Charleston! My favorite city!

This is the ending, but the beginning is yet to come and eventually this tale will be told...

"Little pink houses for you and me..." We were lucky enough to get a tour of the "The Pink House" which is the oldest house in Charleston. Very cool!! This house was built in the 1690's and in an area that wasn't destined to be a middle class home. It was a brothel and tavern until about the 1930's entertaining pirates and sailors. Today it is a gallery. We met the artist, Alice Stewart Grimsley, and even bought one of her Rainbow Row prints.

The Pink House's "new roof" it is made of thigh tiles (made on the plantations by molding the clay on the workers thigh to form the shape) and was put on the house in the 1800's...new by Charleston standards on a house over 300 years old.

The red staining his lips and surrounding area along with a smile added to the new eye roll he gives the camera make him look like the Joker from Batman.

Can you hear the sound effects of his Ben 10-esque powers?

WHAT?! WHY isn't the fountain on for us to play in?! They way the kids kept asking Steve and I and following up with "WHEN will it be back on?" You'd have thought we personally cut it off to ruin one of their most favorite stops in Charleston!

This picture would be titled "Waiting on the Girls". One last "pit stop" in the parking garage before the drive home.

This was getting a close-up of this new "look" Corey has begun giving the camera. Well, at least, it captured one of the eye rolls. And this was the end of a great two days in Charleston.

At least they are there...

Couldn't finish in one sitting the other day, so I'm shorting it to the point and summing it from where I left off... (**where I left off)

Well, we've decided where to go to Easter services...we'll be at NewSpring instead of Mass this year.

We are sort of torn between "Church homes" right now. Trying to "fit" everyone. So, we tend to do a little here and a little there. GA's at one church, Youth at another, one Sunday here and the next there, on-line w/one when we have Sunday soccer or I'm not feeling well, etc. I'm sure that this leads some faithful, regulars at the different churches to have assumptions and make judgments about us when weeks go by without see us at church. (I will say that there are many others that smile, wave, maybe hug some of us, and are just genuinely glad to see us that day...there only thought.) I just smile and enjoy the service. Attending churches as a child, I had a mixed up idea of what was important about going...many times the stress was on your dress, shoes, etc. because so many people where there to see and be seen (**)making notes of what everyone is wearing.

ANYWAY...there are people who don't attend church except for Easter and Christmas, BUT would attend more IF they felt more comfortable.

I'm bothered by the people who laugh in conversation about, have nicknames for, point out, etc. those people that only attend at Christmas and Easter. I wish everyone would be nice and genuinely be glad they are there. Make them feel welcomed and thank God they came...some don't even come at Easter and Christmas. Then, say a prayer that they come back before the next holiday...and maybe they will.

That's just my thoughts, though.

It looked like Spring!

It looked like Spring....It FELT like Spring...I'm glad for the rain, but I'm cold now! This Mississippi girl, transplanted South Carolina girl doesn't like the cold.

Here's a look at some pictures of my flowers...that thought it

was Spring too!

Well, I didn't plant the dandelion. It's just a gift from nature. I remember I thought it was fun to blow these when I was a kid and then, I enjoyed showing my kids how to blow them and them seeing it scatter in the wind when they were toddlers. It's definitely a sign of Spring and Summer coming that they are beginning to pop up in the yard for the kids to blow and scatter their seeds...and Steve will probably have to fight with them coming up in un-wanted parts of the landscape.

SURVIVORS!! I don't know how these little plan

ts have survived the past few years in the sad little planters on my front porch. But, they have and have bloomed again. I actually took this picture while I was playing with some new filters and wanted to get a picture of them, like everything else, covered in yellow

pollen...another sign of SPRING!

NOT a flower...but a sign of the warm weather

that was here a few days ago.

Corey's cute little skinny foot. I love those feet. I h

ad actually tried to take a picture of his feet and he ran off not letting me. Then, when I was taking a picture of some wild flowers in the yard, he stuck his foot in my picture. TYPICAL! The end result was I GOT A PICTURE OF HIS FOOT THAT DAY! Works for me!

Cute, but hard on barefeet...

I didn't plant these, but they come up along one side of the driveway each year.

At least once a week during the summer, someone will forget they are there and end up with stickers in their foot. OUCH! Oh, and that is Corey's foot about to invade my next picture...he stepped beside the patch of the "yellow prickly

flowers".

Carolina Jasmine...I did plant this.

It's in full bloom on the arbor over the gate into the backyard. I can see it when I look out my kitchen window above the sink. It's such a pretty flower and one of the first to bloom each Spring in my yard.

The Iris is beginning to bloom.

The ones in our yard are mostly white, but we hope to have few

new colors come up this year. We'll see.

The hyacinths are new this year. Hopefully, they will attract some butterflies when the summer weather gets here.

Seriously Whimsical...an explanation (of sorts)

Seriously Whimsical...Seriously...Whimsical...

This is definitely my favorite oxymoron. It's even fun to say!

In lots of ways, it sums up how I try to go about things. I'm not particularly funny, or carefree kinda girl. But, I'm working on loosing up, not worrying so much about EVERYthing and enjoying the moments with my wonderful family and busy, crazy life. I enjoy people and things around me that have a fun side.

I decided I don't want to laugh about life "one day"...you know the saying "one day, we'll look back and laugh"? When stuff like my son's gum getting all over the puppy (picture #2) and the son jumping in the tub w/the gum and peanut butter covered, soapy dog (picture #1) OR my kids just act like KIDS instead of little adults happen (picture #3...an attempt at a Christmas card picture) , I can either cry or take it in stride and laugh as soon as we can...and take pictures of it!

So, there is as much whimsy as I can find in life and then the other stuff...