A Day in the Life of the Perkins Family

Christmas Memories

2012-01-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

{in no particular order}

*Season's Greetings album. I put all of our past Christmas Cards that I've been saving in an album--nothing fancy. We have enjoyed looking at it this year.

*We "Ding-Dong" ditched a few neighbors!

*Picking Holly with my friend Hollie! We went out to the country to her in-laws' land and picked a bunch. Looking at it in these Mason Jars made me smile. I used it all around the house and even on some packages.

*My new snowmen wreaths greeted friends and family on our front doors!

*Elfie and all of his shananigans!

*I love these carolers that I picked up in Gatlinburg. They remind me of our mountain trip!

And, Emma Kate's Christmas carols on the piano filled our home this season. She has gotten really good and played for everyone!

*Cookie swap at Hollie's. These Rolo Cookies were my favorite!

*lights, lights, and more lights!

*4th grade Christmas breakfast

*Ethan's Christmas party and pajama day!

*Cookie baking day at Nonnie's!

*We gave away a lot of baked goods this year to neighbors, friends, and teachers.

*I love that Emma Kate got so excited about this Baby Alive doll! This year, I could really see evidence of her growing up in a lot of the gifts she recieved--a camera, big-girl rings, clothes....

*a bicycle built for 2!

*riding Anna Grace's go-cart.

*family, family, family

*we opened our presents Christmas Eve night.

I love the wrapping on this one...

*putting out milk and cookies for Santa.

*one of my favorite traditions: Christmas cards! I attached them to a garland this year--I like it!

*I put a little tree on the patio with star fish on it.

*Santa came and brought lots of goodies!

*church on Christmas Day, then lunch at Mom and Dad's

*Mom and Dad gave me a {red} KitchenAid mixer! No pictures of me opening it, but I acutally shed tears...over a mixer! I'm getting old! I've already tried it out and I LOVE it!

*lunch with old friends (Wed. Dec. 28)

*high school besties

*Christmas lights at Bellingrath Gardens (Thursday, Dec. 29)

What a memorable Christmas Season!

'Tis the Season....

2011-12-18T19:00:00.001-06:00

I always look forward to this season and all the fun traditions that lead up to the big day! I'm so big on keeping traditions and making special memories this time of year. One thing we have enjoyed the past few years is Elf of the Shelf!

He usually appears sometime after Thanksgiving. If we go out of town, he's always waiting by the door when we get back! When we walked in this year the kids screamed when they saw him!!

We took our neighbor friends to the annual Christmas tree lighting. It was fun last year and as long as we live here, I'd like to make it a tradition. The above picture is their house all decked out! I love it!! It makes me happy to look at it. We've never been big decorators on the outside. I don't know why. I love looking at everyone else's Christmas lights, but we've just never taking the time to put any up. Well, this year things changed! JaNae' inspired me! She even helped put our lights up!! She's such a great friend! We started out small...a few net lights on our bushes and snowflake and dripping icicle lights on the porch. I love it!! Next year we can add a few more!

The wrote and mailed letters to S.C. (and they got letters back from him!)

All Ethan has really wished for this year is a bird....a real one. Santa would LOVE to bring a bird, but is just not quite sure if The Perkins Family would know how to take care of it.

I'm just not real sure about this Santa. I think he might have been tired. We did have to wait in a loooong line to see him. He's got sort of a reindeer in the headlights look going on. And, the full length pictures I have of him show his hairy legs! Hmmmm....

We drank hot chocolate, counted down the tree lighting, and made lots of sweet memories!

I love this family and I'm so thankful for the times we get to spend with them before they move.

More Mountain Memories

2011-12-16T23:15:00.000-06:00

*breakfast at the Apple Barn

*shopping at Christmas Place

*feeding the ducks and geese (one of my favorite memories)

*a little hiking and adventure

*discoveries

*breathtaking views

*Dollywood-Friday evening

*Dollywood wrapped in lights

*Dollywood --Saturday

*rides, rides, and more rides

*priceless smiles

*the Dixie Stampede Saturday night

*getting ready for the Christmas season with beautiful Christ-centered shows

Thanksgiving (9 days before Christmas)

2011-12-16T20:13:00.000-06:00

Wow....I can't believe I'm just now finishing up my Thanksgiving post. I started it a looooong time ago but I've just been so busy lately. 'Tis the season, I guess!

When we got back from our trip, it was time to ~~finish~~ I mean, START our Reading Fair projects that were due Dec.5! Yikes!! And, pick out and decorate a tree. Of course, there have been school parties (a going away party for EK's student teacher and Christmas parties) And really, those few weeks between Thanksgiving and now FLEW by! It really seems like we were in G'burg last week!

Anyway, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at the cabin. Matt's mom, dad, aunt, uncle and cousin came. We cooked the turkey. Matt always helps get the "stuff" out of the cavity. I cheated and bought some casseroles and pies from Cracker Barrel. I did make a corn casserole and some cranberry sauce.

The table cloth that the kids made turned out good!

The day was (surprisingly) really relaxed! We watched the Macy's parade that morning, ate, and then some of us went shopping in Gatlinburg.
Now that school is out for Christmas break, things are slowing down. I actually have time to sit and update.

Thanksgiving trip part 1

2011-12-02T12:59:00.000-06:00

We stayed our first night (Sun) in Chattanooga. Monday morning before heading to the cabin in Gatlinburg, we did a little sightseeing around town. We saw choo choos and mountains....

We tried to wear the Incline Railway, but it was closed for the season. We still enjoyed looking around.

We brought Zoe with us on this vacation and she was so good! She wasn't crazy about the hotel. She barked when she heard people in the hall and did not like the elevator, but we knew she would love the cabin!

We made it to the cabin around 4:00.

Matt and EK tried out the pool table right away.

It was rainy that afternoon, so we set out to find something to do indoors. We discovered Magi Quest...

This ended up being one of our favorite things we did!! The goal is to become a master magi. It's kind of like a big scavenger hunt. You have to follow clues and find certain objects. Very fun!

On the way in, we saw this huge Titanic museum in Pigeon Forge. Emma Kate is so interested in the history of the Titanic right now and was actually reading a book about it on the way up. We went here Tuesday (and then went back to Magi Quest for a little while!!) She was so excited about this tour.

She knows so much about it and she would fill us in along the tour and tell us things about it.
Wednesday morning we ate a pancake breakfast at FlapJacks....one of our favorites!

We walked around Gatlinburg and rode the Sky Lift up the mountain. It was actually cold this day. The first few days we were there was really warm and humid. I was happy to get a little cold weather!

Our cabin is the one all the way at the bottom of this hill with the red roof....

We spent a lot of time in the cabin...watching movies, drinking hot chocolate, playing pool....
Wednesday night, we started preparing for our Thanksgiving dinner. I made The Pioneer Woman's cranberry sauce. It turned out so good!!

More later....

Warning: This just might gross you out....

2011-11-16T22:37:00.001-06:00

....especially if you are not the Mama of a very curious, little boy who loves sticks, rocks, critters, and....BUGS!

At the beginning of the summer, Ethan came up with a genius idea....he wanted to start a nature journal. (He's just like me!) So, of course I was all on board with the idea and helped him get started. He added to it all summer and is always on the lookout for something new and exciting to document.

Today, I was in the kitchen making dessert when he burst in through the front door and yelled...."I found something for my nature journal!" I always humor him and get really excited about his found treasures, so I replied, " Oh, great! Lemme see!" When I heard his next words, I got a little nervous..."Don't worry...it's not alive." (What is he bringing into the house?) Just then, he rounded the corner and in his sweet, little hand was the.most.ginormous.COCKROACH.you.have.ever.seen!!!! Oh, he was so proud.....

