Telephoto Tuesday: Canyon Hopping

My mother-in-law and I went on a road trip yesterday to visit a canyon.

Although much smaller than the one out West,
it was still pretty amazing to find this out
in the middle of nowhere.

Then we stopped by a former prisoner-of-war camp and National cemetery.
"Peaceful" is the best word to describe the cemetery today
although it was a place of sadness and death
during the Civil War.

I couldn't resist...

playing with more beach pictures tonight. Instead of creating my own layout, I decided to use two theme pages from Scrapblog. It was a very time-saving way to highlight a few of my favorite photos from our afternoon at the beach.

Shades of Summer

I would love to tell you what I've been doing for the past three months, but it's really rather bland.... I've concocted blog posts in my head many times but never seemed to find the time to sit down at my computer and compose them. I've kept them close and have been at home just being a wife and mother, a sometimes housekeeper, well, I'm sure you understand how life just takes over at times and pulls one away from keyboards and monitors and mice.

Pictures always seem to tempt me back to the computer though. Especially pictures taken at the beach. So, here I am once again sharing my favorite subject with you... my daughter. I think she's gorgeous, and sweet, and smart, and about 100,000 other wonderful things. But for now I'll just leave you with it.

I hope you're enjoying your summer. I am.

Mosaic Monday: Jellyfish, Sea Dragons, and Sharks (oh, my!)

I love museums and aquariums. I can spend all day poking around...

Last weekend, Hannah and I met my sister and her daughter in Atlanta for a few days of exploring....

Our primary destination was the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world. It didn't take me long to find two of my favorite sea animals: the Australian weedy sea dragons and sea horses. These two creatures seem almost mythical to me. The aquarium also is home to Nandi, the only manta ray ever to reside in a U.S. aquarium, whale sharks, and cute beluga whales. Not to mention the most diverse population of aquatic life ever found in an aquarium.

The Titanic Aquatic exhibit was still open, so we were able to see the artifacts recovered from that tragic crossing. It was amazing to see a display of china plates stacked one behind the other sitting upright in the sand just as they had found them deep on the ocean floor. Unbroken, no less. Clothing, luggage, and other personal items were also on display, all recovered practically intact from the wreckage. As we made our way through the exhibit, we came to a passageway that was designed so we could feel the vibrations and sounds of the engines just as third-class passengers did on that fateful night. It was a bit eerie and sad to walk through the exhibit knowing how many people lost their lives that night and how frightened they must have been as the ship was sinking.

There was so much to see throughout the aquarium, I can't tell you about everything. But you can visit the Georgia Aquarium virtually by clicking here. And if you're ever in Atlanta, you might want to put this on the top of your "to-do" list.

The photos are: (1) jellyfish (2) sea worms (3) shark (4) beluga whale (5) Hannah and Allison petting the sting rays and sharks (6) sea anemone (7) otters (8) whale shark (9) Hannah "swimming" (10) sea horses (11) jellyfish (12) the cousins in front of the aquarium entrance.

Mosaic Mondays are hosted by Mary at Little Red House. Click on over!