Ordinary Life

In July 2010 , we celebrated Independence Day on Harbor Island and the kids attended Baby Bootie Camp to get ready for new baby sister Riley.      At Bootie Camp, we learned to hold babies, give bottles and change diapers. There were fun foods and lots of shower games, too - like Baby Food Roulette, Baby Sculpting and Bottle Races to list a few. These pictures brought a smile to my face, it is one of my favorite memories. I am grateful for my children and for the times we got to share. 

Just on the cusp of June, no photos were uploaded during that month, only some before and after. Perhaps we were in the car a lot. 2010 National Champions and home education with Wings (EdVenture & Butterfly Observatory) 

There's just something special about Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It is my favorite park for several reasons, and it seems to me one of the most fitting monuments to the man behind Mickey Mouse. At its inception, Walt said of EPCOT:  "EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise." Ingenuity. Imagination. America.  I think that's all of it in a nutshell.  Walking through the park makes me nostalgic. Not only for past visits and childhood adventures, but also for the strong broth of a certain philosophy, spooned to me steadily f...

Jax Beach Jubilation:  Oddly enough, the first beach we hit this season was not the one closest to us. Clay had some business across town- (okay, it was a golf tournament.) Tee off was early the next morning, so we grabbed some SmashBurgers (the Sunshine Burger is my favorite) and a room near the shore.  Those of us who did not bring our clubs (or everyone except Clay & Chandler) spent the afternoon on Jax Beach while the big boys went to the driving range.  This was one of our first really pretty days- the sand was warm, the water- no so much.  Not everyone is deterred by cool water. Rye was escorted to the water's edge by each of us in turn. With Sister:  And Fisher- (she calls him her prince):  Lifeguards were training for the oncoming summer season. I think this lesson must have been "People Watching 101" or a "Rogue Surfer Roundup" drill:  No shovel or pail but plenty of sand and teamwork for castle building:  We even spotted a mermaid:...