Cam's fourth birthday

Once we returned from our "Southern Living Tour", we got to celebrate Camden's fourth bday! I still can't get over the fact he is really 4! He loves art and drawing so much that I thought why not have an art party?! For those who know me, this passion of his is near and dear to my heart as I was an artist back in the day and love all things creative! We had a table full of paints, spin art machines, paper, ceramic molds, etc to paint on and color. The kids were told to dress for a mess and they had so much fun creating and making crayons, etc. My mom made her famous cupcakes, trey made a wooden artist's pallet for them to sit on. Mom created a gorgeous art pallet cake with rainbow colors on the inside! It was a hit. My second cousin was in town Mary Martha, her husband Billy and son James they also brought my great Uncle "Unk". He is the closet I have to a grandparent since all of my have passed away. We were also excited that our friends we just visited in Savannah, Ga Cece and Bryce were in town and got to come! We had several friends and my cousin Micheal and his step sons and baby girl Emily came as well.

The cool cake mom made for us!

Picasso's paintbrushes

Pallet o' cupcakes

The paint can spill table

Jojo and Brooksie

 Spin art machine the kids loved it!

Kaylie from school came to Cam's party

 Ce Ce Duke

Ferocious Jackson

Even Brooks got in on the action :)

We even had paint filled water balloons and had a board for the kids to thrown them at

Cam wrote these all by himself as favor bags ("Cam's art party")

Tracy and Walker made some pretty spin art!

We also "made" crayons with left over crayon pieces baked in the oven in molds it was a hit!

Gallery of the children's artwork!

Lots of creations going on!

My Camden is so precious to me and he lights up everytime you see him. He has an infectious smile and loves to play and be silly. He is so caring and loving and I cannot tell you how many times he will just run up to me or his dad and kiss and love on us. He is so funny too, I have a book I have been putting together of his quotes and all of his hilarious "Camdenisms!" He cares alot about being good and it hurts his feelings so much if he thinks he is in trouble. He is super smart and very observant. I think he will be really great at academics and sports. He is creative too which I love passing on that trait and enjoy teaching him some things I know as a former artist. I will never forget the day he graced us with his prescense and how much joy he brings to me & Trey daily. That little head full of curly hair with a huge gappy grin running towards you after a hard day at work makes all your troubles melt away! Cam Cam, I am constantly amazed at your knowledge, your sense of humor and your creativity and your dad and I couldn't be more pleased with the boy you are and who you will aspire to be! Here are 20 questions I borrowed from my friend Brooke's website:
Happy Birthday 20 Questions! Answered by Cam himself!

1. How old are you? 4
2. What is your favorite color? white and black
3. Who is your Best Friend? Walker
4. What is your favorite meal? meatballs and ketchup, hot dogs and hamburgers, pancakes and waffles
5. What is your favorite snack? waffles
6. What is your thing to drink? water and milk
7. What is your favorite toy? cars
8. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play with all my riding toys
9. What is your bedtime? 9:45
10. What is your favorite TV show? Scooby Doo
11. What was your favorite vacation this year? the beach
12. What are your teachers’ names? Whitney, Shayna and Ms Hern
13. What is your favorite thing to do at school? Color
14. Who do you like to play with at school? Matthew
15. What is your favorite restaurant? Chick a lay (that's how Cam says it)
16. What is your favorite book? Lightening McQueen and Mater
17. What is your favorite game to play? Spy mouse on CeCe's phone and the "puter" games at school
18. How much do you weigh? 38.8 lbs
19. How tall are you? around 42 inches
20. What size shoe do you wear? 11


Two weeks later, I took my Nurse Practitioner boards. I was so nervous and anxious but I studied day in and day out until the day of and went in and took the 2 hour test. Unlike my nursing boards, you find out immediately that you pass which thank the Lord I did!! Now I am currently working on all the credentialing, Medicare/Medicaid applications, State licensure apps and hospital credentialing which takes a long time! Soon I will be fully licensed and have all my proper credentials to actually practice. I accepted a part time job with a physicians group at Methodist Germantown (the hospital my sis in law works at) in the ER, my shift will be 11a-11p 2 days a week and I couldn't be more excited/nervous!! I will also work at a chiropractor's clinic 1 1/2 days a week clearing patients for physical therapy, this should be an easy money job. Check back in the next few days I will post about our Point Clear, Al trip and Pickwick trip with our friends!

