Good morning, friends! I've been MIA here lately and for good reason. We've been wrapped up first with my daughter's high school graduation and then left for a 2-week road trip out west!! We had a blast, and I can't wait to document it all here with photos and stories. But for now, I'll be spending the next couple of days baking a wedding cake for my nephew's wedding. Pray I don't mess it up, please! I hope your summer is off to a great start! I'll be back later this week! ... Read more
Great Wolf Lodge Birthday Trip
Last week my son turned 12 years old! For our children's birthdays we've always given them the option of a birthday party at home or a day trip with just our little family. Some years are very low key and they just want to have a quiet birthday at home with no hoopla and other years are a little more festive. If they choose a day trip with the fam it's to somewhere an hour or two away and not an overnight. However, since the last two years have brought cancelled birthday plans for our son due to covid and bad weather, this year we made an exception and took an overnight trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in La Grange, Georgia. This place did not disappoint! It was clean and full of fun! Very ... Read more
A Field Trip to Dalwhinnie Fields
Our homeschool group takes a field trip together once a month and January's was one for the books! We went to Dalwhinnie Fields in Marion, Alabama for a day of Medieval living history and I think it's got to be the coolest. field. trip. ever!! The program began in the Feast Hall with a brief history of knighthood and knightly virtues. This was followed by a demonstration of a knight's armor, the purpose of each piece, and how it was worn. Fascinating! Each piece of armor was passed around for us to hold and let me tell you they were heavy! Next was a demonstration of hand-to-hand combat strategies and there was no shortage of volunteers from our boys! We then were taken ... Read more
Fall Camping 2022!
Hello, friends! Any campers out there? Our family has always loved camping and several years ago we started a tradition of a yearly fall camping trip with a couple of other families. This year we couldn't all get our schedules together for the same weekend, so we camped with just one family while the other family made arrangements with another group that they sometimes camp with (We missed you, Rivers!). This year was a little bittersweet as two of our girls are seniors in high school so we knew it might be their last fall camping trip together. Maybe not. Hopefully not! But we made the best of it just in case. I'm starting with the nighttime pictures first because they are some of my ... Read more
Snapshot Saturday: A Week in Waco
Happy Saturday! This post is coming to you a little late in the morning because I'm typing as we're heading home from Waco! We got to visit our daughter and son-in-law this week in their new hometown, and it was soooo good to see them! We enjoyed several fun activities with the newlyweds who gave us a tour of the town. Having more than just a few snapshots to share this week, I put them in collages so this post wouldn't be so long. OK, here goes! Magnolia Silos I'll begin with the one everyone is expecting from Waco: Magnolia! I've posted on this attraction before, so I didn't take as many photos of the property this time (Be sure and check out my Silos post from last spring!). The ... Read more
When in Waco
In March, my oldest daughter and I took a trip out to Waco, Texas which will soon be her new home following her upcoming wedding! Her fiancé is in graduate school there for the next several years and since she had never been to Waco (we've been to other parts of Texas), a trip out to visit her new town was in order. We saw many interesting places while in Texas, but the Magnolia Silos are what I get asked about the most, so that's where I'll begin. I don't watch Chip and Joanna Gaines's show (I don't have cable tv), so I wasn't exactly going as a fan of the show, but I enjoyed the visit there so much because it was beautiful, pleasant, and loaded with many creative ideas for yard and ... Read more
Weekend Getaway
Back in October we took a quick fall getaway to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Throughout the years, we've taken many day trips to enjoy the gardens and trails. Due to its close proximity to us we've never needed to stay overnight; however, when trying to think of a place we could spend a pleasant, outdoor fall break that would be close enough to allow us to wait until our college-aged daughter got out of her last Friday afternoon class before leaving town, Callaway Gardens seemed like an ideal destination! We stayed in a cozy 2-bedroom cottage on Sparkleberry Lane. How cute is that name! We loved staying in this cottage! It offered plenty of space with a great ... Read more
Anniversary Trip: And We’re Off!
This month my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary! To mark the occasion, we took a quick two-night trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, one of our very favorite places. Our kids were excited for us and encouraged us to take the time away for ourselves while they took care of things back at home. Our girls did a lot of managing schedules and household tasks, and even planned a couple of surprises for us while we were gone which I’ll tell you about later. Joel and I two very blessed parents, let me tell ya! I’m sharing some photos from our trip in three posts, one for each day we were gone, starting with our first travel day. We enjoyed a gorgeous day of ... Read more