Safe & Sound

Well, the weekend came and went and we all went unscathed. After a great weekend at retreat de Kitzmiller (Jeff's parents house- where we could have stayed all week long) we headed home on Monday. We were so lucky! A little dampness in the basement and some limbs down in the yard, but really, that's it! Had such a wonderful time with Jeff's parents, as always. They take such good care of us! (Thank you, LaRae & Woody! We love you!) Our hearts do go out, however, to the families living near water that lost a lot of stuff. It wasn't nearly as bad as they expected it to be in our area, but still it was messy and flooded by the water and people in NJ REALLY got hit hard. Power was out for days. Ours was out Sat-Tues but since we were out of town we only had to deal with it one day.

Ruby was great that night. My mom had given us some glow wands (which she LOVED). We got her flashlight out and lots of candles and had it all standing by. We grilled and ate outside and when it finally got dark we lit up the table like 4th of July and played board games. Later, we read books by candle light and tucked her. We all slept in her room so she'd feel safe if she woke up...but she never did. You know, it was actually a nice night. I think I like it better, in fact, with no TV/computers/media to distract us. Just 3 people enjoying each others company...old fashioned style. Ok, for one night, anyway! We might have had withdrawal if it went a few more days. :-)

We really have to giggle at our paranoia last Friday. The news (as always) made a big spectacle out of it and before you know it, we joined in on all the hype, expecting a category 2 hurricane to plow through.

We cleared the patio and put the chairs up.

I took pics of the landscaping as a "before". LOL, it still looks pretty much the same. My beautiful moon flower vien from my mother in law is still hanging and going strong!

We cleared the porch, too. I have to say it was kinda nice to come and see a clean slate. Motivating Jeff & I do a deep house and yard clean and some redecorating.

The silliest thing we did was to cover all the "nice" furniture in the middle of the living room...

...and tape the windows. Yes, we were over the top. But hey, thank God, we can sit here and laugh at ourselves, though, instead of coming home to a mess! :-)

The best thing about all of it is my fridge. I emptied it last week and brought what we needed to Hbg with us. I gave it a much needed deep cleaning when we got home and now my fridge looks brand new! That alone was worth all the paranoia!

I leave you with a few shots from the weekend...

Snuggling with Pappy

Working on a craft we brought along - her new rock box...for her "collection". Didn't even know she knew that word. At the park the week b4 she informed me she was a rock collector and the rock in her hand was for her COLLECTION. Well, ok then! Time to make a box to house them! She was thrilled.

All giddy with her work and her rocks.

Pretending to eat them. Nice. (Luckily, none actually got close to her lips).

Reading with Grammy.

Have a happy and safe week!

Getting Out of Dodge!

With a big storm - (a HURRICANE) a-brewing, we are packing fast and furious and getting out of town. Tonight while rips through our town, knocking down trees, and flooding our basement with water, we will be casually sipping wine and watching the news from the comfort of my in-laws couch. Monday we will come home and assess the damage, if any. We know the basement will be wet so we got everything up and out of the way. We are taking our animals and our most important docs and photos with us. What else can you do? Just pray for the safety of our friends and neighbors and let the rest up to the universe.

Good luck everyone! Drive/be safe!

Well It Took Me Long Enough

I was all giddy to get this year's birthday party pics and start a book. Then it hit me that I still hadn't done LAST year's birthday book! Not to mention our Thailand trip, first year home, photo shoot on the beach, this year's party, etc. I am so backed up and ashamed it has taken me so long to get it all together. Time to get it done!

So I spent hours on it today - much to the dismay of my bored kid and in between playing with moon sand, working on numbers, doing laundry, and cleaning up my kitchen that looked like a bomb went off in it. Anyway, I re-worked what I had already started a year ago and it's finally done! You can click on the link below to see the preview on Blurb.

BLURB.COM

Next up is The Fairy Party book! Will post here when it's done!

The Professional Birthday Party Photos!!!

So so so SO HAPPY! My talented friend, Sarah Zimmerman shot these beautiful pics for me during one of her busiest times.  This spring Sarah graduated from Hallmark, was in the middle of doing her final work, set up a new website and business, and moved. A lot on her plate! Still, she found time to come out and photograph Ruby's birthday party. We are so grateful! They were really worth the wait!

My sweet girl. I love this picture!

Pretty pink things: home made cupcakes & pink marshmallows, pretty teacups, and mini roses. Love the little bunny she noticed sitting on the table. What a cute shot!

