and muster up some more energy to finish the hike.

After we left the park, we visited some of my family who were also in the area for the weekend. They were staying at a resort (Apple Mountain) that had a putt-putt course, so Brandon and I played for a while. (of course he won!)



























On the way back to Athens, we stopped and played 9 holes of real golf at a course we passed along the way. This was our first time playing together and I didn't pack anything but tee-shirts, flip flops and shorts...so we didn't hang around too long. I was worried that Brandon would lose his patience with me and my lack of golfing skills, but he actually did very good and was really helpful.

Overall it was a fun day and it was nice to get out of the house and spend time together!

Apparently my best friend, Becky, has recently made friends with a girl who has a photography business. They live right down the street from each other and so far she has taken tons of pictures of Madelyn and also took pictures for another friend's wedding. I'm assuming she doesn't mind that I'm showing off her work...maybe I should at least note her website: http://www.freestylephotographics.com/

I'm not sure if I love the pictures so much just because they are of Madelyn or if I just love the work itself, but I thought I'd share a few more of my favorite!!

Summer Photos

No time to really write about any of the fun things that have been going on in my life, but I thought I'd take a second to share some of my new favorite pictures of Madelyn!

Garden in a Cup

I don't know what the opposite of GREEN is...but whatever it is, that's what color thumb I have! So, when I was actually successful in growing a healthy flower, I was ecstatic. I was even more happy because I was able to grow a sunflower which is one of my favorite flowers!

In early April I spent $1 on this tiny little paper cup with a peat pot, 'magic' compost block, and sunflower seeds. All I had to do was water it, rotate it on the windowsill, and then when the sprouts started growing I was supposed to brush my hand across the top of them to encourage strength.I ended up with three sprouts but when I transferred them from the itty-bitty cup to my larger pot, I broke two of them. So- I ended up with one flower.




After weeks of watching it grow taller and taller, I finally have a full bloom! We had some really heavy wind and rain last week so I moved her to an area by the garage where she would be sheltered but I have since moved her to a prominent place on my front porch.