...so imagine his surprise when I screamed and yelled, "Oh, Ethan! That's a COCKROACH!!!" (alive or not, I didn't care) You should have seen the look on his face! He turned and got ready to run back out the door. I gained a little composure and then stopped him for a second. (I had to get a picture, right?) Since he was brave enough to pick it up, I at least needed to snap a quick photo of it for his journal.

Boy, it's a whopper, huh? Yuck! Seeing that awful thing just gives me the willies! UGH! And, Emma Kate being the drama queen that she is was up on the dining room table!
I kindly asked Ethan to dispose of his little friend outside and go wash.his.hands!!! Can you guess what he did?...stuck his hand right out the front door and dropped the thing on the doormat. Goodness.Gracious.

Turkey Tees

2011-11-14T21:03:00.000-06:00

One rainy day last week, we made Turkey Tees! Some of the neighbors came over and crafted with us.

I got the idea on Pinterest (of course!). I'm so sorry that I can't provide the source...none was given. I just saw the picture of them and came up with my own way of doing it. They used paint for the "feathers" I think, but it looks like a piece of fabric for the body and ric rac legs. I used fabric paint for our whole turkey.
First, I used a brown fabric marker to outline the body just to see where the hand prints should be. After the hands dried, I filled in with the brown paint.

I think they turned out CUTE! Ethan wore his the next day to school and got lots of compliments!

He had his Thanksgiving Feast from the cafeteria that day. They made placemats and cute little Indian headbands and ate in their room.

Emma Kate didn't want to wear her turkey shirt to school...which is fine. She can wear it for Thanksgiving Day.

I got a new phone, finally!! Mine had about had it!! I jumped on the iphone 'wagon! I LOVE it!! These pictures and even that cute collage came from my phone. I'm impressed with the camera on it.

Thursday night was so chilly!! We lit our firepit and roasted marshmallows! It was so cozy!! Zoe loves Marshmallows. She got so sticky and had leaves and grass and marshmallows stuck in her ears and beard! We had to give her a bath!

Sadly, our cool weather didn't last that long. It was in the low 70's and rainy today...not bad, but I love for it to feel like fall!

Thanksgiving Table Cloth

2011-11-10T10:37:00.001-06:00

We have been counting down the days until our Thanksgiving Mountain Vacation. Our chain is a lot shorter than this now which makes us (especially the kiddos) so excited!

Since we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner at the cabin, I wanted to involve the kids in the preparations. I have several little projects in mind to take along with us as we head to Gatlinburg. I wanted something special that we could keep and maybe use year after year....a Thanksgiving table cloth. I bought a plain white table cloth at Wal-Mart (for about $9) and a pack of fabric markers.

They were so excited about decorating the table cloth and adding little drawings and sentiments.

I didn't bother ironing it beforehand because the directions on the marker box says to iron the designs at the end to let them set.

We talked about Thanksgiving and some ideas for drawing. They went right to work.

While they worked I read "The First Thanksgiving" to them. That gave them more ideas to add to the cloth to tell the story of Thanksgiving.

There were Pilgrims and Indians, corn, the Mayflower, pumpkins, fall leaves, scarecrows, and of course several hand-print turkeys!

I'm so excited to use this on our Thanksgiving table! This would also be a good idea for a Thanksgiving Day activity. Just put it on the table to keep the kids busy until the turkey is done!

Fall Blessing

2011-11-09T08:32:00.001-06:00

I'm never more in awe of God's beauty than I am in the fall watching the leaves turn. Living in the deep south, I miss seeing pretty, fall color. We have a few trees displaying fall splendor, but a very few. So, yesterday as I was eating my Cinammon Toast Crunch and looking out the back door I saw it....

My little fall blessing.... that I'm convinced was sent just for me to enjoy. Oh, He know how much I love pretty, changing leaves!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." --Albert Camus

It was beautiful in the morning light!
"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as Autumn sunshine...." Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile." --William Cullen Bryant

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the Autumn tree." --Emily Bronte

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." --John Burroughs

"There's something about Autumn that wakes up our senses and reminds us to live"

Zoe enjoyed the morning outside, too!

"Even is something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." --Elizabeth Lawerance

"A fallen leaf is nothing more than a Summer's wave goodbye."

"Life without love is like a year without fall."

I find joy in every, single, colorful leaf.....

Thank You for my little, Fall blessing.

All Around the Barnyard

2011-11-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

Thursday, November 3 is a day that Ethan had really been looking forward to. It was the day of his big 1st grade musical: All Around the Barnyard.

They performed for the students at school and a few parents at 8am. Matt and I went to support Little Mister. It was so good and I was really impressed with Ethan's singing. He sang out big on every song! (a little improvement since last year)

About 1:00 that afternoon, I got an email from Ethan's teacher saying that a little boy in their class that had a speaking part got sick and couldn't be there for the night performance. She wanted Ethan to do the part! I was geared up to work on it all afternoon, but when I asked him if he knew his part, he rattled it off with no problem! He was so excited about getting the part. (But, sad for the little boy who got sick)

When it came time for his part, he said it without any hesitation!! It was like he had practiced it all along. Let me just tell you that Row 3 in the audience was very proud of this little farmer!

Emma Kate helped with the video. We might need to take some motion sickness medicine before we watch it. Just sayin...

After the program, we walked down to his room to pick him up. The grandparents enjoyed seeing his classroom and meeting his sweet teacher. We also loved getting to see some of his work out on the bulletin board.

We are so very thankful that both sets of grandparents were able to come to the performance! We are blessed to be living so close to them now!

THANKFUL

2011-11-08T09:09:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our Thankful home!

Last week, I got our home ready to countdown to Thanksgiving--a holiday that is way too overlooked if you ask me.

I love this season! And, I love putting up this Thanksgiving banner that my mom made for us a few years ago. I look forward to bringing it out every year.

I found a cheap, silver tray at the thrift store and gave it fresh coat of chalk board paint. I like the way it looks on our dining table along with the little turkey nutcracker I found at World Market!

Ethan picked this little turkey family out at Hobby Lobby one day. I just couldn't pass it up.

I have found out that stitching is so relaxing. I made this leaf garland one night while watching T.V. with Matt. I was inspired by a few like this that I saw on Pinterest. I cut out felt leaves and stitched them together with Baker's Twine.

Although we are excited about our Thanksgiving Mountain Vacation....I want these last few weeks before Thanksgiving to go by slowly! I want to enjoy these days of being thankful and showing gratitude.

Halloween Festivities: {Part 3}

2011-11-07T09:26:00.000-06:00

Reverse Trick-or-Treating!

Sunday afternoon we went to my mom and dad's to do some reverse trick-or-treating--instead of getting treats, we gave them. We put together some little buckets of treats and took them to some shut-ins.

They were so happy to see the kids in their costumes and get their little happy. The only thing wrong with this was that they felt like they needed to give us something--and that wasn't the point!

We went to 4 homes and gave the buckets and then we went to Maw Maw's home with a basket of candy to hand out. We brought Reese's Peanut Butter cups because they are easy for them to eat and they are Maw Maw's favorite. All of the residents were happy to get a little treat.

This lady is 100 or maybe 101 now. She gets along great--no walker needed.

Then Monday....Trick-or-Treating!

By this point, we had had so much fun already...it seemed like the holiday had already passed us by.

Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood was crazy to say the least!

So much fun though....

Our favorite was the house-turned pirate ship!

Until next year....

Halloween Festivities: Part 2

2011-11-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

The Halloween Street Party!

We had our 1st annual Halloween Street Party Saturday!

We went around to a few different houses on the street for fun games and yummy food.

We started at Janae's house with "Doughnuts on a String" where the kids had to eat the doughnut without using their hands.

It was fun to watch!!

They also played a fun M&M game. The object was to fill their little cauldron with M&M's. They rolled a pair of dice and if they rolled doubles they could use a straw to pick up the candy and move it to the cauldron. The could keep moving their candy until someone else rolled doubles and then it was their turn to try. FUN!

