Big gulp at the gas station

(And I'm not talking about a soda here...)

A friend and I took a road trip to a craft convention in Chicago, and found that everything is more expensive in the great state of Illinois. But nothing got to me as much as this sign for gas in downtown in The Windy City...so I had to take a picture (mind you, we're traveling around a corner in a car at night and I didn't have time to focus...but the numbers are clear enough!)

$4.66 a gallon for gas for the CHEAP STUFF! As my dad would say, that's highway robbery!

It was slightly better in the suburb where my convention was being held:

But it was still a shock to the pocketbook at $4.37 for the lowest grade. Here in Arkansas, we danced around the $4 mark, but it never quite crossed over to the dark side. A penny away, maybe, but I've only had to pay more than $4 out of state (thanks, Kansas and Missouri!).

Still, when did society ever get to the point that we think the $3.47 we pay now is a relief and a blessing? I remember the gas crunches in California in the mid-70's where it was about 80 cents and that was bad...my how times change.

Daddy's Girl

This is one of those photos that just takes my breath away. I took it on April 10, during one of Colin's track meets...free time during one of the loooong stretches between his events. I came across it tonight while browsing through my photos and had to share it. It's just a random shot, completely unposed, but it captures so much emotion. I love capturing these small snippets of life through my lens.

Happy Independence Day!

What a holiday today is...sleeping in, watching movies, swimming this afternoon in a friend's pool with my family, then music and food and fireworks tonight. My friend Jane plays the flute in the Bella Vista community band, and we're going to their patriotic concert tonight. It's at beautiful Blowing Springs park, and we're meeting up with her family beforehand to have a picnic and let the kids play in the stream that runs next to the pavillion. We did this last year, and it was the perfect way to spend this particular holiday--because of the demographics of Bella Vista, many of the concert goers are older members of the community, and several of them are veterans, which makes this event even more meaningful. Afterwards, we'll all head off to watch the large local fireworks display and then set some smaller ones off in our neighborhood. What a Fourth! Family, friends, food, fun, fireworks...I'll have lots of pictures to post and scrapbook later!

In the meantime, enjoy your day. And while you're at it, remember the reason this day is a holiday and give thanks for those who fought--and are still fighting and working today--to give us our freedom in this great country.