The 4th and Spencer's party

We had a busy 4th of July weekend, but really enjoyed catching up with old friends and family. On the 4th, we went to a pool party with some old friends and really enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved swimming and playing together.

Samarah, Emily, me and the kiddos

Swimming with Papa

Esther was soo pooped

Sam passes on Lilli's clothes to us (Thanks, Samarah!), including this too cute fairy dress. Esther put it on and immediately started dancing around the room. A girl after my own heart!

We also met up with some friends from my old youth group on the 4th. I wish more people had come, but it was great to see those that really meant so much to me back in the day. That night, we kicked it redneck style and watched fireworks outside the Wal-mart parking lot after Esther went to bed. Fireworks always make me feel like a kid again.
Saturday we hung out with some good friends (thanks, Maki and Poppi for keeping E). Then Sunday was our nephew, Spencer's 1st birthday party.

What a stud! Just a picture I snapped at Spencer's (our nephew) birthday party.

Grammi (aka. Mimi) enjoying lap-time w/ both grand-babies. Spencer was trying to grab hold of Esther's ponytail.

Enjoying a ride on Pops' lap. Spencer is such a cutie!

Spencer checking out Uncle Ben's beard

And lastly, I leave you w/ a pic to bring humor to your day. We are poddy training, so E runs around naked pretty often. She also is in a "take everything out/sorting" phase. Here, she is combining the two. She was having so much fun, we couldn't help but let her demolish the kitchen and make her own play place in the cabinets. It is a good way to reorganize, too!

Birthday Week

Ben and my birthdays are just 5 days apart, so we choose to celebrate the birthday week. For his birthday, we were in Louisiana. His Aunt made him jambalaya and cousin made a delicious chocolate cake. We also had gumbo and shrimp poboys during the week, so he was a well fed, happy man. For my birthday, we decided to have a relaxing family day back in Athens. We started by going to the local farmers market and buying this week's veggies. They are really beautiful and yummy. Esther loved the corn.
We dropped off the veggies at home then walked to our local park. We took Esther to the pool for the first time since her swimming lessons last year. She loved it! She wanted to swim like the big kids and kept pushing us away. We let her play in the baby pool so she felt like she had some independence.
Then, we went to our small zoo, Bear Hollow, which is a frequent stop on our walks. Esther will give tours, pointing to where the bears and otters live, then telling the noises that each animal makes :)
The rest of the day was spent lazily around the house. It was perfect after our long trip to just relax and settle back in.
On Sunday, we went to the Georgia Nature Center for the Solar Festival. All the music was powered by the sun. They have two huge solar panels and a wind turbine. The owner also built his home on the property using green methods. I did a project on their Education programs and field trips for a class last year. It is a really neat place. We also got a big plate of jerk chicken and spicy cabbage. It was SO good!
A big storm came towards the end the festival. Esther loved dancing in the rain, splashing in the puddles, and getting muddy.
On the way home, we were gifted with the most beautiful double-rainbow I have ever seen. We stopped on the side of the road to get a picture, but I think this one taken from the car is cooler. The picture still does not do it justice. The colors were so vibrant. What a great ending to our birthday week!

Mississippii/Louisiana Trip

Taking time to smell the flowers

We just returned from our week-long trip (1330 miles). Here are a bunch of pics to show the fun we had.
We started by visiting some good friends (my doula and family) in Bowdon, GA. They are building a house on 20-something acres of land, so are currently living in a self-proclaimed 'tent-village'. The new house is being built using reclaimed and scrap materials. They are using green methods such as a composting toilet (outhouse pic), greywater filtration ponds, organic farming, solar power-eventually (it's all really great). Esther enjoyed being outside and playing with the chickens.

After a visit and prayer with more friends in Bowdon, we drove all night to Mississippi.

We arrived in Picayune at some hour of the morning and visited Ben's grandmother after a few hours of rest. The next stop was Folsom, LA where we stayed with Ben's aunt. Ben's cousin's daughter is two months younger than E, so they had a good time playing together. The most fun was the slip and slide (Ben and I had just as much or more fun than the kids).

We then stayed a couple of days in Gulfport, MS to visit Ben's other grandparents and aunt. We also got to go to the beach. It was overcast, so we didn't put E in her bathing suit-big mistake. She ran right into the ocean, clothes and all. We had to stop her from getting completely soaked. She had never been to the beach, but of course loved it!

We had a great trip. E got a cold and shared it with those we visited - sorry. She was a bit cranky, which made the trip a bit less relaxing for us. Everyone enjoyed seeing how Esther is growing and she liked sharing all her knowledge about the world. (: Home is always so sweet!

Papa's Day and such

Sittin' on top of the world

Unfortunately, Ben had to work on Father's day. We made up for it by making him quite a feast for dinner. Since E and I aren't much of meat-eaters, it isn't cooked very often. But for Ben's special day we made him cube steak (from the cow he bought - but that's another story), mashed potatoes, lima beans, and corn. I real country dinner. I figure anytime he gets meat, he's happy. Then we made him traditional chocolate chip cookies. He hates when I try to make them healthy or add nuts. He wants them plain and simple. Esther enjoyed 'helping' me bake them and especially eating them. This was a real treat since she doesn't eat sugar often and shouldn't eat cookies with butter (dairy sensitivity).

