A-Town

Caroline, Mom, and I took a girl's trip to Athens last week and had the best time. I wish I had taken my camera as we walked around downtown and campus, but I left it in the car... grrr... I missed so many great pictures. Oh well, I can "paint a picture with words" as I used to implore my high schoolers to do when they wrote.

We started off downtown with lunch at The Grill. It has been so long since I had eaten there, but it is still exactly the same! We all enjoyed our lunches and then took off to go explore some more of downtown and reminisce through campus. Caroline especially loved the Who Let the Dawgs Out public art installation. We crossed the street to The Arch, and, in true Caroline fashion, she decided that she might as well already have her UGA degree and walked right underneath - instead of around - The Arch. As we strolled across North Campus, we passed the UGA Chapel where Travis and I got married eight years ago. Caroline was enthralled by seeing the church where we "kissed." On the way home that evening, she detailed her own wedding to Coan (she is planning to invite Judy Garland herself to sing "Over the Rainbow" at her ceremony!). We even snuck around back to the Chapel bell and let Caroline ring it a little bit! Here's hoping for some home victories this year?? As we continued our stroll, we explained to Caroline that this is where Mama and Daddy went to school and we showed her Sanford Hall and Brooks Hall where Trav studied Marketing, Business, and Finance. Then we walked down the hill and took her inside Park Hall where I spent maaaannnnnnyyyyy days with my nose in a book and my attention focused on some of the brightest, most well-read, and articulate professors. While we were there, we decided, on a lark, to see if my favorite professor, Dr. Charles Doyle, happened to be in his office that day. I've kept in touch with Charlie through the years since I graduated, and so we were thrilled that he was in! We had a great time visiting and catching up. Charlie even gave Caroline a very nice, hardbound book of Maurice Sendak's art (of Where the Wild Things Are fame). It was so nice to stroll Park Hall - everything was the same - even the smell of old walls, old books, and chalk. It was wonderful.

After we left campus, we took Caroline to Sandy Creek Park where we changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed the beach at the lake there. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!!!

"And thy daughters proudly join thee,

Take their rightful place,

Side by side into the future,

Equal dreams embrace."

~ Excerpted from the University of Georgia Alma Mater

Emily Kate - Five Month Milestones

It's hard to believe that Emily Kate is now five months old. It still seems like yesterday that she was a newborn. I finally understand why people say that children grow up too fast - it's because they do. Time passes so quickly and moments are so fleeting... I try to remember this when times are hectic or I feel the pull of things that are not at all important (but feel important? chores? responsibilities? Playing with my babies is so much more fun.) In Emily's five short months she has visited the beach three separate times, traveled to Savannah twice, learned to eat solid foods, and, just this week, mastered the art of rolling from her back to her tummy. She's been rolling from her tummy to her back for a while now, but the opposite direction was a bit trickier! On a less cheerful note, my darling 12-hours-a-night baby has decided that waking in the middle of the night is a better idea - for the last week she has been waking anywhere from 3:00 to 5:30. No!!! We are hoping it's a passing phase. I keep telling myself it's normal... but I had gotten so used to her sleeping so well. Come on, Miss Em! Go back to hibernation mode!!
Here's a five-month "bunny picture." Enjoy!

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one."
-- Leo J. Burke

The Top of the World

We are vacationing on Tybee this week (I know - I am one spoiled beach bum - but one of the perks of my chosen profession is summer break - and I need it to get psyched up to teach another year!), and the girls (Madison and Caroline) have been begging us all week to take them up to the top of the Tybee Light. We decided to do it this morning while the weather was still cool (cool is a relative term on Tybee in June!). There are 178 steps to the top. I did it while I was pregnant last summer, so this climb was cake! The girls did great and didn't ask us to carry them one time. The views from the top are breathtaking. Here are some shots of our excursion.

