Independence Day...

I know I promised you photos of the spectacular Independence Day fireworks display of Country Club of the South, but this year, I decided to leave the camera behind and enjoy the show. Yep, that's right. I detached my right arm and looked at the world through my eyes instead of a viewfinder. I must say, it was liberating!

I did enjoy some pre-fireworks fun with Mason in the parking lot of the maintenance shop, though. As the men-folk were preparing the grill for burgers, dogs and any other kind of dead animal we could muster, Mason and I enjoyed some scooter time. These little Razor scooters are FAST!


Maybe a little too fast. The parking lot has a little bit of a slope to it, and the scooter can zip down it pretty quickly. Mason only fell and skinned his knee once, though.

After dinner, we all headed up to the clubhouse (how very Thurston Howell, III of us) to watch the fireworks. As usual, the Club put on a good show! Thankfully, the fire department was on hand to put out a small pine straw fire. We all got to see a real fire truck and firefighters in action! It was exciting! And, of course...at that point I had regretted leaving my right arm at the shop. So, all excitement and no photos. Lesson learned.

Meet the Neighbors (sorta)...

We moved into our new house last weekend! As we were moving our stuff in, some of the neighbor kids came over and helped us unload. Wow! I thought I was in an episode of "Leave it to Beaver." It was awesome. City folk don't know what they're missing out on in the 'burbs!

As luck would have it, the neighbors across the street have a 6-year old boy as well. Crazy good luck, right? Meet Micheal:

Micheal has two sisters – Madison and Christy. Micheal also has something I have always wanted – no, two things I have always wanted: power wheels. Of course, I'm too big for power wheels now, but at least Micheal was happy to share his awesomeness with Mason!

It was also good luck that Mason and Micheal get along! They were playing Forest Park Ranger in the cul-de-sac all afternoon...until the batteries died, anyway.


Pow, pow, power wheels!

Behind Mason is Pete, Micheal's dad. He's a very nice guy! I don't know many details about their family yet, but we have years to get to know them.


This is a good start for learning to drive a golf cart, right?

Photos of the house are coming, I promise! I may even take some while the boxes are still all over the place...kind of a before/after thing. We'll see. Unpacking is quite a task!

Philly Cheesesteak...

Heidi and I went on another adventurous road trip two weeks ago. This time, we traveled to Philadelphia for one of my oldest and dearest friend's wedding.

We stayed with Heidi's sister, Holly, the first night of the trip. I wanted to do something touristy that day since it was the only day I was going to be in Philly. Of course, when you're in Philly, you HAVE to have a cheesesteak. So, she brought us here: Dalessandro's.


It's an old-school dive where, it seems, the locals like to go. No tourists here (except us). This was the real-deal. The toppings for the cheesesteaks are on the counter: red chili paste, pickles, banana peppers and pickled green peppers. Yowza!

I'm still trying to figure out how they pass a health inspection with this method, but I didn't let it detour me from piling on the toppings...I decided on a combo of banana peppers and red chili paste. Just the right amount of flavor and heat. Yum!


There is no doubt about it: this sandwich was a BEAST! Heidi and I should have split one...it was enormous! I did manage to work my way through most of it, though. Yes, I did regret it.

I can now check off a genuine Philly cheesesteak from my food bucket list.

The Life of a GC Assistant...

It's very lucky for Brian that it's not sweltering outside in GA. This lovely getup is what he has to wear when they spray a highly toxic chemical on the course. Oh, how pretty the grass looks, though!

July 4th Plans...

We moved to the Atlanta area 4 years ago, and ever since then we have celebrated Independence Day where Brian works. The first year, Brian worked at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mason was 3 years old and hob-knobbed with the rich kids by enjoying their carnival games, petting zoo and rides for free – suckers! It really IS about who you know in this world.

This year will be our third year celebrating at the Country Club of the South, but the first year that it's not Brian's weekend to work! Although he will spend some time working on Saturday, we will enjoy the day by having BBQ and watching the fireworks.

For the past 2 years, I have taken photos from this angle, but THIS year I'm looking for something different. I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!