We rotated to 7 houses with other fun games such as, a toilet paper mummy wrap, ping pong pumpkin, sidewalk chalk contest, bubble gum relay, a pinata, and body part guessing.
At our house we hosted bobbing for apples--a fall classic---

and cookie decorating!

I baked gingerbread man cookies and put out green and blue icing and various candies and they made MONSTER cookies!

I think bobbing for apples was my favorite! It was so much fun to see them try so hard for the apples. They loved it!

At the last house, we enjoyed this table full of food and monster slime punch!

This whole party was Janae's idea and we enjoyed planning it together! We already have ideas for Christmas!!

Halloween Festivities (part 1)

2011-11-01T20:57:00.001-05:00

Friday, we went to a local nursery to pick out a pumpkin to carve.

We went to this one last year too. I love looking around here anytime of year! I really love their variety of pumpkins in the fall.

Ethan had a very specific type of pumpkin in mind. He wanted it to be "long" with the stem sticking straight up! He was very persistent and found the perfect one!

Emma Kate found a nice, round, fat one.

I love these "turban" pumpkins. They are so colorful...

all types of gourds....

We brought our pumpkins home....

...and, then got ready to carve them with friends!

The kids were so excited about scooping their goo out and transforming their pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns.

I helped Ethan. He drew his face on with the knife and then I helped cut on through....while he played in the pumpkin guts....

They looked so good all lit up!! Check out that stem! I love it!

We had so much fun at our pumpkin carving party!

Getting Ready for Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:44:00.000-05:00

We spent all last week gearing up for the big day! By the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I've got my EYE on you!

We ,well mostly "I" made these cute monster treat bags for Ethan's class. I asked parents to send in treats and I put them all together in bags.

They were so much fun to make! I bought colored bags from Michaels and just added different shapes to make the monsters.

This is Ethan's:

He made it himself!

We filled them with all of the goodies. Emma Kate helped with this.

We added a tag...and then they were done!
Emma Kate didn't want bags like Ethan's. She was happy with these plain white ones with a simple "Happy Halloween!"

Ethan loved that McDonald's gave their happy meals in these buckets! We never did get a green one. :(

We had a fun, fun weekend (pumpkin carving, street party, and reverse trick-or-treating) and it feels like Halloween should already be over and done! But, tonight we get to dress up and do it all again!! We are looking forward to trick-or-treating and handing out candy! Have fun and be safe!!

Celebrating FALL!

2011-10-28T14:09:00.001-05:00

Today was Fall de Rah at school! A celebration of Fall.

The kids went to school donned in their "down on the farm" attire--just right for the hayride they would enjoy in the afternoon!

They'll also be enjoying yummy fall treats! I made these scarecrow cupcakes for BOTH classes! That was a lot of work for two classes, but I made it! I made these years ago for Emma Kate's Kindergarten class. They are so much fun!

Not everything I try is going to be a success...I realize that. I got ambitious and tried Caramel Apple Bites that I saw on Pinterest. Well, they were just a big 'ol flop! The caramel didn't stay on the apples. ???
I'm going to have to go back and look at the recipe and see what I did wrong. (It would have probably been helpful to do that ahead of time.) Oh well! I stopped by the grocery store on the way to the school and picked up some sliced apples and a tub of caramel dip. My neighbor, Janae, made 28 caramel apples for her daughter's class...they were perfect--so pretty and yummy looking!

Also, for Emma Kate's class I made these little dougunut hole acorns! I think they turned out great! I went to Krispy Kreme and bought some holes, spread chocolate icing on top, dipped them in chocolate sprinkles, and added a pretzel stem!

I got this idea from Pinterest, also! So handy to have all these ideas in once place!

I tried dipping a couple in Toffee bits. They were cute, too!
I got everything delivered to the school and my kitchen somewhat cleaned up and had lunch with Janae! Now, it's almost time for my little farmers to be getting off the bus! I can't wait to hear all about how they celebrated fall today! Looking forward to pumpkin carving tonight!!!

Will Work for Doughnuts!

2011-10-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

Did you know that if you bring your report cards in to Krispy Kreme they will give you a FREE doughnut for every A! (Limit 6)

These kids loaded up on some doughnuts!! They all had straight A's!! Way to go!
We went with our sweet neighbor friends and had a blast! The kids thought that was the greatest thing!! This will be a good incentive for good grades next 9 weeks.

I think it's so good that Krispy Kreme does this! It's encouraging for kids be recognized and rewarded for special achievements by people in the community, not just parents.

So, now when they start to slack off....I can just remind them that they are working for doughnuts! That'll do the trick!

New Wheels

2011-10-25T08:32:00.000-05:00

Emma Kate loves to ride her bike! Lately, she hasn't been able to ride, because the inner tubes have busted. We would air the tires up only for them to go flat again. We could have replaced the tubes, but she had outgrown her bike anyway.

I had already decided she would get a new one for Christmas. But, we just couldn't wait that long. The weather is so pretty now and she needs to be out riding. And, she had been begging the neighborhood friends to let her have a turn on their bikes!

Here she is with her old bike. I wanted to snap a few pictures of it before we put it out by the trash. (Somebody ended up taking it) It has been many miles...

So, last week she picked out a new bike! And it just happened to be on the day that she brought home her report card with ALL A's! She deserves new wheels!

It's fancy. With gears and stuff.

Now, everyday she runs off the bus to get her bike out and ride. I love that she loves her bike!

My big girl on her big-girl-bike!

Relaxing Weekend (10/14-16)

2011-10-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

This week has been so busy! I'm looking forward to another relaxing weekend just like the last one!

Friday, was Ethan's 50th day of 1st grade!

They celebrated with a 50's day. They dressed in 50's attire and they enjoyed rootbeer floats and other goodies from that era. Someone came to talk to them about "life in the 50's."

We slicked Ethan's hair back and dressed him in rolled up jeans and a white t. He was excited about bringing a comb in his back pocket.

You can tell from these pictures that it is dark when we leave for the bus stop. He looks totally different with his hair like that!!

Saturday, we slept late! I love to sleep late! Then, we drove up to see my parents and grandmothers. Zoe loves to "GO" with us!

She sits in my lap and either rests her head on my arm or puts her nose in the steering wheel.

We brought some Halloween candy for the people at Maw Maw's home and a balloon for her room. Both kids fell asleep on the way there.

From the time Emma Kate was real little she has wanted to "drive" as soon as we get to mom and dad's road. (They live in the country) She's getting so big to sit in my lap! Pretty soon, I guess she can just sit there by herself like I did. My grandmother started letting me drive when I was around 10!

We visited awhile, ate lunch, and then went to see Maw Maw. She was asleep when we went in. Ethan was looking around on her dresser and got into her lipstick! Silly boy!

Maw Maw loves her lipstick. She still puts it on before she goes out to the dining room!

Ethan was being a little mischevious this day...He crawled into her wardrobe and closed the door! Maw Maw got a kick out of that! We locked it and then pretended to leave. :)

I took some pictures around her room....just to always remember what it looked like. I love seeing all of her perfume, powder, hair brush, oil of olay, and lipstick on her dresser...and of course an old photo of PawPaw. I wonder what's it's like to lose your life mate and to be the one left behind like both of my grandmothers.

These flowers were outside of the home....
I don't know what they are, but I thought they were pretty.

I didn't notice that leaf with the holes in it until after I looked at the photo. Neat.

On the way back to Nonnie's we stopped to pick Black-Eyed-Susans. These are some of my favorites in the fall! They are so happy!

We just relaxed outside the rest of the afternoon. Papa put up a new swing and the kids enjoyed swinging under the big live oak.

We wheeled Grandmother out to watch. She got nervous with Ethan standing up in the swing. He's all boy...it's enough to make anybody nervous!

You can always find a lizard or two on Nonnie's and Papa's porch! Ethan loves it! He's real gentle with them. (Well, except for hanging the poor things upside down.) He always puts them back where he found them so they can carry on.

