They’re back!

July 3, 2009

butterfly1The butterfly exhibit is back at The Nature Center!

butterfly3My advice, as always, is to go early. However, this time when we arrived the butterflies weren’t too cooperative at first. We had a lot of this.

butterfly4Harper was also very annoyed that the butterflies kept landing on her clothes, instead of on her finger (that’s what you get when you wear a cacophony of color) so eventually we just stopped pointing out the butterflies on her hat and shirt.

butterfly5And eventually they decided that they might like to sit on our fingers, too.

butterfly2

mothThen Cole found this really cool moth, and we all took turns holding it. It probably would have gone home with us, too, as it just sort of stayed wherever it was placed.

moth2 Having gone to this exhibit for several years now I’ve noticed that the admission rates always seem to creep up another dollar right around the time the exhibit opens. So my advice to you: if you live in the Asheville area, if you’re a tourist and think you’re going to visit the Nature Center even twice a year, or if you’re a grandparent in the area with family who comes to visit, buy a membership. My mom faithfully renews our membership every year and this is such a great gift for us to use. Plus, it includes free admission to the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina (as well as at other zoos across the country) and Friends of the Nature Center receive other discounts throughout the year as well.

  1. jen olson posted the following on July 3, 2009 at 5:23 pm.

    Fun! Wish we could have gone with you. We will again some year. ;)

  2. judith posted the following on July 3, 2009 at 6:04 pm.

    ohhhhh, i love the moth!

details

Atlanta's Hotlanta Dixieland JazzMusic provided by Hotlanta Dixieland Jazz.

1Meet Sandefur…

2…and Matt. They were married this past weekend at the Pavilion at Lake Rabun in northern Georgia. We so enjoyed documenting their day!

3Combatting the heat and the nerves…

5…feeling that pre-ceremony mix of anxiety, anticipation, joy and tears.

10Hello, beautiful light shining on a beautiful bride! (Sandefur carried her grandmother’s Bible along with her bouquet.)

61Love this one.

9During the ceremony…

8Whohoo! Oh so happy to be officially married!

  1. melanie posted the following on July 1, 2009 at 11:26 pm.

    what gorgeous photos for a gorgeous couple. just looking at them makes me feel hot!

portraits
Matt & Sandefur met in the woods, so we thought it only fitting to do their portraits in the trees!

14A sweet cake cutting…

15…followed by a slightly more mischievous cake cutting!

16Everyone danced to the great jazz band.

17 I love this one, too.

lastAnd seriously, what better way to depart your wedding day than by boat? Bon voyage, Sandefur & Matt!

  1. judith posted the following on July 2, 2009 at 7:43 am.

    awesome job J&M!
    the boat shot rocks.
    lovely wedding.

The deck: before & after

June 30, 2009

deck1Back in May we decided to pressure wash our sadly neglected deck…i know….it looks horrible…

deck2…but it wasn’t anything that a LOT of water and a little Thompson’s Water Seal couldn’t handle!

  1. Mindy posted the following on June 30, 2009 at 11:31 am.

    Looks great! Hope to see it when we visit in mid-August!

  2. Heather M. posted the following on June 30, 2009 at 5:51 pm.

    Wow, what a difference!

  3. jen olson posted the following on July 1, 2009 at 3:50 pm.

    Very nice! I see lots of yummy picnics out there.

Nothing says summer…

June 27, 2009

sunflower…like a sunflower…

lilies…lilies in bloom….

phlox…phlox…

lily…bees and pollen…

fruit loops…and fruit loops in the garden (yes, in their pajamas) digging in the mulch while waiting for you to finish watering the plants…please also note the bright new flag in the background, replacing our tired old one in preparation for the 4th of July.

…okay, so there are a lot of things that say summer, and these are just a few. We’re just getting started, after all!

  1. jen olson posted the following on June 27, 2009 at 9:03 pm.

    love, love all your flowers in the front. We are trying to grow some grass. It’s very weedy though……

  2. Heather M. posted the following on June 30, 2009 at 5:52 pm.

    i love your beautiful flowers!

e1Oh, Ephraim - you are simply irresistible!

e3I wish you would have fit in my camera bag so I could have taken you home with me!

c1
We drove through some beautiful countryside to get to Josh & Courtney’s hometown church in Alexander this past Saturday.

c3
The groom…he seemed pretty calm the whole time…in fact, I’m pretty sure he spent the morning fishing.

c4The ring bearer…you can almost always count on ring bearers to be funny, and Austin lived up to my expectations.

c2 And here’s the bride, Courtney, with her mom.

c11This is exactly how I picture Courtney at all times - laughing and surrounded by friends and family.

c51..even if a few “happy tears” managed to sneak their way in.

c5The couple had a beautiful evening service.

c6I loved the communion by candlelight!

c8After the service and portraits we headed outside for a few pictures before the rain clouds rolled in again.

c7They look pretty happy, don’t you think?

c9By the end of the night the rain had stopped and everyone came outdoors to wrap up the evening.

c10I always wonder about the getaway car (or truck) - who cleans it in the morning? Does it sit in an airport this way?

Courtney and Josh, we hope you have a fantastic Mediterranean honeymoon!