A Lovely Weekend

It was the 3rd Annual Girls Trip to the beach last weekend and how sweet it was. This year I decided to take a smaller group so that we can all be in on the same conversation and I think it went really well.

This year I invited Jennifer, Teresa and Kathryn. Unfortunately, Kathryn couldn't attend at the last minute and we missed her.

The three of us left on Wednesday night at 8:15pm and headed south. We made our first stop in Savannah to use the gross bathroom and grab a Diet Coke. The best part of our stop was the awesome transvestite that came into the store for a sandwich and condiments. He/She was wearing a pink summer dress with matching lipstick and some white heels. He/she would have looked better if he would have shaved his legs. It. Was. AWESOME! The only problem was that Teresa, who was our photographer did NOT get a photo. What a wonderful start to our weekend.

We arrived at the house at 2:15am, found our beds and went to sleep for a bit. I hardly slept because one of the smoke alarms was chirping & my particular bed was not comfortable. I ended up getting up around 7:30am, dressed in one of my 7 bathing suits and laid on the couch and watched TV.

We had a quiet morning, packed our bags and grabbed chairs and boogie boards and walked out to the beach. We kept checking the clouds and they were gray and moving quickly. After about 15 minutes, we felt a drop & we decided to pack it all back up and went back to the house. We sat under the deck and watched the storm that moved in. Once the storm passed, we decided we were hungry and had a gift certificate for T-Rays and we went out for lunch.

T-Rays is a tiny little burger joint that was a former gas station. It was awesome and the burgers, fries and corn nuggets were delish. We then decided it was pool/ocean time so back to the house for pretty much "nothing" and we were good at it. We were able to float in the ocean and enjoy the warm water.

I do believe that the entire trip was based on food and we made the best of it. On Thursday night we went to Wal-mart Sushi (aka Kabuki) and enjoyed some Will-prepared sushi. We then hit the Wal-mart to find some treasures. Most evenings were spent chatting in our jammies and watching some sort of cooking show & eating M&Ms by the handful.




Friday we were up a bit earlier and Teresa and I went for a beach walk. You can't beat exercising on the beach. We spent time at the beach and at the pool & had gourmet PB&J for lunch. We then decided to go to some little shops near the house and to the antique store then back to the house. We relaxed, got cleaned up and pretty and went downtown to check out the shops and had dinner at 29 South. Pure heaven. Jennifer & I split the pork chop while Teresa got the scallops. We shared 2 appetizers; fried green tomatoes and a crostini and one dessert; krispie kreme donut bread pudding. It's just as good as you can imagine and then add coffee ice cream. Oh boy!

Saturday offered us yet another day of nothingness! We decided to spend the day at The Ocean Club where we were with very few people. We sat by the pool, read magazines, chatted, had lunch, hit the beach, tried to boogie board in the rough current, showered and enjoyed a pina colada. It was a rough 5 hours.

We came back to the house, dressed for dinner and went back downtown to hit a couple of shops that were closed the day before then had a lite dinner at Cafe Karibo. Yum. Back to the house for jammies, M&Ms and TV. It was pretty tough.

The weekend goes by way too fast but we had such a great time and are grateful for our husbands for handling things at home so we could enjoy our time. Many thanks again to my sweet in-laws who are so generous in letting us borrow their beautiful beach house.

Til next time...

First Day of School-2011

Man, summer seemed to go by so fast! Perhaps part of it is that Georgia likes to start school in the middle of summer. Lame.

Sam is back at ClearWater Academy again this year. This marks his 4th year at the school and he is now in the Upper School. His homeroom teacher is Mrs. Gullick but he will be changing classes a little bit with two other teachers, Mrs. Huber and Mr. Braxton. We are looking forward to a great school year despite the fact that Sam doesn't want to do school any more. He wants to give up on school.

First Day: Monday, August 15, 2011




Abby is beginning the 3rd grade this year at Woodward Academy. This will be her last year in the Primary School which is bittersweet. Abby wasn't able to go to her school's open house since she was partying in Wyoming but we took photos for her. Abby has Mrs. Campbell this year but since she is on maternity leave, Mrs. Terrie will be the substitute until Mrs. Campbell comes back.