Emma Kate ended up spending the night and Ethan and I went on back home.

Sunday, we went to church and I taught Sunday School. After lunch with friends, I came home and took a nap! In the bed. In my pjs! It was wonderful!

We got Emma Kate back late that afternoon and then Sunday evening we all went to see Dolphin Tale. Emma Kate has been dying to see it! Her class read the book so she knew all about it. If you haven't seen it yet, you should. It was very good!

This weekend should be pretty good too! Matt is going fishing tomorrow morning and the kids and I have a birthday party to attend.

Friends at Fall Break

2011-10-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

We love when friends come to visit!! Columbus Day weekend our good friends from North MS, the Wombles, came to stay with us!

The kids were so happy to see each other! They played inside and out. They went for a short swim Saturday morning. It was really too cold, but they would hardly admit it.

Ben and Stephanie are training for a 1/2 marathon so they had to run 8 miles that morning. Matt went with them. That afternoon, we went downtown to eat lunch and look at some old cars. Crusin' the Coast was that weekend. People come from all over with antique cars to parade up and down the Coast. It's neat to see all of the old cars--still in mint condition!

We took them to one of our favorite restaurants--Phoenicia--wonderful Greek food!

Then, we headed down to the beach to show them around. The kids looked for hermit crabs but with no luck.

Me and Steph...I really miss her and enjoyed their company so much!

We even fit in some tennis, ending our match in a tie!
Sunday, we spent the day in New Orleans. We had an appointment for family pictures in Jackson Square that morning. I think they are going to turn out great...the kids were very cooperative!

The pumpkins were so pretty in the French Market....

We walked down the river to the Aquarium of the Americas.

We saw all kinds of fish and sea life but our favorite was....

The birds!

They have well over 800 parakeets! We held little sticks with food on the end of them and the birds landed on the sticks to eat.

Ethan LOVED this! One time, he said, "This is a dream!" He loves birds and wants one SO bad! He was so surprised when one came and landed on his shoulder!

I took about a million pictures of the birds (a slight exaggeration, but not by much! HA) but this one is my favorite.....

They were all so pretty and colorful! I loved watching how excited the kids (and adults) got when one would come and land on them.

We had a wonderful day in the Big Easy!! What I wouldn't give for one more beignet and a cup of cafe au lait RIGHT now!

Field Trips

2011-10-16T17:58:00.001-05:00

I have been on 2 big field trips lately!

Emma Kate's 4th grade class is studying MS history. So, their big field trip for the year is to the State Capital.

It was Friday, Oct. 7th. We left at 5am in the morning!! They chartered buses and I rode with my good friend and neighbor Janae. Our first stop was the Planetarium where I almost fell asleep. Then we went on the MS Museum of Art where the kids just moved too fast for me! Then, we went to the Capitol building where we were greeted by one of our State Representatives.

After the Capitol, we headed over to a state park for lunch and playground time. Then, we went in the Science Museum where this cute frog smiled at me....

Then, it was on to the MS Agricultural Museum. This one was probably my favorite of the day.

Then we headed over to the MS Sports Hall of Fame where by then, I was just pooped out! I sat down a lot here and took hardly any pictures. They stayed about an hour at each stop so it was kind of rushed. But, they did get to see a lot.

We finished the day at Ryans buffet. We tried to skip out on that but were unsuccessful. Surprisingly enough, considering we had about 130 kids it went pretty smoothly. We got back to the school about 10pm. What a day!

Ethan's 1st grade field trip was at a farm and corn maze about an hour away. (Wednesday, Oct 12) I was a chaperone and this time I rode the bus.

We started out with a hayride where a big bull started eating hay out from under our seats! Interesting.

Then, Ethan rode the cow train.

They jumped on a big pillow like a trampoline, ate a picnic lunch and went through the corn maze. It was beautiful weather to be outside. I really enjoyed being with my little mister!

Fun school memories! I am usually so ready for summer break, but I hope this school year goes by slowly. They have such wonderful teachers and are having a great time in school!

I loved today.

2011-10-13T23:12:00.002-05:00

Today was just one of those days....the kind that you wish wouldn't end and when it does you look back over it with a little sigh and think, "man, today was fun!"

I went to lunch with some wonderful friends (3 of them) at a delicious Japanese place. We laughed and ate, shared food, ate some more and laughed some more!

They dared me to take a picture behind the Sumo wrestler cardboard cut out and I did!

We ran in Hobby Lobby for about 15 minutes before we had to race back to pick up kids! It was hardly long enough but we did pick up a few things we "needed." It kind of felt like we were in one of those shopping contest...running through the store with carts to see who could get everything and run to the register to get checked out.
We made it back in time with a few minutes to spare. My sweet neighbor friend, Janae, whose family just moved in late this summer was with us. We are good friends, our kids (they have 5) are all good friends (Ek and C. are in the same class), and sadly they are moving again this summer. :( I'm SO sad. I try not to think about it and just enjoy them while they are here, but it's hard. They are they sweetest family! We wait at the bus stop together every afternoon and our kids run off the bus and barely say hi to us and then start playing together...praying for the minutes to creep by until we say it's time to come in and do homework. We sit and talk and let time get away from us because.....well, I could just sit and talk to her all afternoon!

The last middle school football game was tonight and they have a daughter in the band. We went to the game and sat by them. The kids ran around some and played some and ate a lot! And it was the first football game I can remember when Ethan didn't complain about being there.

The game was fun. We paid attention a little bit. I was mostly there to socialize and listen to the band. We did win both games (7th and 8th grade). And the band is really good! Band is a big deal at this school. The high school band is amazing....like college level amazing.

We ate supper at the game....pizza and hamburgers. And then snowballs, sour punch straws, sodas, pickles, M&M's.... oh my gracious....sugar high!

Matt danced along to the band music and embarrassed EK to death! Ethan, of course doesn't care. He was dancing along. Oh, her family is like..... so embarrassing!!

Then, after the game Matt decided he "needed" frozen custard from Quakes. So, we took two of our little neighbor friends, C and A with us for a cold treat! We all got our custard and ate it in the car on the way home where Ethan started singing the Bellybutton song at the top of his lungs (by Veggie Tales). I started singing along very loudly too (Matt was too busy eating) and Emma Kate got very embarrassed (again) and made C promise not to tell anyone at school that her family acts that way! I loved it!
We dropped the kids off at their house and of course there was lingering, throwing the football in the street and a few more laughs before we made it down to our house.
We came in and I guess Ethan had just had enough (by then it was about 9:00), because he started to fuss and cry about everything I asked him to do. He had a meltdown when I asked him to take his shoes off and get ready for bed. Oh my! I told him, in my Mommy voice, he was going to have to go straight to bed!!! He looked at me and said, "No bedtime story?" You want to punish Ethan---you take away his bedtime story. I never can do that though. When they are unloveable...LOVE them! Tonight, I rocked him. I rocked and read The Magic Tree House until his eyes got droopy. He looked up at me and said, "this was a good day." Yes, it was, sweet one!

I held him awhile after he was asleep....still rocking and patting. I studied him. Like I did when he was a baby. I looked at his little hands and how small they look when you really look at them. I examined his sweet fingers and thought about them holding a lizard a few days ago. I rubbed on his little bare legs until he got chilly bumps. And, I ran my fingers across his forehead like I did to make him sleepy when he was little. Those are sweet times holding a sleeping little one. As I sat there, I looked out of the window and saw the moon and the very same star he wished on as we were walking out of the stadium tonight. I wonder what he wished?
I carried him to our bed where Matt was reading to Crazy Love to Emma Kate. I haven't read it yet, but from just the little bit that I have heard it's wonderful!

Emma Kate asked what it meant to fear the Lord. We tried to explain it in 9 year old terms the best we could. I love it when she asks questions.

This was a full day! A good day! I think I'll sleep good tonight because I loved today!

