High Falls State Park

We took a little trip over to High Falls State Park (Georgia) over the weekend.  We had gorgeous weather!  I took 188 photos and somehow narrowed it down to just under 30.

In case you wonder about his absence from these photos, Robert (16) was hired out for the day so he wasn't with us.

Grace and me...This was a recreation of the (failed) photos we had done a few years ago, which you can see by clicking over here.  This time, however, Grace is actually looking at the camera.

High Falls was where Jason asked me to marry him.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones who chose that exact spot...

I got a few stares from another group on the trail with this shot...and it was worth it.

Grace the fearless hiker.  She told me Indians had left the red marks on the trees; she was at the next marked tree further down the trail.  (It was immediately after this shot that she asked me to call her by her Indian name, Indiana.)

The kids found shells in at least one area at the base of the falls.

Grace balanced...

and jumped...

 and, fortunately, didn't need a trip to the ER despite her repeated attempts to get there from here.

Jason spotted a lizard...camouflaged perfectly with the rocks.

and we spotted what appeared to be a blind boy walking across the rocks.  (That would be our Josiah with his spy glasses on and with his walking stick.)

Jason, Josiah (11), and Grace (7).  Josiah complained to Grace immediately after I took this picture, "Dad was pinching me the whole time, trying to make me mess up the picture!"

Grace's response?  "That's why I didn't stand next to him!"

Moss and ferns growing on an overhead branch...

I just like red leaves.

A sunburst through leaves.

Now we're on the other side of the falls, where the trail starts off wide and flat.

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom, In the Moment with Sarah Halstead, and Teresa at NanaHood for Wordless Wednesday.

Click here to see more (close up) photos from this trip to High Falls!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This Sunday's scavenger hunt had a fall theme...

And I realized just how much I stay at home during the daytime.  I had been complaining remarking to many people online about how everything was so green around here...and it is...or was...very green in my part of the neighborhood.  Outside our neighborhood?  Well, that's another story! 

Orange

There are trees dressed in gorgeous leaves, like these orange ones.

Dress Up

The kids (and a friend) dressed up to go to a local fall festival.  My kids are the ones in black:  a spy (Josiah, age 11) and a ninja (Grace, age 7).

 Candy

 What does a ninja do with her candy?  Sort it by type, of course.

 ...Unless she is feeling less ninja-like and puts it in a silver goblet.

Pumpkin

Grace's silly pumpkin face that she and Josiah made:

Spooky

Spooky is often a matter of perception and conditions.  For instance, this photo looks rather spooky...

 but the original photo does not.

And some people think cemeteries are spooky...

but Grace does not.  In fact, when I stopped by a local cemetery where I've taken pictures before, she asked if she could get out because she saw a vase that had toppled over.  She enjoys righting vases as well as placing loose flowers back where they belong.

Here's another cemetery shot on that same afternoon, looking up a hill in another part of the cemetery so that the lighting is changed.  Spooky or not?

Grace spied more toppled vases, so we both got out of the van to walk among the grave sites.  I found these four homemade grave markers--all for infants--that have piqued my interest.  (These are part of the family plot you can see on the lower right side of my previous photo.)
 

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in on the fun!  

Throwback Thursday: Tee Ball

Awwww...such sweetness!  Here is Robert's 2003 tee ball team lined up at the fence waiting for a turn at the tee.  That's Robert (at age 6) wearing number 13.  

Wordless Wednesday: Watson Mill Bridge

This is the wooden bridge at Watson Mill State Park in Georgia.  At 229 feet, it is the longest covered bridge in the state.  I remember walking across the bridge as a child...slightly terrified that a car would come along and run over me.  (Yes, I was just a tad dramatic.)

This post is linked to 5 Minutes for Mom and Sarah Halstead at The Naptime Momtog for Wordless Wednesday.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

 It's time for Scavenger Hunt Sunday again!  Here are my interpretations...

Change

Leaves have been slow to change color around here, and the (two...yes, two) trees in our yard seem to be the last to change in our neighborhood no matter what the season--the last to be dressed for fall, the last to shed leaves for winter, the last to bloom in the spring.  True to form, the leaves in our yard are still green...so this next photo is a leaf from our neighbor's yard.

I didn't notice the spider's web until I pulled the photo up on my computer...do you see it, faintly, in the upper left quadrant?