I'm so excited that Sarah captured all my hard work.  Had so much fun planning this party!

More details. Forgive some of the duplicate shots. I couldn't decide which party detail collages I liked the best! Which ones do you like?

Table setting and sweet stuff.

Special party moments

Sweet, sweet faces.

Me and my girl

A few of my creations: fondant bow cupcake and tulle pom poms. (These 3 are photos I took).

Ruby and her friends

Girlie fun

Grandma

Pinata time

Sweet eating

And my favorite...the magical birthday wish. I was so busy that I didn't get any cake shots. It just made my day to see these! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you so much, Sarah, for capturing Ruby's special day so beautifully.

Friends and family: click on the the link above (Sarah's name) to see more of Sarah's work. Also, if anyone wants to see more pics of their child from this day, email me. She took a TON of gorgeous shots and set up a password protected site for viewing. My email is macmiller@verizon.net.

A Royal Find!

On Friday we went to Central Park & Castle in Doylestown, PA. In a word: AMAZING! I got Rubes out of the car and wheeled her down the pretty path till it was in view. Finally, we got our first glimpse. "WHOA" was all she could say. We met our friends there - Dawn, her mom, Brianna, Drew, and his buddy. All had such a nice time.

Ruby and her BFF Brie running with excitement!

So many cute things here...like this amphitheater area

And this cute town. Was trying to get a pic and only got her hand. She was running through the sand with all this glee checking out one place to the next.

Finally got a shot when she served me "pretzels" at A Taste of Philly. Evidently, all the "vendors" in this town are real businesses throughout Doylestown and Philadelphia. So cool.

One cute lil heiney climbing through a mini covered bridge replica. You see many of those see here in Bucks County. (The bridges, not the heineys!)

Ruby in true form. She's back in the amphitheater singing the theme song from Jake and The Netherland Pirates. Love it.

Cute magical forest with slides and stuff to climb.

Inside the maze of the big castle. After going through on my knees the first time, I realized that A - she could do it safely herself (and faster) and B - It was not made for adults. LOL. She went in by herself and with friends the rest of the time.

Brie and Rubes running happily through the castle.

Huge spiral slide that goes from the top of the castle...

...to the bottom - outside the entrance of the castle. Ruby was crazy for this! Lost count of how many times she went down.

A separate pirate ship between the big castle and the swings.

Some sweet kids saw Ruby waiting for the tire swing and invited her to join them.

Lil miss LOVES tire swings. After all the go around and around. And lil miss likes to spin around and around. Thinking of hanging one of these in the yard somewhere.

In between playing and climbing on everything, Ruby and Brie entertained themselves (and us) by just climbing up and running or rolling down this gorgeous green hill. We had a blanket set up under a big tree and had a picnic. The kids wandered to and fro. It was such a nice afternoon spent with good friends on a gorgeous, gorgeous breezy day. Life is good!

A Week Of Fun Activities

Well, the weather's cooled down a bit the last few days, taking us outdoors once again. What a fun time! I should say, though, that even when it rains or it's entirely too sticky to go out, we try to find something fun/interesting to do. Wednesday, was just that kind of day...

Pic is a little blurry, but the lil miss has now embraced bowling. My friend Dawn suggested going and it was a hit. We stayed in AC all day while the kids had a ball. Literally. And hot pink ones at that!

Rubes is the queen of silly faces these days.

By Thursday, the weather was GORGEOUS. Perfect day for a zoo trip. We went to a nice little one in Conshohocken called Elmwood Park Zoo. Our first MUST DO was the pony rides. This kid LOVES her horses!

She also loves an opportunity to stick her head in these things...or to get her picture taken anywhere for that matter. It was such a picture perfect day just walking around with my little love. It's a nice, easy to walk zoo with lots of shaded areas and a large playground. Lots of fun. The only downside to a small zoo like that is the animals don't have a lot of area to run. Ruby was particularly concerned about the Jaguar and where he lived. She said he was sad cause he wanted to go home. "He misses his family" she said. That made me a bit sad, too. I love her sweet, caring nature and how she loves animals. I also think maybe we should support the larger zoos that have mates and full habitats for the animals next time.

Back at home being silly with the camera. Face painting was another MUST at the zoo.

And, of course, no day is complete without a little fairy dress up!

I think I am gonna have to end here as there are SO many pics that were taken the next day. Stay tuned!