Independence Day in The Bubble

**My computer was acting up and I found some more pictures from our 4th of July parade and thought you'd enjoy them!**

I live in a planned community in Georgia.  After you've lived here a few years, you start referring to it as The Bubble.   It is situated around 3 golf courses and we have over 90 miles of cart paths that criss cross through the city.  I have a golf cart that seats 6 people...or 8 if the people are small.  When I describe the location of my house in relation to my sister or parents I use both the street distance (about 5 minutes by car) AND the cart path distance (about 15 minutes by cart).

Being so unique, our city's 4th of July parade is also unique.

Not because of that.

Because of this.

Thousands of golf carts, decked out with red, white and blue.  We didn't go all out this year, but it is fun to see what everyone does to their carts.

For one day the carts take over the roads on the parade route and traffic rules go out the window.

image via web

Wait, that isn't my town.  But it could be if you substituted golf carts in that picture.

That IS my town after the 4th of July parade.    Seriously.  Take hold of small children, close your eyes, point the front of your cart where you want to go and push the acclerator.  It's a miracle we all make it home for lunch! No, not really, but the huddled masses of golf carts is truly a sight to see.

This is the start of the parade.  We have one motorcycle policeman, 2 ATVs, some biker police and a seriously pimped out police golf cart.  It has lights and everything.  I wonder if it goes faster than the 19 mph most golf carts can go.  Hmm.....

 I haven't seen this but the police can pull you over on the cart path.  That mostly happens when teenagers act normal and go crazy on the cart paths.  BUT a few years ago we did have a city official who was ticketed for DUI on a golf cart.  Classy, huh?  There was another story of a man who knew he was too drunk to cart home so he had a friend drive him.  Smart and responsible, right?  

Not so much. 

Turns out the one driving was blind.  It was all over the local tv news.  Made our little town look really great.

So aside from the decorated golf carts, getting to throw traffic laws out the window for a day and celebrating America's birthday with thousands of our closest friends, do you want to know the best part of  this Independence Day in The Bubble?  

We are friends with the Grand Marshal of the parade!  That makes us part of the court, right?  Where else would that happen for some sort of southern belle like me?  BTW, he's practicing his "Royal Wave" with his kids AND video taping the parade!

Gotta love a small-ish town!

Fabulous for Today

I'm in the middle of a post that isn't ready and I feel like I'm neglecting my blog!  So I decided I would post a list of things I think are just fabulous RIGHT NOW.

Ask me in a week and they may not be so fab...but for now, here they are in no particular order.

 The Duchess of Cambridge's travel attire----

I know she travels with a staff, but I seriously love love love her outfits!  Young, hip, fresh and attainable.  Yes- I've jumped on the "Kate and Wills" bandwagon and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

Just about impossible to mess up, this cream isn't overpowering and doesn't make you look the least bit orange.  A plus for those of us who are whiter than white.  I've used it twice and it gives just a hint of color so I'm not blinding people in my general area.

From Pioneer Woman

Milky Way Cake from The Pioneer Woman herself.  This cake is the devil in a pan.  I promise you'll gain many pounds just looking at it, so avert the eyes of the very young.  It has around 12 Milky Way bars in it.  TWELVE.  Or maybe 11, but either way, there are a LOT of candy bars in this baby.  I've found that if I eat just a sliver at a time, I can tolerate its richness.  The sad thing is that I've eaten the same quantity of cake... it has just taken me longer to do it.  *sigh*

Peachtree City Pilates

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP! for Pilates!  I don't know how much of the Milky Way Cake will be burned off during a session, but you'll feel like you've burned off that one bite after a class.  I've just discovered this as a part of some physical therapy and I am hooked.  My instructor is fantastic and if I can learn to do all the things she can do, I'll be kickin' it!  She had me try the move in the picture.  Doesn't look too hard, right?  Well, the flat black board moves up and back, so you are sliding your lower body over the bar and back, using just your arm/shoulder while maintaining the leg up/arm up.  They needed two people to spot me when I did this.  I'm pitiful.  But yes, love pilates and if you can take a lesson at a studio with all the equipment, by all means, do it!

Restoration Hardware

THE WARNER BED FROM RESTORATION HARDWARE!  Sorry to yell, but this bed is now in my bedroom.  I feel like I'm finally getting my grown-up master bedroom.  I'd show you pictures, but I've still got a random pattern of paint colors on the wall and haven't made up my mind on the final choice.  I'm hoping my room will end up as calm and pretty as the one in the picture.

This home in Bridgehampton, NY

Sothebys Real Estate Online

I have dreams of living in the Hamptons one day.  Or is it cooler to "summer" in the Hamptons?  I don't know, but either way, this is house is my idea of perfect.  Click the link to see the photo tour of the home.  Love.

Those are some fabulous things I like right now.  Today.  Tonight...what things are you finding fabulous right now?

What's Going On

A long absence from the blog--life has gotten busy once summer started!  Here's what we have been up to lately.....

2 weeks at camp for the girls.  Fun for all and they are counting down the days till next summer.