First Day: Monday, August 15, 2011
(Abby returned home the day before school started but was up with a smile despite the 2 hour time change for her.)

We're off to another busy year of school, homework, dance recitals, hiking, piano lessons, horse riding and lots and lots and lots and lots of driving.

Abby's Jackson Hole Adventure

This long and wonderful post is being made possible by Judy Easterly, Abby's grandma and sponsor (along w/Grandpa David) for Abby's 2nd annual trip to Jackson Hole. All photos, videos and commentary are by Judy.

Day One:

Abby flew out to Jackson with Aunt Kattia, Uncle Greg, and cousins Logan & Austin. They arrived in Jackson Hole a bit late due to a delay in Atlanta but did manage to see some wildlife on the way to the cabin.

Day Two:

update on abs day.... all kids up early..breakfast by g'pa (cereal) out to play with cricket. g'ma rolls out of bed at 8:30...by 9:30 kids having banana chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup prepared by g'ma. walk to the river, guitar strumming with grandpa, bike riding and visit to horses, lunch, games, playing outside, quiet time, constructing teepee, making bow (maybe arrows tomorrow) dinner, cookies, ice cream, movie, bed. man..no wonder it is 9:30 and all are fast asleep! abs went to bed without my asking.

tomorrow we are up bright and early for the rodeo riding instruction...and to buy cool boots for the rodeo on saturday night. tuesday we plan to fish. so you can see we are keeping her busy. last night she slept with logan, but wants to sleep by herself tonight which is just fine. you do not have to worry about her speaking up for herself.

i'll send pictures form the horse adventure tomorrow.

love, j

Day Three:

Monday adventures...up bright and early and off to Wilson, Wy for rodeo riding. Up on a horse and learning how to "go" and "brake". Then it is learning to barrel race. Around the barrels and trotting to the finish...pony tail bouncing in the air. Lasso training and back up on the horse to try and lasso a " bull".

Off to lunch at snake river brewery...huge burgers and fries. Back home to grandma's and ready for afternoon adventures...riding bikes to the horse pen just down the road and getting to feed them carrots...tops and all. Ride back home and hike to the snake river with furry friend cricket. A 20 minute walk can take an hour if you stop to throw rocks and tarry along the way.

Back at the ranch...drove to a neighbors house to salvage wood from their construction site...and build a ramp for bike jumping...a work still in progress. Dornan's for dinner with yummy pizza.....home to shower, watch Harry potter movie and fall into bed around 10:00...what a day! Logan and Abby spent the night together...Logan would attach herself to abby's hip if she could. All the cousins are great! Fun! Cooperative! And entirely lovable.

Intro to Rodeo: Abby Style

Day Four:

well...up early for adult fishing tomorrow, but want to document today before it falls away from my feeble brain....another busy one...these kids fall into bed at the crack of 10:30. so...the day begins with bacon, pancakes, and fishing. off to the hatchery to fish in sleeping indian pond. lots of worms, rods and eager kids...fish...not so they would cruise by the bait and swim by to feed on these tiny flies floating on the surface. not a bite! even graham with his expensive set up and hand tied flies didn't score. abby wins the prize for the most determined...when others gave up to play in the pond she and grandpa were still trying to score one of those boys.

finally we threw in the towel and went to dairy queen...i will not even tell you the junk we ate there. the big hit was some awful stuff called fry sauce...made abs very happy. also chocolate ice cream cones dipped in hard shell cherry...it tastes as weird as it looks. on to the alpine slide and back home to get ready for the music party....oops...forgot late afternoon finishing harry potter movie....no one will ever sleep tonight!

all dressed up...including snazzy new cowboy boots...all kids played and sang with phil and ben, two musicians who came to sing and play with us. a grand time was had by all. abby rocked her southern cross rendition and also played the charlie brown theme on the keyboard to a captive audience. friends arrived...lots more music...kids off to watch the incredibles...and finally...BED. i am tired just trying to tell you about it.

she is having a grand time just being one of the gang. one note...they have all eaten their weight in sugar....my job, and i am good at it.

much love, m

Dairy Queen and magical FRY SAUCE!

