Feeling Nostalgic

I heard about this neat website on the radio yesterday. It's like a t.v. time machine and lets you pick a date, and then videos of old commercials, t.v. shows, etc. play randommly from that year. I'm having so much fun clicking through different dates, and so many of them bring me right back to my childhood....the good 'ole days. Have fun!

YTTM.tv Time Machine 



The Grand Canyon

Yesterday we decided to take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Ok ok....it's a little far for a day trip, so we compromised and went to Providence Canyon State Park, also known as "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon".

It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there, and we couldn't get over some of the hills we encountered on our drive as we got closer....it almost felt like we were actually in the mountains!! My ears even popped a couple of times. The park is near Lumpkin, GA, just South of Columbus. We paid our entrance fee, and started exploring.

Apparently in the early 1800"s. the early settlers' poor farming practices caused erosion to create little ditches. In the 1850's, the ditches were only 3-5 feet deep. They are now up to 150 feet deep....extremely shallow in comparison to the real Grand Canyon, but we'll take what we can get, for a day trip.

 

There was a trail that you can hike down to the bottom and back up, but it takes a couple of hours, so we decided to save that for next time. Or maybe we'll just wait to ride mules down into the real Grand Canyon. We hit Cracker Barrel for an early dinner on the way home, and overall had an AWESOME day!

Birthdays

So I got the chance to visit my favorites in South Carolina, and got to be part of the birthday celebrations of two very special kiddos.

On Friday, this cutie patootie turned 6 months old!!

And on Sunday, this special boy turned 3 years old!!

Maddie was helping us set up for Quinn's party on Saturday, but we worked her too hard and she needed a break.

When she finally woke up, she was ready to party!

This handsome fellow was trying SO hard to be patient as he waited for all of his friends to arrive.

Hmm....are they ever going to get here?

Finally, Q's friend Sarah showed up, and Q took her for a ride.

When Christian arrived, he got chauffered around a little also.

Grandma was there to help celebrate!

Quinn is so excited that everyone sings "Happy Dirt-day" to him.

Q's favorite: Lightning McQueen

And since Uncle Wade couldn't come to his party, Quinn wanted to make sure he showed him his motorcycle riding skills. "Look Uncle Wade....no hands!!"

I'm so blessed to get to be "Auntie Trish" these two special kiddos. They fill my heart with so much joy!

Crabbing

A photo progression of last Saturday's supper of fresh seafood:

As the storm rolled in...

and the sky grew darker...

And as I took photos...

...of said storm...

and dark skies...

The husband was too busy collecting to worry about a lil' old storm....

and as his pile grew & grew....

I jumped in to help a little....

                                         
                                  But mostly I just took pictures....

....because it's what I do...

...and then he cooked...

....and then I finally put the camera down....

...because it was time to eat!

Wouldn't want to get fresh blue crab all over my camera, now would I?

Oh yeah, and it was fabulous.

5QF & NFF...and the weekend is FINALLY here!!

I'm SO SO glad it's finally Friday! I get to see my sis and her family this weekend, as they are visiting Florida for their vacation. Never mind that I have to travel to see them....they are SO worth it!

So here's my weekly Five Question Friday, with Mama M, and New Friend Friday, with The Girl Creative. ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!

1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it? 

I remember several toys/animals that were favorites when I was younger, but the earliest memory I have is of my "Cholly Dolly". She was soft and washable, and had a rattle in her head. I'm pretty sure most every child born in the 70's had one, but mine was extra-special, because she was mine! I still have her, and hope to pass her down one day!

This is not a picture of my actual Cholly....mine is much more "loved", but this is what she looked like.

Looking back, I feel bad for my sister. She had the blue version, which was a boy with a vest. I guess being the "2nd" child, she often got the less desirable optioins. For Christmas one year, we both wanted CD player/boom boxes. We were given identical boom boxes, except mine was brand new in the box, and hers was a used model my dad found at a pawn shop. Totally unfair for her.

2. Do you dream in color?
I'm lucky to ever remember a dream, much less recall if it was in color or not. For some reason, I RARELY remember my dreams. I do remember one dream I had over and over again as a child though. I still remember every detail even though it's been 20 years. Our family was getting out of our car where we had parked along a street/sidewalk somewhere (always seemed like St. Augustine to me). There was a canal that ran parallel along the sidewalk, and a shark jumped out of the canal and landed on the sidewalk. It flopped along chasing us until we finally got away. I know, I'm weird, but it was always so vivid.

3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?
I'm 5'3 1/4". If you notice, I was sure to include that additional 1/4 inch. I don"t really mind my height though....there are plenty of other things I could find to change, if I had to. Like this stubborn silver strands that keep popping up in my freshly cut & colored 'do.

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?
Such an easy question. Mac Powell, from Third Day, and he has to sing to me in between navigating. My husband Wade is fully aware of my infatuation (with Mac's voice, not him, necessarily, although he is an awesome guy) and lucky for me, Wade is a huge Third Day fan as well.

*sigh*

5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?
Most of the time I return it to the corral. Occasionally, particularly if I'm being rushed by a certain significant other waiting in the truck, I will leave it somewhere else, but I'll place it strategically where it will not be in the way for others to utilize the space.

Warning: To come next week, picture overload of two adorable littles that I get to snuggle soon!

The Disturbing Reality

So with all that's going on with the oil spill in the Gulf, Wade & I have been pretty down about all of it. We wonder if we should spend the money to replace our boat battery....asking ourselves if we'll even get to use it much longer. We discuss taking a day to go fishing down on the island (St. George Island...where we got married) as we've heard that they've seen some effects from the oil. I guess we are still in the "holding our breath" pattern, anxiously waiting to see if our precious coastline will suffer the way so many say it will.

This past Saturday, we took a little day trip over to Destin, FL, just to get away for the day. Destin is one of our favorite spots, as the water there often reminds us of the Caribbean. It's almost always crystal clear/turquoise and amazing. Even though we didn't go over to "go" to the beach, we couldn't help but take a peek.

Coming over the bridge from Destin to Ft. Walton

We did see a little Coastie action, but nothing too concerning.

All looks good, so far...

Following my Prince...

Looking good to me...

And then, we see it...

and reality sets in...

and makes us sad....

and a little mad....

and then sad some more....

And then we leave, wondering if this is as bad as it will get, or are we still awaiting the worst of this horrible mess.