Summertime seems to bring an overload of pictures to my camera and computer.
Oh, I realize, I’m fully guilty of putting said pictures on said gadgets.
Happily, I do so, wanting to capture these precious moments!
It’s just a bit harder to catch up in photo albums, scrapbooking, and blogs when pictures are continually streaming in.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to know:
Shall I just soak in the moment without a camera?
Or grab the camera and remember the moment forever?
It’s a hard choice, and I do both.
But often if I didn’t grab the camera, I regret that decision.
But do I want my children to always think of me as camera-in-hand?
Pictures are a big deal to me.
Not as in feeling the need to compete with the big guys out there that are simply amazing.
But as in, wanting to remember these days.
Well, not all days.
I’d better be honest. :)
Some days are best forgotten, and I’d rather remember another.
Some days when my patience is less than a fraction and I end in tears.
Some days when it seems as though someone wakes up with the intent
to make our lives are miserable as possible by morning grouches [until stopped, of course].
But most days… most days I want to remember.
And a picture transports me back to the moment like nothing else can.
Well, music can do that to me too.
But I can’t capture music like I capture a picture.
The rest of this post is almost entirely a picture post.
And a long one, at that. Just so you know you were warned! :)
Savannah,
once again. :)
The occasion this time was a visit from my parents and brothers over July 4th.
So this would be more appropriately titled:
‘July 4 – Savannah’
but since the 4th is long past, and I didn’t want you all to think I was a week behind in my calendar….
I should insert a bit more history into this post than the last, since we took a carriage ride
{compliments of father dear}
and heard history about Savannah from 1700-2010’s…
But since I always needed to study really hard to memorize dates for tests in school,
I’m not the one to be telling you history dates.
Other than that Savannah was begun in the 1700s,
and there is a vast mixture of architectural design here
{please don’t ask me names}.
But, translated, that means,
THERE ARE AMAZING BUILDINGS IN SAVANNAH! :)
And we were with amazing people!
When your family lives almost a thousand miles away,
time spent with them is ever so special!
[cathedral spires]
[small dome with old bell dating from the 1700’s, gift from France]
[side entrance (not main) to one of the above cathedrals]
[There are gorgeous old oak trees, that must be hundreds of years old, based on their size…]
[there are city parks almost every block, when you near the River
and often musicians that hope for spare change]
[John Wesley, who preached in Savannah]
[there was a loving grandmother who walks with her granddaughter]
[there was a little girl who loved the attention of Papa & Nana and two uncles]
“Can you pleeeeease wear your fedora hat while we’re in Savannah?
At least for a few pictures?”
[there were fun uncles to play with and hold tired girls]
[there was the brother James, an avid skateboarder.
and quite good too, if I may say so]
[there were my parents themselves,
we even did a little photoshoot in downtown Savannah :)
(with my dad’s fancy-shmancy camera that I hardly knew how to operate)]
[papa explaining the gargoyles (as I run to the spell-check)]
[Savannah is where Paula Deen launched her first big restaurant, if I’m correct]
[Lady & Sons: isn’t that a precious name?]
We stopped for an ice cream break after passing by [not through] Lady & Sons.
When I got Zoe dressed that morning, I didn’t realize the shoes she chose were too small.
That shows how often the girl wears shoes in the summer.
So she walked barefoot most of the day.
[Eeeeww, gross, I know. I could hardly stand it!]
Papa loved her anyway.
[I love this tender moment!]
Not to be out-done, Olivia joins in the middle with her monkey-business.
The tender moment in the background continues.
These little girls just love their grandparents!
And my dear husband, who I wanted to get father/daughter pictures of that day.
But it wasn’t going to happen.
[another failed photo shoot.]
this was less than 15 minutes after arriving and the shoe was starting to pain the child.
that also means she didn’t like the idea of pictures.]
There are grandiose homes in the city. Absolutely breathtaking!
The carriage ride we took was just at dusk,
and although I was disappointed when it got too dark for pictures,
the evening light made the homes look so cozy!
[not sure when I stopped using these things ][]
And even stores have beautiful window boxes.
