Bowling! (It’s NOT a date!)

Fletcher, Lola Gray and I took Fletcher’s sweet friend Skylar bowling with us on Thursday. It was not a date, but it was super cute and lots of fun. Not a bad way to spend a rainy Spring Break morning.

 

Our lovely looooong weekend

Fletcher’s birthday on Saturday rolled slowly into a long, holiday weekend. The weather has been spectacular, so we took full advantage with a long park visit on Sunday and an outing to Fort Pulaski (followed, of course, by lunch at the Crab Shack and ice cream at the Sugar Shack!) on Sunday. Book-ending  our outings has been much playing of The Game of Life zAPPed, a birthday gift from Lola and a huge hit with everyone.

The four day weekend has me dreaming once again of spring break and then summer, with those long lazy days where we have nothing to do but play!

Some Enchanted Evening . . .

Picnic in the Park has always been my favorite Savannah event of the year. This year we finally got it together enough to organize a themed picnic to go along with the event theme Some Enchanted Evening. By Savannah standards ours was a modest attempt at best, but Raymond built us some beautiful tables that we can use for these events in the future and it was amazing to gather in the park with our closest friends on an October evening that felt more like August than autumn. Tomoko made the most incredible cake topped with meringue mushrooms, and everyone wore paper crowns and fairy wings. Raymond has begun his tenure as Chairman of the City of Savannah Cultural Affairs Commission, and in that role he got up on stage to address the crowd of 35,000 gathered in Forsyth Park. We hooted and hollered for him, but despite the fact that he couldn’t hear us (or perhaps because of it) he did a great job.

I did a terrible job of taking photos of the gathering, but I won’t apologize for it. It is hard sometimes to be a part of an event and document it at the same time – and I would rather be a part of things. But once the sun began to set, our picnic became truly magical and I had to get a few photos. The candelabra my mother gave me years ago, along with dozens of votive candles in mason jars, made our little camp so beautiful it was breathtaking. People came from all over the park to stand by the candelabra and have their photos taken in the candlelight!

We were missing a few important friends this year – some have moved, some were kept away by occasions happy and sad – but there is such a sense of community at Picnic that it almost felt like they were there with us. I’m already looking forward to next year!

 

 

 

going green!

Savannah on St. Pat’s is not to be missed, and this year’s festivities may have been the best yet. It seemed half the world came out for the parade – the newspaper is claiming close to a million spectators! Thanks to good friends with prime real estate, we managed a balcony view for the bands, the bagpipes, the clydesdales, the dancers, and of course all those Irish families dressed to the nines in green. I do love a parade!!

But of course my favorite part, as always, was biking downtown through the parade staging ground. This year Fletcher biked on his own – and he did great! I imagine it won’t be long before he is biking to school every day.

 

2012!

We are now exactly one week into 2012, and if this first week has been any indication, this could be a very good year. We said goodbye to 2011 and hello 2012 with good friends, sharing first a beautiful walk along the historic McQueen’s Island trail, followed by dinner at the fabulously kitschy Crab Shack, then football and fireworks and even more friends. Ginger posted some lovely photos here – with the puppy in tow I have not done a good job of carrying the camera lately!

The winter break passed far too quickly, but before it was over Lola Gray and I joined her friends Elsie and Camille, and their mothers, for a fancy tea party downtown. Once again, Ginger comes to the rescue with her wonderful photos – thanks Ginger!

Let the baking begin!

Lola Gray and I were lucky enough to be invited to a Mother Daughter Cookie Exchange on Monday evening. And you know what that means! Lucky for us, Lo had just received some wonderful baking supplies for her birthday from Auntie M. After she spent 30 minutes very carefully hand washing them, we were ready to bake!

These melting snowmen cookies were the fruit of our labors. Cute, no?

Rapunzel, Lego Guy, and way too much candy

Rapunzel’s wig itched. The Lego head wobbled and wasn’t totally conducive to night vision. I was so busy with the PAWrade that I barely got out the decorations this year and never got around to making my costume. And Raymond threw his back out and spent most of the day in pain.

And yet, it was a great Halloween anyway.

Kids in costumes, friends, and a few tons of candy – what’s not to like?

 

The Thompsons

The other weekend when we were in Hilton Head, I had the opportunity to do a quick photo session with our lovely hosts. We had to work fast as the light was fading, but the colors in the sky were just incredible. These photos have a very different feel than the ones we took last year, but I think they came out wonderfully. Of course, it is hard to take a bad photo of this bunch!

 

Getting away for a while

We were very lucky to be able to get away for a while this past weekend and spend some much needed down time with friends at their amazing home on Hilton Head Island. It was the perfect weekend get-away. The weather was incredible – cool enough in the mornings and evenings to finally feel like autumn, warm enough during the day for splashing in the waves. We lounged, we romped on the beach and watched the sun rise, we took long bike rides and were amazed by hundreds of migrating butterflies dancing along the coastline. We rode ponies, fed deer by hand, visited the famed Salty Dog Cafe and ate our weight in oysters – even finding a pearl in one! (Even Lola Gray ate oysters! I was so proud of her willingness to give them a try, and so surprised that she liked them. She actually asked for oysters in her lunch this week!)

Of course, the problem with long, lazy weekends is that they have to end and you suddenly find yourself back at work, busy as ever, and way behind on your blogging. I can’t believe it is Wednesday and I am just getting this post up! Bear with me friends, there is yet more to come!

sleep overs

We’ve had our share of sleepovers lately, and I have to say I love this new stage we are entering. It hasn’t all been easy. We had one night a few weekends ago where both kids had friends to spend the night and, well, there was not a lot of sleeping to be had. The girls were tired, but the boys were wild. In fact, around 10:30 that night, when I thought everyone was finally asleep, the boys went into Lola Gray’s room and woke the girls, telling them it was morning!

But sleep overs aren’t really about sleep, are they. And I love it. I might need a nap the next day, but I love it.