Playing at Callaway Gardens!

Last weekend we took a little field trip down to Callaway Gardens! This place is such a special one for us, especially Stevie, who grew up taking Spring Break trips there with his family. They used to spend the week biking and swimming and staying in little cabins in the woods. He has really vivid memories of the springtime azaleas and he wanted to take us there to experience them together as a little family of three. Callaway is known for their azaleas, and goodness, they did not disappoint. We spent the day biking, walking and snacking. We had lunch overlooking one of the lakes and Everett even stayed in his chair for the entire meal because he could stare at the ducks on the water. He really likes ducks these days. He makes a pretty spot-on quacking noise, and it was hilarious watching him try to interact with them. Never a dull moment in this family.

Everett was cracking me up, because he kept turning his baseball cap around on his head and wearing it like he knew it was cool to have it backwards. I don't know where he learned that. He even did this thing where he wouldn't push it all the way down on his head, so he kind of took turns looking like a basketball player and then looking like my Poppa (who used to wear his hats sitting just atop his head, so funny!) This kid is developing really fast, and I have to stay on top of things to keep up with his curious mind. He LOVED all the flowers, to which he would say,  "Fwooower pretty, mom. Pretty." So stinkin' cute.

I had trouble picking and choosing between which photos to share, because they are all so lush and colorful. So here are a zillion :)

It was a gooooood day, although I admit that we were all exhausted when we finally made it home. Sometimes day trips are really nice so you don't have to pack up everything you own to stay overnight, but we tend to be the kind of people who try to make the absolute MOST out of a day trip like this, and we might have pushed it a little too hard. But we saw everything that Callaway Gardens had to offer, and came away with a fresh appreciation for springtime in our beautiful state. The birds and butterflies and flowers and fish - they really inspired me to work harder on my little home garden. I would love to create a mini-Callaway atmosphere in my backyard this summer. Thankfully, April 15 is right around the corner (which is the last possible day for frost in our area), which means we can start planting vegetables then! Woohoo!

P.S. - Other garden adventures - the time we sauntered around The New York Botanical Garden, the time I was mondo-preggo at The Boston Public Garden and the time we found a jig at the Munich English Garden.