Travel!!!

Well, I know its been months sunce I posted anything and man have things been crazy around the Lunsford household! First in June, mom Camden and I set out on an adventure to see our friends Anthony & Brooke Duke and their children Bryce (6) and Ce Ce (almost 3). We set out after I got off work on that monday and drove to Birmingham and stayed in a (roach) hotel :) The next day we decided to just see where the day took us and we googled and checked out websites like Southern Living and made our way through Alabama and Georgia many times off the interstates and along highways which was such a delight as we discovered hidden little towns that were full of charm. We stopped at a place called Social Circle where there was an old antebellum home that been transformed into a wonderful southern fare with the best home cooking since my Granny Cresswell was alive! We then made our way to Madison which boasted a sweet little main street full of wonderful shops and cafes.

One of the many cute shops in Madison Georgia

A little tea room in Madison Cam thought this was so fun, there were tons of hats for the ladies as well.

Pretty courthouse in Madison, the home of Charlie Chaplin

Enjoying an afternoon snack of ice cream

A lovely container garden in front of a store in Madison, Ga.

Finally after many hours in the car we arrived at the Dukes a little later than expected (the kids were already in bed!). The next day we got up early to some rainy skies but decided to brave the weather and make our way downtown to do a tour and get in some sightseeing. Brooke and CeCe came along and enjoyed the scenary as well since they hadn't had a chance to do this tour since moving to Savannah in January. We got to see the historic water fountains, learn the enormous American history that began here and see the mossy trees that this town are famous for. Also, we walked by Lady and Sons Paula Deen's famous restaurant in the downtown area. Brooke took Camden back with her as she had to pick Bryce up from school and mom and I got in several more hours of walking and shopping that would have been miserable with a non napped 3 year old :) The whole Duke clan met us downtown on the waterfront and we had dinner at a wonderful place. We had a ball visiting with my dear friends and I miss them living closer but they have family in Olive Branch so we do get to see them several times a year!

Lush Savannah, looked just like in the movies

Famous house from the Midnight in Garden of Good and Evil (true story)

Enjoying a Peach Belleni

A candy store where we could watch the taffy and caramels being made

Beautiful Spanish moss and tree cover kept us cool all day!

Gorgeous architecture.

One of the many squares in downtown savannah

Lady and Sons Paula Deen's restaurant

This area is full of history, very interesting!

The famous fountain you see in all the pictures

One of 2 fountains made from this mold the other is in France I believe. It was spectacular!

Resting before more shopping!

Forsythe Park, it looked like a mini Central park

Large barge passing through on the waterway

The kids patiently waiting before dinner

Bryce and Camden became fast friends!

 The next day we woke up extra early and drove over to Charleston, SC and stopped along the way at anything that caught our eye.

We found a roadside establishment that sold homemade jellies, salsas, and other concoctions. In Charleston, we went on another tour detailing the historic homes and goings on back in the day in the lovely downtown area. It was much more touristy in Charleston than Savannah and we didnt get to do some of the things on our list like go to some of the areas where films like the Notebook were filmed, but nonetheless it was another thing off the bucket list!

 We roamed downtown for several hours and while searching for a lunch place mom asked a well dressed Charlestonian woman where a good place to eat was and she smiled and headed us in the direction of a hole in the wall cafe. She happened to be leading a culinary tour who was about to diverge on this small establishment and was very much in the know of places to eat in Charleston, SC. Once we arrived at the Magnolia Cafe we were impressed at the notarity this place had, it was literally 3-5 tables in the place but there was Guy Feiri's signature on the wall since he had featured the place on the food network show diners driveins and dives and a huge map with pins from around the nation of visitors. We had shrimp and grits, some mushroom bisque and cam had the best burger I've had in years. Their sweets were nothing to balk at and Camden even made friends with the owner bc he was shooting pictures of their display case which the owner thought was funny.

