I Heart Faces Contest

Read about this on Linda's blog. This cool photography blog does contests each week. The theme this week is bubbles. I am thinking I might give it a try it....although I must say, my photo doesn't even come close to being as good as Linda's. Go check it out.
Anyway....here is my entry.

Swamp and School

Yesterday was a good day...a long and exhausting one, but good! After church, we stopped at KFC and got a 10 piece bucket of their KGC (grilled) and headed out to Phinizy swamp in Augusta for a picnic and hike. So much fun! I am sure we walked miles and miles, and in the hottest part of the day no less. I thought I was going to fall on the ground before we made it back to the car. Water never tasted so good. But I still loved the experience! Next time, we're going in the late fall. I'd love to see the swamp once during each season to photograph the leaf changes there. Such a beautiful place. Surprisingly, the mosquitoes didn't bother us at all. Must have been all the dragonflies taking care of that! My only regret is that I didn't take my Canon camera with me. I only had my point and shoot. Having said that, here are some photo highlights.




We looked for gators and thought we may have caught a glimpse of one or two but were never sure.

We walked for what seemed forever!

I LOVED all the spanish moss and cattails around.

Here are the creatures we saw most...many varieties of dragon and damsel flies. (Click on photos for better view)

Now wouldn't you hate to run into this in the dark? She had a dragonfly as a dinner guest in her ginormous web.

And finally, I couldn't let this post end without posting the traditional back to school photos. Yep, the kiddos headed back today. I know it sounds cliche, but hey....where did the summer go? It wasn't nearly long enough!!!

Little man starts 2nd grade today.

Big guy here starts 7th grade!

I hope and pray they have a wonderful first day and year!

Beach Trip day 2

On the second day of our trip, Sunday, we had breakfast and took our time checking out of the hotel. We decided at the last minute to drive a half hour away to Hilton Head. It had been several years since we had been there.
Boy, was that not the best decision! We had some fun...don't get me wrong. But Hunting Island was way better. Hilton Head was very crowded. Plus, we were already sunburned from the day before, despite the fact that we had used SPF 45 sunscreen and reapplied. My shoulders were the worst! Anyway, we got to the beach and spent a little money to rent an umbrella. I couldn't have stood it otherwise. Then the water play began. Only....it didn't last long. We spent more time on the sand than in the water. The JELLY FISH didn't want us there! Jonathan was the first to get stung, on the leg. After I finally talked him into getting back in the water, he was stung again, this time on his back. When he reached back to get the thing off, it got his hand. And mind you, we were NOT in deep water at all. Maybe knee deep? Then Ed got stung next on his leg. Matthew was next. Me? Well, we joked that either I was very lucky or the jelly fish thought I was too mean and feared me! LOL!

Here are some photo highlights from the day. The first set is a collage of a water fountain for kids just as you approach the boardwalk to go down to the beach.

Finally, this is a photo of Jonathan's jelly fish sting! It actually broke the skin a little. You can still see the mark 4 days later. The lifeguards sprayed it with a mixture of diluted vinegar. Helped with the pain a little. Needless to say, that was Jonathan's last time in the water....and many other folks felt the same way too. Apparently, July and August are the months when the jelly fish are plentiful there. It's funny that 30 minutes back up the coast, we didn't have the jelly fish problem on Hunting Island. :)

Beach Trip day 1

This past Saturday, we packed up the car and headed to the shore. We spent a good part of our day at Hunting Island, SC. We spent the night in Beaufort--beautiful place if you've never been.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Here are a few highlights.

Obviously I played with the color in this one to make the sky seem so blue! It WAS a gorgeous day!

I loved taking photos of the lighthouse at Hunting Island. Our other favorite excursion was walking downtown Beaufort by the river. Just Gorgeous! Augusta could take some lessons! :) Here are some photos of those places.

Loved this mermaid we passed on the way to the river walk.

This is the very bridge Tom Hanks ran across as Forrest Gump!

LOVE the Spanish moss everywhere.

On the second day of our trip, we drove a half hour down to Hilton Head. I'll share that with you in a day or two. :)

Great Day

I had a very happy birthday. I turned 45 today. My wonderful hubby encouraged me to have friends over on Friday night. We swam and scrapbooked! Then this morning, he and the kids gave me their gifts (boxed chocolate and my favorite perfume) and some adorable cards--the kind with sound. The kids' card was the recordable kind. They say, "Happy Birthday, Mom. We love you" in unison, and then someone starts singing, "You are my sunshine." Oh my gosh...talk about melting a mom's heart!
We got ready and went out for breakfast, which is something we NEVER do unless we're on vacation. Then we went to church. After church, we went out for lunch, shopped for back to "you know where" supplies, and then went home for a Sunday afternoon nap. My best friend from back home, Kim L. , who I hadn't heard from in forever, surprised me with a phone call today. All in all...a lovely day! Below are some photo highlights!



Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It truly was.