Fall

2011-10-11T11:59:00.001-05:00

I finally did some fall decorating!

Just a few things here and there....

This is one of my favorite photos of the kids. It was taken a few falls ago on the way to church one Sunday morning in front of a grocery store pumpkin display!

I like to change up things under my glass cloche....

tree branch with a few colorful fall leaves....

I changed out my photos from my "summer" gallery wall but I left the star fish and sand dollars and just added some big fall leaves. I like the mix of it...

And outside.....
I bought just 3 mums. Because I tend to kill them pretty early. Two are still looking o.k. One is dead. They are pretty while they last.

I made a burlap "BOO" banner to hang over the door.

Fall also means football! Matt works hard on his Fantasy Football team! I love the sound of football on the TV!

Ethan loves to collect leaves. Some heart-shaped ones fell in the backyard.

EK picked out a small pumpkin at Wal-Mart. We still need to find a pumpkin patch to go to.

oh, the Halloween candy aisle! We got "boo'ed" so we had to buy some candy to "boo" someone else. I put the leftovers in a big tub for trick-or-treaters. Why did I think that was a good idea!? All the chocolate has been picked out of it.

We tried to find some we didn't like. But, it was very hard!

oh goodness.....

The kids have been back and forth about what they want to be for Halloween. Emma Kate pleaded for a "store-bought" costume this year! So, I caved in and bought both of their costumes at Target yesterday. (That is NOT it above!! That is just her trying on a mask in Wal-Mart--until I wondered out loud how many other people have tried on that mask. HA! She took it off and threw it down really fast!) They are cute and I'm happy with what they chose!

We decorated the tree in our circle! The neighborhood kids loved hanging these little ghosts in the tree!

We went on our "boo-ing" mission last week. We chose two families in our neighborhood. EK chose a family down the street with a baby and she picked out some baby snacks to put in the basket along with the candy.
Ethan chose to "boo" his friend, Davis. Emma Kate went first. She put the treat down, rang the door bell and ran! Then it was Ethan's turn. He put the treat basket down, rang the door bell and then hid behind a tree. I motioned for him to keep running but he didn't! He waited and when they didn't come to the door he ran up and rang the bell again! When Ms. Hollie came to the door, he stuck his head out from behind the tree and smiled at her! Caught! Then the whole family came out of the house and the kids ran around in the front yard for awhile. He didn't get it. Or, maybe he did...he just wanted to play with Davis for a minute! Little stinker!!

This is a fun time of year!!

weekend happenings

2011-10-04T21:53:00.001-05:00

We had a full weekend! Grammy and Paw came down to take the kids to a Disney Live show. What a treat!

No, EK didn't get glasses! They are just a fashion accessory that looked cute with her outfit!

The kids stayed the night in the hotel with Grammy and Paw. They went to the children's museum Saturday.

Friday night, Karey and Steven drove down to eat dinner with us. (wish I would've taken some pictures!) We really enjoyed visiting with them! It was fun to have a date night!!

Saturday night Grammy and Paw stayed at our house with the kids while we went to game night at Jason's and Ellen's! We never get out 2 nights in a row!! It's fun to do once in awhile, but I had to have a nap Sunday afternoon!!

It started looking a little fallish this weekend! The weather was beautiful!!! I didn't want to ever go inside! Ethan had fun with this Mr. ~~Potato~~ Pumpkin Head! We have a few fall decorations up....

And guess what?!? Our pottery is all done! Ellen surprised me with it Saturday night! I was so excited to see it and I couldn't wait to show it to the kids.

The glazes turned out SO pretty! The greenish ones are my favorite!

They are all sitting on the dining room table right now. I want to put them to use, but I just really like looking at them all together for now.

We have another busy weekend fast approaching....field trip, company, family photo shoot....Can't wait!

Nook

2011-10-03T08:53:00.001-05:00

A few posts back I mentioned that I was working on a special project. Well, it's complete! I turned the linen closet by the kids' rooms into a book nook! They both love to read and I know how kids love little cozy spaces to call their own.

The decor is inspired by Eric Carle, one of our favorite authors! We will be adding some art work as it's finished. I found some wall stickers at Target and put the caterpillar in Ethan's spot and the butterfly in Emma Kate's spot. Last week, we started on some Eric Carle inspired art. We painted paper to be used for collaged pictures. I used some of the paper to cut out the word "Read" for the banner.

They both have baskets of books, plenty of cozy pillows and blankets, and cuddly friends and pillow pets to snuggle up with.

For the book nook debut on Friday, I left a special little treat for them--Book Worms!

There is no light in the closet, so I bought these little tap lights at Wal-Mart. They did the trick!

I pull out the bean bag and sit on it to read with them! And then Zoe curls up on a blanket under Ethan's shelf! Looks like we will all enjoy this little space! :)
Happy Reading!
I linked up to "Made by you Monday"

Nature Walk

2011-09-30T00:08:00.001-05:00

Where has this week gone? It doesn't seem like it's Friday already! I took these pictures Sunday. I've been so busy this week and time has flown by!

Sunday evening, we picked up dinner and ate down by the seashore. We enjoyed walking around on the trails to see what we could see. Matt found a sideways tree that he thought would be easy to climb. It wasn't.

The weather is starting to get nicer so we are starting to want to be outside more. It's still hot here, but getting better.

We saw some cool critters....

and interesting trees and plants. These are roots from a fallen tree probably left from Katrina.

These spiders are so pretty. I love the detail in the web--amazing!

The bayou....

Sometimes Ethan gets tired of walking.

Matt carried him a while. He looked so big being held like that. His feet went all the way down to Matt's knees. He's getting so big--they both are.

What a pretty time of day this is! The sun was just right in the sky.

We looked and looked for a gator but with no luck.

We had a great week. Like I said, busy! I'm done with my little project, so I'll have to share that tomorrow!

Because of Winn-Dixie....

2011-09-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

.....I made egg-salad sandwiches for a PARTY!

Emma Kate's class has been reading "Because of Winn-Dixie" over the past several weeks. They finished it up last week and had a party to celebrate.

Because of Winn-Dixie is one of my favorite books! Near the end of the story, Opal has the idea to have a party to sort of bring everyone together. Opal wants to have egg salad sandwiches at the party. Gloria Dump teaches her how. "...we worked in Gloria's kitchen and made egg-salad sandwiches. We cut them up in triangles and cut off the crusts and put little toothpicks with frilly tops in them." (I sent frilly toothpicks too!)

In the book, Gloria asks Opal if she knows how to make egg-salad sandwiches. She says no because her mama isn't around to teach her things like that. I have made egg-salad before, but I still called my mama to ask her exactly how to do it! :) Don't know what I'd do without her!!

(Zoe and I snacked on the leftover crusts!)
Emma Kate's teacher wanted to the party to be real authentic. Other things they had at their Winn-Dixie party:
"Dump Punch" (orange juice, grapefruit juice, plain soda)
Jar of Pickles-- Otis brought pickles to the party. I just love Otis. "It just ain't a party without pickles."
Bowl of hard candy -- to represent Littmus Lozenge

Egg-Salad

Boiled Eggs (about 1 egg makes 1 sandwich)

Mayo

Sweet Relish

Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the eggs and cut up into little cubes after they cool. Mix in desired amount of mayo. Add relish and salt and pepper to taste. Chill.

Everyone makes egg-salad different, I'm sure. I've heard of people putting mustard in theirs too. This is my favorite way--just like my mama makes it! :)

Oh, and it's best with Bunny Bread....with the crust cut off and cut into 4 triangles!

Locust

2011-09-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

Ethan and Emma Kate love to find locust shells. One day, they found one still occupied!

These are BIG bugs! Ethan was so excited and picked it right up!

I will have to share Ethan's Nature Journal sometime...it's so cute! He has been working on it all summer and adds things he finds. These photos will have to go in there for sure!

Look at those sweet, little hands gently holding his treasure!