From there we made our way through Georgia and stopped in Augusta at a place I had found online called the Bowl Weevil. It turned out to be a gorgeous location right next to a scenic waterside park that overlooked the waterway which held Georgia on one side and SC on the other. The restaurant had the tallest cakes I've ever seen and of course we ordered a slice of the chocolate heaven for dessert.

This is the park that was right next to the Bowl Weevil restaurant downtown Augusta. on the other side of this river was South Carolina!

The Bowl Weevil's desserts were no joke!

With our own (not so) little slice of chocolate heaven :)

If you are ever in the area you have to try this place out! You cannot go wrong with the desserts! From there we knew we wanted to go a little further and stay in a B&B somewhere so I just broke out the Ipad and searched cities along our route and found a beautiful bed and breakfast in Greensboro, GA called the Dayton Inn. I called them and asked if they had any vacancy for the night. They sounded startled and you could tell they didn't have people drop in like that very often but I assured them it would be an hour or so before we would be there. So we showed up around 9pm and had a ball in this gorgeous home that was fit for a king. The inn owners had raised their children in this home many years ago and now resided in the back of the house in an unattached home. So since we were the only guests, we had the place to ourselves! The weekend bf there was a wedding there so we enjoyed the leftover flowers and champagne in the fridge :) Our room was gorgeous and had an ajoining sunken room that had two twin beds perfect for Camden. Each room had wonderful slippers and robes and the next morning we were delighted with the owners breakfast that was set out side under the cover of trees on their deck.

Our lovely (and very comfortable) room at the Inn

Cam's room adjoining ours!

Breakfast at Sunrise under the trees at the Dayton Inn

 The owners Janet and Robert had made belgian waffles, fruit and walnut salad, fresh juice and coffee and fruit. They set outside with us and we laughed and laughed telling stories and sharing breakfast with them. It was one of the highlights of the trip. Much to our dismay the downtown area of Greensboro held some lovely shops and a world famous tea room but because of our schedule we had to hit the road and were unable to stop at any of the stores here since most of them opened at 10 and we were on the road by 8:30am. We made our way through several other small towns and enjoyed the gorgeous small towns and farmlands along the highways towards Atlanta area. We stopped in a city called Senoia, Ga by lunch time. This was the setting for several well known movies namely Fried green tomatoes and Driving Mrs. Daisy and currently they are filming the Walking Dead, in fact they had just filmed some scenes the night before and we saw several members of the cast and crew toodeling around the town. The main reason we stopped here was the Southern Living Idea home that was open for tours here. The magazine had converged on the town several months ago and had magically transformed an old farmhouse into a gorgeous state of the line home. It had beautiful decor styled by Ballard Designs (one of my favorite magazines). And I shot several pics until someone scolded me since they had not published the photos from the house yet and did not wish to have anything "leaked" I made friends with a woman also touring and told me she would email her photos since she "only took about 200"!

The "Idea Home" by Southern Living Magazine set to debute August 2012 in newstands near you! (or on this blog right now!)

I love the gallery wall artwork, it reminds me of the paint by number pieces I would do at my grandmother's house in the summers!

 breath taking bedroom. I want to do this at my own home!

Gorgeous dining area. All that white would never survive at the Lunsford home!

This sitting room was so cozy! I loved that high back love seat! It was so comfy!!

completely screened in outdoor patio. You could remotely control the screens and close and open them if you wished! wow~

Cam getting restless!

We hit the downtown area for lunch and enjoyed the famous redneck cafe and then hit up several stores downtown which were right up my mom and I's alley. I love repurposed and vintage inspired, eclectic items while mom loved true antiques and beautiful dishes and serving pieces and this town had it all! We spent the rest of the day driving home and so it was a jam packed day of driving and stopping speed shopping and of course eating! Trey and Brooks missed us a ton but I am so glad we did it and I am already itching to make another trip back to Greenboro and Senoia!!

Cam would pick a spot at each shop and sit and color while mom and I shopped!

 Downtown senoia, isnt it precious!?

One of my favorite stores in downtown senoia I cannot for the life of me remember their name though!

On my next post, I'll post about Cam's birthday NP boards and other trips!