You Don't Say Saturday (on Sunday)

You Don't Say Saturday was created by MamaBear at 4 The Love of Family.

I'm posting my Saturday post on Sunday because I wasn't home yesterday. I was out celebrating my older daughter's 12th birthday. She's starting middle school in a week, and that is, I think, what led me to the verse I'm posting today. I know there will be many challenges ahead for her in her new, bigger school. I know there will be temptations and peer pressure. My prayer is that she will have the strength and wisdom to forge her own unique path.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~Robert Frost

Ketchup Catch Up

Pour yourself a drink and prop up your feet. This might take a while!

I have wanted to post about a few things over the last month or so, but just haven't taken the time to actually do it. So, this post will be a little random and ketchupy.



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Remember this post from about a year ago. The post in which I wondered how long it will take before all ten cousins cooperate in getting a good 4th of July group shot? Well, apparently it will be a few more years!


We spent the 4th in Smalltown, Georgia with my family. There was wonderful food. Ribs and chicken cooked all day by my little brother. Corn on the cob picked by my Daddy that very morning. Fresh watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, tomatoes. Homemade peach ice cream. My Mama's potato salad. Butterbeans. Peas. Baked beans. My sister's homemade brownies. Yum!

The little ones especially loved the corn on the cob.

(Some of these photos were taken by my older sister.)

The uncooperative cousins had a great time together after their mama's gave up on the group photo. They rode on the 4 wheeler, they played volleyball, they played on the tire swing, they played on the Slip & Slide. Meanwhile, the mamas sat in the shade and fanned gnats with those old fashioned church fans with Jesus on one side and an advertisement on the other. Oh, and some of us drank Mike's Hard Lemonade as we fanned. Not sure what Jesus thought of the lemonade, but it was HOT!







The big cool kids who "don't slip or slide."


Of course, they were also inside, with the a/c. Maybe I should try to be a cool kid. And why does she have a Jesus fan when she's inside with the a/c and no gnats?

At about a quarter 'til dark, we loaded up and headed into town to the high school to watch fireworks. It was too dry there for us to be allowed to shoot off our own fireworks this year. Actually, Mama hasn't allowed that since the Great Fire of 2006, but that's another story altogether, and I still maintain it wasn't all my fault!



I love that I have such a tight knit family, and I love that my kids have so many wonderful cousins to spend times like these with.

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A week after we returned from Georgia, we went on vacation.

It was so nice to be holed up with just my little family for a whole week. We had a blast in the:





and on the beach.

The Little Man has no fear of the pool, which is why there are no pictures of him in the pool! He wouldn't jump in unless he thought no one was paying any attention to him. We had to pretend to not be watching, then catch him after he jumped.

He does have a healthy fear of the ocean. He would walk out ankle deep, but when a wave came he would run back to Mommy!

His favorite thing to do on the beach was to walk to the tire tracks where the cars had been driving by. He would walk back and forth, climbing across the tracks. You know, the most dangerous place he could possible be and also the farthest from the water that kept his parents from sweating half to death.


And he still enjoys eating sand. Yum?


The Florida cousins came out to spend one day with us. They spent the night and kept Little Man so we could take the girls to see the new Harry Potter movie. My kids adore all eleven of their cousins. That makes me happy! So do little sandy baby girl feet!


We saw a school of small fish, which was cool, but a little scary. Small fish are eaten by big fish, so I had to wonder what chased all those fish so close to shore. We actually swam with dolphins, which was very cool.

We did have a little bad weather to contend with. You know, the usual afternoon thunderstorms that are almost a daily occurrence here in Florida.



But, when afternoon thunderstorms are followed by rainbows and gorgeous sunsets, it's well worth it.

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And in other news.

Using an old box of hair dye is not a great idea. Not because of what the dye might do to your hair, but because old plastic bottles apparently crack very easily.

Hair dye can also be used as carpet dye and wall paint!



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If you ever have a desire to remove all the skin from your knees, just ask my eight year old how to use a treadmill in order to accomplish that lovely task.


(Picture made small for your protection!)

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And finally, I seem to be slightly obsessed with my daughter's eyes and photo editing.







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And now a link to Carrie's Campground because, isn't that what I'm supposed to do when I post to my blog?

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And now you are all ketched-up. You may go on with your day.

Alphabitty Moments - The Letter Y

Welcome to another edition of Alphabitty Moments. This blog carnival was created by MamaBear at 4 The Love of Family. Yes, I realize I only seem to post when I'm participating in one of Carrie's blog carnivals. I do have a catch up post I'm working on, but I have a lot of catching up to do, and when I was almost finished, the entire post disappeared. I had to start from scratch, so it's taking a while.

Wow! The letter Y! Only one more week until we're finished with the alphabet! Of course, I joined this group a little late, so I still have a couple of letters (C & D) to catch up.

This week was a no brainer for me. Little Man is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba. One of his first words was 'Babba'. While I know too much tv watching isn't good for him, I love that I can turn on Yo Gabba Gabba when I need a little break.

I also love that we all now know the song "Don't, don't, don't bite your friends." I mean really, does it get any better than that?

You Don't Say Saturday

My dear friend MamaBear has started a new blog carnival this week. In her words, here's how it works:

The premise of this carnival is simple. Post a quote, verse, poem, or lyric (siting the author of course) and if you happen to have a photograph (or two) that fit the theme of your post, all the better!

How fun is that?

I had a bit of a long week, and I have to say pouring over inspirational quotes and verses has been a breath of fresh air this afternoon! Check out the other entries at 4 The Love of Family, and please feel free to add your own. We could all use a little inspiration these days.

Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. ~~Job 37:14

Alphabitty Moments - The Letters W & X

Ok, so I got behind again. Oh, well.

Last week was the letter 'W'. I considered using 'Water', but I think the pool/beach thing has been overdone here. Plus, I'm still working on a catch up post of some of our summer activities, so I'll save those for that post.

I chose 'W for Watermelon'. My little sister and her family came to visit a few weeks ago. I had asked her to bring me some watermelons. Her father in law grows some really yummy seedless watermelons, but they were all gone. So, she went to my Daddy and asked him if he could get some. My Daddy never does anything just a little bit. If you ask him for some corn, he'll fill up the back of his truck. If you ask for a few tomatoes, he'll get at least one full five gallon bucket. So, when we asked for watermelons, we got watermelons on steroids. Four of them. Seriously, they were the biggest watermelons I have ever seen. And my Little Man loved them. Even if he does look terrified in this picture.

All those bowls came from that ONE watermelon, and the big bowl in the middle? We filled it up, ate it all, and filled it again. That's right, SIX bowls from ONE watermelon!

This week is the letter 'X'. 'X' is a tough one. I got lazy. I wanted something cute and unique, but my head hurts, and I have a little four year old girl here who will not stop talking. So, I just went through my photos, found some of my favorite pictures I haven't used yet, and eXtra special it is. Little Man really is eXtra special. He's just so stinking cute.

And now I'm heading over to visit MamaBear at 4 The Love of Family to check out other Alphabitty Moments!