Moments to Remember

I'm getting to spend time alone with James this afternoon.  It's so nice and easy and reminds me of the days I had alone with Ella.  It's pretty quiet around here, and I took a nap.  I feel like a new woman.  I guess those things are worth remembering, too, but what I wanted to remember was James and I back in his room reading.  I was attempting to take advantage of the one-on-one time by reading a couple of books about colors and numbers.  The page for red had a picture of a firetruck on it, and the page for blue had a police car.  James kept pointing at the cars and was becoming increasingly frustrated.  I finally noticed that his little fingers were trying desperately to pick the cars up off the page.  He just couldn't understand why he couldn't pick up those cars and play with them.  Maybe I should just start using his trucks to teach him colors.

Fly Girl

Ella flying in an airplane at Six Flags

She waved at me of her own accord.

She's really great like that.

My Native Land

Last night I spent some time looking through a friend's pictures from their trip to the United Kingdom and Paris.  Have I mentioned I'm going there?  I'm going.  At every amazing glimpse of Scottish countryside, Parisian architecture, and famous London landmark, I became more and more excited, entering into a state of complete unbelief that I am REALLY going.  Really.  At least, the plane tickets have been purchased.  So, as far as I know, I'm going.


And although I know I will look every bit the tourist, gasping and exclaiming at every new wonder, taking thousands upon thousands of pictures, I'm not going to really FEEL like a tourist.    I'm going to feel like I've come home.  I have been to these places in my imagination and in my heart over and over again since the time I was a little girl.  


I explored manor houses and the moor and learned about a Yorkshire accent with Mary Lennox.  I walked the foggy streets of London with poor Sara Crewe.  I learned from Edmund Pevensie that Brits call a flashlight a "torch."


As a teenager I learned about good King Richard and Prince John in Ivanhoe, I was shocked to find that Sherlock Holmes used cocaine, and I stood beneath the Tower of London with Charles Darnay.  I learned what a dangerous thing it can be to stay at a manor house over the weekend, unless you're Hercule Poirot of course.  I solved mysteries with Miss Marple and reveled in the story of David Copperfield.  


In my first year of marriage I visited Derbyshire and the Peaks and learned all about entailment.  I finally understood that Colonel Brandon was a much more worthy hero than the scoundrel, Willoughby, and learned all about the coastal towns of Ramsgate, Brighton, and Lyme.  I rejoiced when Heathcliff was finally dead and couldn't torment people anymore.  I was infuriated by the unfair treatment of poor Jane Eyre and fell in love with her Mr. Rochester right along with her.  I walked the Dales with James Herriot and laughed over those Yorkshire farmers.  


In short, there's not many places in the United Kingdom that don't bring to my mind a cast of characters, stories, and emotions.  Those three paragraphs are but the tip of the iceberg, and they don't even touch the historical references.  Oh, England, how I love thee.  I can't believe my feel will finally stand on your soil.  


What are your favorite British characters and places???

A Mother/Daughter Adventure

Ella and I left home early Sunday evening and spent the night with Uncle Jesse and Aunt Sandy.  We were up early Monday morning for the first full day of our adventure.  We drove to Atlanta where we met up with my parents and Josh and Nicole, who had just completed the Peachtree Road Race.  After they got cleaned up, Ella, Mom, and I went to an afternoon movie.

We thoroughly enjoyed Cars 2.  It was fun listening to Ella's carefree laughter, and it was nice to be able to fully focus on just spending time with her with no other distractions.  After the movie we went back to the hotel for a little down time before leaving for a Braves game.  We hadn't driven a quarter mile down the road before the heavens opened up, and rain poured down.  We made a brief stop at a Kroger to pick up ponchos and an umbrella.  Thankfully, the rain slowed down and stopped and didn't start again until the 8th inning.

Ella had a really great time at the game.  It was so fun watching her cheer and clap and learn the tomahawk chop.  It brought back a lot of my own childhood memories.

After the game, there was a fantastic fireworks show, and then we walked back to the car in the pouring rain.  Uncle Judson got a good bicep workout by carrying Ella all the way.  Sweet Ella sacked out in the car at 10:30 p.m. on the way back to the hotel and barely woke up when I carried her inside and put her to bed.  

Tuesday morning all the siblings headed to Six Flags.  It was my first trip there in several years.  Ella and I split up from the others to ride the "kid" rides.  We had such a good time.  Now that I'm a parent, I really appreciate the things amusement parks do to make time there fun and relaxing for younger children.  Bugs Bunny World was a big hit in Ella's book.  She had a blast, and Jesse made sure I got in a couple of thrills before we left.  Sandy sat with Ella while he and I rode Batman and Goliath. 

Swinging

Truck-driving

After Bugs Bunny World we did a few rides for slightly bigger kids and then headed to Skull Island, which was FANTASTIC.  On those terribly hot summer days amusement parks can be so draining on kids, and this was such a fun place to cool off and run around.  To my surprise, it wasn't just for little kids, but there were big water slides for teenagers and parents to enjoy, too.

This is right before she screamed out, 

"Best!  Day!  Ever!!!"  :)

She said it just like that, too.

It's nice to have a friend bigger than you are

at the end of a long day.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Ella and I arrived home last night after a super-busy 53 hours away from home.  We had a lot of fun with my family, and I will post about all we did later.  As for now, I've spent the morning trying to figure out the best way to arrange pictures of a baseball pitch.  I couldn't really find an arrangement I liked so I decided I would just post the pictures alone.  It's easier to see the progression this way.  I quite enjoyed having my camera at a baseball game.  

Don't miss the ball flying out of the frame!

(How does someone learn to throw a ball 95 mph?)

Through Ella's Eyes

Ella and I are on an adventure together.  We're spending the night at my brother and sister-in-law's apartment tonight and heading to Atlanta tomorrow with my family.  Braves game, fireworks show, and Six Flags are in store.  Ella is pumped up, and I'm really excited, too.  It's so fun to spend time alone with her.  I love the way she sees life.  To set up tonight's story, I must share something from several months back:


While leaving a hospital in Birmingham at night, Ella looked out from the parking deck at the lit-up city and said, "It looks just like Paris!"  Bless her.  Downtown Birmingham.  Paris.  


Lately she's been spending a lot of time in the world of the Lord of the Rings with her daddy.  As  she looked out the car window tonight at the pine trees rising on either side of the road she said, "This is so beautiful.  It looks just like Rivendell."  I laughed.  Then she laughed and said, "That was just a joke.  It really looks like Bree."  I love her.

An Announcement