Say ... Hot and Humid!

Back in August before we moved from Georgia, the Wilson side of the family was able to accomplish a never before done feat - which was coordinating every member of the extended family's work, school, out of town, and church schedules to take a family portrait.  Nine adults and four kids under the age of four at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon with high humidity, less than ideal lighting, and 30 minutes to work with (remember - this was the only window of time that worked with everyone's schedule).  I give the photographer full props that day.

But we liked how the pictures turned out and with Canvas People offering a free 11x14 canvas right now (you pay the $20 shipping) I'm having a hard time deciding which picture I'll be ordering.  Maybe one of each...?

One of our little family pictures were able to take after the big family photos were shot.  

And I'll give you props  if you can name the Reese Witherspoon movie that has a scene that took place in that Starr's Mill red barn. No guessing from any Georgia folk- I know this is old news :)

Candy Corn is Not For Snacking

With cousin McKayla

We spent Halloween weekend in Utah with the extended Harrison family this year - where these cuties got in lots of quality play time.


Other Utah highlights included early morning drives, taking family pictures, trunk-or-treating, running into old friends, a baby blessing (welcome baby Avery!), an early Thanksgiving meal, and having every member of the extended Harrison family present where good times were had by all.


P.S.  And for all those who think I haven't been updating enough...have you been checking Savannah's blog lately...?

I can't stop thinking about it

There's a rest stop located 1.5 hours outside of Houston on the 4 hour drive up to Dallas (where we visited Ma & Pa Harrison earlier this week).  The kind of place where you see billboards advertising for well over 200 miles before you actually get there.  We had heard about this place prior to stopping there, so we had really high expectations.

And let me tell you - it did not disappoint.

With its sparkling clean, roomy stalls- and dare I say- beautiful bathrooms, the only thing that makes it better is its well run deli counter (self service touch screens?  sweet!) and it's selection of classy Texas souvenirs.  No, not those tacky "Someone Went to (insert destination) and all I got was this lousy magnet" gas station souvenirs, but tasteful, non-annoying souvenirs.  

I've kind of always liked how Texans were so proud of where they are from and enjoyed looking around this rest stop.  And since I'm well on my way to becoming a Texan woman, I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to stop thinking about this apron that I have to have... until I drive the 1.5 hours back just to get it.  

Now how many state flags can make an apron look that fun??

I can explain...

*Disclaimer: picture has nothing to do with this post!

Remember that one time I posted about going to the Braves Stadium and then didn't post for over a month?  Remember also in that post when I mentioned that my camera had pooped out?

I know, blah, blah, blah, right?

Well, it turns out that the lens was broke and needed to be replaced (the the camera body was just fine).  It shouldn't have taken so long to replace, but I had already wanted to look into getting a different camera anyways, and since that was back when we were still living in Georgia and had too many other things (a move to Houston, Texas) going on that took priority over taking the time to research and find a good camera ... well, no blog posts.  Until now.

At any rate, my Nikon D40 (soon to be replaced by a Cannon) has been packed up and shipped off to KEH to be replaced, so it still may be a couple of weeks before I get pictures back up on this blog.

In the meantime, you can see on my Facebook profile a picture from the Sprint Triathlon (my first one!) that I completed back on August 20 when we were still in Georgia.  This was a birthday present to myself and I'm so glad I was able to participate in it.  .3 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run - in that order.  I had trained for two months prior to it and had a great support team waiting for me at the end (Brant, Savannah, and good friend Lacy - who also picked me and my bike up at 5:30am that morning.  Is she a great friend or what?)  I wish I had  more pictures of it, but remember how I mentioned that I've been camera-less the last little while?  I'm just happy for the picture that Lacy took on her phone and posted to Facebook before the start of it!

What else have we been up to the last little while?  While still in Georgia - dental work (cavity and then on top a crown - boo), lots of get togethers with Georgia friends and my family, my birthday, consignment sales, packing, moving, settling into our rental house in Texas (our home in Georgia sold quickly, but we were holding our breath towards the closing when there was a two week delay due to paperwork issues on the buyers part), flying back and forth between Georgia and Texas tying up lose ends, and lots of other boring things that go along with moving.

