1/ Nescautunga. One of my favorite weekends of the year spend in my hometown and centered around the Nescautunga Golf Tournament. Always in July, always golf, always relaxation, always family and always lots of food:) Here you have the boys practicing their swing the night before the start of the tournament. We mostly spend our time cooking, talking, napping, eating, laughing, drinking, swimming, shopping... add on anything you can think of that sounds wonderful and you've pretty much described it. The house is packed, it's always windy (that's Northwest Oklahoma for you), and we always have a good time!
2/ Green Thumb. My mother can seriously grow anything she wants to. Her flower beds and pots are always glorious! I know she spends lots of time caring for them, but I'm always amazed at what she can do in the windy, hot, and often dry conditions. I aspire to create the same sort of beauty in my own yard someday. What's more welcoming than beautiful flora?
3/ Happy Girl. Whether it's Taylor's family or mine, Avery is always so happy when all of her family is together. Her energy level and overall goofiness goes way up, and she plays and runs around so hard that she is exhausted halfway through the first day! Here she is watching Nana and Aunt Jo put her new slide together. I'd have to say she was pretty patient for a two-year-old, but she sure did watch them like a hawk until it was done.
4/ Carnage. If you've been reading this blog long at all you've read my references to our favorite hometown "Mexican food" restaurant. In true family form, Avery loves it just as much as my sister and I do! We ate lunch there on Saturday while the boys were still at the golf course and what you see here is the pile of napkins that Avery amassed while eating the "chips and cheese". It was a "runny cheese day" (which only hometown folk understand), and she finally resorted to sipping the cheese from the styrofoam cup they serve it in. Biggest mess I've ever seen anyone make. Ever. I was proud and a little disgusted at the same time. I snapped a pic of her making a mess of drinking the cheese, but trust me, you don't want to see it...
5/ Paradise. Baby Emilia woke me up at 4 am on Saturday morning. I was pretty peeved at first because as the morning drew on it was clear I wasn't going back to sleep. I tried, but after Taylor and the boys were up and gone for the golf course, I finally got up a little before 6 am. Everyone else was sleeping and I had the entire, silent house to myself. I begrudgingly realized that this was a good thing. You see, my mom had offered to let me sleep in, and I just couldn't get over the fact that I was missing out on the opportunity. So, I made myself a cup of coffee, slipped on my mom's sweater, grabbed my camera and a stack of magazines, and headed to the back patio. As I sat there listening to birds chatter and neighbors mowing in the distance, I felt the breeze and even shivered a little bit (big deal for mid-July in Oklahoma). I glanced through magazines about gardens and then prayed for my girls. The sun was still behind the tree-line when I sat down and about thirty minutes later the glorious morning was alive. I tell you it was beautiful. In that moment I was so thankful that Emilia's kicking made me get up and start my day. I was thankful because I got some peaceful alone time. I was thankful because it's probably the best way to enjoy coming home and spend time where I grew up. I was thankful because I got some clear, restful time in my own head and heart. I was thankful because I felt blessed and alive.
6/ Practice. While I was up so early, I took advantage of the good light and snapped a few pics around the back yard. Still learning my Canon Rebel Taylor's parents got me for Christmas. My mom has a little succulent garden started, and this one is my favorite. I get some true enjoyment from this camera!
7/ Girl Time. My Granny lives across the street, which is great because we get to visit every time we come see my parents. It rained all day on Sunday and we got a little stir-crazy by late afternoon. When you get stir- crazy in a small town on a Sunday, you really only have about three options: take a drive, get something to eat, or go to Wal-Mart. Since we had already accomplished number three about four times that day, we all hopped in the car and headed out for ice cream at the local drug store. Yes they have a good 'ole fashioned fountain, and yes I used to eat a lot of ice cream here in the summer. Pictured here we have four generations...special.
8/ Penelope. This is my sister's dog. There are a lot of wonderful dogs out there, but you've probably never met one as different/cool as Penny. Not only does she look entirely unique, her personality is something I've never really come across before. She is half Boston Terrier, half French Bulldog and was a total impulse purchase on my sister's part. Every time I've ever been in public with this gal, almost everyone we encounter has a ton of questions about her! Her many talents include jumping shoulder-height to my sister's fiancé, running as about as fast as any dog I've ever seen, playing fetch for as long as you possibly let her, destroying children's toys, and loving. She is also very fun to photograph. By the end of the weekend I had more pictures of her than Avery! Oops.
9/ Daddy's bike. This is Taylor on dad's bike. I had to include it because it was hilarious! My parents have a huge yard and he drove for a while around trying to pop wheelies. Avery loved it. I guess it entertained me, too! These are the types of things we do when we go home... jealous?
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