Central Park

I managed to edit a few of the 600+ photos from New York City, between hanging the Christmas decorations and unpacking and washing!
I grabbed just a few of us from Central Park to share. I plan to add more throughout the week.

This was my favorite of Carlie. I know I'm biased, but isn't she a cutie!?

She was totally in her element climbing on the rocks in Central Park! After being a fishes out of water for5 days, Cam and Carlie took to Central Park with renewed energy! They took off in a full sprint across the park, chasing each other up and down the rocks!

I continue to be awed by the contrast of the high rise buildings to the rocks, and grass, and pond, and trees of the park.

Naturally, we had to take a carriage ride through the Park. We had walked ALL day. I really enjoyed sitting and riding for awhile! The last time I was in NYC, we rode in the carriage at night. I like daytime much better! I took tons of pictures! Central Park is so incredibly beautiful!

I bothered a young guy and his girlfriend, who clearly wanted to be alone, at the top of this rock. But I needed a picture taken. The view was gorgeous from up there! This photo has Christmas card potential...which totally wasn't my goal.....what with the matching shirts and all.....totally coincidental. I also have a bridge for sale if you're interested.....

I decided to throw these into this post too. Before going over to Central Park, we went to "Top of the Rock". It amazes me that Rockefeller Center was built during the Depression! The views from up there are unbelievable! Again, tons of pictures. Most still need editing, but I'll put some up soon.

I love this picture of Britt and the kids. They look so happy!

Notice the t-shirt Britt is sporting? We were SO hot in NYC! Most of those building....including our hotel.....quit supplying air conditioning to the buildings once it gets below 50 degrees outside. It was around 50, up to 58 degrees, while we were there. Not nearly cold enough out to not have air conditioning in a public place, full of people! We southerners love our A/C!
My house stays between 69 and 72 degrees YEAR ROUND! Imagine our dismay when we called the front desk of the Crowne Plaza and they told us to open a window! Ever building we went into was scorching hot or miserably hot. This coming from a girl who spends most of her life in fleece pants and a hoodie sweatshirt! It's the 21st century NYC, turn off a few lights if you want to lower costs. But please, don't stop supplying air conditioning!

We're home and we're decorating.......

We made it home safely from NYC! We had a fabulous time! But we were ever so ready to get back home. Back to the "y'alls" and the smiling strangers, and the "Hey" not "Hi"!
We got home around 8 PM on Friday night. Saturday we went to my mom's (she remarried while I was in NYC!). We went to visit because it was Oz's birthday. Her husband's real name isn't "Oz", but that is what my kids call him. It's a Wizard of Oz thing that Carlie came up with.....I know....imagine that!
Speaking of Carlie....
We put up our Christmas tree yesterday. Carlie gets more than a little excited about Christmas ornaments. She comes by it naturally. I LOVE them. Which is all the more reason why I cringe when she begins opening the boxes of them.
I wasn't even finished putting up the tree in the living room. We weren't even ready for ornaments. But there she was....fishing through the boxes and tissue paper. I asked her to please, please, please leave them alone until we were ready. Once we were ready I would unwrap them all for her and Cam and let them hang them on the tree.....just like every year. So, begrudgingly, she backed away.
For about three and a half minutes.
I was on the step stool finishing up the top of the tree. And I could hear her digging through the box. She was in the box of "Trip/Sentimental" ornaments.
**sidebar**We usually put up two trees. One is full of ornaments that we get when we go on a trip. Ever since Britt and I took our first vacation together, to the beach in 1998, we have bought atleast one Christmas ornament. After 12 years, we have enough to fill a tree. But on this tree we also put "Baby's first Christmas 2000" and ornaments the kids made. The other tree is a total Disney tree.......I know......I'm still looking for a support group.
So the box that Carlie was digging in was full of things I would rather not be broken. Mostly irreplaceable ones. I heard her say "Hey! Here's the one Nanny painted of our house!!" followed by "The hook is not..................." *crash*
I knew which one it was before I even looked down at the shattered pieces on the hardwood floor. I looked at Carlie, whose face was a mixture of fear and sadness. I started crying and said "Go get the broom." I didn't yell. But I was screaming on the inside! I told her I knew it was an accident, but had she obeyed the ornament wouldn't be broken. She was as upset as I was. Almost.
We finally got to the ornament hanging part. Cam picked up one of 3 snowmen that read "Christmas 2001 Britt, Courtney, and Cameron". Carlie looked at it and said "I shoulda been on that one!" Cam replied "You weren't even thought of." to which Carlie insisted "Yes I was! God thought of me! He already knew that I was a pistol little girl who loves adventure!"
I laughed so hard I cried!!! That may be the truest statement ever spoken about Carlie! The girl knows who she is!!
After we finished the tree in the den, the kids wanted to put their trees up in their bedrooms. They went to Cam's room with his tree and a box of ornaments that I had approved for them to share. They got his tree put together without incident.
Then they moved to Carlie's room. She strung her hot pink lights first. Then started adding ornaments. One of which was a homeade little number she had made at Nanny's last year. It was a clear bulb that she squirted paint into and shook. The idea is to make it look tye dyed. But she only used hot pink. Apparently, she used A LOT of hot pink. So much, that it did not dry in 365 days. She hung it on her tree, but not very well. It fell off, hit her vanity that the tree was setting on, and shattered, splattering hot pink paint all over the cream colored carpet in her bedroom!! Being a good big brother, Cam was going to help her clean it up "so she didn't have to tell mom". After rubbing it a couple of times Cameron realized that it was smearing! So he yelled for me, and I yelled for an hour. Fortunately, it was acrylic craft paint. So after pouring about a gallon of water into the carpet I got it all up.
Isn't Christmas decorating fun?