Hipstamatic image of Milky Way Cake a la The Pioneer Woman.  This cake is so wrong in all the right ways.

Some vicious UNO games being played and won by Dad.  I think he's cheating in some way.

Our sweet puppy, Piper, looking dejected and neglected after being asked to leave the UNO playing area.  Actually, this is her spot--right in front of the dishwasher and in the middle of everything.

Preparing the golf cart for the 4th of July parade in our city.  Ours is okay this year--wait till I show you the pictures of the carts that are totally decked out.  July 4th in our town is crazy fun.

What are  you all up to this weekend?

Firsts....& Lasts

Whew!  Busy few weeks here on the Square.  Hope you all are enjoying your summer.  Ours is hot.  And humid.  Lovely.

I had the chance to do something last week that I've never done before--I went on a road trip by myself.

Actually, the Boy came with, but I don't count the 5 year old watching videos in the back as a whole person yet, so the "by myself" phrase still totally applies.

With my girls at camp for 2 weeks and the Husband on a business trip, I called my BFF and told her we were coming.

10 hours and 4 states later, we arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas!  Can I get an AMEN for satellite radio? Love it.  Truly.

Did you know that to get from Georgia to Arkansas, you drive through 4 states?  I didn't realize that.  Thank goodness for my car's navigation system.  That lady in there and I became quite close on this trip.

My BFF has 2 boys of her own and this was their first time to see the Boy since he was a baby.  They loved that he could play real games with them.  Evidently they had my Boy frozen in time as a 1 year old.
This is the one picture I snagged of them together.  My godson is peeking on the left side.

A first for my son, he got to play "boy games" with the guys for 2 days straight.  Running, yelling, Wii (the Boy's personal favorite), Star Wars.  It was so great for him to be around all that guy stuff with not a Barbie in sight.

The Force was with us, though it was the dark side of The Force most days....

A little tidbit about Little Rock--by the river is a park that has these huge boulders the kids can climb on, slide through and generally just play on.  It was the neatest place.  Plus, being next to the river made the scenery extra special.  The day we went it was about 110 (not really, but it felt that hot!) and after the kids were good and sweaty we headed to a fountain the kids could jump around in.

I got this shot with my Hipstamatic app on my phone.  See all the water shooting up?  It shoots up for a minute or two, then turns off.  To get it going again the kids have to push a huge button on another boulder.  I love this idea--no swimming pool fear of kids falling in, yet the kids were having a super fun time getting wet and cooled off.  And the area the sprinklers were going off was textured so the kids wouldn't slip.  I'm sure that detail was thought of by a woman (who was probably also a mom).

My trip went by way too fast.  Isn't that the way it goes when you are having fun?

Heading home I had to cross the Mississippi River---something I had never done in a car before.

I know, I know---a picture of a bridge with rain clouds in the distance---but I couldn't get a good shot of the river at all (darn railings on the bridge!) and I was driving and trying to take a picture at the same time.  I'm sure that is against the law.  Please don't tell....

The river is huge.  I'm sure at other points along the way it is wider, but boy, this was a long bridge and the river looked seriously wide at this point just outside of Memphis.  It was really cool to see.

I tried to tell the Boy about the Mississippi and how important it is, but he just nodded his head and went back to sleep.  See why I didn't count him as an "entire" traveling companion?

Now for a "last".....

A dear dear friend is moving in just about a week and a half.  With her job and packing and the schedules we both have in the summer with our families, it seems like the only time we'll be able to get together is to see each other instead of sleeping.

She is one of those people I grew close to almost immediately, so to have her move away is sad for me.

Kim is on the left.  She always takes the BEST pictures!  This was at a Luke Bryan/Jason Aldean concert in the fall.  We had a blast and I'm hoping that her move will not prevent us from repeating that weekend next fall.

Hug your friends and have a great weekend, y'all!

Indulge Me

I realize the Royal Wedding is old news, but I must revisit it for just one reason...

Pippa Middleton.  Who could forget seeing her walk down the red carpet to help her sister out of the car?  Who didn't think "I wonder if she has Spanx on under that dress?"

Maybe I was the only one who thought that.  I was thinking it from a place of sheer jealousy and awe.  The dress was flawless on her and immediately I found myself on Team Pippa.

Not that I don't like her sister, Kate, but seriously.  Would you like to forever and ever be known as "Kate's sister"?  I wonder if she is at all jealous?  Because in any normal world this would ratchet up the sibling rivalry to a warp factor 10!

But back to Pippa...

I think I am kind of loving her right now because I feel like I could raid her closet and wear anything I found.

Wait, I could raid her closet and long for the clothes because I know I couldn't fit even my big toe through the legs of her jeans!  But that is another post altogether.

She wears clothes in such a way as to seem effortless and I love that about her!

This dress is from a store called Zara.  Sounds exotic, but actually it is a European store with cute clothes at really great prices!  How great that the sister-in-law to a future king wears clothes from a store pretty much all of us can afford?

Oh my.  Tone on tone.  I've only recently become enamored of this look and she, again, looks effortlessly chic.  Like she jumped out of bed and just "happened" to put this on.  Do you think she has a stylist?  Because if she does, I can blame my lack of fashion expertise on the lack of a stylist and not my laziness.