And while we sure do miss our house and everyone in Georgia - and wish that Skywest hadn't ever closed its Atlanta base - we love it here in Texas.  We got here on Sept 1st and have been setting up shop and learning the area since. And even though it definitely is hot here (still in the 90s in mid September), we love that Brant is home every night with us and has weekends off.  And having him home is worth any sacrifice.

This is Braves Country

One of the things on our Houston bucket list was tour Turner Field (it's where the Braves play for you non baseball fans).  We've been to many of games there before, but had yet to do a formal tour of the stadium until this past Tuesday (and let me tell you - it's awesome!)

Hanging out in the visitor dug out.  It's a whole other ballgame when you have seats that close!

Check out all of Savannah's hair - she's got lots of it!

My favorite parts were being in the broadcast booth, luxury suites, dug out, and clubhouse locker room (hello- I was thisclose and literally inches away from Brian McCann and Chipper Jones personal lockers).

A quick tip I learned?  I shoulda gone for the Cannon instead of the Nikon.  I've been having fits with my camera lately and missed a lot of good pictures (like of the clubhouse locker room... or a cool family photo on  the field at home plate). Ah, C'est la vie.

P.S.  Did you see the new post over on Savannah's blog?  Poor blog has been so neglected lately.

Annual Garden Post

Since this is the first year that we've been in a home for two consecutive summers, Brant's garden pretty much stayed the same as last year - with an added bonus of getting bigger and better harvests this time around.

But the biggest bonus this year?  Finally having someone to help Brant in the garden (since I'm nowhere near an avid gardener as he is).  And she loves it.

Time to go to work

It's like an Easter Egg hunt finding these potatoes.  We used those same potatoes for tin foil dinners the next night.

They make a great team - Brant digs them up and Savannah puts them in her apron for safe keeping.

We've been busy soaking in these last few weeks enjoying our home and where we live before we pack up and head out to Houston - stay tuned!

Movie Theaters

We usually pass on going to them (since our cinema entertainment strategy is to utilize Netflix) but today was an exception - I took a gamble on having Savannah sit through an hour long movie (she actually did really well - but then again she probably had just as much fun bouncing on her seat as she did watching the movie) and caught the matinee showing of the new Winnie the Poo movie with our little cousins.  A perfect outing for a rainy morning - and the theater only had a few other people in it!

Heading out after the movie with cousin Matthew

Another fun rainy day activity we're doing today?  Looking at our recent family pictures that are now up online.  Click over to Savannah's blog for the password to the online gallery if you want to look too!

Any Rolls Royce Golf Cart should be a novelty

Spotted during the annual Peachtree City parade

The 4th is such a fun holiday - and this year was no let down!

The weather was pleasant and we had shade during the parade with our extended fam.  We were situated by a nice family with two young kids who shared their candy and red beaded necklaces.  We were able to go home and nap before heading to the afternoon bbq at my bro's house (and got to play in the mini jump house there). Played with the cousins and on the wii at the bbq.  Went to the fireworks in PTC with the cousins, grandma, uncle & aunts.  Had another picnic and played with glowsticks while we waited for it to get dark
....and to top it off the rain held out until after the fireworks were over and we were on the way home.

With the Wilson cousins at dinner after  Leah's baby blessing on July 3rd. Grandma coordinated all the little girl's red white & blue matching dresses.

I couldn't decide on an outfit for Savannah, so she wore them all.  One for the parade, one for the afternoon bbq, and one for the fireworks.  (And one for the day after on July5th... but I didn't get a picture of that one).

What a fun holiday and great country we live in!

The Farmhouse

The Farmhouse Restaurant at Serenbe is a great way to kick off the last year of your 20's - especially if your an avid gardener like Brant.

A little hoity toity if you were paying full price (they specialize in a farm-to-table concept using only locally grown farm-fresh ingredients), but the $25 giftcard I scored for $2 from Restaurants.com made for a fine dining experience at a Chick-fil-A price.

