Friday, July 11, 2008

Happy Birthday, Daddy/ Pop-Pop!

Three years ago on July 4th, before we made the move to Chicago, Meg was at Camp Riverview and Jack was driving up to start the BP-Chicago job. That left a very sad Rosemary in Atlanta with a 9 month old baby and an active 6 year old boy. So I called my mama, as any good daughter would need to do! And what does she say to me but that they are having steaks for my daddy's birthday that night. Everyone is coming over--you should come. So I took her up on it! I called Jack (miracle of cell phones) and asked if he would mind my being on the road while he was on the road. I called Riverview to let them know where I was...and I packed and we left! Mama didn't tell Daddy we were coming and it turned out to be the ONLY time we've ever been able to surprise him!



So now it feels like a bit of tradition to be home on Daddy's birthday--July 4th! It works out well with vacation time and I just love being there for it. This year I enticed Jack to come back to Mississippi to pick us up and drive us back to IL with the Northwood golf tournament. He and Lee ended up winning the consolation flight and were given $200 each in Pro Shop dollars! It was 4 days of golf with 2 rounds on Sunday. He and Lee also played on Wednesday when Jack got back in town, so it was something like 6 rounds in 5 days. Too much golf! (but would they say there was such a thing as too much golf?!?!)



We ended with fireworks which Lee and the kids head off to get each year. This time we had Meg with us as she chose not to go to camp for the first time in 5 or 6 years. She had fun shooting the fireworks, too!
















Thursday, July 10, 2008

Visit with Grandma-ma




We had several good visits with Grandma-ma while we were home. (Meg, in her fledgling Yankee accent, couldn't say Grandmama as a little kid. So it turned into Grand-ma-ma, which is quite fitting anyway!) She likes to go out on her front porch late every afternoon and usually for a walk down her long driveway. It's a great place to visit with her, especially when the kids would go, too. They were able to run and play and have fun pretending, and Grandmama enjoyed watching them do it all. She tells the best stories these days. At 89 1/2 years old, she's got some memories to share. I used to get concerned about her calling Meg me and that she couldn't remember things from yesterday and then spend my whole time trying to get her to remember. But now, I figure that her memories are precious and there is only so much more time to hear them. So I don't fight it anymore; I just enjoy it.


These are just some pictures from the front porch. I thought that I had taken more pictures of the house. Turns out, I didn't take a single one! Ellen Claire and Will played hide and go seek. This is EC "hiding" in the middle of the yard! To be in her mind...


Oh how I love this yard! There are plants that my Great Grandmother planted 59 years ago when the house was built. And the gardenias...only my favorite! One of my "icks" about leaving Tallahassee is that I left behind my gardenia plant started from a cutting from Grandmama's. One day when I get back to God's Land where the weather is better and the tea sweeter, I'm making a ton of rootings! I paid $35 for a little gardenia plant this summer, just to have Jack kill it while I was gone! The leaves are all brown, but the stalks are still green, so I'm hopeful. I'm even trying to convince him to build me a little greenhouse lean-to to try to overwinter it :)

My New Best Friend Ava


One of the best parts about going home is not only being back with family, but back with my 3 best friends from high school. Since we had Meg so much earlier than my other friends had their first babies, we're finally able to have our children be friends with Ellen Claire's age group. Ava Temple is the same age as ECP and they were fast friends. Her mama Amy is the "newest" friend to our 4 person group...and she came to school with us in 5th grade. That makes us all friends for a minimum of 25 years. Crazy! There is such comfort in that friendship that has been around through just about everything. We've had babies, lost parents, had cancer scares, looked for spouses, still looking for spouses (!), grown, changed and stayed the same...






But really this post is about our babies! Ava and Ellen Claire had tons of fun at the swimming pool! Thank you, Amy, for speonding the time with us!


Sweet Girls




No great story to go with this one! Just our girls all dressed up for church--had to snap it while I could!

Fun at Clarko State Park

One of the best things that we did while we were home was on the suggestion of my sister in law Cassie. For a 25 minute drive, a cooler full of food and a $3 admission fee, we had a great day at Clarko State Park! For all of my Mississippi people, you may remember Clarko as the place for our church day trips, swimming in the muddy lake, picnics and bug bites. They now have this water play area and great playgrounds to go with all that.