PS- I'm editing NYC pics today. All 640 of them! I hope to have some on the blog soon!

The countdown is on.....

We are headed to the Big Apple for Thanksgiving!!

This Sunday we are headed to NYC. Lord willing, we will actually get there this time!

This will be Britt, Cam and Carlie's first trip to New York. The kids have never been to a city bigger than Atlanta. They are going to be so amazed at the landscape of Manhattan!! Britt has been to Chicago, and Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. But he's never been to NYC. I went in January about 5 years ago on a girls' trip with my mother in law and Britt's cousins and aunts. It was cold, but we had a fantastic time!

I am so excited about taking them through the city. I can't wait to show them Central Park, and Top of the Rock, and Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty! Since we are now going in the fall instead of summer we get to ice skate either in Rockefeller Center or in Central Park! But it's going to be much cooler!!

I'm honestly a little nervous about the weather. I mean, we live in the Deeeeeep South! In a previous life, I worked for Wachovia. I spent one week a month working in Stewartstown, PA. From November until February I thought I was going to die from hypothermia every day walking from my car into the office!! But I had on a suit and heels. I can dress myself to be much more comfortable walking the streets on New York City! I worry the most about the kids. They've traveled a good bit in their 9 and 7 years, but never to the northeastern US in the wintertime! I think they'll be fine walking around, but I'm worried about the standing and waiting for the Parade to begin.

After our last scheduled trip to NYC didn't happen (thanks to some car theives in Atlanta) it took us some time to decide if, and when, we were going to try again. Obviously, we decided to go. We looked at our schedules and realized we had a couple of options. Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to see the Macy's parade! So I was thrilled when I realized we were going to have the opportunity to be there for it!

We did our homework, and selected a hotel on the parade route. Just in case our poor little southern children got too cold waiting to see the SpongeBob float! It's no surpirse, given our recent "luck", that for the first time in 83 years the parade route has changed!!! It now bypasses Times Square completely! So we are going to bundle up and hunker down with the rest of Manhattan at Central Park West to watch the parade!

We have reservations for lunch at American Girl. Our kids can't wait to ride the ferris wheel in Toys 'R' Us. Cam wants to go to Nintendo World. I want to eat dinner at The View on top of the Marriott Marquee. We are going to see a show....we just aren't sure which one yet! Oh, and did I mention that Bon Jovi is performing on the TODAY show Wednesday morning?! I don't know who is more excited, me or Britt! Probably me!!! It should be a fun filled week!

I've got to get started packing. That's the part I dread. And packing winter clothes is never fun. They are so bulky and take up so much room. Our suitcases will be heavy with boots, and coats. I usually prefer to go someplace tropical when it's winter in the US. There's nothing quite like packing swimsuits and sundresses in the middle of winter, then going somewhere to lay on the beach for a week! But this year we are going to brave NYC, in not quite the middle of winter...more like late autumn. But it'll be cold nonetheless. And I am just not a cold weather girl! Britt has been wanting to go to Colorado on a ski trip forever. This year his extended family is all going to Steamboat right after Christmas. That's the one trip I just can't give in to. Not yet, Carlie is still too small (by my standards). Skiing is alot of work! I want to wait and go when Cam and Carlie can dress themselves in all their ski gear! I'd love to go watch the snow fall in Colorado, as long as I don't have to touch it or stand out in it long periods of time! God didn't build me for cold weather! That's why I'm stressed about NY. I don't like being cold. Hopefully with all the walking and moving around we will stay pretty warm. The 3 hours waiting for the parade will probably be the worst, but I'll have on about 6 layers of clothing!!!