Dressed for the musical evening.

Day Five:

The abby report is a report form the kids as all the adults were away for the day. At the stroke of 8:30.. Favorite sitters Ronnie and Lizzie came to spend the day with 5 precious children. At the stroke of 9:00... All the parents and grandparents of said children hopped into a van to fish on the south fork of the snake river. The report is they had the best day so far! First report is ALL of the chocolate cheerios and banana cheerios are gone. All the blueberry muffins...GONE. Are you getting my drift? Several rides to the neighbors to see the horses and feed them about $10.00 worth of apples. Then badminton and games in the backyard, time out for nintendo, and a hike to the creek to play and water color painting. Back for another bike ride...lunch( not sure what that was exactly), and another round of badminton.

We returned safe and sound at 7:00, to disappointed kids who hoped we would stay away longer. But spirits perked up for garbage, plenty of taco chips, a gallon of lemonade, and mounds of shredded cheese. Abby and Logan decided to eat outside on the porch swing...why not? Out to play tag with furry friend, cricket and a call for ice cream from grandma. Not so fast...Claudia comes bounding in to announce elk sighting in the back....ice cream can wait. At least 7 beautiful elk chomping away on grasses right before our astonished eyes. You never tire of seeing it. Ice cream choices...vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon banana, peanut butter chocolate swirl...oh be still my heart. Topped with either pretzel m&m's or choice of 2 syrups.

Bath/ showers...bed. Early tonight...everyone quiet by 10 ish.

Another day in cousin paradise...pretty great for the grandma too!

Day Six:

so here's the day. up at the crack of 9ish for miss abs. into hiking gear and off to the laurence rockefeller hike. first, a stop at the visitor center for kids backpacks with binoculars, guide books, and scat identification and wildflower identification. off to hike to phelps lake...distance about 11/2 miles and lots of up. how far and when will we get there?...only once. they were all so into the hike and all the nature that we all really had a nice hike. time to play in the very cold lake, have a snack and hike back down...11/2 miles more. down is definitely easier. back in the van to teton village (or as austin call it tee tun village). lunch at mangy moose and back home to play with furry friend, cricket, SHOWER, and watch movie..."bedtime stories."

off to bon appet thai for great dinner...that girls is crazy for broccoli! little shopping ...continued tomorrow...home to a yard full of amazing elk. abby invited logan for a sleep-over and they are cozy as cats. with 5 kids you have to book your sleepovers early or you are left in the cold. abby seems pretty eager to join in with all the sleep action. slower start, but she is pumping on all cylinders now.

tomorrow is a sloooow day. now plans yet, but i think a credit card may be involved. how lucky can you get?

that is not exhaustion...they are mesmerized by the movie they are watching as they wait for the adults to finish dinner. they are full of N R G. had a few minutes to shop after dinner. they were raring to go.

i am sitting here writing you and watching morning joe...nothing like playing catch-up. so here it is friday...where did the time go. this morning was a flurry of cricket walks with grandpa, badminton and playing in the yard. at the stroke of 1:30 grandma, aunt kattia and aunt jennifer went to have lunch and shop in town. in charge....uncle greg, uncle graham, and grandpa! i left 5 kids and came home to 5 kids...who they are, i do not know, but one of them will be coming home with abby's stuff. actually, the kids were supposed to come downtown to join us, but the dad's said they were having so much fun...we are shopping tomorrow. abby wants to fish too...but we'll decide that tomorrow.

so tonight was burgers on the grill, sweet potato fries, string beans...dessert...s'mores. made with chocolate chip cookies. lots of music...guitar, auto harp, fiddle, mandolin and lots of happy singing on a beautiful wyoming night. abby is having a grand time. i do predict tears on departure. she and logan are tucked in and chatting away like little magpies.