He held it and studied it for a long time before it buzzed away.

We've got SpiRiT!!!

2011-09-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

This week was Spirit Week for Homecoming! It started on Wednesday with Sports Day! Ethan wore this USM jersey that some friends just handed down to us.

Emma Kate wore her softball uniform!

The Bus Stop Crew!! Matt and I walk the kids down to the bus stop every morning. It's something we enjoy doing together. It's just a few minutes out of our day, but it's such a joy! Matt says he loves to hear them interacting and chattering together about the day ahead.

Nonnie made this cute, felt, flower hair clip for Emma Kate!

Wednesday afternoon was the Homecoming parade downtown. It was a fun, little parade! The kids caught lots of beads!!

Ethan brought along this butterfly net to catch his beads in! It worked out great!

Thursday was Hat Day!

And then today was Blue and Grey day. I couldn't find school shirts for the kids to wear so I just bought some and painted them myself. It worked out fine! Ek's says "{SCHOOL NAME} Girls Love Their 'Hounds!"

Ethan's says "Greyhounds are #1" They were fun to make!

They had a fun week! It's always nice to have some special days and activities at school.
This week, Emma Kate was so excited because she was chosen as Library Helper on Fridays. She gets to help scan students' books to check out and reshelve books. She felt so big having that special responsibility. Ethan got the Golden Book award this week (and EK was last week) for reading a lot of books at home and taking AR tests. We have been reading a lot! He loves it!!
We went to the Homecoming Game tonight and had a fun time with friends! We left in the 4th quarter and it was 40 something to 0, so I think it's safe to say we won!!

project

2011-09-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a project and I can't wait until it's finished! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head!

It's one of those projects where Matt just has to humor me and not ask too many questions! He's learned by now!!

I'm basically done painting the big room and partly done with the banister. And the hallway--well, it's almost done too. Okay, I have a bit of an attention problem when it comes to finishing projects. But, it was just time to start on this. And, this one I'll have to finish soon. Because I have two kiddos that are ready for it's debut!

I'm taking a break tomorrow though for some shopping, lunch and a movie with girls!

She Bakes!

2011-09-18T16:13:00.000-05:00

Emma Kate baked a cake today!

{Almost} all by herself!!

Uncle Richard gave EK some cookbooks a few Christmases ago. We looked through the recipes and she decided on this Golden Layers cake.

It was exciting baking a cake from scratch...no boxes or tub icing!

She and Nonnie made an apron this summer!

She could not wait to lick the icing....

DONE!

Daddy got the first piece and then she served her friends outside. They enjoyed some yummy cake and a glass of milk!

YUM! She did a great job and was so proud of her cake!

glazing

2011-09-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

Remember our pottery?

It finally came out of the kiln and was ready for glazing.

First, we had to dip the bottom of each piece in wax to prevent the glaze from dripping down onto the bottom. If that happened, the piece would fuse to the bottom of the kiln and could not be saved.

Ethan loves being at Ms. Ellen's and Mr. Jason's surrounded by nature--totally in his element with sticks, bugs, and rocks!

The next step was painting the glaze on. We had several to choose from. We decided that this part wasn't as much fun as actually making the pottery or "throwing" it. The fun part about this is the anticipation of seeing what the glaze is going to look like after it's fired. You never really know what you are going to get.

I can't wait to see our finished pieces!!

Ethan's Room

2011-09-15T08:20:00.000-05:00

I love to go into the kids' rooms while they are at school. Lots of times I'm picking up or putting laundry away. I miss them during the day, so seeing all of their things makes me smile. Sometimes, I'll say a little prayer for them asking God to bless their school day.

I've been trying to get them to make their own beds every morning before school. I had to take a picture of the way Ethan made his bed this day--he did a pretty good job! While I was in there I thought I might as well take pictures of some other things (it was pretty straight this particular day!).

His book/toy shelf

We have a shelf just for Toy Story Toys. I LOVE the way he wrote his name on the bottoms of their feet just like Andy did in the movie. So sweet!

His artwork. I love hanging their cute art all over the house. They like it, too. I think it makes them feel special!

More art... He drew the spaceship and painted the little wooden one.

Ethan LOVES books! (and I do too!) Right now, we are reading the Magic Tree House books. He's so hooked. He really can't wait to read them every night. As soon as we finish one, he gets the next one out and reads the back to see what its about.

I put some of Emma Kate's birthday party decorations in her room, so Ethan wanted me to make his room specia tool. I made this little circle garland by cutting out circles and gluing them to fishing string. They make his room colorful.

His Playmobile sets... Always ready to save the princess...

So, this is Ethan's 6 year old room--full of his personality and the things he loves!

Lately

2011-09-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been painting our upstairs walls. I took a nice long break after we finished up downstairs, but now it's time to get back to work! It's coming along.

Lately, I haven't been taking many pictures because my camera is messed up...my NEW camera! :( I need to get it to a camera shop ASAP!

Lately, I've been addicted to Pinterest!! Who else is? It's like inspiration OVERLOAD!! Very handy though. I've pinned tons of great art lessons and projects for the kids. One of them, we did tonight....

Here is the inspiration: Who's Awesome?! {We changed it up a bit}

Start with old book pages. This is a huge American Lit book that my mom was throwing away...perfect! Draw the owl with oil pastels and then watercolor it in. Fun!!

{LOVE that tongue sticking out!}

Then after the owls, they had all kinds of other ideas....turtles, hermit crabs, whales....

We really enjoyed this quick little project! I think I'll need to frame some of these!!

Then, the kids went outside to play....

The neighborhood friends were so interested in our art that we moved the creating outside....

Lately, I'm really wishing I was an art teacher....this, seeing kids get excited about creating, confirms it!! I seriously want to do some kind of kids art camp in the summer.

Lately, Ethan has been climbing high in this tree....

It makes me nervous.

This sweet boy is student of the week this week!!! We was thrilled!! He gets to be line leader, choose the door holder, help in the Math Meeting, and call the tables to line up.

(sorry it's sideways...just turn your head a little)

I think I'll go eat lunch with him and maybe read a story to his class this week.

On his poster, he said he wants to be a policeman. It changes every day!
You can find my pin boards HERE.

Sunday School

2011-09-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

Sunday was my first day as 1st grade Sunday School teacher at church! I really enjoyed my sweet little class. (Especially that silly, little guy on the left!)

Ethan was excited about me being in there. Right now he's the only boy! Poor thing, it seems like he's always surrounded by girls! But, we are going to try to recruit some other little boys for our class. I have a hard time believing that in a church our size he is the only 6 year old boy!

I don't really miss teaching, but I do miss working with children. I think I will like this!

Right now our room is very bare. In the next couple of weeks, I need to think of some ways to decorate it.

We had company for Labor Day weekend....our friends from North MS, the Fann's! Emma Kate was excited about bringing a friend to her Sunday School class!
Matt and I drove to church in separate cars since I had to be there a little early. After church, I went to get in the van with the 3 kids and realized I didn't have my keys. After backtracking all over the church, I realized that Matt had picked them up somehow and drove home with them in his pocket! So, we were stuck in the church for awhile waiting for him to come back. We took a few pictures to pass the time.

We had nice, relaxing Labor Day! It finally stopped raining so much from our little friend, Lee, who decided to stick around all weekend! {tropical storm} Monday, we went to Mom and Dad's for a visit. We ate lunch, played games,and visited with Maw Maw and Grandmother. Matt got a good nap, Ethan had fun drawing in an old scrapbook Nonnie gave him, Emma Kate and Papa watched a movie, and Mom and I looked at Grandmother's many quilts that she has made over the years. I picked out a few that I want to keep and use at our house. It was a good day.

Favorite Universal Moments

2011-09-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

Meeting SpongeBob!

Jurasic Park!

Getting Soaked on Jurasic Park!

Meeting all kinds of fun characters like Curious George!

Touring the backlot movie sets!

