Sometimes You Have To Break the Rules

After a great morning at church and an afternoon of "park hopping" for Dad and the kids (Mom was thankful for the time to clean off her desk at home), dinner was everything but normal.  We had sandwiches outside with smores.  But that's not the whole story...

First, you had to roast your marshmallows...

C doesn't like them black!  "Eat the black part, Daddy!"

She's a real pro with the long stick in the fire.

Then you made your smore and ate it.  Two or three times.

Finally, you ate your pb&j sandwich and chips with a tall glass of milk.

The end result?  A messy face!

Sometimes you just have to break the rules and eat dessert first!

Our Thanksgiving Day

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving!  The morning began as Dad made breakfast for the kids and let Mom sleep in a little later than usual.  Then the fun began...the remainder of cooking that H and Mom had not done the previous day.  Tommy Turkey (we named our turkey) went into the oven.  Later there was sweet potato casserole and cornbread dressing in the oven while Tommy Turkey was "resting".  Green beans were on the stove and rolls went into the oven.  And then...it was time!

The family feast from Mom's perspective.

The family feast from Dad's perspective.

Lunch was not finished until everyone had a piece of caramel pie.

After the kitchen was clean we headed to a nearby park for some outdoor fun.  Dad and the girls are looking for a trail to walk.

Our sweet girls.  The sun in the background shows what a wonderful day we had!

The kids wanted Dad to "run the course" with them.  Do you see our monkey, E?  She's swinging from the bars in the background.

Still running...

and running...(we had the playground all to ourselves).

The view on the way home.  We saw several deer but could never get close enough to get a photo.  I took this one instead.

Thank You, God, for Jesus!  Thank You for America!  Thank You for our family and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Native American Heritage Celebration

For several weeks I had this event on our calendar for the whole family to enjoy.  But when the Upward basketball practice schedule came out earlier in the week, three of our four children were not able to go.  So Dad took the basketball stars to practice while H and I had a day together at the History Museum.

North Carolina is rich in Native American history.  The museum does an outstanding job each year in providing a day of learning and fun experiences.  This was our first year to attend this event and we will be back.

Here are a few highlights...

H "decorating" some pottery (i.e. it was play-do*gh but she got the idea).  Her favorite design was with the seashells.  Imagine that!

H making a bell cone.  The women in traditional dress had these all over their clothes.  They made lots of noise when dancing.

The Chicken Dance (Native American style)

H thought the man right in the middle of the photo (in blue) had a "cool" headpiece.  This photo does not show all the feathers.  It really was cool.

When we got home, E asked H, "Were there any real Indians there?"  Such fun times in learning our American history.

Another New Experience - More Photos!

Dad was given two tickets to the Duke basketball game Friday night.  We couldn't get a sitter so B got to go.  I think he enjoyed it more than I would have anyway!

Here are my handsome men wearing their Duke shirts and ready for a good time! 

The gym!  Dad says that watching on tv isn't anything like being in that gym. B thought the Cameron Crazies were craaaaaaaaaa-zyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!

These two wonderful ladies work with Dad.  Here are all four at the game.
(Cameras were not allowed but thankfully, someone had a phone with a camera on it.)

Grandparents and Pumpkins

Dad's parents made their annual fall trip to see us last week.  We didn't do anything wild and crazy but the kids made lots of good memories with Pawpaw and Nana.  H went straight for Pawpaw's pocket knife when they arrived so she could whittle.  B had Pawpaw throwing the football.  The twins kept Nana busy coloring.  And there were plenty of good things to eat.

The highlight is always the pumpkins they bring from their pumpkin patch.  Folks in TN pay good money for their pumpkins but they bring our "pumpkins" lots of pumpkins to enjoy.  We're always curious to see the different colors of the pumpkins.  If only they had a larger trunk on their car!

The gang with the grandparents...and the pumpkins!

One last hug before they headed home.

9 Years = Half Way

As H's 9th birthday approached, the thought occured to me...again...that we're half way to 18 with her.  Half way to her being an adult, graduating from high school, starting college, all the things that happen at 18.  The time is flying by so fast!  I have been reminded again and again to celebrate and enjoy every day with her and her siblings.  Did I mention the time is flying by so fast!?