Happy Birthday Brant!

It's true

You can pick your own blueberries at Hammond Farms for $2/lb.  

It's also true that we'll be relocating to Houston, Texas in the near future with Brant's base transfer.  That means for the next little while we'll be busy polishing our home and keeping the lawn in impeccable shape for potential home buyers.  And keeping the colorful red and pink flowers in the front yard alive.

Brant likes to think of it as putting lipstick on the house.

ATL - DFW - SLC - DFW - ATL

Taken on my pleasant evening drive around downtown Salt Lake last Thursday

A husband attending an annual three day simulator training in Salt Lake City + Savannah away at her first Grammy camp in Texas = perfect timing for a trip to Utah for me.  Our six day trip from last week notes:

- A flight to Texas and spending a day swimming with Ma & Pa Harrison before leaving Savannah in their good care
- Flying 1st class (yay for breakfast!) from DFW to SLC where I would spend the next two nights
- Killing two hours in the SLC airport waiting for Lacy to arrive from Atlanta - great time to catch up on the latest from William & Kate and then Consumer Reports best picks.
- Cafe Rio lunch with Lacy & Linsey in Salt Lake City
- Touring a few of the sites on Temple Square with Lacy
- Hitting up REI in Salt Lake before heading over to enjoy a beautiful evening of chicken enchiladas at Linsey & Kevin's place
- A sweet king sized bed and warm cookies courtesy the Comfort Suites Airport hotel (provided by Skywest).
- A nice morning drive with Brant down to Eagle Mountain to visit Kyle, Amanda, McKayla and have lunch at their new house.  Good to see them!
- A shorter (but still enjoyable) visit with the Wilson side relatives before heading back to Salt Lake
- Dinner with Lacy & Linsey at the Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square (and the rest of the team who were loading up on carbs in preparation to run the Wasatch Back).
- Enjoying an evening drive around downtown Salt Lake City - taking pictures and not wanting an end to the beautiful evening.
- A too easy car return to Thrifty Car rental at the airport (after how long it took to pick it up I was anticipating something much more complicated)
- A flight back to DFW and getting into the car to a sleeping Savannah in the carseat - Grammy camp was a blast and tuckered her out.
- A traditional stop at the eyebrow threading kiosk at Grapevine Mills mall and then Old Navy and Carter's.
- Visiting, swimming, Outback Steakhouse, and having Brant back with us in Texas.
- A Father's Day spent Texas style with a grilled salmon dinner and watching the last of our 3 game series with the Rangers vs. Braves.
- Watching about 5 episodes of Extreme Couponing
- A healthy dose of stress experienced on trying to nonrev back to Atlanta (we made it though!) and a toddler who would have nothing to do with falling asleep on the plane past her bedtime.  Still, it could have been worse for sure.
- Realizing that there is no easier/ fun way to navigate a toddler through an airport than with our new Go Go Babyz booster (thanks for the extra motivation, Val!).  It wasn't really too hard before, but getting through the airport now with Savannah is as easy as pulling a roller suitcase.  A lot of other passengers in the airport commented on how neat it was too.
- It was great seeing family & friends - and being able to visit for more than just a day or two with Ma & Pa Harrison!

Happy Fruit and Flowers!

                                     

.... or linen & silk.... or (electrical) appliances.  It all means a four year anniversary because - turns out, you can choose between a list of traditional U.S., traditional UK, or modern U.S.  for yearly anniversary gifts.  

Either way, so glad this guy is mine.  For these past four years and for many more to come.

Wantessity

 Since the idea of rain gutter bookshelves didn't fly high with Brant, this ABC bookcase is going to be my next pitch to him for our storage solution of all Savannah's reading books (thanks for all the book recommendations!). 

I can already see his response now .... "You don't have to buy it - I can build it!"

Love that guy. 

Thanks for the babble post

Think Back: 2008 Summer Olympics

Remember USA star sand volleyball player Kerri Walsh?  And how she lost her wedding ring during a match against Japan?  Even though she still went on to win that match I bet she had an awful nagging feeling in the back of her mind wondering if she would ever find her ring again.

