Preakness Balloon Festival

As part of Maryland's Preakness celebration, each year there is a hot air balloon festival.

The festival ends with a balloon launch and race.

It is an amazing sight!

When I was little,  the balloon race was held close by in Baltimore city.

Having lived on a big hill, our view of the balloons was spectacular.

My cousins and I would spend hours sitting in the bed of my uncles pick up truck, watching the balloons as they floated past.

I remember once that one was low enough that the people inside were talking down to us.

of course,  I thought that was the greatest thing ever! 

Now,  the festival is held away from the city so the chance of seeing one of those beauties floating by is rare to none.    I can't say that I would want to be hovering over Baltimore city either. 

This year, after having wanted to see them for years,  Sally and I made the 45 minute drive and spent the evening with these beauties. 

That childhood nostalgic feeling was almost surreal.  

To see them all blown up and clustered together is stunning.

There are lots of pictures..   : )

 

As we were in line to take a tethered balloon ride,  the winds picked up and the balloons came down.

( insert sad face here)

Maybe next year. 

The crowd didn't mind and neither did we.

There was plenty to do and see.

...  and there was yummy delicious funnel cake!!!

Sally and I loved hanging out with the balloons and now this will be a yearly tradition.

Can't wait till next year!!!

Today is the Preakness

which means it's also a good day for ...

Cupcakes!

I whipped up some super easy cupcake toppers with scrap booking stickers and tooth picks.

The cupcakes are from a box..  and frosting from a can.

Doesn't get much easier then that!! 

Wishing you all a great weekend!!!!

I'll be back to fill you in on Darla's surgery. 

meanwhile, this poor doggie needs to cuddle with her mom.

xo.

Mother's day weekend

Happy Mother's Day!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's day weekend.

It was a nice, busy weekend here.

As usual,  I was up early all weekend.. 

 I wake up between 5:30 and 6:00am every day.

Paul makes fun of me...  saying that he has never met anyone so excited to wake up.  That it's like Christmas morning..  everyday! 

Waking up early has its perks,  Its my favorite time to get things done.

This morning,  I had baked a few batches of cookies before 8am.

I am definitely most productive in the morning.

The bad part of waking up so early.. 

I need a daily afternoon nap.

It was a nice Mother's day weekend here. 

We celebrated with Grandmom on Saturday and today we enjoyed our girl date.

I didn't have time to do much of my chores.. 

 which sometimes is a good thing.

There is always next weekend.

(Although..  next weekend is completely booked too)

Paul gave me this gorgeous Foxglove plant for mother's day.

The best part..  It's already in a pretty container.

All that I had to do was find a place for it on the deck.

 This cute summer rules sign reminds me that summer is near.

Just a few more weeks of school left.

I can't wait!!!

This  Maryland spring weather is so unpredictable.

Yesterday was warm and stormy..  today is cool and breezy.

# 8.   Take a lot of naps

Ok,  now it's complete!  :  )

The little herb garden is doing great.

I planted them in an old wooden tool box that belonged to Paul's dad.

It's the perfect size to sit on the deck rail.

Poor Sharky had a rough weekend filled with Thunder storms

We were hoping that he would out grow his fear of storms ...

I don't think so!

Although, I didn't do much of what I wanted to do

It was a great weekend!

I found a little time to weed and mulch my gardens,  catch up on some blog reading & play and win a few levels of Candy Crush Saga. 

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend.

To my mom,

Happy Mother's day.

I miss you more then words could ever say.

Thank you for watching over me, Paul and the girls.

We love you.

slowing down & catching up

Happy May friends.

Yes..  I am still here.

Lingering... 

Sometimes I feel like life is moving quicker then I can keep up..

and every now and then I need to hit the brakes and take things one at a time.

One minute at a time..  one hour at a time...

I always feel the need to do everything...  and I love instant gratification.

And then what happens is that I get overwhelmed by everything on my to-do list and nothing gets done.

I really can drive myself a little wacky.

I am still working on finding that happy medium..   letting things slide.

The days have been busy in the Spoonful house and I have wanted to update my blog

but I have felt to guilty about not having the time to read all of yours.

That's not fair to you all.

I do miss everyone..  you guys always keep me inspired.

My new boss started a few weeks ago and he's a real ball buster ~  in a good way.

He seems to be pretty fair and decent..  which is why I said yes when he asked me if I could work more days during the week.

 It's a challenge learning to juggle home and work

 and all of the million things that I want to do in between.

Paul and I have found time to hang out.

It doesn't matter what we do...

 whether its out celebrating, enjoying our few and far in between lunch dates or just laying on the floor with the dogs,   I love when we get to spend time together.

Of course I have found time to set the tables..

again.. and again.. and again.

Today, the theme is watermelon.

There has also been lots of stress relief in the form of ice cream and alcohol.

I am happy to tell you all that Michelle moved back home already.

She said that she hated being away from home..

and we of course, we were glad to hear it.

These sisters are super silly!

Life is good when we are all home under the same roof.

The furry babies are doing well too.

In a few weeks Darla is having surgery to remove a cyst in her mouth.

Poor baby.

Remember last year when I was painting the house siding?

Well..  I am still painting.

Last week I finally finished the front and upstairs.

Sheeeesh,  I can't tell you how good it feels to be semi finished.

After an exhausting day of painting,

Cold iced tea would be perfectly served in these pretty new cups.

Maybe even a beer.

Exterior house painted is hard work!



And Finally,  Paul and I were able to take the new red boat out for a test run.

He was totally excited. 

Now, all we need is some nice weather.

I hope that you all are doing great!!!!

I can't wait to catch up with everyone!

xoxo

L

a play date with the cubs

While I am busy catching up with the blogs...  
I have a fun post that I have been meaning to share with you for a little while now.

A few weeks ago Sally and I went to a small Zoo about an hour away ~ 

We met many cute friends..

 

The sheep and donkey ~ with those kissable noses ~  were my favorite.

Although we loved all of the animals..  there was a reason for our trip.

There was a reason that we stood in this loooong line outside in the cold for 1 1/2 hours....

We went to the Zoo that day to meet 11 week old baby bears Ringo and Frankie

Ringo was sleeping but Frankie was ready to Play!!!

and he loved Sally.

Look at his sweet face.

The zoo keeper said that they were behaving badly,

so we weren't able to hold them like we wanted to.

But we did get to pet Frankie's soft coat and enjoy some play time.

He is a rambunctious little cub!

And he is ADORABLE!!!!

It was a great experience..   

 I never dreamed that one day,  we would play with a bear.

Any ideas that I've ever had of bear encounters included running... 

running real fast!  : )

Have a wonderful day!!!