We played and played in the water fountains until we were just plum tuckered out. Will added to the spice of the day with 2 wasp stings obtained while trying to be a sweet cousin and play hide and go seek under the small playground. Wasp didn't like that Will was in his hiding place! But all in all, we had a fantastic day. If you're close to there, I highly recommend it--especially for those with toddlers as they have fun, too.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Gracie's 2nd Birthday!


Since we live so stinkin' far away from all the family that we love and hold so dear, family birthday parties are just, well, not happening for us. Nana and Pop-Pop have made it for EC's first few, but we have never been to a Rogers's kids' party, and really maybe only one for the Piedmont side. Breaks my heart! But not this year! We made it for Grace's 2nd birthday party!!! Walter and Cassie had all of us over for cake and ice cream and some good cake-on-face-of-birthday-girl fun. Evidently, Grace did not do so well last year as she was a bit sick. But she made up for it this time!






We love you, Gracie! Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Ft. Lauderdale with the Fondeurs!


When Jack said that he had to go to Florida for work, I was not anything less than jealous. And when he said that it was the week before the kids and I were heading to Mississippi for our summer stay, well, I was not anything less than a little steamed! But he made it all better by telling me that the family could go, too! We would have to pay our own way, but at least we could go too! We could not have wished for a better time--a little more sunshine toward the end, but not a better time.





You see, after the marathon drive to Mississippi, two nights in Meridian, one early morning drive to Jackson, one pretty long flight to Ft. Lauderdale with a stop in Orlando, we arrived at the best beach hotel ever. We stayed at the Lago Mar--and I'm on a mission to get to go back again! It was beautiful and the people were Chic-Fil-A nice! The hotel had a private beach, so even with a full hotel, there were so few people around. The pool was amazing and the place so comfortable.


Add to that the fact that we got to spend two full days with our precious friends from Georgia who moved to Oswego across the street from us but who moved to Boca Raton this spring...I'm tired to just write it...and we could not have been happier. Victoria and Oscar came and swam with us, rode the waves with us and just made the trip completely for us. Ellen Claire and I cried when we put them in the car the last day. We can't wait for them to sell their house up here so that we can see them again, but then on the other hand that means that they've sold the house and won't be coming back up here again!


Did I say that we just had the best time ever?!? And of course with a trip that good there has to be an evening of the travel score, right? The original plan was for all of us to head to the airport then for Jack to head back to Chicago while the kids and I headed back to Jackson, MS. Our plane was delayed getting into Ft. Lauderdale which put us missing our Orlando connection. After 30+minutes with the ticket agent, he rerouted us through Tampa. No big deal--we even said we'd wave at Gramma (Reese) on the way over. So we walked off to security. Long story short, the flight went to Tampa alright--AND THEN TO CHICAGO!!! When I went back to ask the man about it, he said, "I didn't tell you that? Oh, sorry." And when I expressed some frustration considering I live in Chicago, his response was, "Then why are you going to Mississippi?" BECAUSE MY CAR AND MY FAMILY ARE THERE AND I WANT TO!!!! So, we flew to Chicago with Jack, then back to Jackson and then drove over to Meridian, getting home somewhere close to midnight--and exhausted. But man was the trip worth it! Just listen to the squeals of delight below!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

3rd Annual Redneck Pool Party!!



The 3rd Annual Redneck Pool Party was so much fun! We had to hold it a little later than the typical Memorial Day weekend due to a soccer tournament that Will and other friends were in. The weather was a bit iffy--we headed inside a couple of times, but nothing but a few big drops fell. We upgraded the party this year with Ellen Claire's bounce and tiki torches! It was windy enough to keep the bugs of regardless, but we did like having the tiki torches anyway.

The real fun happened as darkness approached...

As this is the bucket that started it all!!!! Major water wars ensued; nary a soul was dry!

All in all, after the good food, great company and even some snap firecrackers for the kiddos, it was another good Redneck Pool Party! See you next year!