just peachy

To plan or not to plan?

I know some people who don't do anything without planning. And sometimes I do plan things. But not planning can work. Several years ago, I was at my sister's classroom as she finished up her last few days of her contract. After lunch we were discussing our plans for the summer. And then we decided we wanted to take the kids to the beach - right away. We made a few calls, ran home and threw a few things into a suitcase, and were on our way by 7:30. We reached the beach just after sunrise the next morning. It was one of our best beach trips ever. Around here we often fly by the seat of our pants. So when my niece called and asked, "I know this is spur of the moment, but we are going to pick peaches. Do you want to go?" Of course I said yes.

We grabbed all of our buckets and baskets, drove to the orchards, and started picking. The trees were loaded. And the smell was heavenly. We did have to watch for the honey bees. But picking was easy.

Sometimes the best ones were just out of reach, so we made Laynie climb the tree. That helped to reach some but not all. It was so hard to leave peaches on the tree.

The ground under the trees was covered with peaches that had already fallen. Sometimes when I tried to pick one peach, two more would fall to the ground. Occasionally we squished one while trying to reach a perfect peach. Everyone was glad that we had worn tennis shoes instead of flip flops.

Some limbs were just filled with perfect peaches, and I couldn't stop picking even when my hands got full.

Our buckets filled quickly. Sister had such a hard time not picking every single peach. She didn't want to leave any to waste.

But soon every bucket, basket, and tub was full. We loaded the truck and drove to the front of the orchard.

We had lots of peaches but couldn't leave without a few blueberries. Eli didn't really care what we were picking - it all looked like balls to him. And he just loves having all of his people in one spot.

Maybe we should have picked blueberries first because it didn't take me long to figure out that my bucket wasn't filling up nearly as fast. And it was much hotter without the shade of the trees. I gave up first. Laynie loves blueberries and was determined to keep picking, but she gave up soon after me. We had to drag Momma out of her row.

When I got home, I washed all of my fruit and left them on the table until the next morning. I've made peach jam, peach marmalade, and canned peaches. Friday night we ate with friends. I made pound cake with peaches and rum sauce. We also had frozen peach drinks. And I still have some peaches left.

It wasn't a planned trip. I had to do some extra work the next few days, but I'll have yummy peach jam and marmalade to eat all winter long. And we had a great afternoon.And those peach drinks were perfect for a hot afternoon swim.  Doing things spur of the moment can make some of the best memories.

lulu

Lulu. Sally. Laymie Cakes. Laynie Kaiten. Laynie Kate. She's a little sister to her siblings and also to my two boys. She's a cousin, best friend, sister-in-law, and the second best aunt in the world (I'm the best, if your wondering). She's a softball player, a deer hunter, a duck caller, and a skeet shooter. And unless she's shooting a bow, pink has always been her last favorite color.

yep, that's me with a towel on my head. i was getting ready for prom too.

Everyone was a bit surprised that she chose black and pink for her first prom dress.

 Her next big decision was what to do with her hair. She decided that she wanted to wear it the same way her sister-in-law Leah had worn hers during her wedding this past summer. Pretty simple since they both have very curly hair. The difficult part was finding a hair decoration. After several shopping trips, we took apart a headband, used those feathers behind another flower, and added some crystals. 

We had the whole crew there for the get ready party -Nannie, Mrs. Gaye, her momma, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, me, and Eli. He thought we were all there to see him, and he was entertaining everyone.

Lulu only got a little tired of the constant camera clicking. Leah kept reminding her that she did like it no matter what she was saying. Because this is what we know about Lu - she may not be a girly-girl, she may not wear makeup and nail polish, but the girl loves some glitter and sparkle.

 She is not  much on makeup - but neither am I. Her momma made her wear eyeshadow and blush for Dusty and Leah's wedding this summer. She had never had mascara on at all. And she doesn't have pierced ears - those clip on earrings might have pinched a bit when I first put them on, but I think her ear went numb after that and she couldn't feel them for the rest of the night.

Unfortunately, the rain started just before get ready time so there was no going outside and taking pictures. But almost everyone got in a picture with her before the date arrived.

Cousin Emily.

Mom and Dad.



Big sister and nephew.

Lots and lots with the nephew.

Eli just couldn't get over this new look his Lu had going on.

And he wanted to love her up. His lovings can get rough - when he kisses, those baby teeth hurt!

Because I was having to get ready myself, I missed some of the picture taking. And my phone was ringing constantly with one catastrophe or another, and I completely missed the flower exchange and the leaving.

I also missed her big brother coming in and questioning the date, the dates mom having a "moment" over her baby boy going to his senior prom, and the date holding her dress to keep it from getting wet as they ran for the truck in the driveway.

But because I was a prom sponsor, I got to see them at the prom.

I got to snap a few pictures with friends and teammates.

As I was coming in to write this post this morning, I noticed a picture that sits on my bookshelves. It was taken while we were building our house, and Laynie spent many, many days here while we worked.

I looked at the picture and thought, "Can this have been so many years ago?" And then I opened the computer and saw that she and the date were Facebook official. Whaaat?  I think I'll go back to bed now.