There is a charming Irish restaurant, where at least one movie was filmed by the red telephone booth. Savannah has had many movies filmed in the city, so we heard.
[PRESH-ous!]
[more closer to the river]
[these used to be storage for carriages.
now people pay a lot and park their swanky cars in them]
[also the place of a few pictures]
James and David
Our little family, where I completely overexposed the pictures. Grrr..
Since it was July 4th, there was festive decor everywhere!
Check out those massive columns!
I added my own little bit of festive. :)
[I do have to give credit for these to my dear friend, Ruth,
who finds THE most amazing shoes ever.
I asked her if I could copy her… :)
Fourth of July aside, these make a great addition to the many black/white/grey outfits I often wear.]
And we ended the day with the celebration of the freedom of America,
with fireworks over the Savannah River!
A little girl, exhausted beyond words but still going strong.
Blurred pictures because of low shutter speed for lighting purposes,
but I love the story they tell of a little girl who loved her day.
And who is never too tired for just a little more excitement.
The perfect addition to the picture would be a navy/red flower thingy in her hair,
which I didn’t take the time to make…
A day in Savannah is always lovely.
A day in Savannah with family is even lovelier!
I am not to pretend that our family is perfect, because we are far from it.
Both our little family of four, and my larger family I was born into.
But we love each other so dearly, and I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of them!
I loved this quote I found,
“At the end of the day, a loving family should find everything forgivable. “
~Mark V. Olsen and Will Sheffer, Big Love
and this one
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”
~Jane Howard
Here’s cheers to families and to making memories together!
~clarita
I loved looking through your pictures! Thanks for sharing them with us.
And I loved that last quote by Jane Howard. So true!
A sweet day with family in stunning surroundings…looks good to me!! I am excited that I have 3 coming in tomorrow…David, Dan, and Heidi. Full house. Looking forward to the rest later in August, so I know your parents must enjoy your family so much.
The last three pics of your tired girl are my favorite!
wow! i think while marc and i save pennies for paris, we should at least visit savannah! it is breathtaking!
i just love the pic of your skateboarding bro and your daughter! skateboarders fascinate me in a way i find hard to explain. =)
i noticed your shoes and fell in love with them before the pic that was focused on them. they are too. cute.
Enjoyed the picture tour. It makes me eager to visit Savannah!
@mlt10202002 – Ooooh, saving for Paris?! That is awesome! I hope you get to do it!
Ohhhh this is just lovely; simply lovely!! I was waiting and waiting for a post update on the weekend! Great capturing of those moments in Savannah! And you’re wearing the flower belt from Venice!!!!! Ahhhhh!! It looks SO CHIC on you!!!!! :) :) Cannot wait to be with you in a few days. . .con amor–Jan
Of all the times i’ve been to GA. i think i’ve been to Savannah once. that’s just sorry. loved seeing your pictures and i loved the shoes too. Your families love for each other shines through on these photo’s. love it.
Aw, we spent July 4 in Savannah too! But we weren’t downtown. We were at the Sand Gnats baseball game. :)
Had to add, I love love love the shoes. LOVE.
Hmmm….where do I start.
How about with all the things I really like.
Your Shoes. Your header picture. Your brother’s fancy skateboard tricks. Both of the dresses your little girls are wearing. (LOVE the one you made. =)
Savannah, now I really, REALLY want to go there. All of the pretty houses. The place where the swanky cars park….how Fun! The phone booth.
This was a great post. So fun to read.
Love the family quotes at the end. It’s so encouraging to see how much you love your family. =)
I didn’t realize how young your brothers are. I was picturing them in their 20’s!
I too love pictures. I am always taking them. I don’t care if my family remembers me with camera in hand….they will all enjoy looking at the photos later when they are all grown up!
Who doesn’t love to look back at their memories!?! The only thing that I don’t do that I need to do more of is print pictures….most of the past 7 years are all on disc. I always think, if something happens and I can’t get to a computer, I will have No pictures!
Ok, I will stop making this comment into a post in itself!
