The 4th of July

As is my habit, I took the girlies to see the Fireworks display that Cartersville puts on every year. Usually, we park waaaaaaaaaay far away in a church parking lot where you can juuuuuuuuust see the fireworks over the trees in the distance. Then, when the show is over, there is a lot less traffic to fight. This year, however, I decided to go right into the Belly of the Beast - and we parked right across the street from Dellinger Park, where they set off the display. With just a few thousand of our closest friends. Thank you Jesus for my wonderful Jeep, which has been nothing but a blessing since day 1. It took a little bit of 4-low to get into (and out of) that spot in the pasture. :) I opened up the back of the Jeep and the girls and I sat in the back, blowing bubbles and waiting for the show to start.

This is the ever-darkening skyline beforehand:

And as if you've never seen fireworks before, I will now post gratuitous, poor-quality shots of every single blast that we saw, because hey, I'm cool like that. I was fiddling with my camera the WHOLE time and trying to get the setting that produced the best shots. Finally I just put it away and enjoyed the show though.
ooooooooooohhhhh......
aaaaaaaaahhhhhh...


I love these sparkly ones that trail down like a willow tree.

Big Finale!

And thank God for the Jeep again, because the *instant* the show was over it was GRIDLOCK in a pasture. The Jeep is consistent, steady, and never gives me a moment of fright. Other drivers, on the other hand....but we made it out. The girls had a great time. And I'm asking myself right now why I didn't take any pics of THEM? Duh. I won't make that mistake again, they are, after all, the stars of the show. :) Love you guys, hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!

A day at the lake

Jesse is forever taking the girls out on the boat, but it is unusual that I get to join them. Well, these are a couple of weeks old but it was a slow week in the store, so I got to go out on the lake with them and it was great - I even pouted until Jesse said it was okay to bring Blackbeard (as Jesse calls him when he's on the boat. I bet that dog has no idea his name is Ben.)

Baby Bug still has the same sweet little chubby cheeks that she had when she was a baby. This picture reminds me of her when she was about 2.


She's going to hate me for this one. Especially when I sneak it into the slideshow at her wedding.

It was a *gorgeous* sunset!

For some reason the girls were extra silly and sticking their tongues out in every shot.

Dad, watching the rods for a bite!





Sun-kissed sweetie.
Baby in the wind....

....and Ben in the wind.

What a great day. On the way home, my Jeep turned over to a hundred thousand miles. We bought the Cherokee brand new just a few weeks after 9/11, when interest rates took a giant tumble. It is paid for and has been the most wonderful vehicle I have ever owned. Lord willing, I always want to drive a Jeep. It was a sappy moment for me - I really love it.

Baby's First Graduation

Okay, there is an angry mob coming down the driveway with torches and a lynch rope.

[Locks door. Draws blinds.]

Ahem. So I was thinking, maybe I should post the pics of Baby's Graduation from Kindergarten?!

They are in order as the day progressed. :) First, we have getting ready in the classroom, putting on caps and gowns and hamming around with buddies.

This is Baby's teacher, Mrs. Lena. She was positive, gracious, encouraging, loving, and wonderful. Baby was very lucky to have her as her first teacher.

Lined up and ready to walk down to the auditorium.

And here they all are. Only the Kindergarten class wore caps and gowns, because the Preschool only goes up thru K. Baby will be going to a different school next year.

The kids were ALL fascinated by their tassels and played with them non-stop.

They did lots of little songs for us, and wore all sorts of cute little get-ups.

First, they hummed us a song on their kazoos.


We were sitting diagonally across the (very large) room from Baby, and of course, there was a mic stand directly in the path of my camera. Sigh. So I did lots of leaning over the person next to me to get good shots of Baby. This is the first moment she found us in the crowd.

Next they sang "The 12 days of school", and baby was the fourth day. "On the fourth day of school, my teacher gave to me, ...."

Between songs, it was back to the tassels.

Getting her diploma! So sweet.

And another song. Why we didn't video tape this is beyond me.

After the ceremony, lots of celebration!






Jesse takes the best pictures ever.



Baby and her best buddy, Kaytlyn.

Mmmm, cake!!

Jesse had a tradition each morning on the way in to school, that he would carry Baby on his shoulders so she could touch the leaves of the big oak tree beside the Kindergarten bldg. So, one last time, she rode out on his shoulders, this time as a Grad!

I can't believe she is 6. One third of our time with her at home is past. Before we know it, she will be graduating from High School. We could not possibly be more proud of her. She is just such a pleasant, fun, intelligent, all-around awesome little girl. :)

And now that Summer is officially here, we have been hitting the Lake!! We want to get as much fun stuff in while school is out as we possibly can.

[Brick crashes through window.]

Okay people!! Call off your henchmen!! I promise never to withhold pictures again!!

Record Trout

Jesse caught a Lake Record fish! It's a Rainbow Trout, and it's the biggest ever caught in Carters Lake. They are going to post pictures and a citation of some sort in the GON (GA Outdoor News.) I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with several more lake records over the years to come. I'll post a link to the GON when the article comes out. :)