Roses in Bloom

Last week Deb, Chloe and I packed a picnic

and headed out for the Botanical Gardens. After a bit of a hassle when we got there (keys locked in car)
Deb & Chloe enjoyed themselves while I watched Dwyane jimmy the door handle of my mother's car to retrieve the keys.

Here are a few of the shots I was able to take while waiting for them - before my camera broke.

(yes, the day just kept getting better)

Love the reflection on this one.

Isn't this lily lucious looking? Reminds me of a chocolate goody.

I think I'll plant some of these lucious lillies in my own garden.

This was ready to burst open. Some kind of a lily.

My favorite was the roses.

They were just coming to the

end of their full bloom and were a sea of beautiful colors.
This pretty deep pink rose made a nice landing pad for the bees.

Aren't we lucky that the Chihuly sunburst remains as a permanent fixture in the rose garden? I'm going to get down there some evening and shoot this in the twilight hours. It is stunning in person.


I'll have to get back down there next week.
It's a beautiful, peaceful place to spend the day.

Cheap Cheap Fun Fun

Just look how happy my little pals are. What made them smile?
I picked them up this evening and announced we were
going to have a pizza picnic at the park.
Quarter drinks (thanks Cards!) and a $5 hot 'n ready pizza
provided a perfect picnic, without any fuss or muss.

Try it sometime.
I promise it will bring a smile to your face.

Blessed

Last Sunday was a special day for our family.
We celebrated Glen's birthday
and Presley's baptism.
I turned Peyton loose in church with my camera.... an interesting perspective of things.
Godfather Joey, Presley, Jeff, Lindsay, and Godmother Katie.

I think she has that "control issue" gene in her.

She didn't like being on her back, and wanted to see

where that water was coming from.

Maybe if she pulled her mommy's dress down far enough

she could twist herself around.

Isn't she pretty in Chloe's baptismal gown?

Here's the whole clan who came to celebrate with us.

Gary, Lindsay, Presley, Jeff, Jade, Nicki, Rick, Sharon, Amy, Sara, Abby,

Gram, Joe, Grandma, Tim, Katie, Aaron, Linda, Steve, me, Glen, Grace, Cindy,

Peyton and Chloe.............whew!

Looking at this photo, I know how blessed we all are.

Of interest to me

While in the back alley of a downtown office building today, I spotted these two "otherwise occupied" structures.
The first one caught my eye because of the interesting textures.
The pigeons were icing on the cake.

The one below grabbed me with the contrast of the zig-zag fire escape against the white brick walls with the arched windows and straight vertical lines of the windows.

Just my inanimate posting for today.
Have a great weekend.

Hump day

Before the weekend arrives with a full schedule of events,
I wanted to catch up on the last couple of weeks.
My buddy, Peyton, broke his foot.
Did that heavy plaster cast and shoe boot slow him down?
Not for a second! He was a real trooper,
even showed me that he could still climb a tree.

I am happy to report that all bones are healed
and no more were broken in the process.

On to my niece.
This is Sara Liz, the one who made me an aunt
for the very first time. I have a special nickname for her
and a special place in my heart for her also.
She recently graduated from college,
going through school while her husband was in Iraq,
as she lived far away from any family at a base in Georgia.
She completed her first degree there,
came home, continued her education through her
pregnancy (young Tim had come back home),
had her baby (Sweet Baby Grace) over Thanksgiving break,
and graduated with a teaching degree
(while remaining on the Dean's List all four years).
Summa cum Laude.

I am very proud of her.Fate landed me a seat even with her row.

I made her pull out her "ropes" for this shot.

It's official.

See? She has the diploma in her hand.

She plans on teaching in the inner city.

It will be a lucky group of children who have her for a teacher.

Good Morning, Mary

I did this one for my friend, Mary L., who told me she checks my blog every morning.
How flattering. What pressure! I'll try to do a better job updating.
I hope you enjoy today's post.

Let's begin with the effervescent Emma.
She is so cute and full of energy.
It was fun watching her enjoy herself last Sunday at her Uma & Papa's.
I wonder if anyone had fun watching me enjoy myself.
Because I did. Enjoy myself. Thoroughly.
Oops! These popped up right in the middle.
They are posted for Dan.
He took us to look for the giant swan at the other lake,
and we found this little family.
Doesn't it look like a typical family?
The mamma is telling the daddy that
he better stop and ask for directions before
they end up swimming to the wrong end of the lake.
Anyway, that's what it looks like to me when I look at the photos here.



