GNO

I am so blessed by precious friendships. God is good. So are these fabulous women who inspire me in so many ways. Last night was a GNO, we went to McDivots for some food and cold drinks.

Rainbow

Have you ever wondered what really is at the end of the rainbow? Who hasn't. Well today I found out. The end of the rainbow went into some lush green grass on the side of the road way. (You can click on the top photo and plainly see where the rainbow lands)

This means either one of two things:
1. The pot of gold either isn't true....or I was "SOL" or it clearly wasn't at my end. (I even sent Jack over to investigate, as seen in photo #2)
2. Does this have any bearing about the "grass being greener" expression too?

Bowling on a Rainy Day

It was a little bit of a rainy day today....to ward off boredom we took the kids bowling.
Elaina brought along her friends, Sydney, Reagan and Jordan.

Ciada (Cady-did)

Found this little guy yesterday while on the photo shoot. I wore him around on my shirt like a brooch. Laura Beth did not like my little friend. Especially when he sang. LOL!

Photo Shoot for Spring 2011 Meijer's Outdoor Cushions

And of course we managed to have a little fun inbetween shots:

WA Berry Girls Night

Enjoyed a girls night at La Fiesta. Was thrilled to have Leslie Allen join Martha, Aimee, Janet and I. Leslie moved back into town last month. We celebrated all of us turning 4o, with the exception of Janet who is still holding her 30 card...until next month, when we meet again. Then it's being retired!

Reese's Birthday

Today is my niece Reese's 6th birthday. We met at Birmingham's infamous Jim davenport's Pizza Palace in Mountain Brook for supper and celebration.


















The kids watch the chefs hand toss the pizza before putting it into the brick oven to fire.

Happy Birthday to my Reesey Cup! I love you!

Someone Got Braces!

Before getting them on:

After getting them on:

Should be on for 18-24 months...a braces removal photo/new improved smile photo to come then ;)

First day of School

Everyone is happy with their classes and their teachers.
All is well.....for now. God willing.
Sister Sledge=7th grade
J Smooth= 4th grade
...and of course (not pictured) is Bama who moved back to the University of Alabama last weekend. His second year. Can you believe he wouldn't allow pictures. Hmmm.

Moths

More interesting specimens on my nightly walks.

The first moth stopped me dead in my tracks. On first glance it looked like it had a sword on its back. I know my son Jack would go nuts so I put him in a big box so he would see when he awoke in the AM.


When I brought the moth inside I noticed the image upside down. It looked like both a cross....and Christ with arms outstretched.





I did some searching on the internet and discovered this moth is called a It’s called a Clymene moth, fairly common in northeastern woodlands. Not in this area! The caterpillar feeds on a variety of plants, including oaks and willows. Adults fly during the day as well as night, and at night, are attracted to lights. With a little more searching I found that Clymene is of Greek origin and means “renowned one.” In Greek mythology, Clymene was the daughter of Oceanus, and the mother of Atlas and Promethus. Why this particular moth is called Clymene, I have no idea. I know there are “Promethea” moths that are black and yellow – so perhaps there is a connection somewhere in either the coloring or the species.

Range -Eastern North America and its Habitat -Deciduous forests and adjacent fields, etc
Unusual moth, certainly around these parts. But so interesting...to me...a reminder of Christ Love!




This is another interesting moth. It was camouflaged on the red brick of my house. But it was the tiny little moving "string" or "hair" on its back that moved as if to call in other bugs closer. Although I do not know if this is the purpose for the hair. I looked and looked for info on this moth. The closest I found was Orgyia antiqua, although the coloring is the same, none mentioned the single hair...and none had such a thick body. In any case, this one is interesting.





Linking to Susan's Outdoor Wednesday at Southern Daydreamer.

Please join me tomorrow at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday and MORE!

Ross Bridge

This past weekend Big Daddy and I took our two youngest kids for one last summer fling (Bama had already moved back to ...Bama). We went to Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa for a little staycation. A little tip, check with your local hotels, friend them on facebook because they publish send out specials. We got a "local summer rate" that ran throughout the summer Thursday-Sunday, our room was $119.00!!! Excuse me, but you cannot stay in a dump in Birmingham for that price hardly. But Ross Bridge Resort? Unheard of...or so one would think. It CAN be done!

Our room was actually one of the best, it overlooked the pool. From the 5th floor wraparound balcony we had a wonderful view of the golfcourse. However, we were hardly in our room. We met our dear friends, the Claridy family (High Mae's), who also scheduled a staycation. We were at the pool and tennis courts from the moment we arrived til we all retired to bed at 10PM when the pool closed.

(Thanks to my friend Courtney "High Mae" who took some of these pics. Thanks for sharing!
Here is a link to Court's post on RB)