Hope you are having a lovely evening! I love when you post. =)
I rather love this. It’s Savannah, and it’s my family, and the combination is perfect. Next time I’ll be along… family vacation in the South, anyone?
Yes, where do I start? Every time you, or one of my southern relatives mentions Savannah, I wonder why in the world I haven’t been there yet?! I love all lf your pictures, perfect or not. And the hat and dresses . . . your dress & fancy shmancy belt~from Venice?? Hmm. I guess the next best thing to traveling the world yourself, is having a sister do it, huh? :) Yes, Ruth is the queen of cute shoes. Imagine the envy I have to go through every Sunday with her sitting across the circle from me . . . in yet another CUTE pair! I mean it’s not that I couldn’t buy more, it’s just that I don’t usually SEE awesome ones like she finds . . .and often at a good price too. Love the last quote about family . . . “Whatever you call it, you need one!” :) So true.
Thanks for your recent comments over at my blog. I have the most non-handy way of commenting back to people right now (hope to change it soon when time allows!), but wanted to let you know I always get a huge grin on my face when I see you’ve been around! So glad I can be of inspiration to you in the food department too. More menu plans and recipes are in my dayplanner and mind . . . just waiting for some time to peck ’em out into posts. Stay tuned!
I’ve been thinking of you a lot the past few days as I’ve been picking wine berries galore! Wineberries kinda take me back to my second summer living here, loving living in the same area as you, sharing the joys/woes of pregnancy with you (and Ruth), exchanging wineberry-picking stories (you fallsing!), our first precious children being born in July . . .etc. If there would be an easy way, I’d ship a box of them to you!
Happy Wednesday!
“fallsing”?? *Falling*
Oh, delicious! Just delicious! I feel as thought I might not even need breakfast after so much yummy eye candy! I love, love the rich architecture and huge old trees that happen only in places that have been around for a very long time! So glad you shared all the pretty places with us. Your girls are just aDORable on these pictures! And that dirty feet picture is absolutely priceless!
your blog is always like comfort food for the eyes.
we ate at both the irish pub and the lady and sons when we were there– happy memories!!
PS i LOVE the shoes!
@baileyandme – Jenny, I thought of you when we drove past the red telephone booth…. remembering you said years ago that you saw the Julie Roberts film being shot in action there?!
@lifeisadance – </span
the julia roberts movie that was filmed there, was filmed in 1996… maybe? so it was a few years before we were there. but cool none the less. :)
@baileyandme – Oh whoops. I had no idea when it was filmed. :) You must have said that it WAS filmed there, not that you saw it filmed. Super cool to say you ate there AND Lady & Sons!
@FOREVERLANE – I love your blog. :) And seriously, you have no idea how much your menu ideas help me out!! And oh my, I can only imagine the shoe envy going on Sunday mornings. :) Ruth has got incredible shoe style!! And awwww, about all those memories you mentioned!! Would love to make some more together! ♥
@Elizabethmarie_1 – I like this: “they will all enjoy looking at the photos later when they are all grown up! Who doesn’t love to look back at their memories?!” very very true! they will thank us then! :) And yes, I do really bad too at actually ordering pictures… And, I love your comments. :)
that does it.
i have got to go there one day.
it is SOO gorgeous Clarita!!
ohmyword…it just looks like a dream and i adore all the buildings/scenery….
Me & my husband headed to Savannah for a little getaway last summer…I loved it :) Made me dream of being born a decade ago …My favorite stop was “The Paris Market & Brocante” {leisurely coffee- yum!} & we stayed at the “Avia” which didn’t have the old world charm but was lovely nonetheless…! So fun to see your pictures :) made me want to return- soon!
Blessings…
@TrentTribe – oh my goodness, we were both in savannah?! we should have met up! :)
I’m very late is commenting here ;) We used to live in Savannah, GA! Miss the historical, beautiful downtown! The lined trees with Spanish moss hanging from them, Forsyth Park, River Street, all the old buildings! Lovely, lovely city. So glad you got to see it.
@wj3km – you lived in Savannah? what a dream!! i love to visit there, the charm and beauty is unbeatable! what great memories you must have of that beautiful place!