By far, my favorite dress (besides the bridesmaid dress!) I've seen Pippa in.  I love love love wrap dresses.  They hide a multitude of sins, make it easy to wear Spanx underneath and give everyone a "figure"!  I added the Spanx comment for those of us in the *real* world...my goal is to not need spanx.  Yeah.  I know.  Good luck with that, right? :)

A maxi dress.  Usually not my favorite if I was choosing for myself, but on her it looks glamorous and flowy.  On me they look like a maternity dress.  No woman who has had children wants to look pregnant when they aren't.  Love the print, love the fabric, love her carefree attitude.

Out of all her outfits, this is the one I could actually see myself copying.  Her expression says "I don't like being photographed at this particular moment" or "I'm going to do the smile thing with my mouth but I just can't get the rest of my face involved at the moment".  Either way, this is something I could pull together and then actually leave my house.  I know, I know...white pants, white shirt, colored blazer and a belt.  Just call me Rachel Zoe! But baby steps, right?  Right now my workout pants and holey t-shirts are the uniform of choice.
Who knows what my husband and kids would say if one day I actually got up, took a shower, and got dressed?

I don't think they could handle it.

Decisions, Decisions

What are YOU doing this summer?
I'm asking myself that question right now and I'm getting......
I'm getting.....
((chirping))
Nothing.
Zero.
Nada.
Silence.
"Hello God, Are You There? It's Me, Margaret".
I haven't resorted to asking God to figure out my summer vacation plans yet, but it is getting close.
Last year we did a whirlwind trip to Las Vegas for the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire State Park.  Then we flew to San Francisco for...well, for everything that town has to offer.

This is us during the Fire Truck tour of San Francisco.  Completely cheesy, but I highly recommend it, even if you don't have little kids with you.  My kids were the only ones in our tour group and we ALL had a fantastic time.  The guides sang, joked, rang the bell on the truck and we waved at everyone.  Plus we learned a lot about San Francisco along the way.  So if you go, seriously, do this tour.  Really.  It was so fun!

The dilemma is that we had such a fun time on that trip that we are struggling to think of a destination that will be as fun as this one.  Oh, and there's one thing about the planning I forgot to mention....

I'd rather NOT be in a bathing suit.  Like not at all at any point in time would I like to be in a bathing suit on my vacation.

That is a whole lot of pressure, stress, and self-consciousness that I just don't need or want on vacation.

That being said, it starts to limit our summer vacation destinations a little bit.

Maybe Seattle?  We could do some day trips to British Columbia, Canada?  Or maybe we head to South Dakota to see Mt Rushmore?  That one would require an RV (possibly) and I'm not sure I'm RV ready.

We were thinking the Dominican Republic or Costa Rica, but I'm trying to stay away from those because of the bathing suit factor (BSF).  The BSF is about a 10 on a scale of 1-10 in Costa Rica.  Not good for me.

So let me get back to surfing the web.

Thank you for letting me vent.  I know that this is super silly to worry about given the current state of the economy and that we are lucky to be even planning a vacation---but I am still consumed with this task at hand. 


Y'all have a great weekend!

SUMMERTIME!

My state has chosen to skip June temperatures altogether and move straight to late July - early August sizzling temperatures.  My grass is brown and crunchy, my poor potted plants by the front door are practically shriveling up before my eyes and the pool we frequent is, in a word, packed.

What does a family do to beat this unbearable heat?  

You buy a water slide, of course.

Keep in mind that I live in a subdivision with a Homeowners Association that fired off letters to us about the placement of our GARBAGE CAN.  I don't know what they will think about the 18 foot tall inflatable water slide that is about to be perched in my front yard. 

The kiddos saw the box at about 7pm one evening and that meant it HAD to be put up right then so it would be ready for use the next morning. 

Thank goodness my guy was around to figure out how to thread the water tubes all around the slide.  This picture doesn't show the 110% humidity my husband was experiencing.  I was tucked inside my air conditioned house the whole time. 

 The Oldest got in on the action and helped Dad get the hoses secured.
Kids are so helpful when they want to get something done.

After about 15 minutes (which would have been an hour and fifteen minutes had I been putting this thing up) and it was up and inflated.  No water, but the kids didn't care and were so excited to be on it before bedtime.

Cue the redneck music.  Grab a wife-beater t-shirt and a Pabst Blue Ribbon and you've got yourself a redneck water park!  

In my time away from the new found HOA violation (also known as my 18 foot waters slide!),  I've found some great sites with summer activities that I wanted to share.  Click around on these and maybe they will help alleviate some of the summer boredom that always finds the kids.

Summer Bucket List from Tatertots and Jello

Homemade bubble wands and bubbles from Positively Splendid

Summer Reading List for kids from Holiday Snob

Patriotic Cake from Leslie's Life

Super Splash Balls from Chasing Cadiebug

Summer Reading Program from Brown Paper Packages

Homemade Popsicles from The Sleepytime Gal