Your mood today

Robert (16) has been driving to and from his weekly guitar lesson, but Jason has always been the one to go with him...until last week, when Jason attended a conference.  It's about a 30-minute drive, and this was the first time Robert had driven with me for more than 15 minutes at a time (he has his learner's permit).  It was also the first time he drove with Josiah (11) and Grace (7) in the car...He did well, but  my mood was, admittedly, at least a little apprehensive.  This was my view during the drive, dashboard reflection and all:

And, on the way, Robert pretended in a pretty convincing way that he had made a wrong turn, since he knew the way and I didn't...so I took a picture of the trickster.  (Yes, he has his father's sense of humor.)

Dark

I went with friends from church to the Women of Faith conference.  It was, of course, dark during the CeCe Winans concert Friday night.

Welcome

This was the sweet and silly little face that welcomed me home after we came back from the conference:

Depth of Field

I couldn't decide which one to pick, so I'm including a few for this prompt.  These are the last of my zinnia blooms for the year...

There are lots of little white flowers in the back half of my neighbor's backyard...growing among the ragweed and golden rod

...and here's a bee I stalked at an unsafe distance until I got a good shot of him.

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in on the fun!  

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's time for Scavenger Hunt Sunday, which has become a sort of "our week in photos" for me.

Watching and Leafy

These first two shots were taken a couple of weeks ago, when Jason found a leaf insect.  I don't freak out about bugs, but I still think it's a little freaky when you can see them watching you (praying mantises in particular).   I didn't know this leafy guy was watching me until I edited the photos.

I also didn't know he was grazing on our towel...

If looking at bugs is too creepy for you, here's another leafy shot.  This tree grows in a nearby store parking lot, and the leaves look like brightly colored feathers once they start changing color in the fall.  (As you can see, things are still very green around here in this part of Georgia.)

Still

We still have some cosmos growing in our yard.  I believe this is the latest we've ever had them.  Grace picked some to put in my little vase at the kitchen window.

A Good Day

Friday was a good day for the kids to play with friends at the park...

Grace (7), ever stylish in her dress, capris, and boots...with a cheerleader bear tagging along on for a ride down the slide.

and a good day to go with my husband to have supper with some friends in a nearby downtown area.

First World Problem

Oh, first world problems.  We love to complain, don't we?  Whether it's about missing the otherwise lovely shot because of aircraft trails marring the blue sky (like in the photo above), or about dealing with traffic, 

or about clutter,

or about being cold (you know, while in a climate-controlled building and while wearing weather-appropriate clothing).

Grace huddled in a chair for warmth  ;)

And all of our complaining about first world problems is going on while most of the world lives very differently...like these girls...

This is the time of year when we can give a simple gift...the gift of a shoebox full of goodies...that can go halfway around the world to brighten a child's life and let him know that someone loves him, and that God loves him.

Click over to the Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child website to learn more.  You can donate online whether or not you put together a shoebox, and you can even print a tag to put on your shoebox that will let you follow where your shoebox goes.  The deadline for the national collection week is November 18-25, and you can find some drop-off locations on the website.

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in on the fun!  

Works For Me Wednesday: Making Spice Mixes For Recipes Ahead of Time

For at least a year or two, I have measured out the spices I used in a specific chili recipe in two batches at a time...

once for the recipe I was preparing that evening, and once for a time in the future.  I labeled the second batch of spices with the name of the recipe (because I always think I will remember but...you know what happens) written on an empty spice container that I used for storing the mix over and over again.

Recently, in an effort to simplify things, as well as the realization that chili was off the menu on plenty of evenings if I didn't have the spices already measured out, I decided to mass produce the spice mix for my chili recipe.  

I used plastic food containers that I already had on hand.  I store these in a larger plastic food container that is now labeled "SPICE MIXES" so that the spice smells don't take over my pantry.  I plan on measuring out spices for another recipe, too, so I already labeled the bottoms of these little containers with a "C" for chili (along with a note stating which specific recipe these spices go with because...you know).

The process of measuring the spices into a series of containers all at once took a couple of minutes longer than measuring them for one use.  Chili will be back on the menu more often this winter, and I will expand this idea to other recipes for more time-savings...

And that works for me!  Click over to We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas.

If you are interested, here's the link to the chili recipe I use:  Laura's Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili.  I mostly follow the directions but have tweaked it to fit my family.  I am allergic to the beans listed in the recipe (I can eat great white northern beans and that's about it, and I only add one can instead of two), so that's one change I made.  I have never, ever made this recipe with tomato soup but always use some form of diced tomatoes, and I have not added red pepper flakes because I want my kids to eat the meal.  :)  Be sure to read the comments on the recipe to see what others have changed--you'll likely find what will work for your family in particular, too.  Even though the recipe is for a slow cooker, I usually prepare this on the stove top.