(UN)GRATEFUL MAMA

The past few days have been cold and grey, and I'm not just referring to outside. I know that everyone's family is somewhat dysfunctional, but mine brings a whole new meaning to the word! You can choose your friends, but you don't have a choice when it comes to family. Hurtful words were said that can't be taken back. It's funny how when you're really young, your parents can do no wrong in your eyes and they have the answers to everything. Then, we grow up and sometimes our theories on life don't measure up at all. What may be so important to one person might matter little to the next. Sometimes we are so caught up in ourselves, we forget that other people in our lives need us as well. Some people are so concerned with their own personal gain and search for happiness that they completely discount everyone else's. Sometimes we are sick of reaching out only to be hurt and disappointed time and time again. I know that it's not the cost of a gift, but the thought behind it that matters most. Try explaining that to a small child though! I want my son to have a special bond with his grandparents that comes from spending time and doing fun things together. That doesn't cost a dime! Material goods cannot possibly act as reparations for someones absence, but they would be better than nothing at all...

If that makes me ungrateful, I guess that's what I am!

EASTER WEEKEND WRAP

Outside Sovereign Collective, a tattoo shop in the short north where Sidro was doing a guest spot while he was in Columbus.Watching Mikey get inked......his Jerry Garcia portrait almost finished!My "traditional-style" butterfly with not-so-traditional colors!


Easter Sunday at Mom's house...
Rileigh, my little cousin, cute enough to put the Easter bunny out of a job!
My little stinker who REFUSED to allow me to take any decent pictures of him dressed up. After he was half-undressed, disheveled and dirty, I was able to snap this ONE photo :(

WEEKLY RANDOM PHOTO

image via www.blackjackhumboldt.com

Somewhere over the rainbow ;)

Etta's Lunchbox Cafe

After two days of snow in April, we were more than ready to enjoy some more spring-like weather today! Other than a trip to buy an Easter egg coloring kit, we had nothing else on the agenda, so we decided to take roam the "hills" in search of a new place to eat. I have always wanted to check out Etta's Lunchbox Cafe, but for one reason or another, we just hadn't made it out there yet. I am so pleased that we finally discovered this little jewel!! Driving through the little town that it was closest to, I was starting to have second thoughts, but when we pulled up and saw a bunch of animals around the side of the cafe, I knew Ben would be thrilled no matter what the food tasted like!

When we walked in, Bob Marley was playing and there were all sorts of paintings and drawings on the walls (for sale). There was a large back room they called a "lunchbox museum", but it was $2.50 to enter and Ben wasn't interested, so we skipped it. In another room, they had tons of lunchboxes on the walls for sale and it was interesting to see a few familiar ones from when I was a child!
Besides the fact that the owner was a total hippie and as nice as could be, my favorite part about the little cafe was that all of their ingredients were fresh, natural and local (whenever possible). After going back and forth for what seemed like forever, we finally decided on the pepperoni pizza. The dough and the sauce were both made from scratch and it was, hands down, the best pizza I've had in the Hocking Hills! While we waited for it to cook, we went outside and checked out all of the animals. There were baby goats that were only six days old, llamas, chickens and horses. I would definitely eat there again and would recommend it to any one who is visiting or lives in the area!

Racing Runs in the Family

Myself, I'm not one for going fast. In fact, I've never even gotten a speeding ticket! But, on the Bray side...that is another story entirely! Mike and his brother, Joe, are both adrenaline junkies, although I think Mike might be a little bit crazier! Joe has definitely passed this "dare-devil" gene onto his three boys. His oldest son, Skyler, is ten and has been racing quarter-midgets for two years now. Landon, who just turned five, has been practicing a lot and wants to start racing as well! I'm afraid that Benny may also have this gene because he was pretty insistent this past weekend at Skyler's race that he wanted to get in a car a race on the track! He watched his entire race (and quite a few others) glued to the fence in amazement. All he kept screaming was, "Go! Go! Go!"

From what I've gathered, this is a pretty expensive "activity" to get involved in once you add up the race car, the trailer, the parts, the entry fees, the traveling expenses (races are all over the state and country). Not to mention, it's quite a commitment for the parents as well! We always have a good time cheering Skyler on, but it's not something I would necessarily encourage. Those cars go pretty fast and sometimes they CRASH!! Unfortunately, if it's something Benny really wants to get into, I might be outnumbered on this one!!This was Ben's favorite car...Lightening McQueen, of course!

Weekly Random PhotoI have this new appreciation, umm, I mean, love for moss...so much so, I decided to bring the outdoors INSIDE!! I might be the only one in the house who thinks "moss is boss", but I love the unique and simple statement that it makes! And, since I'm the boss when it comes to decorating...for now, it stays!!

Day in the Sun Despite some early morning rain showers, the sun was shining brightly by the time my little man had woken up this morning! After breakfast, we put on our mud clothes, grabbed a pail and the camera, and set off into the woods for an adventure. After last week's amphibian preschool class at Clear Creek, Ben won't stop talking about tadpoles, frogs and salamanders. He was determined we would find some... No puddle of water went undisturbed as we spent hours on our pursuit. Meanwhile, I was hoping to score some morel mushrooms which should be sprouting up any time now! We didn't find any tadpoles or frogs, but his diligence did pay off... We found some eggs (possibly salamander) that were in big jelly-like clumps, much like ones we saw last Friday. By the time I thought to take a picture of them, though, they had been poked and prodded so much that they looked more like a pile of mud than anything else! ...still looking!!!Stopping to enjoy the first signs of spring!!!Finally ready to end the amphibian search......but still not ready to go inside. Inspired to enjoy the rest of the day outdoors, Ben and I jumped into the truck and drove down the street to this covered bridge I've always meant to stop at, but never have... ...loving the wooden beams!!!We ended up having an AWESOME day, just exploring and hanging out together! To finish off our afternoon adventure, we ended up at Clear Creek, visiting two historic cabins that were always on my "list", but hadn't gotten around to checking out yet. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died before we got there!!

YIPPIE...IT'S FINALLY SPRING!!!