So yesterday we celebrated our sweet girl turning 9...

The traditional pancake in the shape of her new age for breakfast.

After co-op three of her classmates came over for a party.

H wanted to have a treasure hunt.  I drew a map of our property on parchment paper.  After I gave them the first clue, they had to use the map to find the next clue, and the next, etc.  I realized too late that I made it way to easy.  Next time I won't be so nice!  They had fun with the game though.

The "treasure" was a table of cupcakes, candy and things to decorate their own cupcakes.  They had a good time with that too.  Here's the birthday girl just after she blew out her candle.  The cupcake feel over and it startled her.

The gifts she received were enjoyed by all the girls before they had to leave.

We are so thankful for our oldest daughter.  We love you!!

Happy 9th birthday!!

It's All About the Candy!

We told the kids that if they could find an outfit to wear, we'd take them to a few houses.  We took a medieval princess, colonial horse rider, angel (with a halo but no wings) and a bride to more houses than we could count.

Lots of good neighbors!

We walked with the Notts, 3 cowboys.

Finally - State Fair Results

We finally made it to the NC State Fair today.  The girls had painted gourds to enter in the fair.  They did not want me to call and find out the results.  It was more fun to see the ribbons on the gourds.  So here they are...

E won 5th place and C won honorable mention.  I'll post better photos of the gourds next week once we pick them up.  They were more interested in the ribbons showing today.  This was their first year to participate.

H entered two categories.  Her orca whale won 3rd place for the animals category.

H also entered in the birdhouse category.  She won 1st place AND Best of Show for her age division.  She was completely surprised and is still floating on "cloud nine".  This was her second year to participate.  Needless to say, she's already planning what she'll do next year.

We're very proud of all three girls!

A Whole Lotta Happy

We had a good time at the NC State Fair this year.  We had told the kids that we would not be buying ride tickets this year.  However, last weekend they helped so much when I babysat a 3 year old for four days.  So we got each of them 9 tickets to enjoy two or three rides.

This was H's expression when she saw TWO blue ribbons on her birdhouse gourd.  Complete surprise!  :)

H on the swings.  Count from the top and she's the 8th person.  She loves this ride.

The twins were disappointed that they were not tall enough to ride the swings with H.  They found another swing to ride in Kiddieland.

C and E have NO FEAR!  They rode two rollercoasters.  Look for the red shirts and purple hats.

B has loved driving the jalopy cars since we started going to the fair.

Mom and H on the ferris wheel.  (Thanks to the nice lady who let Mom get in FRONT of the camera for a change!)

A view of the midway from the ferris wheel.  You can see Dad and the other three kids at the bottom of the photo in the middle as they waited on us.

There's Dad, B, C and E from the ferris wheel.  See the purple hats?

After all the walking we did, everyone slept well that night!

7 Years Old

Today our big guy is 7 years old.

Dad had to leave for work so Mom made the birthday pancake.  My number 7 wasn't quite the same as Dad's but it worked.  He ate it up the second after I took this photo.  It's always an exciting day to get to use the birthday plate and mug.

B wanted another football party.  Three of his friends from co-op came over for their own "super bowl".  It lasted about 20 minutes then they played other games in the yard until the burgers were ready.

Here's the birthday boy opening his gifts.  I'm curious...what kind of friend has her son give our son a game where two people shoot nerf darts at each other!?  (Answer:  A friend who has boys and knows how much Son and Dad will love it! :)

The birthday dinner.  Burgers, cheet*os, tater tots and juice.  That's what he wanted.

The girls table outside in the pretty weather.

Just after he blew out the candles.

I found this football platter at the dollar store.  B thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread for his party!  More spice cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (B's request).

Fun times and fun memories.  The party ended just in time for us to get to church.

Happy 7th birthday, B-man!  We love you!!

Note:  Mom was present the entire time in her usual place...BEHIND the camera!

Happy Birthday, Dad

We celebrated Dad's birthday today.  Spice cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing hit the spot after dinner for our celebration!

The twins thought it was funny to put one of their pink "It's My Birthday" ribbons on Dad's shirt.

At bedtime a low of 32 degrees was predicted.  They were very excited to pull out their footed pj's.  The hats were just for fun until bedtime.