Hayrides, Animals and The Pumpkin Patch

It feels like we've been ALL OVER the globe in the past few days, but we've really just been around here...having fun!  Last week we went up to the Lazy 5 Ranch (below) with our homeschool group.  Gianna has really been enjoying the learning part of the class & the fellowship.  And one of the fun things that we got to do was take this trip up to Lazy 5.  It was AWESOME!!!   I have to say that I have never, ever, in my life seen such beautiful animal sites.  I mean there was a larger than life turkey walking around.  And the peacocks had flown up into the tops of the trees.  (I didn't know that peacocks could fly?!)  Afterward, we enjoyed a picnic lunch with the group before heading back. 

And then today, we headed over to the Aw Shucks Farm in Monroe with our playgroup and that was fun too!  I got lots of great pictures of the girls, with the pumpkins, the animals and just enjoying all of the fun! 

 

There's lots of neat antiques and vintage items there everywhere you turn.  I think that I could have just stayed and enjoyed looking at everything but...we had to had back :-)  The weather was great and it was a great morning for farming.

 

 

 

Have a great autumn everyone!

xo Chemeeka (a.k.a. Mama)

 

Look at my little Sweet Potato:-)

Isn't she a doll?  A caught these pics of her today while she was crying on the floor.  Our little doll-baby!  You & Gianna bring us so much joy.  We love you!

xo Mama & Papa

Happy Birthday to a Special Little Guy

 

 

 

 This past weekend we got to celebrate a 1st birthday with one very special little guy, our friend Ryder.  He had a monster-themed party with all sorts of amazing little treats that his mommy & grandma made for his special day.  There were monster marshmallows, and twizzlers, cupcakes and cake & all of the sweet treats you're heart could desire.   Ryder's family also served a yummy lunch, would could ask for anything more! With all of the sweets present at this celebration, they are only half as sweet as this special family.  We were so happy to be a part of Ryder's birthday celebration....You can really tell that this little "monster" is truly loved.

  Happy 1st Birthday

Ryder!!

 

 Thank you for inviting us to be a part of your special day:)

 

With Love,

The Sparks'

Gianna & The Golden Egg

 

 These pictures are not the results of any "special" lighting.  This in fact is a true "golden egg" that Gianna (and I) created as a science project. Here's where it started.  First we took a raw egg and placed it in a glass jar for three days in plain white vinegar. 

 

Here is how the egg looked on day three after adding the vinegar:

After three days, we poured out all of the vinegar from the egg & left the egg in the jar.

 



 Next, we filled up the jar with about 1 1/2 cups of light corn syrup & let it sit (on the countertop) for another three days. 

 

 And here is how it looked three days after we had added the corn syrup:

 

It just so happen that when I went to grab the camera to take pictures of Gianna holding the egg, the lighting fell on the egg just so...

Our soaked egg beamed in the afternoon light making it truly golden hence our title, "Gianna & The Golden Egg."

 

Have a Happy Day Everyone!

xo Mama

 

 

 

 

9 months: Leap Frog!

 Here are some "fun" pictures of just us girls.  I'm barely the one in front of the camera because I am usually the one behind the camera.  Well today, Papa snapped some pics of his "ladies" and we're having a good time, just plain old having fun.  Sophia lately has been doing what I would like to call as, "the leap frog" meaning that she rears up on her two knees and then appears to try and "leap" usually when she's at the edge of a surface....ugh.  So I have to stay on top of her!  She's been cruising around (trying to walk while holding on to things) for about the last month and now here recently she likes to let either mine or Papa's hand go so that she can take off on her own.  But we don't think that she is ready yet, so we always stay close by:)

 

Here (below) are some pics from just the other day when she was playing under our dining room table.   Since I have some pictures of Gianna and that age (also playing under the table) I thought that I'd run and get my camera.   But when I came back, she was already on the go!

 

 

These girls, our Gianna-bear and our Sophia-bear, are keeping us on our toes!  And adding a lot of joy to our lives all at the same time.

Happy 9 months old Sophia!  And a Happy Day to Everyone :-)

xo- Mama

Tea Time with Our Friends

 

This past weekend we had the priviledge of enjoying a nice cup of tea and some delicious little sandwiches at the Savannah's Tea Room with some of our favorite friends!  Cari, her mommy Angie, and little brother Ryder joined us for a quiet afternoon at the tea room:-)

 

Angie and I had the chicken salad, while Gianna & Cari both had the kids special of pb & j sandwiches, with chips and a side of fruit salad.  We finished off the meal with a little dessert of brownies, cookies and cake.  Ryder, who was as sweet as pie enjoyed his little meal as well!  We had a really great time & the meal was almost as great as the company:-)

 

Thank you to Cari, Angie, and Ryder for helping make it a wonderful afternoon!

 

xo Gianna & Chemeeka