Riding down Wisteia Lane!

And last but not least....sharing laughs and making memories with these 3....

We had a very fun trip to Southern California, but it felt so good to be back in the South....there's no place like home!

Hollywood

2011-09-06T21:07:00.001-05:00

Day 3 we went to Hollywood Blvd to see all the tourist attractions...the Chinese Theater, the Hollywood Sign, the Walk of Fame...etc. It was all real interesting! Lots of "colorful" characters around there!! It wasn't really what I expected. We enjoyed seeing the hand and footprints and reading the names on the stars as we walked down the sidewalk.

One thing that we found exciting was a movie premiere...the Lion King 3D. We were across the street watching all the excitement and spotted 2 stars...

Did you know Billy Graham had his own star? I didn't.

Ethan with Walt Disney's star.

Here we are in front of the Hollywood sign! So cool!

We drove to Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive...just to see what it was like.

We didn't get out and do any shopping there. We went to another shopping area called The Grove. I LOVED this place!! We had cheesecake and coffee at the Cheesecake Factory, browsed in Pottery Barn Kids, Fossil, Nike, Forever 21, Lucky Brand, and my favorite....Anthroplogy! There was also a HUGE American Girl store. I had some pictures in there of Emma Kate picking out her new doll, but they were on her camera and she lost it. :( Poor girl...she was so upset!

This is also where the original Farmer's Market was. We didn't get to spend very much time in there.

We went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding that night.

Karin looked beautiful! It was so good to see her and Mark and some other Memphis friends.

L.A. Day 2

2011-09-03T14:52:00.001-05:00

We woke up Friday morning and packed up the car (we were moving to a different hotel) and then walked over to Downtown Disney. The kids saw some things the first night that they wanted to go back and do. Ethan loved building a car at Ridemakerz! This was such a cool place!

Aren't these the cutest things?!? Chocolate covered apples at a candy store.

Anytime they see these big sugar stick factories they beg to make one. I gave in.

We browsed through the big Lego Store.....

After a few more shops we headed over to Santa Monica.

We at lunch on the Santa Monica Pier and then walked down to this old fashioned, indoor carousel.

The pier was jam packed with ALL KINDS of people.....some of them were very interesting characters! Let's just say that's a great place to people watch. We saw all kinds!

We did about 3 rides and that was about all we could stand. :)

Matt HATES ferris wheels (and EK too--they are just alike). In this picture you could tell he was afraid to move!

This was the BIGGEST beach I have ever seen! (widest) There was so much sand. It was so far from the road to the water.

The kids just put their feet in here and we decided to drive to another beach. We enjoyed our drive up the Pacific Coast Highway--very pretty.

These flowers were everywhere! I wish mine would look like that! We drove through Malibu and ended up a little place called Zuma Beach.

It wasn't crowded at all. The ocean is FREEZING! And from what I understand it is always like that. I don't see how people stand it. I put my feet in but that was it.

The kids had fun swimming in it and playing in the waves. I just watched and took pictures.

This seaweed was everywhere. Kind of gross. Ethan played with this piece for probably 30 min! Who knows what he was imagining!!

Our family photo....

Emma Kate watched the movie Soul Surfer, so she was all about learning to surf! She pretended to be surfing in the waves!

They had to get in the car and turn up the heater to warm up!!

Seeing the Pacific Ocean was a great experience!

Let The Memories Begin

2011-09-01T23:51:00.002-05:00

So last week we took a little trip! Wednesday evening we boarded a plane in New Orleans and flew across the country to Los Angeles, CA!

We got invited to a wedding of some close friends and decided that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Neither of us had ever been to the West Coast, so we decided to make a little vacation out of it and see the sights. We started off our trip in Anaheim for a day of Disneyland!

We stayed at the Paradise Pier hotel on property. It was decorated in a cute, beachy theme. Thursday morning we went to breakfast in the hotel with Mickey and friends.

Surf's Up!

Ethan LOVED dancing with all the characters!! They taught him some cool dance moves!

He was excited to see Pluto....I know it doesn't look like it, but he really was! Pluto was who he talked about the most on this trip.

Emma Kate was happy when Minnie made her appearance!

This next picture speaks volumes to me....I'll never forget it. Everytime they asked for dancers Ethan was the first one up there. Emma Kate didn't want to go. When she saw Minnie come out, I could tell she got excited and wanted to go dance with her so badly. She got up, but made it only that far. Instead she stood there, arms crossed, and watched. These days she's all worried about what people think.... part of growing up, I guess. It breaks my heart a little. (On a lighter note, I told her I would go dance with Minnie. You should have seen how freaked out she got about that! That would have done her in for sure!)

This is Goofy in the lobby of our hotel.

On to Disneyland!!!

Lots of people have asked us the difference in Florida and California...one major difference of course is the size. Everything at Disneyland was within walking distance. The park was about a 10 min. walk from our hotel. The "land" is built just like the "world" only much, much smaller. One thing that is the same...Once you walk through those gates, the magic begins.

I think knowing that we only had 1 day there really made us appreciate every second.

We kind of had to pick and choose what we really wanted to do most and then go back to the other stuff if we had time. Looking back, there wasn't anything that we didn't do that we really regret. We had a full day of fun and magic and memories. One of our favorites is always the tea cups...such a classic! (It took Matt a little while to recover from the spinning!)

Oh, and Dumbo...we LOVE Dumbo!

Ethan was usually my riding buddy and Emma Kate was Matt's. Once in awhile we'd switch it up, but not much.

Another favorite of ours remains to be Splash Mountain! It always ends with lots of "Let's do it again!"

In front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. You can see how sunny it was. The weather was PERFECT! It got a little warm at times if we had to stand in the sun, but overall it was so nice.

Mickey! Smiling from ear to ear...

When we felt like we'd done most everything we wanted at Disneyland we headed across to Disney's California Adventure park.

We waited waaaaay too long for a rapids water ride. This was the longest we waited. The wait time said 45 min. but it felt more like an hour and a half. It was fun, but not that fun.

Emma Kate took this picture of me and Matt in line. :)

Part of this park, Paradise Pier, was carnival-type rides.

The view from the ferris wheel.
While we were up there, Ethan spotted Woody!! Since we were limited on time and we ate breakfast with Mickey, we didn't stand in line for any of the characters. We just took a picture of them as we walked by. But, Woody we stood in line for! The line wasn't too long. There about 3 people in front of us and the cast member made an announcement that Woody was leaving in 1 min. :( Ethan was so disappointed. She said Buzz would be out shortly, but we decided not to wait.

On our way to the swings, we saw him coming! Ethan ran up to him and we got a quick picture!

Then we rode Toy Story Midway Mania!

I love the swings!

This was such a sweet brother sister moment....

and it was just a moment! So rare. I'm glad I captured it!

As the sun started to set, we headed back to the Disneyland park for fireworks.

Thank you, Mr. Disney for having a dream to create such a magical place!

Ethan fell asleep waiting for the show. He was pooped!

We passed him around and tried to wake him up but he went right back to sleep! And then there goes EK....

Luckily, they woke up in time for this...

Such a perfect ending to a perfect day!

(Next up: Santa Monica, Zuma Beach, Hollywood and Univeral Studios.)

School Days

2011-08-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well, the kids have been in school for almost a month now! Our transition from summer into the new school year was so easy and we have really adjusted to our new routine. While our summer schedule (or lack there of) was nice, I'm enjoying our new day to day.

Most afternoons we get right to homework and a snack.

Matt is a lot of help with Emma Kate's math homework. It's pretty tough sometimes!

Ethan is doing really well with his reading! I love to listen to him read. He has reading, phonics, and math homework every night.

(Emma Kate took these pictures of Ethan doing homework)

Emma Kate had a special project to do the 2nd week of school....a ME bag. She brought this paper bag home and had to fill it with things that are special to her and represent who she is.

