Randomness

Somehow it's been over a month since I posted anything. We've been very busy lately, and I just haven't had time to sit down & write on my blog.

Last weekend we went to Charleston, SC to see my sister. It was the first time Jon has been since Jordan & Josh got married over 2 years ago, and when we went that time it was all work putting on the wedding, and we didn't get to do any sight seeing. My cousin Matthew goes to school at the Citadel there in Charleston, so we got to see him too. I thought this was a good picture of him by the Pineapple fountain. We decided to take a horse & carriage ride around downtown Charleston to really get to see the sights, and learn some of the local history. This is Matt, Josh, & Jon sitting on one of the rocking benches in front of Hyman's restaurant.I learned that one of the houses we'd gone by several times when we were downtown was where they shot part of the movie The Notebook. This is the house that they filmed as Allie's house in Charleston, it also belonged to the man that Margaret Mitchell based the character Rhett Butler on in her famous book Gone With the Wind. We also went to several of the places where they film Army Wives. For those of you who watch the show, the houses the characters live in are on an old shutdown naval base there in Charleston, and it is in the middle of a swamp! We got out & walked around Claudia Joy's house, and were almost carried away by mosquitoes, but you can't imagine how incredible all of the old oak trees around the place are in real life. It was late evening when we went by the Army Wives place, & my Mom's camera is a lot better in that sort of lighting, so I let her be the one to take pictures there.

Like many of you guys I've caught the Pinterest bug, and have been really inspired to try some of the crafts, recipes, and other tips. Our family has gotten quite large, but we still like to do some sort of gift exchange at Christmas, so this year we all decided that we'd buy for our immediate family, and everyone else would get something homemade as a family. I'm excited about this new idea, and think it may become a lasting tradition. I know I always appreciate homemade gifts, whether it be food, a blanket, a calendar, an ornament, or anything else I always think it's nice that the person took the time to make something instead of just picking up a tin of popcorn or something. My mom canned dill pickles, and spicy pickle relish this summer, so that will be her gift. I had thought about baking bread, but after a I discovered the wonder of Pinterest I fell in love with the idea of making homemade vanilla extract. Two weekends ago I had Jon help me cut vanilla beans, and pour the liquid into 15 bottles so it could begin its brewing process (it has to sit several months before it's ready to use). I opened my bottle last week just to check & see what kind of progress it's made already & it smells like heaven!

Sometime this month we plan on getting Wilson's room ready for him. I've got a couple of old Wilson tennis rackets up over the door to the room & to the closet. I've had these old rackets a long time, and I think it's pretty cool that they happen to have his name on them.I'm also very excited that I found my set of Pooh characters dressed up as The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts album cover. I found my Piglet & Tigger a couple of months ago over at Mom's house, and I knew if I kept searching I'd find Pooh & Eeyore, and finally today the search ended. I knew they were really rare, so I looked them up on eBay, and couldn't believe that one place was selling them for $60 each. I wouldn't sell mine because A. I love Pooh & The Beatles B. I've kept them over 15 years now C. They're perfect for Wilson's Pooh themed room, & D. Not everyone has a set of them.

Ok, that's all for now :)