Yum!

Oh, Cookie, how I love thee!

She painted Papa a picture, which is hanging on the fridge now.

In other news, we've had a busy week getting ready for our trip. We leave tomorrow for a week of traveling to visit friends and family (Bowdon, GA; Picayune, MS; Bush, LA; Gulfport, MS; and back again). We google-mapped it, and it will be just over 1,100 by the end. Whew!

We bought a Kelty backpack carrier for Esther of eBay and also received a great new activity center. She LOVES playing in the box, coloring on it, and watching the cats sleep in it.

And lastly, here is a picture of a plant hanger I crocheted during naptime this week. Our sister-in-law gave us this beautiful plant and it needed a home up high. The pattern went a little wonky, but I think it turned out okay.

We're out of here for a week. Many pictures and stories to come...

Blueberry Festival and Baby Colt

Well, the Blueberry Festival in Alma was somewhat of a bust, but the weekend overall was good. We knew Alma was small and that it would be a local, small-town festival, but it was REALLY small-town. There were very few handmade crafts and most everything had a confederate flag on it. We managed to get Esther a Blueberry Festival t-shirt and stuffed blueberry, which she loves. It was also another great opportunity for her to wear the berry dress we made.
We bought a few pints of blueberries, then headed to Valdosta to see our new nephew. Baby Colt is a few weeks old and is the sweetest thing. He was born a month early, but is a tough little guy and is doing great! Esther loved checking up on him and visiting with Uncle Boo Boo and Aunt Courtney. She enjoyed walking around the farm and 'mooing' at the cows.

And, we've started having some success in poddy training. I just couldn't resist posting this pic.

Lastly, I uploaded a video of Esther dancing at the Packway Handle Band show I mentioned last post. We couldn't get a shot of her from the front because she would run over to dance with us. It it is fun none the less.
She's been very demanding this week about having music (munic, as she would say) on at all times. Then she'll stand in her chair or on the couch and dance around. It's quite funny!

Packway Handle Band at Ashford Manor

Packway Handle Band - traditional bluegrass

Cora (Our friend from the Botanical Garden), Ben, Esther, and I went to hear some bluegrass Monday night. Packway Handle Band is one of our favorite local bands. They played at a local Bed and Breakfast that was just beautiful. We danced the night away. Esther was not content to sit on our blanket. She had to be right in front of the stage (or trying to climb up on stage - a groupie already)!

Dancing with Papa - her favorite!

Twirl Girl

Our girl's got some moves!

Dancin' with Mama

We had so much fun. We're glad that Esther has our same love for music and the need to shake her groove thang!

What a week it has been!

Indeed! But we got through it and there are many blessings.
Last weekend, Ben and I stole away for an adult-only weekend at Asheville Music Jamboree. It was beautiful venue and we really enjoyed the time we were there. (Here's one of the few pics we got while there).

On Saturday around 5pm we were laying down for a quick rest to gear up for the night's festivities when I received an URGENT text message from my brother. We didn't have any phone service deep in the woods, so my heart jumped. It read, "URGENT. Mom broke her leg. Dad freaking out. Come home now!" Needless to say, we packed up with superman speed and got out to the trolley to take us to our car. I was lucky to get a ATV to take me down to the road, then I ran down the road until I found a nice man who was able to take me to a phone (he lived on the property). I called home and got the story...Mom, Esther and Dad were at the playground. Mom stepped off a piece of equipment wrong and sprained her ankle and broke the other leg in two places. Luckily, my brother and sister-in-law were able to come rescue Esther. Dad is wonderful (love you), but taking care of wee ones isn't his gift. I later listened to his 8 phone messages and heard his terror!
So we made it home in a few hours and all was well. Mom has a high pain tolerance and a wonderful attitude. She had surgery on Wednesday and got a plate, 6 screws, and a pin to give her a new bionic leg. She is getting around pretty well in the wheelchair and has lots of support from family and friends. I spent the last week with her until she kicked me out and told me she could do it herself. (: Here's a drawing E and I made for 'Mammi' on our driveway.
Part 2 of the saga: Last Sunday, we were blessed with our nephew (Ben's brother's son) a month early. Though there was a little fright at first, Colt Wesley Fleming and Mama Courtney are home and doing great! Ben and Esther went down for a few days last week to visit while I stayed with Mom. Esther entertained everyone and is still talking about baby Colt.
Now we are back to "normal" here in Athens. Both back to work and E back to her toys, sandbox, and her own bed. Esther and I were able to go to the new Athens Farmers Market yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. We got some baby carrots and garlic (courtesy of Becky and Boo), a loaf of Luna Sourdough, and some soap for new Mama Courtney (courtesy of Ansley's Songbird Soaps - thanks!). We are gearing up to go to the Blueberry Festival in Alma, GA this weekend. We'll be swinging back through Valdosta to see Colt and then a quick stop in Albany to see my Uncle. We've got the traveling dust this summer, so more pics and stories to come!