Confession.....

we've been on vacation.....

we have been away for the week enjoying and exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Ellijays, and Chattanooga!! During our time away we did A LOT of this.....

on a lot of these.....



and even across one of these!!!!



We picked tons of these.....

and ate at lots of these!!

There were lots.....

and lots.....

and lots of these around!!

We even rode through the Tennessee mountains on that.....

and this breath taking river was beside us for pretty much all 3 hours of the ride!!

Yup, we even went to one of these!! And we picked the prettiest and sweetest little pumpkin in the patch!! ~;o)

There are way too many beautiful pictures to post, but I will write a couple of more blogs about the trip and add a few more pictures again soon!! Until next time friends ~:o)

on Sunday.......

.......we went to Sarasota!! We first visited the Mote Aquarium, and then we took Isabella to Longboat Key Beach!! This was not her first time to the beach though. If you will recall back in November, we went to the Ruskin Seafood Festival, and then after that we went to Ruskin Beach. Bella was about 2 months old then and stayed in the travel system. But this time was her first time on the beach exploring!!

(First time in the water!)

(First time in the sand!)

Baby loves the beach!

Winter Park in the Spring ~:o)

(Kraft Azalea Park and Gardens)

(One of the many reasons we love Florida)

We recently took a family outing to beautiful Winter Park, Florida!! I found out about this Diamond in the rough through the March/April edition of Victoria Bliss Magazine!! I was so thrilled when I found out that this area so close to where we live at was featured in one of my favorite magazines that I just had to visit!! There is plenty to do in this area just outside of Orlando. They have a Winter Park Canal tour ride, The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, several stunning public parks, and a village of shops for the shopaholics ~;o) Well worth visiting if your in the Orlando vicinity.


On another unrelated subject, I am very happy to announce that my sweeheart and I have recently become engaged!! We will be getting married in about a week and I am going coo-coo with the last minute details!! We are both very excited!! Hoping to blog more as soon as everything settles down!! I am very excited about June and this summer!! Lots of fun things to look forward too!! Got any exciting plans for the summer? Going anywhere special? I'd love to hear!!

I've been a bit behind on my blogging because I recently started back to work part time. I miss being a full time SAHM! We took a family trip to Mount Dora a few weeks back! Lovely area, here are a few pics of the highlights for your enjoyment! Keeping it short this time, cheerio darlings ~:o)

Historic Bok Tower Gardens

We recently had the pleasure of visiting beautiful Bok Tower Gardens. What an overwhelmingly breathtaking place!! It reminded me of our visit to The Biltmore Estate during our Winter Vacation. There were just too many gorgeous pictures that I snapped to pick through and narrow things down. So I decided to condense them all into a slide show. This place is a must see if you haven't been yet, well worth the visit if your in the vicinity!! Enjoy the slide show ~:o)

Slow Start to the New Year....

(Campbell's Covered Bridge, Built in 1909)

(We don't see this in Florida, AMAZING!!)

(Asheville, North Carolina. A Winter Wonderland!)

(On top of Cesar Head Mountain, 3200 feet high. Loved all those little homes clustered along the mountain!!)

(There were lots of these too~;o)

(And as always, a little bit of History~;o)

(I want to go back in the Spring and see this when everything is in BLOOM!)

(We spent our Christmas Eve at The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Just beautiful!!)

(Our little Snow Baby, all bundled up!! 3 Months old here.)

I'm a little behind on my blogging. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year's Day. As you can see, I'm off to a slow start so far, but it's okay~:o) Haven't really had the chance to blog since the Holidays till now!! I've missed blogging, it's my therapy and down time. A lot of family in and out of town and we have been sick for the past couple of weeks. Isabella got her first cold, and a yucky one. So we've been doing double time over here. She is doing much better though and we are so Thankful for this. Well we spent our Christmas in the Carolinas!! Greenville and Asheville to be exact. It is always a wonderful thing to go out of town and see new beautiful places~:o) At first I was thinking Charleston (In LOVE with this place!!) But we stayed closer to the mountains. And it was so worth seeing!! So very different from seeing the Charleston area during last summer's Baby Moon!! ~;o) This was one of my Christmas presents from Emmanuel~:o) My sweetheart (blushes) ~:o) I am almost convinced that I could take a trip to the Carolinas once a year and never get bored! I almost think I could move to Charleston, if Daddyo said "Lets Go!" Not quite confident yet, but almost there~;o) Here are some pictures of our Winter Vacation and here is another more recent one of Bella, my little Kewpie Baby!! She is 4 months old in this picture. Until next time darlings~:o)

Plant City Rib Fest 2009

(Camellia Rose Tea Room)

(The best kind of fine china, oh the nostalgia!)

(She's such a little Ham~;o)

(Old Rustic Charm)

Last weekend we visited Plant City to attend their annual Rib Fest!! There must have been over 20 different vendors selling ribs to choose from!! I didn't get too many pictures of the festival because it was too crowded. However, after enjoying some yummy samples from several different booths, we made our way to the Historic District of Plant City. They have a good handful of antique shops in the area, a tea room, a nice little park, and a really neat railroad station. The homes in the historic district are well worth driving around to look at too. If you enjoy these things and your in the vicinity, check it out! Until next time~:o)

Ruskin Seafood Festival 2009

(Picture courtesy of Daddyo~;o)

(Salt water marshes on the beach.)

(Yummy fried food!!)

(More serenity.....)

(A single palm tree graces the beach.)

(Isabella enjoying some fun in the sun~;o)

So we went to Ruskin a couple of weeks ago to attend their annual Seafood Festival. It is actually a lovely little family friendly, recreational area! To my surprise, it was right by the beach and E. G. Simmons Park! The park kind of reminds me of Picnic Island only better~:o) It was a busy festival! Some of the activities included: Various artsy vendors, moon walks, games, the Mote Aquarium and some of their fantastic sea animals, a live karaoke band, multiple raffles, and the food of course~;o) And the beach was a bonus!! If your in the area and looking for a diamond in the rough, visit E.G Simmons Park and Beach in Ruskin, Florida. Until next time friends~;o)