i heart fall.

fall has always been my favorite season. here in the deep south we don't get much of one, but i'll take what i can get as reprieve from the oppressive heat. we usually plan a trip somewhere else in the south, where they do experience more of a true fall, and it's always so much fun. some of my favorite memories are from those trips. a few of the things i'm looking forward to this fall:

• the cooler breeze that just gives that extra energy...you can almost smell fall in the air on these days
• baking pumpkin spice bread to take to friends
• it's birthday month for me and jamie!
  
• a weekend get-away w/ the hubby somewhere in the mountains. we try to do this every year around this time, but this year it's also our last minute get-away before becoming parents of 3!
  
• alabama football-it's exciting again!
• pumpkin spice latte's at o'henry's!!!
  
• helping my boys choose halloween costumes, pumpkins and planting mums
  
• the beautiful trees-i hope we do get at least a little color this year...
• the return of THE OFFICE ;-)
• and best of all....the arrival of our new son!
  

so if you are looking for some fun activities to do this fall, here's a list of some of our favorites:

of course, a trip to asheville is the best if you can swing it,
hitting the blue ridge parkway in ga or nc for the fall foliage and lots of fun shops
and antiquing along the way, having a wine and cheese picnic on one of the look-out spots on the blue ridge parkway or on the county roads between gadsden and chattanooga,
old baker's farm pumpkin patch, site-seeing and staying at b and b's in chattanooga and mentone, fall festival at mentone, vulcan aftertunes, cocktails in the gardens (B'ham Botanical)-see activeculture.info....just to name a few. happy fall y'all!

*the beautiful daisies are from my sweet friend lauren---to enjoy...and to practice photography on!

Did Ginny tell ya? She's 30!

the "care bear stare" centerpieces

act of congress-well partially anyway...gin's friends and our new favorite local band

old roomies

new roomies

Ginny is 30!
She celebrated in style with friends at The J. Clyde. It was a fun night! I thought I'd post some pics from the bash for all you friends across the ocean or across the continent.
(about the title, ginny, i couldn't resist ;-)
Love you Friend!
Welcome to the 30 Club!

Tag! I'm it.

So, I've been tagged by my buddy Ginny who is thirty, flirty and thriving, may i add ;)
Boy! Would it be simpler to use my middle name on this, but since i LOATHE my middle name i shall not...

J-Just in time...that's usually when I roll in somewhere. Will I ever be on time again?

E- Against my husband's "Encouragement" to do so, I will not be including "Erotic" as my "E" characteristic. Let's keep it family oriented here.

So, I will say "Extroverted" i am not...though Jamie thinks the longer we've been married the more toward extroversion and away from introversion I have moved...and he's done the opposite! I so love people and I used to come home drained from parties and get-togethers b/c I generally get energy from alone time...but now more often I come home jazzed b/c I'm getting energy from people more. Funny....

S-Searching. Searching for just the right name for the little man growing inside me. I have roughly 9 weeks left to name him. Never has choosing a name taken so long for us...or really just finding the 2 that fit together best. I love him so already and I'm ready to call him by name.

S-Shutter speed. With each click of the shutter I try to capture an expression or moment that is singular and special to that time....and I enjoy getting to learn and explore through this creative outlet.

I-Impatient. Do I need more patience in my life! Whether it's with decorating the house, potty training, or just showing my children the patience that my heavenly Father shows me, I need more, more, more!

C-Caring. There are many, many things that I am not good at-like diligence for one....but one thing I think I do ok at is caring for people when I see a need and being thoughtful and attentive to them.

A-About to pop. And I'm only going to get bigger!

That was difficult! I now tag Kate, Angie and Libby! Have fun ;)

Festival Fun

the other day we met up with some friends of ours for the ross bridge hometown festival and the kids had a blast! i think the giant sinking ship slide was their favorite...that thing was steep!
my favorite part was watching my little rock-climbers! they were too cute w/ all their gear.

the vomit express...but they loved it!

now....this thing....who designed this, i ask??? it was a giant dragon that the kids crawled through and came out this end!

we laughed so hard at this....

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and what made it funnier was the giant fan that blew them and a huge burst of air out of it!