I know because last week I couldn't find my wedding ring for five consecutive days.  

But don't be alarmed - this story has a happy ending because Kerri Walsh was eventually reunited with her ring - and so was I (so be it was because I simply needed to look under the soap dish on the bathroom counter!)  But I still learned a few valuable lessons.

(1) I have a lot more appreciation for our local trash collectors.  I bet you've never stopped to think how fast maggots can get into your outside trash can.  

(2) With the right attitude, you can have fun with your spouse doing anything - even searching through maggot covered trash. And posting "missing wedding ring" signs around your own house.

(3)  Although it sure is nice to sit here typing with my ring safely back on my finger, and although a wedding ring is a symbol of our marriage, it by no means defines our marriage.  Something that Brant kept reminding me of -which brings me to the next point.

(4) *Gush Alert* That I love my husband. A lot.  Well okay, I already knew that, but at no point in time was he even a little agitated that I couldn't remember where I had put down such a sentimental piece of jewelry that he picked out especially for me. In fact, it was quite the contrary - he was the most patient and helpful in trying to find it.

(5)  Even though we went through the painstaking process of pulling out to look under the washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher- and unscrewed the kitchen sink pipes- and hunted down a metal detector - and went piece by piece digging through all trash that went out of our house.... all I needed to do was simply lift up the soap tray off the bathroom counter.  Sometimes it really is just the simple things!

(7) I can tolerate a little discomfort of having the moisture caught from washing my hands with my wedding ring on (which is why I take off my ring in the first place).  A feeling I'm happy to take over the feeling that you may never find your ring again.

(8) No matter what material thing I misplace or break in life (car keys, sunglasses, or my wallet that I subsequently lost - and then found- during that same week) that as long as I have my wedding ring I'm perfectly happy.

(9) *Gush Alert* Did I mention I love my husband? A lot?  And for many more reasons (and reasons to come) than from just this one experience.  Thanks hon!

1 in 14 aren't bad odds

Especially if your commenter #12...

Congratulations Kellie Toothman! Random.org has selected you to win a copy of Emily & Jenn's course.

Kellie- leave me your email to collect your prize!

P.S.  Really- you have 3.5 year old triplets??

Win It!

The 4th of July is creeping up on us and I'm already perusing the seasonal aisles at the stores scoping out the patriotic sweets  (seriously, did anyone notice that we're nearing the end of May soon?) Anyways, remember the red, white, & blue ribbons from this post last year that I made?  I found the idea from a manual full of fun other ideas from a course Emily & Jenn put together.  And good news - they want to give away a copy of their course 'Secrets to Bow Making Success' to a reader of this blog!

So if you have a little girl (or a little girl on the way), know of someone else who has a little girl, or just plain want to learn how to do it yourself (they even show you how to make wrapping paper bows and bows for holiday events), first visit here and grab your free hair bow lesson (yep, Emily & Jenn want everyone to get at least one free lesson) and then come back here and leave a comment saying that you want to enter to win the full course. It's that simple!

And don't forget to show some love to these woman entrepreneurs Emily & Jenn by visiting all three of their websites:

http://www.learnhowtomakebows.com 

 http://www.learnhowtomakebows.com/boutiquebows.html 

 http://www.misstutu.com 

Contest ends this Friday 5/27 at noon (EDT).  
Winner will be emailed the downloadable course and also receive the DVD in the mail
Come back then and see if you've won

A Little Backyard Paradise

Doesn't this look nice?  Or more like absolutely amazing?

We thought so.

But since we're a good ways away from any place that would even remotely resemble this picture, we decided to improvise.  Cashing in some credit card rewards points and one Amazon click later, we had this sweet handmade thing on its way to our front doorstep straight from Merida, Mexico (true story - we watched it travel via the DHL tracking).

The delivery guy barely got the package into my hands before Brant took over attaching it to a couple trees in our backyard (maybe we were anxiously listening for the truck to pull up to our house?)  A couple ropes and bungee cords later and we were in business!

