Photo Shoot

I got a new camera recently. It's much like a golfer getting new golf clubs or a seamstress getting a new sewing machine... You aren't going to wait too long before using it for the first time. So, what do you do when your camera arrives around 5PM and the battery has to charge? You wait an hour, charge the battery then go to the backyard and take pictures of your dogs. Of course.
It's funny because just a few days ago we were saying we needed to take some pictures of the dogs. They are 12 and 13 (and the third is around there somewhere, if not much older) and we probably don't have any pictures of them from the past 5 years or more. Sad, but true.

 Logan is our Grumpy Old Man (on the left) and he became grumpy the minute we brought Macie home (on the right). We used to not be able to let small children get really close to him because he would growl (never bite, but scare us just enough). The kids can now cuddle him, nuzzle him, kiss his nose and even ride him and he couldn't be happier. At 13 years old, he literally gallops towards the kids when they go outside.

 My sweet, smiling puppies (Bluegrass on the top, Macie on the bottom)

This is what Kendall did while Cooper played with the dogs for the camera. She loves the dogs but wasn't too into the photo shoot part of it.

If I'm being completely honest here, we don't usually do this. I typically get our dogs groomed about 4 times a year. It requires loading all 3 in the back of my car and trying for 2 weeks afterwards to get rid of the smell. The kids asked if we could wash the dogs one day so that "they can be gray again." It didn't sound like fun to me, but I gave it a try... for the kids (and my wallet). It worked. It went surprisingly quick and the dogs didn't fight it too much. AND, everyone got cooled off.

Turning A Corner

Most of you know our traveling stories... Travel long distances, children get sick, adults get sicker, illness spreads like rapid wildfire. At least that's what typically happens until we head home, weak and exhausted.

This year, our annual Webb Family Vacay actually went off without a hitch. There was that pesky little Tropical Storm Debby that kept us off the beach for 2 days but it never rained and the pool was a lot of fun since the wind created a super-cool wave pool. There was also the evening when Cooper climbed into our bed before dinner and announced he was freezing cold and his stomach and his head and his throat hurt... which turned out to be a fever of 102 and a 7AM trip to the 24 hour clinic for antibiotics. However, the real victory came in one simple fact: There was no vomiting.

My vacations have now been able to be summarized by one question: Did anyone vomit? I'm not a fan of the the stomach bug. Just the term "stomach bug" makes me get out the Clorox Wipes, quite honestly. So, call me a bad mother, but I was actually happy that our illness de'jour this year was a 24 hour probable-Strep Throat diagnosis and it only effected one person (another miracle, but you probably already knew that, too).

The rest of the week was just perfect. Perfect weather. Perfect little sandbar that created the perfect little shallow river for children of all ages to play in safely all week. Everyone was perfectly happy and healthy (even Cooper would probably agree... he just played the Wii all day that he was sick so I never really heard him complain). The Webbs, I do officially declare, have turned a vacation corner!

 Stupid Debby.

Besides having pristine white sandy beaches and far less traffic than some of the other beaches, Orange Beach also allows us to be really close to our cousins!

Bring it on Vacation 2013... the Webbs are ready! 

Down Time

Aside from an occasional anniversary post, I don't post much about much except the kids. This past weekend, though, we got to indulge in a little "us time" and we couldn't have possibly had a better time. Last Christmas (yes, 7 months ago) our amazing staff had the foresight and just plain awesomeness to give us a gift card to the Whitestone Inn in Kingston. There isn't anything about this place that isn't perfect. It's a mere hour away, which when you don't leave your kids often (enough?) is pretty darn nice. The heat index HAD to be close to 110' or more but it didn't matter whatsoever.

We did SO much of nothing. SO much gloriously, mindless activity. It had so little to do with leaving our kids. Often, when adults go away, it's about needing "time" away from their daily lives, which so often includes the kids. I think we've had those times, but given that our kids are both, just about, in elementary school, the daily grind with them is more amusing and fun than stressful and exhausting. We learned towards the end of the first day that this was more about us than anything. As we sat on our backporch after dinner sipping lemonade talking about boats (as we stared at the lake) and college roommates and future houseplans and horses (as we stared at the ones infront of us) and our own back deck and computers and all sorts of other random things... we discovered that this time away just simply wasn't about needing a getaway from our busy lives. It was a perfectly-timed getaway to make us remember what it's like to take a few minutes to just sit on the backporch. Seriously. That's what I took from this.

I'm seriously considering moving our rocking chairs under the covered porch and sanding them to repaint them today. I already have the pretty red paint waiting. I just need to get it done so we can make some lemonade ASAP.

 The view from our canoe of Whitestone. We spent as much time in the Saturday morning heat as we could handle and paddled around Watts Bar Lake taking in the sites. It was by far one of the least competitive things we did all weekend.

 Quite a few hawks' nests on the lake. Mama did NOT like us paddling too close to this one.

 Our neighbors for the weekend.

 The view from our room. Lake, rolling fields, barns, and horses. Sign me up!

 Our dinner entertainment each night. The hummingbirds were amazing. I'm sure to some it wasn't that special, but I've never seen so many so close up for such a long period of time!

Before-dinner pictures... rare photos of just us!

We enjoyed competitive games of croquet (pretty sure Chip made the rules up, but that's fine. I love him anyway), shuffleboard (ask Chip who got his rear kicked in THAT game! We played that more than anything--someone was determined to win a game!!), and corn hole (I admit, I'm not the Corn Hole master, regrettably). We walked one trail and the trail won that "game" (my knee took quite a beating), and we napped and read and relaxed like I can't remember.

We owe a HUGE thanks to the girls at work. They're just AWESOME. Period. Also, our parents who I tried to arrange perfect 24 hour shifts with the kids. It gives me so much pleasure to go away for 2 straight days and never once worry about our kids. If I'm being painfully honest here, they literally FROWNED when we walked in on Sunday. I'm okay with it though... it means we ALL had a great weekend. 

Peace Offering

I was recently reminded, somewhat nicely, that I have been severly lacking in the blog department. I do miss it and I have, literally, no excuse whatsoever. How can there be an excuse for not doing something you enjoy so much? It's a combination of pictures and writing... two of my favorite things. If you figure that out, let me know. Meanwhile, I'm hoping those that care will accept this small peace offering of pictures from the past couple of months.  

 Easter. The kids painted their buckets and we began growing wildflowers. They LOVED watching them and watering them everyday. Until we went to the beach and forgot to have anyone water them. Oops.

 Easter family shot. A rare photo op for Mama Photographer. I swear there was a bow in that girl's hair, too, at some point. Maybe at church. Perhaps not. You never know.

 My sweet girl at the park... clearly before she lost those bottom 2 teeth!

 My boy... never to be left out.

 Family Day at Camp Wesley Woods after church in May. Canoeing is a big favorite for 3 of my family members. Me... no thanks. I don't like the idea of what lurks underneath the dark mountain pond water and I don't have complete confidence my husband wouldn't rock the boat just enough so that I could find out.

Mario birthday party for Coop. Along with candy (duh! job security!) we gave stick-on mustaches so the boys could look like Mario.

I'm saving the rest for later. We just got back from vacation, Kendall graduated from preschool, we had an interesting trip to New England and we've started and finished a great ball season... and thanks to Facebook, I may have already shared all my good picures. Hey... maybe that's my problem... two many double-postings of pictures. Maybe I need to learn to save the best for the blog!