Goetta beats Jimmy Dean's Anyday!

For those of you who are from Cincinnati, married to someone from there, or related to someone from there, the following pictures will make perfect sense.  And they will make you yearn for a pair of fried eggs, salt and butter to put on the rye bread so you can make a goetta sandwich.  For those of you unfortunate enough to be from other, less civilized parts of the US and the world, let me try to explain.

Goetta (pronounced "getta", as in "getta job" and "getta life already!") is one of those rare, epicurean delights limited to a very small area of the world.  Originally a German dish, goetta serves as a sausage, cereal, hash, and sandwich.  It is so good babies love it.  And they grow up loving it.  And then they make it for their families.  We are single-handedly creating a new generation of goetta lovers.  Alex is so in love with goetta he wants to go to the Goetta Fest (yes, a festival solely for the appreciation of goetta) next August in Cincinnati.

Vacation

Here he is....the weary traveler, all tuckered out from a long drive from Tampa to Knoxville.  Along with two of our three furry children.  Question of the evening:  where do I sleep?

Take me out to the Ball Game!

Today I had a GREAT time!  Alex and I went to a local minor league game featuring the Tides (baby Orioles) and Scranton (baby Yankees).  All the sounds and the smells and the sights of the good ol' American pastime right there--hot dogs, peanuts, cold beer.  Cotton candy on a stick.  Kids running the bases after the game.  Good natured people--not too loud, not too boring.  Best of all, we spent it in the company of our beautiful daughter, Becky, and son-in-law Ben, and three of their friends.  Here are some photos of the great time we had--you can almost smell the popcorn!

Soggy bottom girls

This past weekend Alex and I enjoyed three bittersweet days with Mandy, Brian, and the girls--Lydia and Molly.  Little Molly has changed so much since we last saw her in January (during our Disney romp), so of course I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her.  Unfortunately for little Molly, every time I was holding her, it seemed she ended up naked and wet and cold and crying.  First, when we went out to dinner, Molly had the ultimate diaper blow out (stupid disposable diapers), and I volunteered to change her.  This required a total strip down and a bath (or some semblance thereof) in the Loganville, GA,  Ruby Tuesday bathroom.  Result:  Clean but screaming Molly.  Second, that same evening she of course needed a bath (to remove the remainder of the diaper disaster), but of course she was hungry and tired and having none of it).  Result:  Clean, wet, and again, screaming Molly.  Finally, the next evening we were having dinner, I'm getting ready to give Molly a sip of ice water and she hears Lydia running around.  She gets all excited and, yup...wet and cold Molly.  Thankfully, not screaming.  Gosh I sure hope she doesn't remember just the cold and wet parts of the past weekend!

Once upon a time...

There was a beautiful princess, Lydia, who lived in the kingdom of Georgia.  One day, Princess Lydia visited the far away land of Disney World, where she visited all the royal princesses there.  She laughed, talked, shared dress secrets, and told jokes.  And she kissed and hugged every single one...except for Pocohontas, who was in Animal Kingdom and unavailable at the time, and Merida, who Princess Lydia really does not care about anyway.  Prince Daddy and Prince Pop Pop accompanied her royal highness Lydia, as did Princess Molly, Princess Mommy, and the Queen Nana. And of course she met Tinkerbell...and the original princess, Snow White--but Nana did not get pictures of Snow White.  Snow White did, however, kiss Lydia's cheek and take her on quite a stroll hunting for the dwarfs.



See, here's you,. Rapunzel

Oh my, look at the little princess with the pink hat!

Mommy, my fairy godmother says I can have dessert first.



Hi Jasmine...I have a sticker for you!



Oh my, you really ARE here!  You are so beauuuuuuuuuuuutiful, Cinderella.

Snow white kissed my left cheek...can you kiss my right cheek, Miss Alice? (even tho you aren't a real princess)



Wiggle your ears and puff out your cheeks, like this...



Oh Belle, you are so beautiful...

Cheese!

here are my flowers, for you...

Have no idea what she said, but she is cracking Ariel up.

Princess to princess...what is your biggest problem?

Here is a flower lei for you





Okay, now that the silly Prince is gone, let's talk girl stuff

Of course I will sign your card and your book

I cannot believe you are really here...I dream about you Cinderella

I love you Rapunzel

 Prince Daddy has the pictures of Princess Snow White....for now, these will have to do.  More to follow.....

Water baby

Does this child like water or what?

May 2011, Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Also May 2011

Lowry Park Zoo, 4 July 2011

July 4, 2011, Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa

Florida 2012

October 2012, FLAquarium

Fun time with Nana and Brandy*

*no rules, no worries!

This past weekend my friend Brandy and I took Lydia to the log home in Brevard, NC, while Lydia's parents were in Mississippi raising support for their mission trip. Despite concerns of many, we managed to take care of a two-year old without causing any physical injury, psychological trauma or scarring, or emotional anguish. I would say we even managed to have some fun along the way...although we did not pay much attention to schedules, predefined nap times, clothing choices, or how many peeps to allow for every time she peed in the potty. We introduced her to the magic of the iPAD, showed her how to drink the juice at the bottom of a freezer pop bag, let her have a huge strawberry milkshake before she ate her hot dog, and we even cleaned her toys up for her.

We did, however, increase her vocabulary (I want an iPAD), improve her manual dexterity, and enhance her hand-eye coordination (with educational apps, I might add--all free). And yes, makeup application skills are considered educational.

We had good clean fun AND helped the local economy by purchasing a thrift store sprinkler--we probably even saved a puppy or two from being euthanized, since we bought this (and a new stroller and pants and a picture) at the Humane Society Thrift Store.

We pampered ourselves and made new friends

We tried new beverages (latte with white chocolate macadamian nut creamer)

We got lots and lots of rest--ahhhh....sleeping with Nana....

But most important of all, we smiled and laughed--something Nana and Brandy have not done a lot of lately (especially Nana). And we looked adorable!