Snow?

When I was a little girl, I used to always wish for a white Christmas. I think it came from my love of old Christmas movies; all of them had snow in them. Unfortunately, living in Alabama, we don't get much of the white stuff.
I have been following the weather for the past few days (yes, I am a weather nerd) and there is a chance of snow tonight and tomorrow. They are predicting a rain/snow shower mix beginning tonight. The ground is too warm for it to stick but (despite the cold) if we do see some white stuff tonight, Jay and I might have to go walking through the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights. I think this might be as close to a White Christmas that I can get.

Check out www.jamesspann.com and click on the blog link to follow the weather with me.

UPDATE: There have been reports of snow in Biloxi and flurries in Gulf Shores.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year as usual. Good food, good times, and beautiful weather. Thanksgiving has always been one of my one of my favorite holidays. I love getting to gather with my family for a happy occasion. Here are some pictures from that day. We spent Thanksgiving down on the farm in River Bend.

The boys played football after their big lunch.

My Family

My brother

My cousin Stephanie and her family

My mom and her brothers

Bubba (Aunt Becky's brother) and his wife Coral

Aunt Becky and her brother Bubba (his real name is Richard)

The whole family (thanks to the tripod and timer)

Aunt Becky and Uncle John

Aunt Becky, Uncle John, and my cousins Stephanie and Paul

Preview for Penny

I had the pleasure of getting to spend the afternoon with Penny and her beautiful babies. Here are a few pictures that we took. Here are a few of my favorites.

Tag! You're it.

This is from my cousin Bailey. If you are reading it, then tag! you're it. Now it is your turn to fill it out.

Eight TV shows that I (currently) watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Fringe
4. Top Chef
5. Heroes
6. Ugly Betty
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. Anything on the Food Network

Eight Favorite Restaurants: (in no particular order)
1. Cajun Steamers
2. Olive Garden
3. Chili's
4. Five Guys
5. Cheesecake Factory
6. Taziki's
7. Gambino's
8. Original Oyster House

Eight Things that happened this weekend:
1. I turned 27
2. Went to dinner with Jay, my parents, my brother and his girlfriend
3. Made homemade chili
4. Did laundry
5. Set up the Christmas tree (but I refuse to decorate it until after Thanksgiving)
6. Ate birthday cake
7. Slept in
8. Attempted to clean house

Eight Things I look forward to:
1. Thanksgiving with the family
2. Thanksgiving break
3. Decorating the house for Christmas
4. Christmas shopping
5. Finishing my current book and starting a new one
6. Getting to practice my photography skills--so far I have 2 families I am photographing for Christmas cards, let me know if you are interested!
7. Christmas baking
8. Christmas break

Eight Things on My Wishlist:
1. Treadmill
2. Cricut machine
3. A clean house
4. To lose some weight
5. For Jay and I to find a church that we both like
6. A long vacation
7. Some new books to read
8. For the economy to get better

Fryday Fun

For a few months now I have really enjoyed reading MCKMama's blog about her amazing babies. She always has the cutest stories about her kiddos not to mention beautiful pictures of them. Also, the story about her newest addition is a true testimony to prayer. If you get a chance, check out her blog My Charming Kids.

I know I have mentioned her blog before. She is responsible for the fun "Not Me! Monday" posts and the "Wordless Wednesday" posts. Currently she is doing a contest for her readers that I am entering. Besides being a mommy, she is also a photographer. I have enjoyed reading her photography tips and now know what "noise" is in photographs.

So, check out her blog! I will be updating about my wonderful birthday some time later today hopefully.

Happy Birthday!

This is a week full of birthdays!
Tomorrow is my sweet baby niece, Harper Ann's First Birthday!
Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We love you!

Big Picture Post

Jay and I just got back from our wonderful mini-vacation. We had a blast and even got a little Christmas shopping done. The trip was very relaxing and refreshing. I got to spend some time with my husband and my camera. Jay was very patient as I explored the grounds looking for the perfect picture. I have included many of the pictures from Monday and Tuesday. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them. I think my favorites are the sunset pictures from the pier.

There were butterflies everywhere we looked today! Here are a few shots I was able to get. I guess this was part of the Monarch's migration south.







I set the tripod up hoping to get some good shots that I might use as a Christmas card. We had fun taking these pictures. A couple of times we thought that the white duck might join us in the shot.






The ducks were so hungry that they ate the fern.

Shhhh...the duck is sleeping.
Our friend, the hungry duck. He was not shy at all. While we were taking pictures he came as close as a foot away from us.


The bay was beautiful today. The water was calm and so blue. I wish it was warmer so we could have played in it. How calm and refreshing it was.


The weather was absolutely perfect for a November day. A green flag means everything is good and calm waters.




This is the Grand Cannon. The Grand Hotel has a long history and every day at 4pm the fire the cannon in honor of the history. There is a whole story that goes with this but I don't remember it, sorry!

This was a cute little garden tucked behind one of the buildings.
I love the grounds at the Grand Hotel. And the swings are a perfect place to take in the beauty of the bay.


I had read about these fire pits that are lit each night for guests to sit around and enjoy. Monday night we searched for them but didn't find them. Tuesday while we were exploring, we found them! They were one more building over from where we stopped the night before.
Jay made a friend while we were exploring.
This is the Spa building at the Grand Hotel. This is the building we stayed in.


Okay so I realize that the pictures are out of order, but it was easier to upload them in order from my camera and I used two different cards.
When we arrived in Fairhope Monday evening, the sunset was in full glory. We stopped at the Fairhope Pier so I could take some pictures. Personally, I think they are beautiful. The fiery colors of the sky were amazing and you can see the transition to a cool evening.







This boat was for sale. Jay and I hope to one day own one like it.


I am really excited about how these two pictures turned out. This was my attempt at some artsy composition pictures. The sunset was gorgeous that night.

The sun was setting fast and I knew I didn't have time to set up the tripod so we took this picture ourselves holding the camera. We always take a picture at the Fairhope Pier. This is the latest installment.


Yes, the pool is still beautiful in the fall. Would you believe that there were people swimming in it the next day?!
These two pictures are of the marina that was outside of our building.

These are two of the original doors from the Grand Hotel. They have even withstood hurricanes.

I had wanted to stop by the USS Alabama to see some old friends but the crowd there was overwhelming. So I took some pictures as we drove past.



These next few photo's made me sad. First, when we arrived at Point Clear on Monday night, we were so excited about a yummy meal at Gambino's. Much to our disappointment, this was the sign that we saw...
No Gambino's for us! Then on Tuesday, we we decided to stop by Picklefish to get pizza to bring home. But guess what! It has closed too! Whats the deal?


So as you can see, Jay and I had a fun mini-vacation in Fairhope. We are already planning a return trip before Christmas.