We finished the dress this afternoon, in time to take lots of pictures...so now y'all can look at a bunch of pictures...which might get boring. But we like them, generally speaking, and had fun taking them.  I personally am very pleased with the way the dress turned out.

Day dress

And ball gown

And I got dressed up too...

and then we took some together

Emily, Alex, and I were the only ones home today.

It was another really beautiful day. Alex and I napped on the porch swing. Between cars passing one could hear the bees quietly humming in the blossoming pear trees and the bird's singing. I saw a bluebird fly in, heard a hermit thrush, and listened to the mockingbird singing in the trees. Even got a little reading done, wrote a song, and drank coke. Then I thought of Sarah, and decided to take a picture especially for her, because I was reminded of one of her favorite songs, "Mayberry", by Rascal Flatts.

So here you are, Sarah!

"I miss Mayberry, sitting on the porch drinking ice-cold cherry coke

where everything is black and white..."

"Pickin' on a six-string, where people pass by and you call them by their first name,

watching the clouds roll by..."

And some flower pictures...

Sarah, I wish I had your camera!

As for sewing, we're working on the ball gown bodice...

It was really nice out today, in the 70's. Emily and I took a day off of sewing and went for a walk.

The train station in Elkmont

We worked on the dress off and on all day...and watched Sweet Home Alabama (what else)...Emily is a pro at putting to corset on and tightening it up! We ran out of white thread and had to go to Wal-Mart...but we wanted the truck. James' pickup truck.

So, he walks in the door singing as usual.  Emily and I are are hard at work, me stitching on the trim while Emily is standing wearing the bodice.

And the war between James and I? Here's a exchange of fire direct from the front lines: 

James: "That was a really good dessert."

Me: "Thanks."

James: "But not good enough to make me forget."

Me innocently: "Forget what?"

James: "My hair getting doused with Kool-aid."

Me, still innocent: "I don't know what you're talking about."  (Emily and I played a joke of James as he wouldn't stop teasing)

James: "No, actually, all this friction is because I resent you being older than me."

Me: "Well, don't blame me! Talk to God."

James: "I already did."

Me: "What did He say?"

James: "Said to blame you."

Me: "Hey!!!!"

                                           And so back to the main story after that short interruption

James walks through the door singing.

~Me to James in a pleading tone:   "Hey James, I need the keys..."

~James without hesitating, digs into his pocket and tosses me the keys: "Here...."

An astonished look appears on my face

~Then James: "What do you want the keys for?"

~Me: "Emily and I need to go to Wal-Mart."

~James: "That'll use like $20!" 

~Me: "Really?"   (Wal-Mart is only 15 minutes away)

~James: "No, but I wanted to whine. Deposit this check while you're out."

*laughter*

So James very gallantly loaned us his pickup... YAY!   So Emily and I took pictures for fun...and went riding across Alabama in a 4x4 pickup truck.  I liked being able to look straight across at the boys in their pickups (don't get the wrong idea ) instead of looking up at them! It was pretty sweet! I felt right at home.  Daddy, I think I want a pickup! And I just might be moving down to these regions...

"Emily...stop taking pictures while I'm driving."

"I am, and you can't delete them."

"Why?"

"Cause."

We got distracted by the hats in Wal-Mart and ended up getting a couple. So the camera comes out again on the ride home.

"Emily, I'm driving. That looks bad."

Emily reaches across and pulls my hat to the side.

Me: "What are you doing?!"

Emily: "Wear it on the side. I want to be able to see what it says."  She takes a picture and shows me.

"That looks REALLY bad! It looks like my head is on wrong!!!"

   *Laughter*

"It does not!"

"Does too!"

And a couple houses in the town of Athens

Aren't they beautiful???

James made my day Sunday with a hilarious comment...we were on our way to church and trying to guess the license plates of the cars we pass.

Nathaniel: "That's Illinois...I see Lincoln's head."

*groans from all four of us in the car".

James: "Who in the world would ever put Lincoln's head on a license plate?! That's just retarded! I wouldn't live in Illinois just because of that!"

I just about died of laughter. As you can see, I am not a fan of Abraham Lincoln or the North...so down here I am quite comfortable...I love it!

And the dress.

We finished the day dress part!!! Yay!!!

And the trees are finally in full blossom! Just in time!