Mama's in the Picture

Well obviously not in THIS picture..

But anyway, we've had LOTS going on here since I last blogged!  Ali Grace and the Burke County 4-Hers won the Cotton Boll competition!

We caught a Lady Dawgs basketball game at Stegeman Coliseum. We were able to meet my friends Beth, Timmy, Cynthia, Brian and Alicia. It was also good to see Cohen and Bailey, whose parents are raising them to be DGDs! 

I loaded up with Nanny and Ali Grace and headed to New York City!

We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous morning at Central Park...

Nanny refused to open her eyes for a single picture... Maybe she was hoping no one would recognize her after she locked herself in the parking garage within a few hours of arriving in New York City.

See?

We heard a black version of the Von Trapp family! This family made some of the most angelic harmony I've ever heard. Not sure what the Chinese guy in the group was doing...

Ali Grace LOVED Central Park. 

So much so that I thought she might have a little bit of city girl in her!

Although it was much smaller than I remember, we loved Rockefeller Center too. 

Ali Grace really enjoyed Times Square. Personally, I felt claustrophobic the entire time we were there and I had to really concentrate in order to keep up with my daughter and my mother!

Ali Grace thought the 3 story M&M store was too cool. I thought it was ridiculous. What in the world were all those people  buying M&Ms there for? Y'all don't have a Wal Mart? Seriously, people were paying 14.00 a pound for M&Ms. Like they're different at the 3 story store? Thank goodness Ali has better money sense than most adults.

I think my favorite part of the trip was the Staten Island Ferry. I enjoyed the ferry ride and I got a great shot of the Statue of Liberty. I'd seen it before, but when I visited 20 years ago, they were renovating it and there was scaffolding up around it so it was hard to see. 

Ali ate all that up! She loves anything historical.

Another shot in another location and Nanny STILL has her eyes closed...

Nanny and the other nuts from Georgia had a big time in Little Italy.  The restaurant was beautifully decorated for Christmas. The band played Georgia on My Mind since we were there. Everyone loved it. Made me miss home.

Thankfully the next morning we were on our way back down the coast.

We made a quick stop in Baltimore...

And finally made it home.... There's no place like it.

All three of us had a blast in NYC! It was a fabulous trip. I loved it and I can honestly see how people love living there. My friend Alisa made the funniest comment on facebook about NYC. She adores the city and especially the greenish blackish liquid that randomly runs alongside the streets. She says it reflects beautifully in the moonlight! Cracks me up. How wonderful it is to be different in this world. Thank goodness there are those who love the city and those who love the country. I think NYC is a fabulous place to visit. Vidette is a fabulous place to live.

And last but not least...

A couple weeks ago my friend Sheila posted an article from the Huffington Post written by a photographer. She lamented the fact that her children were grown and she had so few pictures of herself with the children. It really hit home to me... I don't want to be in the pictures because I'm usually the one taking the picture, my hair isn't just right, the camera adds 15 pounds, etc. I'm over it. There was such a sad tone to that article. I've been properly chastised, Sheila. So in this blog post at least- Mama's in the pictures too.  

I even had Pete take these pictures before Thanksgiving dinner this year!

Thanksgiving at Nanny's 2012