We love it!  I picked  the "Matrimonial Size" Hammocks Rada over some more traditional American hammocks so all three of us could climb on and off and fit together to enjoy it without getting flipped over. And even though it may not look like it in this picture, we all can fit comfortably and relax on it.  

A little hammock reading on a nice afternoon!


Thank you Delta Community Credit Union Reward Points!


P.S. Stay tuned next week for an upcoming giveaway 

Swim Season Commences

An orange carrot to go with the orange floaties in celebration of the first backyard swim of the season today - 92 degrees!.  

Showing some love for the celery too...(and then of course finding the same celery at the bottom of the pool later on).

Some of the cutest bathing beauties around!


Thank you friends for celebrating with us...and thank you Rite Aid for last year's 75% off pool and inflatables clearance.

Booster Shots Aren't So Bad

When you get to come home and play in the red painted sandbox that was built especially for you over the weekend.  

...and when you've found the blue suction ball.

P.S.  Hey local mamas - tomorrow is the 2nd Tuesday of the month and (if your looking for something to do) that means free admission to the Children's Museum of Atlanta.  Pics are on Savannah's blog from when we went last month.

Bringing out the Pretties

This pic is for you Linsey!  Your getting a lot of them lately :)

We're not going to hide it.  We're excited for the big Royal Event tomorrow morning.  Not wake up at 4am excited.  But maybe wake up at 6am excited.  And maybe even cupcake making excited with these free printables.

Really - I can feel the excitement/ nerves all the way from London here to my kitchen.  But then again maybe that has something to do with the endless watching of "Inside the Royal Wedding" shows and documentaries about the royal family we've (I've) been doing (.....show us the dress already, Kate!)

Looks like we're not the only excited ones... we spotted this Royal Barbie Babe Wedding on our drive down to Savannah last week.

Weird.  And funny.

Have a Good Friday

Easter egg hunts, baskets & bunny ears are a lot more fun when you have a kid! We've already started the Easter festivities this week and are looking forward to more this weekend with the Atlanta Temple Open House. 

But among all the marshmellow peeps (if they don't make you gag first) try not to forget the real meaning of Easter here

Savannah's very first coloring piece.  Handed to me when I picked her up from the gym child care the other week. I had no idea my child could stay in the lines so well ;)

Savannah H goes to Savannah GA

A few photos from our drive down and quick overnight trip to the city of Savannah earlier this week... (and its a beautiful place but nope, our child wasn't named with any association to this city)

Strolling down River Street and watching the boats pass by.  And having a street musician break into a rendition of The Itsy Bitsy Spider on his trumpet when we passed by and he saw our baby.  Cute!

Don't let this face fool you - 90 minute trolley tours of Historic Savannah and young toddlers do not mesh well!

Getting a pep talk for her first experience with the ocean out at Tybee Island Beach... 

"Don't be afraid, I'll hold your hand..."

Atta girl!  Thought you'd like it!  Next time we'll rent a condo on the coast and bring our swimming suits!

Dang sippy cup ruined any potential of a cute family photo

Trying to get the "Don't you wish you were here" beach shot with my toes and the (far off) ocean.  Not sure if that can really be achieved with grass stalks in the way though...

Tybee Island Light House

Stopping for lunch at The Crab Shack where the "Elite Eat in Their Bare Feet" (but not to be confused with Joe's Crab Shack)

Wonder what she's looking at?  Me too.

This crab shack was crawling with these alligators

My favorite find for a little souvenir shopping - for our toddler, of course!

Rats, no toddler sizes... and the smallest size would take her about 10 years to grow into.

My souvenir?  A shirt with Mr. Pig from the local Piggly Wiggly .  True story.

The original Savannah's Candy Kitchen on River Street - they give out delicious free samples.  Remember this post?

Getting one last walk in before the four hour drive back home... the Spanish moss created great shade around town.

Fun, fun visit!  And next time we go we'll make sure to spend more than 24 hours there!

One last P.S.  picture - thought of you when we passed here, Linsey!