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things,
and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Visit to the old Homeplace

We were invited to visit with my Aunt Iris and Uncle Ray on our way back from Jekyll Island. Uncle Ray is my Daddy's brother and he and his wife, my Aunt Iris, live in Statesboro - the Durden ancestral home, so to speak. My Grandparents Durden lived in downtown Statesboro in a house my Granddaddy built, but they also had a "creek house" on the outskirts of town. The Creekhouse was a mainstay of my childhood years as we celebrated holidays there with extended family. These are some of my most cherished and precious childhood memories. When my Grandmother passed away, Uncle Ray and Aunt Iris chose to relocate their family to the Creekhouse. They added on to and modified it in order to accommodate their family, but it still retains its original charm. The grounds are nearly identical to what I remember and, oddly, it still seems big and wide open... usually things from childhood seem much smaller than your memories, but the scale of the Creekhouse is just as I remember. We enjoyed our visit! We had a delicious lunch of Vandy's Barbecue (the South Georgia version of Fresh Air for you aficionados - and every bit as good), relaxed, Caroline swam, and we rode Uncle Ray's truck down to the creek so I could reminisce. It was a great visit and good to see family!

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand,
you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors.
All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body.
You are the continuation of each of these people."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Jekyll Island Journey

We just got back from our family's trip to Jekyll Island. This year we took our good friends, the Stanfords, along with us. We were able to rent a four bedroom/three bathroom house so we had lots of room for both families to spread out. It was a lot of fun to travel with our friends! The house was big enough so that everyone had their own "personal" space. We filled our days with beaching, grilling out, napping, riding our "Red Bug," and exploring the island. What is a Red Bug, you ask? They are electricity-powered mini-cars that are popular on the island. Since everything is so accessible all over Jekyll, it's fun and convenient to jump into your Red Bug and cruise to wherever you need to be. We rode it to the beach in the mornings, to the Clubhouse for ice cream in the afternoons, to the IGA for grocery re-stocks in the evening, and many other errands. One of our favorite things to do was take the Bug out in the late evenings and watch all of the beautiful wildlife on the Island. Deer, rabbits, shore birds, and (yikes!) even snakes! We had a great time in the Bug! I think we will definitely be renting one from now on when we visit.
On our last full day, we took the girls to Summer Waves Water Park on Jekyll. It is a very small-scale version of White Water, and it was absolutely perfect for the girls. There were enough "thrill" rides for grown-ups and a ton of fun stuff for the girls. I had forgotten how fun a good water slide can be! Here are a few pictures from our journey. Enjoy!

"The sea does not reward those who are
too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient.
One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach
- waiting for a gift from the sea."
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Damn good dog

We received word this morning that Trout, our beloved Yellow Labrador Retriever, passed away. Trout was twelve years old this month, and had been a part of our family since Trav and I began dating back in Athens ten years ago. We are on vacation on Jekyll Island this week and left Trout and Cody in the care of our neighbors, Craig and Katey Piper. I have been distraught that I was not there for my sweet old man in his final hours, but I know that he is chasing his favorite toys around heaven right now with his sweet Jesus. :) There are no aches and pains up there. He was truly the best, most devoted, and most loyal, intelligent, loving dog that ever lived. We will miss our dog. He was a part of our family. Trout, we love you and we will never forget your sweet spirit. Rest in peace, our good boy. You deserve it.

"I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands.
When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands;
then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat.
For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that."
~W. Dayton Wedgefarth

My Little Shutterbug

Caroline has always taken great interest in taking pictures. On her second Christmas, she asked for a camera. Santa Claus brought her a Fisher Price digital camera and that satisfied her... for a time. It was not long before she realized that this contraption was much too amateur for her capabilities and needs, so she graduated to my Fuji FinePix... this was the camera I retired after purchasing my treasured Nikon D40. So the Fuji did the trick for a while. She mastered that and began asking if she could take some pictures with the Nikon. I freaked out because it is a pricey camera and if it's damaged... it is not in the budget to purchase a replacement. She persisted and I finally told her she could snap a few pictures with my supervision. She did a great job and I have actually been very impressed with what she's captured. It's really kind of cool - she has an eye and she is a great "coaxer" - she can capture moments. She shoots maybe once a week or two. Here are two she got today that I thought were very good - I know I couldn't have done any better. Good work, Foop!

"There are no rules for good photographs - there are only good photographs."
~ Ansel Adams