todd suggested an early bedtime tomorrow...not...we are off to the rodeo wearing new boots, an adorable western shirt, and her endearing personality. so coming off the plane on sunday will be a totally pooped out little girl with many tales to tell. thank you so much for sharing. love, j

Day Seven:

quick note as to saturday in jackson. off at 9:45 to the saturday farmer's market...not exactly the first thing in the morning. abby's partner in crime....claudia. they were the ones who wanted to come along....lucky for them! the first thing you do at the farmer's market is have a fresh pizza....yummy. top that off with cupcake pops and now you are talking. that is a real power breakfast.

we really did try to buy abs some new shoes...but no luck...either the size wouldn't work or the color was not what she had in mind. claudia, however...found 2 pair...much to abby's astonishment. the price practically blew her out of the water...whew...i do think she recovered.

back home to play outside...the auto harp is still the winner. have a quick dinner and off to the rodeo. the kids ate it up...loved it. the bull riding, the bucking broncos, the rodeo princesses, the calf chasing. as you can tell from the video...it is pure bedlam. luckily, each parent goes home with a child so all is not lost. all that running for a free tram ticket. lord, they have to get their priorities in line. i would never be down in that dusty mess for a chance to win a $15. tram ticket. sleepy kids off to bed after a quick shower...no one sleeps in my beds without a post rodeo shower.

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Not sure if more fun was even possible for Abby. As always, she has a wonderful and magical time at the cabin. Thanks David & Judy for having Abby come out to Camp Easterly.

Wilson on Dwellable

Day with Dad

While Abby was living it up in Wyoming, Todd took Sam to the PGA Tournament and gave me an entire day to myself. That's right. The whole day.

Todd had some "Grounds" passes and went with some co-workers and took Sam along. They found some space near hole #9 and hung out to watch the pros.

John Rollins came up to putt and it was supposedly a very easy putt. He lined it up...hit the ball and ended up "shanking" it (whatever that means) and missed the hole. Apparently he was quite unhappy with himself and his demeanor showed how upset he was.
At this point, Sam decides to yell out:

"Nice putt!"

Everyone around him laughed, with the exception of John Rollins is my guess. Being the golfing gentleman that he presumably is, he tossed the "shanked" ball to Sam.

That kids gets everything!




A fun day with Dad!

PS...Sam also got to catch a glimpse of Phil Mickelson!

Carbs

I really don't know how people can restrict carbs on purpose.

Especially if they look like this...

This recipe came from my sister Rachel and let me just say this:

AWESOME!

I make in my Le Crueset and it is out of this world.

I also needed to make something to go along with this crusty artisan bread so with the leftovers from a roasted chicken I made a chicken potpie, homemade crust and all.

I know, right?!

I {heart} carbs!
tla
bff

The final goodbye

Since the Taylor's were moving back to England after nearly four years, we choose to go out in style by hitting all our favorite places to eat. In one day.

Antico Pizza. Literally the best pizza I've ever had. Ever.




We also hit Morelli's Ice Cream shop. Here's the deal w/Morelli's: there are 2 shops and it is really best just to go to the original south on Moreland as both shops are off of Moreland. There is only outside seating available and that's a challenge when it's 95 degrees with 90% humidity but for some reason it's better.
(This has been a public service announcement)

We also had our current obsession, Sublime Donuts. Enough said.

We had dinner together the Thursday before they left since they had sold all their belongings.



Theo & Lewis spent Friday night with us and it was fun. Lots of giggling going on.

Sam & Theo

Abby & Lewis

The morning of the day they flew out, we had breakfast together at the Douglasville Diner.

Our final photo

It was a sad and emotional day as we said our goodbyes and shed tears of sadness.

It's still hard to believe they are gone.

I no longer hear:

"Mom, I'm going over to Lewis' house."
"Mom, I'm going to go check on Theo & Lewis."
"Can we go over to the fort?"
"Lewis is my frenemy."

No more Nerf gun fights, no Wii competitions, no dog/cat/house sitting, no early morning walks, no more illegal firework shows, no more kids to play with in our circle.

No more Taylors.

We do have Skype to keep in contact but it's not the same.

Goodbye Taylor family! We love you!