Golf Anyone?

If you are into golf you might have heard of Matt's cousin Stewart. Just last month Stewart made his family quite proud by winning a little thing called the British Open. Stewart and his family, the Cinks, are actually from my hometown of Florence, AL. It is funny because when Matt, who is from Montgomery, and I started dating in college we realized that I had gone to high school with his cousins Danielle and Stewart. Matt's mom, Bebe, was even at my high school graduation. Small world huh?

Anyway, I got Hannah her first golf clubs in hopes that she has inherited the golf gene and will go on to be the next female golf great. Kidding ;) - unless she wants to, of course. I really did, however, see a golf set when I was at WalMart the other day and I thought it would be fun to introduce her to this great sport. She took to it immediately and thoroughly enjoyed "whacking" (her word not mine) the ball...





She didn't quite hit the ball but I think she has great form don't you?

Lils had fun too.

She thoroughly enjoyed watching her sister and chewing on a golf club....

Hannah finally got a little frustrated and decided to take matters into her own hands...

And then quickly raised her club in the air and shouted "I won!"

Watch out Stewart. I think she and her "whacking" are going to take the golf world by storm...

Back in the Saddle

We are back in the blogosphere after a long hard week that has included a loved one in the hospital and the death of a friend. Trying weeks like this help us to appreciate life a little more and remind us to take advantage of the blessings that have been given to each of us. With that in mind, we decided to return to life as we know it and go out for a little stroll on an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning. It was the kind of morning where you would never believe that there was anything wrong in the world...the temp was perfect, the sky a beautiful blue and the sun was shining bright. Hannah and Lily hopped into the stroller and off we went.


We decided to bring our dog, Reilly, along for the fun.

He is cute but he is trouble with a capital T. He loves a good walk and he and Hannah have a great time running on a little stretch of our walk that is car free.


Matt always laughs because he says Hannah runs with wild abandon and likes to compare her style to that of the Friends episode where Phoebe goes running in the park. If you haven't seen it you need to - it is hilarious. We paused for a few pics...





Before heading home to enjoy the rest of our day...

Dog days of summer

The dog days of summer are here so don't forget to try and stay cool...



Of course, please be sure to watch BOTH of your children while you try to cool off...

Lily Bug

Today's post is all about our little Lily in honor of her 3/4 birthday.



I am just amazed at how quickly time passes and at how much such a small person can accomplish in the first 9 months of her life. Actually most of these accomplishments occurred in the past month. Let me list them for you:

sat up
crawled (still on her belly)
cut two teeth
FINALLY learned to eat (& like) baby food
pulled up to standing
said da-da
slept through the night (ok it was just for 2 nights but hey it was 2 nights!)

She has also learned to point her little chubby index finger. This is my favorite thing that she is doing right now. Lily makes a fist and stares at it as hard as she can for about 10 seconds. Then you see that little index finger start to straighten out. She keeps staring at her hand until finally her finger is completely straight. Then she looks up at me with the biggest grin as to say "Look at what I did!" I love it!!! Oh, and the best part is if you point your index finger at her she will do it back to you. Try it next time you see her...it is a lot of fun.


My sweet Lily is a total Mama's girl but she is starting to assert some independence and let me get some things done around the house without her on my hip. Lily and Hannah have actually been spending some time playing together on the floor and it is just the most wonderful thing to watch. I love to pretend I am doing something else while they play and then peek around the corner and just watch them begin to interact together. Being a sister is such a special thing and I love to see the bond beginning to form even this early on. Hannah has asked me often in these first months when Lily is going to be able to play with her and the time is finally arriving. In full disclosure I should mention that Lily and Hannah's "playing" is not always giggling and sisterly fun. Lily has some red in her hair and with that red hair comes quite a temper. Hannah is still learning that all toys in the house do not belong to her and each time she takes a toy from Lily her little temper flares. Let me tell you - you do not want to be around when Lily gets mad but if you ever do find yourself present for one of these moments just remember it helps to cover your ears.

I thought I would share a couple of Lily's milestones with videos. Enjoy!

Huge yard sale

For those of you interested in finding a great yard sale this weekend, I have just the thing for you. My friend and fellow blogger Melissa Franklin is having a very large yard sale in Vestavia along with her parents. Here is a pic of Melissa's son Thomas and Hannah just for fun...


Melissa and her family grew up with me in great city of Florence, Alabama. Her parents have since relocated to Florida and have decided to clear out a storage unit full of their belongings that they no longer need. I am talking about around 100 boxes shipped to Melissa's house full of goodies for this sale. Here is a link to her craigslist ad. The sale is Friday and Saturday, so go check it out if you have a chance!

Eat your veggies

Every Wednesday afternoon I open the front door and find this on my doorstep...


As if receiving a package isn't excitement enough this is what is inside....


Isn't it beautiful? And that is not all...these come too...

The box is full of a weekly supply of wonderful vegetables plus eggs delivered right to our door. I have been meaning to tell you about this for some time now but these two keep sidetracking me with their cuteness...


Several months ago we signed up for Grow Alabama's weekly delivery of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables grown by farmers right here in Alabama. I love that this is the freshest, healthiest food that we can give our family and that we are supporting our local farmers. Hannah and Lily both love veggies and this is a great way for them to explore what our great state has to offer. Lily's favorite is a cucumber slice. It makes a great teether for those poor little gums...


Oh and Grow Alabama posts a video or two on youtube weekly where Chef Bob shows us how to cook some of the produce we receive. For instance, last week he showed us a simple recipe for grilled okra that I can't wait to try. They also have a wonderful online store for subscribers where you can purchase local, organically grown trout, lamb, and veal. You can also get goat cheese, wonderful olive oils and lots more. Here is a link for more info on Grow Alabama. I am pretty sure they deliver anywhere from Huntsville all the way to Montgomery right now. I hope I don't sound like an infomercial but I really do think this is a great program and I am so excited about it that I had to share.

National Holiday

Betcha didn't know that today is a national holiday. Yep today is the day we celebrate one of summer's greatest fruits - National Watermelon Day. We love watermelon so, of course, we had to celebrate. After nap time today we headed down the street to our local coffee shop for a watermelon slushie. We walked home and enjoyed our drinks on the porch...

Later, while Lily enjoyed some peas...


Hannah did a little painting...


and created her very own watermelon...


And for the National Watermelon Day grand finale we had a giant piece of watermelon for dessert (please excuse the photo)...

So go ahead and mark it on your calendar for next year...Aug. 3 - National Watermelon Day....you will definitely want to celebrate!