All the Pretty Flowers

Norm and I have always enjoyed gardening, even from the very beginning when we had our little pots on our little porch at the apartment we rented at the Lake. From there we moved to our house and absolutely took in every opportunity to work on the yard. Eight years later we moved to a house in Macon that had a yard the size of our living room which involved little to no gardening.

Today, we live in an old house with an established garden. Although this can sometimes be a curse (mainly when it comes to cleaning up last tenant's mess and getting poison ivy that won't go away for 3 months...) the payoffs of a mature garden are unbelievable.

In the last week or so, the azaleas have been blooming... everywhere. Here are some pictures from our yard:

When I was getting pictures of these beautiful purple blooms...

I got a visitor:

Who decided to pose for me

Tennis ball and all

When I was done getting his shots, I turned around to find this:

Along with that "purpose run" I could hear "what about me Mama?!?!? Get my picture too!!!!"

Pictures Just Because

If there is ever one reason why my next phone should be an iPhone instead of a Droid, it will be because the iPhone camera is significantly better than the Droid. That is the only reason why I would even consider my next phone to be an iPhone.

Here are some pictures from this evening... taken on Norm's iPhone in different picture settings

Here is Norm enjoying this 77 degree April weather

When all of a sudden we hear a "crack" and this happened:

Baby girl posing for the camera:

Pretty toes with awesome nail polish that is lasting over a week...

Cali girl patroling the neighborhood:

Finally we figured out how to go around all the shade in our yard and located a sunny spot so we can have a "full sun" container: 

Failed kisses for her Daddy Norm:

I guess one is never too old for "selfies":

Handsome Old Man:

And that my friends, is how we spend Spring evenings on Fama Drive.

What's the Word...

I just can't think of the word to describe this activity.

Here is Norm cleaning the tips off sugar snap peas:

No big deal, right? Let's take a closer look at the task:

Closer:

Yes, all the little trimmings are being meticulously moved into the cutting board handle...

This is the other side, to put things into perspective:

Can't exactly pin point the word to describe this... methodical? crazy?

Spring? Is it You?

I think we can confidently say that the snow and ice and crazy weather that doesn't belong in the South is gone for good - we are still anticipating the annual March Hail Storm... but that is okay. #1. We are used to the annual March Hail Storm and #2. Hail (usually) does not paralyze the city or holds us hostage indoors for 48+ consecutive hours.

We have been loving this weather which involves outside, the sun, porch sitting and keeping the kitchen door open....

Here is Cali Girl supervising her Daddy Norm at the grill...

Spoiled Rotten

This dog is so spoiled rotten to the point that she smells. Literally.

But she is our little girl!

Leaving the Lake

Lake Oconee is losing a key person this weekend because she is moving up to Tennessee to start a new chapter of her life together with her husband. I know there is a bunch of folks that are staying behind with bittersweet hearts - they are sad because they won't get to enjoy her company as often as they are used to but they are happy because she is happy.

So naturally, we threw a party to celebrate and enjoy her company just a little bit longer... the masterminds behind the surprise:

Of course, you can't have a party full of Food and Beverage people without lots of Food (there was more on the other table)

And Beverage:

Then she showed up - and boy was she SURPRISED!!!!

Then we spent time with friends who are family and enjoyed each other's company.

Not sure about the one on the left...

And whenever there is music, Kerrie and Fern - there is dancing and (bad) singing with "microphones"

Then she opened presents:

And cried...

Kerrie: I know you are leaving a big gap and I am grateful for not being "left behind" - I wouldn't know what to do without you down the street from me. I never thought I'd say this, but I am glad I left first.

And yes, I am aware that I am messing up her hair.