Ah, back to the party.
Wouldn't you just love to have this out your back door?
Happy Hanna is a real pro at casting.
She's got it down!
Isn't she a cutie? And you should have seen the killer boots she had on earlier!
She is a fashionista......my kind of girl!
She takes her fishing very seriously.
Here's one that makes me smile!
I wish that Molly and her little chick would have been out here,
but he was busy being baby-hogged by everyone and his mamma
kept watch over him.
So we have Gina, Mary, Bridget, Hanna, Maggie, Angie, and Chloe.
Peyton was back by me doing his magic tricks to get the girls to smile.
Our hostess and host.
My very dear friends.

Thank you for a wonderful time.(edited to a photo of our favorite place)

Love your warm hospitality, your family, and your beautiful home.
p.

Little Dude, Jude

Look what the stork delivered to Sarah and Blake.........

Adorable little baby Jude.

This precious boy has one full head of hair!

He's still pretty tiny right now, just one month old.

Even though he's brand new, he has still found his spot on the family tree.

Front and Center.

Just ask either of his grandmas.

Looks like King Daddy is smitten with the little royal.

and his mommy couldn't love him any more!

It was a pleasure to spend time with you, little Jude.

Both times :)

Cousins night out

Can you guess where we all met for our night out?Behind the elephant mask is the lovely Miss Chloe.
Give up?
We went to the ELEPHANT BAR!
Before you go calling me in for taking my 8 year old granddaughter to a BAR let me clarify that it is actually a restaurant with a bar. So everything was on the up and up.

Anyway, Bev had flown in to town from New Hampshire so we gathered to celebrate her belated birthday (January) and Deb's (March) and Kathleen's (April). They were all born the same year which (they think) makes them special (and the oldest) so we didn't feel bad about squeezing a free scoop of ice cream from the restaurant to keep them happy.

Crystal and Becky are such sweet girls. Aren't they pretty?

Here we are. Eight of us made it that evening (plus Chloe, the photographer for this one).

Deb and Jessica. Aren't they pretty?

And here is Kathleen. Chloe had to pose with all of the birthday girls. (Good way to get a taste of ice cream, huh?)

She then snuck over to get a taste of Bev's birthday treat.

And finally got around to Deb's.

What was this guy thinking when he shot this? This is why I hate handing a camera to someone who won't listen when I tell him what to do. Looks like he knew how to take a great blurry shot! Hopefully one of the others might turn out. Anyway, blurred or not, we had a wonderful time together and enjoyed each other's company.

We really should do this more often.

These girls aren't getting any younger!

Chloe and I had so much fun that night. Every one of them are all so very sweet, funny, nice, generous, pretty, and kind. We are very lucky to be a part of this acorn tree.

ps....Deb - Chloe would not let me go to bed tonight until I got this posted for you. :)

As promised......introducing baby Jack

Just look at the precious little bundle of blue that I got to meet today.

Baby Jack.

Eight days old.

See how content and peaceful he looks?

And why not? Not only was his proud mamma snuggling with him,

but his Uma had been there to babysit.

What a special treat. He even played fireman with her.

(sorry, Uma - couldn't resist that one).

See - he's still smiling about the little trick he pulled on Uma.

She doesn't care.

She loves her little Jack.

Molly thought it was pretty funny too.




She is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.


I don't say that about too many people either.


All of her sisters are that way too.







Because they were raised by Uma.



Lucky girls.


Lucky baby Jack.

It was my pleasure to meet you today.

Hannah and Emma - you sure have a cute little cousin!

Hannah, Presley, and Emma

Babies and more

Last week brought two new precious little babies into our world.
Baby Jack arrived on Tuesday (photos to follow later)
and this sweet little baby Jude arrived on Thursday.
Two new little boys to bring joy into the lives of many.
Congrats to Molly and Jon and to Sarah and Blake! In my own household, we got the old Roliflex out.
Here's the first shot which I call Dreamy.