I keep checking the weather for NYC. It is going to be about 59 on Sunday when we arrive, and the temperature drops all week. The "Real Feel" for Thanksgiving morning is around 35 degrees. But I guess it could be much worse!!

My parents are coming to stay at our house and take care of our "baby", Bentley. There was no way I was going to put him in a kennel for a week! He will be just as spoiled, if not more, with his Gramma keeping him! I won't worry about him a bit with her here! And my mom always picks up around my house when she's here! Which is awesome, because I tend to make a mess the day we leave. I tell myself time and time again that I'm going to clean up before leaving, but I'm always running late. Between packing for four people and taking care of day-to-day tasks, and making sure we've taken care of everything for the Sonic, and school, and home I am always exhausted. By the time I get packed and the car loaded I don't care that there are Barbies all over the playroom floor! So yay for moms! I may come home to a clean house!

So we're getting ready. I've been laying out clothes to pack. And making lists of things to pack or carry on. I can't wait. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures to share when we get back! I'm hoping to take our Christmas card photo somewhere around NYC too! Let's just hope we don't freeze to death!

Oh, and we are planning to eat BEFORE we get to Atlanta this time!!!

Not as young as I used to be....

Remember when we were kids? When 30 was old? I remember thinking my mom had one foot in the grave and the other one slipping when she was about 35. My how my perception has changed!!

But today I realized, my kids think I'm ancient!

This morning Cam was in rare form. He has spent the last 4 days deer hunting in South Arkansas with my husband, and my father-in-law. Britt and Cam got home around 4:00PM yesterday. Cam was none too happy that he had to go back to school today.

Cam asked me to turn the radio down as we drove to school. It wasn't loud to start with. But, trying to keep the peace, I obliged. He said "I can still hear it. Please turn it down some more!" I told him that it was barely audible, not nearly loud enough to annoy him. He kept whining and I said "Cam get over it. The radio can't be bothering you. I can barely hear it". Of course he replied "Well I can hear it!" Carlie, having had enough of this exchange between Cam and myself, came to my defense, "Cam don't be so mean to mama! When you're her age, you won't be able to hear good either!"

Thanks for being on my side, Carlie-bug. I think.

A fabulous wedding.....

My cousin got married on Saturday the 7th. It was a beautiful outdoor autumn wedding.

I love this picture.
I love that little ring bearer staring up at the bride and groom.
And I love that weathered brick wall.
Gorgeous.


This is L and her mom before the wedding.
Her mom is my aunt.
My dad's sister.


She was such a beautiful bride.


Her daddy cried when he gave her away.

She started crying about 7 hours earlier, during breakfast!

...and continued throughout the entire ceremony!

My little princess was in the wedding party.

So was I.

So were 14 more of her closest friends and family.

This isn't all the bridesmaids. Carlie took this picture, she cut off two of them on the end!

It was Carlie's first time to be a flower girl!

She did such a good job!

The other flower girl got sick the night before. So another cousin helped out at the last minute. Sometimes its good to have such a large family!

Carlie was mad because she slept in sponge rollers and wore them until 2PM the next day.

I took this at another one of the bridesmaids house before the wedding. 8 of the bridesmaids and the bride and the flower girl got dressed at the same location...with only two bathrooms! Carlie loved this dog, Ellie. She carried her around all afternoon! But aren't they both so adorable!?

But these curls were so worth 17 hours in sponge rollers!!

Cam was supposed to be an usher in the wedding. He also had a playoff game scheduled at 1:30 that afternoon, in a town 40 minutes away. Unfortunately, his game started 40 minutes late and he and Britt missed the entire ceremony! They came for the reception, but we didn't take any pictures. So we had to take a few pictures when we got home! It's not everyday that Cam wears a suit!!

Isn't he handsome?

And almost as tall as I am!

I'm even wearing 2 1/2 inch heels!!

It's certainly not everyday you see Britt in a tie either!

The whole wedding was wonderful! November in Alabama is still pretty warm. Definitely comfortable enough for an outdoor wedding! It was about 74 degrees and sunny last Saturday. Much better than say, a June wedding. In June it's 90 degrees before 8 AM and 100% humidity! November is absolutely perfect! And the autumn floral arrangements were beautiful! And the fall colored bridesmaid dresses were fabulous! I'll have to remember all this when it comes time to plan Carlie's wedding.

But I'm not even going to entertain that notion yet!