Beautiful Weekend

Jordan was home for the weekend which always makes it a beautiful weekend. Jordan had a tough week at college so it was good to have her home and watch her relaxing and enjoying herself. She had two major exams (chemistry and biology), her first exams since starting school. We've discovered that Jordan has a bad case of test anxiety. Jordan always had a tendency to be hard on herself and get stressed during final exam week in high school but I never imagined that this would follow her to college on a much bigger scale. We are working on helping her learn some coping skills. She can't keep this up for the next 6 years! And by the way.... she got an 88% on her chemistry exam and a 98% on her biology exam.

Friday night we went to the Hartford Football game. Jordan said it was really strange going to her first football game as a spectator instead of being in the band. She had a great time seeing her high school buddies and talking to her teachers. Saturday Jordan went with me to the church golf outing. She didn't complain too much when I dragged her out of bed at 6:30.

This morning we had a surprise birthday party for my Aunt Lyn. We all met at the Bistro and surprised her. It was so elegant and beautiful. In this photo is my Uncle Dallas, Aunt Lyn and my Mom.

The Bistro is right on the bluff in St. Joe so we snapped a few photos on the way out. I absolutely LOVE this photo of my Dad and I.

Another good one of Mom and I.

My Momma and My Daddy :-)

This afternoon we enjoyed a great afternoon of working in the yard and got a lot done! Our neighbors have a boxer named Lila. She's the best dog. My crazy threesome like the race back and forth along the fence trying to get Lila to play.

And I just had to share this photo. Zoe and Fiona are completely tuckered out tonight from being outside most all day. They are so darn CUTE!!!!!

Happy Birthday Boo Boo

Today is Seadra Boo Boo's birthday! Happy 11th to my beautiful bug eyed beauty. I call Seadra my special needs child. She's neurotic and sensitive. No one will ever love her as much as I do. Seadra and I... we need each other.

Change of Season

I was feeling very ambitious yesterday and spent most of the day cleaning and organizing. I was so pleased with myself that I decided to reward myself by setting out all my fall decorations. What fun! I was still in the mood this morning so I decided to give my blog a new fall look as well. I'm not one that likes scary fall/halloween decorations. The witch you see on my header is the only witch I own. I don't think she's scary, I think she's so ugly that she's cute. She has lighted fiber optics in her hair and in the pumpkin but the lights stopped working a few years ago. She's just too cute for me to dispose of her.

This adorable ceramic ghost grouping is close to 30 years old. I made them back when I was in high school.

This is the grouping on the kitchen table.

I hope your house is full of things that make you smile and I hope that you are enjoying a lot of caramel apples!

What makes me smile?

Peeking over the backyard fence and seeing this face looking up at me.

He's the best

I have the best hubby in the world. He was outside washing his Jeep this afternoon and I was indoors watching him out the window. He is just so darn cute to me that I couldn't help but go outside with my camera. He never asked me why I was pointing the camera at him. He just smiles and lets me enjoy the moment.

I am so incredibly blessed.

Not only is he everything to me but he is the WORLD to Caleb and Jordan.

No need to say more......

Yearning to see and do......

It's 8:00 Saturday morning and I am the only one home. Seadra is laying at my feet snoring away but other than that the house is quiet. I'm relishing in the moment.

I was skimming through my photos trying to find something that would inspire me to become creative but I wasn't having much luck. Then I came across my Florida photos from last November when we visited a wildlife refuge near Lakeland. It was by far the BEST birding place I'd ever been in my life. The place was swarming with wild birds. Everyplace you looked there were hundreds of birds. And the place was swarming with photographers too. If I could pick any vacation right now it wouldn't be Disney World or the Grand Canyon.... it would be this little piece of heaven that I got to spend a few hours at last year. I think what made it so amazing for me was the fact that the birds were so plentiful and so willing to let me photograph them. We were only a few feet from them along the shores and it was like they knew they were safe and went along their merry way fishing and posing so beautiful for me. And these were WILD birds.

I often visit nature centers and wildlife sanctuaries here in Michigan but they are nothing like this wildlife refuge in Florida. Somedays I'm lucky if I spot a little birdie in the bush trying to flee from me and if I'm really lucky I might get a photo of him. And if I'm really really lucky I may even be able to identify him. I call myself a wanna be birder because I'm usually yearning for so much more than I actually come upon.

But for now I can only look forward to the day that I will return (and I will return there someday!) and enjoy the photos that I did take that day. Now changing the subject.....