Chloe wanted to try it out. How funny to look down into the viewfinder and see everything in reverse. She quickly got the hang of it.

Presley wanted a turn.

She caught on to everything but the film advance.

More lessons are needed.

Easter Blessings

We started this Easter Sunday going to Mass at Lindsay's church.


It's nice, sitting with family in church. Old friends, too.


I felt refreshed, at peace, and very happy sitting through the service this morning.


Maybe that is why Easter is in the Springtime. A time of freshness and newness.





Other than that, we threw tradition to the wind.


First there were the Easter outfits. When I bought the black & white tiny-checked matching clothes for my three little pals, my mother didn't think they looked like "Easter outfits".
See below as to what qualifies in my mother's mind. My sister and I with my dad.

Fast forward a couple of decades.........

No hats, no gloves, no necktie or jacket, ummmm, no shoes? And did we forget to brush someone's hair?

In all honesty, they were quite presentable in church. Shoes, socks, hair combed nicely, white sweaters, all the necessities for not looking like a hoozsh on this special day.

But after the great egg hunt, anything goes.

I just wanted to get some sweet pics of my pals. Who cares about the other stuff anyway?

The little one was having a great time rolling in the green grass, grabbing the colored plastic things.

After we finished up we all sat down for a feast of TJ's pizza, Olive Garden salad with breadsticks, orange soda and Sprinkles cupcakes with peeps on top for dessert.

How's that for a non-traditional Easter meal?

(In my defense, the whole family has been sick with sore throats, earaches, flu, etc....this whole past week. Grocery stores and menus were the last thing I wanted to think about.)

Hope everyone had a joyful and blessed Easter.
I certainly did.

Half birthday

Today is Chloe's 8 "and-a-half" birthday.

Happy is her middle name. This little girl is never crabby.

She has the sweetest voice that just melts your heart.

So do her big brown eyes.

I love her very much. Twirl On, happy girl!
Love & Hugs,
G-ma Pam

The Little Prince

Twenty five years ago today Little Prince Joseph was born.

The celebration was heard throughout the land. The birds were

singing, flowers came out of their hibernation to bloom,

and the emerald green once again covered the ground.

The two older Princesses doted on the baby prince,

giving him hugs all day long.

A few years passed and the little Prince had become

a curious little boy. He wondered what would happen

if he cut the hair off of a doll.

He wondered what would happen if he hammered

the King's socket set into the dirt.

He wondered what would happen if he rode his bike

while wearing roller skates.

He wondered what would happen if he .......

well, you get the picture.

All of that curiosity seems to have paid off.

He wondered what would happen if he went off to college

and studied hard. He found out that hard work paid off.

He wondered what would happen if he asked the

lovely Abby to marry him.

He found out that he made the right choice.

She made a delicious birthday dinner for all of his

local kingdom this evening. Mmmmm, good!

The King and Queen are very pleased with how

their Little Prince Joseph turned out.

He knows right from wrong,

is fair to others,

works hard,

and knows that love and family

are the real treasures of the kingdom.

See? He's letting the little subjects help him

blow out the candles on his celebration cake.
The little subjects adore him.
They were so excited to present him with
this gigantic bobber floating cooler
(for his Cheer Wine Soda, of course)
so he could stay in the pool all day
without getting thirsty.

The littlest subject was eager to taste the
traditional chocolate cake that Prince Joseph
is so fond of.


Hip hip hooray!
Long live Prince Joseph
and his special chocolate
celebration cake!


Happy Birthday, Joey!
We love you.

Tobacco road

My pal, JoLynn, made a u-turn while on the way to Nell Hill's
so that I could get this shot.
The old barn is a tobacco barn.
I thought it was beautiful with the
backdrop of the rich, blue sky.

Thanks, J, for letting me get this shot.

My little leprechauns

All ready for the St. Patrick's Day Parade........
until Grandpa made us too late.
The parade was closed so we ended up
going to the transportation museum instead.
The kids had a good time climbing on old trains
and learning a bit of history.

Chloe and Presley are BFFs.
Sometimes I think Presley would like a bit more
room to breathe.

Peyton was intrigued with the bullet-hole in the window
of this train car door. His imagination was
going all over the place with what could have happened.