I have a new yearning...... I want a Kayak. I have so enjoyed the few little trips that Craig and I have taken recently. Each time we've gone we rent a 2 person kayak and go for a few hours down a river. It's so peaceful and beautiful. Being we've always been in a 2 person kayak I usually just sit and enjoy the ride while Craig does all the work of paddling and steering. But I want a single person kayak. Craig says it's much easier to maneuver a single kayak and I think it's something I could learn and do on my own. I've been imagining myself getting up on a morning much like today, grabbing my kayak and heading off to somewhere that's calling me. I wouldn't be afraid to go alone. I would love it. A few days ago Craig and I were in "Gander Mountain" wondering around and I was drooling over the kayaks. I found the most beautiful yellow one. It had a wonderful fancy comfortable seat and storage compartments that would be perfect for my camera. Someday...... (maybe sooner than later).

Tomorrow is our all church picnic and I'm headed to Sam's Club to purchase all the food and supplies. The weather forecast for tomorrow is calling for sunny and 75. It's going to be a beautiful day!!!!! Happy weekend All..........

I've never seen this before.....

A few weeks ago when Craig and I were camping up north we visited Hartwick Pines State Park and took a drive on the parks scenic drive. The night before in the middle of the night a pretty big thunderstorm rolled through. Driving along Craig noticed this tree that had been hit by lightening. Here's Craig holding the bark that was blown off the tree.

Pretty impressive, huh? I'd never seen anything like this before.

I'm not good at guessing how tall this tree was but it was HUGE and the bark was blown off from the top all the way down to the dirt. I wonder how often something like this happens.

Random Thoughts

Jordan is doing wonderful away at school. She was home over the holiday weekend and we loved having her home. She'd only been gone for a week but it was emotional and great things were accomplished during the week that she was there. We've had a mix of all kinds of emotions in that short time. Jordan struggled for several days but seems to be settling in wonderful and making a lot of friends. I look forward to talking to her for a few minutes each night to hear how things are going.

Work is keeping me busy! I was excited that I got to work in the OR on Wednesday. One of my doctors needed an assistant so I got to spend the whole day there. Everyone asks me if I miss working in the OR. Truth is I don't miss the "work". Scrubbing/assisting for 13 years was getting to be strenuous. What I do miss is working side by side with my doctors. I miss that relationship we had for so many years.

I had to throw this photo in. I love this photo of Caleb and I. Jordan is my cooperative one when the camera comes out and Caleb likes to act "funny" which doesn't always mean a good photo. Thanks Caleb for letting Mom have this one!

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned my birds much this summer. I've been so consumed/distracted with so many things lately that I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't filled my feeders in weeks. Just tonight I told Craig that tomorrow is the day that I'm going to spend some time cleaning and filling all my feeders. I MISS my birds. Then I'm going to get out there with my camera and get back to what I love.

And here's one of the biggest distractions this summer. Our little black baby is FINALLY healthy after weeks and weeks of struggling along and wearing on all of us. It is such a relief to have that behind us. Poor Fiona was in so much pain with her hips and then sick for so long after her surgeries that she basically missed the whole puppy stage. Well, she's making up for it now. She running around and terrorizing the other dogs trying to rule this roost. She is 11 months old now and she's making up for all those months of not feeling good. We had totally forgotten what a feisty little thing she is because we saw so little of it before she was diagnosed. She's making up for lost time and we LOVE it, we love Fiona!

And MUCH to my relief summer is over. I do love the seasons but it seems like I am always happy for the next one to begin. So many people are always sorry to see summer end but of all the season I think summer is the one I'm happiest to see behind me each year. Summer was SOOOOO hot this year. The heat seems to suck the energy out of me. I am so ready to break out the sweatshirts and blue jeans, sleep with the windows open (I've already been sleeping like a baby), buy caramel apples from Cross' Market(oh how I've missed them), go to football games, celebrate Caleb and Jordan's October birthday. It's my favorite time of year!!!!

And I've missed my blogging with my little ones snuggled up next to me. It's a stress reliever and a creative outlet for me. Hopefully fall will find me outdoors more with my camera which in turn leads to more blogging.

It's been so hot this summer that I could probably count on one hand how many fires we had this year....... another reason to rejoice that fall is here.... more fires where we have our best family conversations.

Even Seadra and Zoe love fall.....

And tomorrow I'm breaking out the fall decorations..... Happy September All!