They had to present this bag to the class. She put lots of things in there....some of them were the baseball that she got at the Father's Day Reds game, a softball, and tennis ball, her piano book, Bible, a Barbie, a souvenier from San Antonio, a paint set, one of Ethan's little toys, and some other little things. She was excited about this project. It was like a huge show and tell!

My big 4th grader and sweet little 1st grader...

Love this face!!

E's curriculum night was last Tuesday (8/23)

I loved seeing all of his cute work....

love this self portrait!

"I like when he was in his underwear!" Why am I not surprised!!!

After we met with his teacher, we went to the Scholastic Book Fair to buy some books!

Thursday was picture day! I found these on EK's camera when I downloaded her pictures! I guess she was practicing her smile!

Back to School

2011-08-20T23:09:00.002-05:00

Meet the Teacher Day was August 1st. The kids (and Mom) were filled with anxious anticipation to see who they were going to be spending their year with! We are VERY pleased and I can't say enough good things about their teachers!! Let's just say we are going to have a fantastic year!!!

First Day: August 4, 2011. They both brought apples to their teachers. (And homemade snickerdoodle cookies!)

The night before we read The Kissing Hand. It's such a sweet book that I can hardly make it through without crying like a baby! We made kissing hands to help us get through the first day.

All ready to go....

Ethan was so proud of his SpongeBob lunch box!

Both of them were excited about being back at school! It was such an easy morning!!

I used my kissing hands thoughout the day. I missed them.

I baked their traditional back to school cake...

I couldn't wait to pick them up and hear all about their day. They both had fun and really enjoyed it! I love hearing that!! Even now several days in they are still positive about their new classes and loving their teachers!

EKP-4, EDP-1

Mom and Dad drove down to see then kids after school and hear all about their day---and have cake and coffee with us. We were so glad they could come!

I got Ethan the book, The Night Before 1st Grade. He read it to Nonnie.

That morning I asked Matt to make some paper airplanes for me to decorate with. He made about 3 different kinds in no time at all. Hmmm, I wonder what he did during school!!

Here are some past back to school cakes:

2010

2009

2008

Past First Day posts:

First Day of School 2010

Ethan's First Day 2009

Emma Kate's First Day 2009

Emma Kate's First Day 2008 (K)

Ethan's First Day 2008 (MDO)

Wow, they grow so fast!

Our last hoo-rah!

2011-08-16T00:47:00.002-05:00

Our last day of sweet, summertime freedom was messy...

We have some really, amazingly cool friends....the kind of friends that are so interesting there is never a dull moment when we are around them! They live in the coolest house ever, have raccoon families that visit their back porch nightly, are musically and artistically talented, play great tennis, collect art, are gourmet cooks, are fans of belly dancing, collect cool vintage items like pinball machines, play cards, have the greenest thumbs you've ever seen and have neat toys... like a pottery wheel.

Ellen is a potter and she's really good! She calls herself a novice, but I'm not so sure. She has some beautiful pieces in her home that she has done. (Her sweet cat, Polly eats out of really fancy dishes!) Ellen was so sweet and offered her time and talent to teach us! We were so, so excited!! What a wonderful experience!

Emma Kate had her turn first and I didn't think we would ever get her off of the wheel! She loved it! I think she ended up making 6 small pieces! This is really harder than it looks, so she did really well!

While EK was learning, Ethan painted. He made watercolor pictures for Ms. Ellen, Mr. Jason and even Polly!

and then he took a little break from painting to play....

This is one of the pieces EK did. This is really a process....they have to be fired, glazed and then fired again. So, it will be a little while before we see the finished product, but I.can't.wait!

Ethan's turn....

I had a turn, too! (However, I only had time to make one piece.) It was really fun and very, very relaxing!
As I was moving and forming the clay in my hands, I thought about the comparison God makes to us and clay in His Word. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah through a potter (Jer.18). He saw the potter making something on the wheel. "But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Can I not....deal with you as this potter does?...Behold, like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand.'" (Jer. 18:4-6) The NIV says "shaping it as it seemed best to him." (Jer. 18:4b) I love that passage. God is the ultimate Potter. He can change the design at any time. "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?" (Rom. 9:21)
When we started out forming the clay that day, none of our vessels ended up the way we thought they would or the way they started out. At some point, we weren't happy with the way they looked, so we changed it. As the potter, we can do that. He holds the clay, the world, our lives in the palm of His mighty hand. If He doesn't like the way it's looking....He can and will remake it into something that pleases Him. I'm happy that He's still molding me, changing me --His masterpiece (Eph. 2:10)-- into what he wants me to be. "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8 I want the Lord to take all of my imperfections and use them, forming them into something beautiful that pleases and glorifies Him, the Potter.

Emma Kate's Fiesta

2011-08-13T15:34:00.001-05:00

We got the inspiration for Emma Kate's birthday party on our trip to San Antonio. It was Fiesta time while we were there and we loved all the color and festive decorations that we saw everywhere.

We bought the colorful banner that's behind the table. Matt and the kids got me a basket and some little turtles there for my birthday. And my mom let us borrow her pretty blanket.

The drink station. We had sweet tea, cherry limeade (the favorite), and lemonade. We also had little garnishes for the drinks and crazy straws.

My mom helped me bake the cake a few days before the party and we froze it. It works well to freeze a cake before icing it. I iced it myself and it was pretty easy! My mom was so helpful in making all the buntings and tissue paper flowers! We had fun making a lot of the decorations.

Emma Kate watercolored the doilies for under the cake and the banner on the drink table.

More of my mom's zinnias!

The menu was tacos, cheese dip, fruit, chips and salsa and of course birthday cake. Mom made her delicious Sophila Cheesecake. :)

Emma Kate loves chocolate cake so I made her cupcakes too. She and some friends greeted the guests as they arrived.

Here is another photo of the bunting.... I'm crazy about these things....so festive! Now, its hanging in EK's room.

I love having our screened in porch for parties!

Her #9 doll that Nonnie and Papa get her every year. We are going to have to get a bigger shelf next year.

Uncle Steve gave her a birthday spanking....

The kids loved doing the limbo. We also did the Mexican Hat dance.

This was a fun party to put together! I had so much fun doing it and Emma Kate this was her favorite party!

Beach Day with Ethan and Ella

2011-08-12T11:14:00.001-05:00

We had so much fun with Candy, Ethan, and Ella when they visited us in July! I think my favorite day was our beach day! We brought sand toys and a picnic lunch and had a blast!

Before our playing began, we managed to snap a few pictures of the kids...

This look cracks me up! I think the sun was bothering his eyes!!

FRIENDS!

The 2 Ethans!

Me and Candy-- taken by Emma Kate. She really knows how to take photos and get a natural smile out of you...before she was done, she had us laughing. She snapped probably about 20 in a row and then started rotating the camera. This one was actually upside down and I just flipped it. It is probably my favorite one!

They changed into their suits and hit the water. (the brown, murky water that is the Gulf. But, they didn't care!)

The played in the water, collecting shells and crabs, and then took a break for lunch.

The had fun feeding the sea gulls. They like BBQ chips but not grapes!

Look closely at this one...you can see the chip in his beak.

We cooled off with a snowball from the Caboose.

Fun times! We miss our sweet friends!

Summer Color

2011-08-11T11:37:00.000-05:00

My mom always plants Zinnias and Sunflowers in their garden. These are 2 of my favorite flowers! I've always loved Sunflowers and I'm just crazy about Zinnias because they are SO colorful.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made...." -Henry Beecher

The Butterflies love them too!

"The Earth laughs in flowers" --Ralph Waldo Emerson

"I perhaps owe becoming a painter to flowers" --Claude Monet

Flowers are a gift! "Every good and perfect gift comes from ABOVE!" James 1:17

Emma Kate loves to shell peas from the garden. It keeps her busy for awhile!

Most of the Summer, Mom has provided and endless supply of these beautiful cut flowers for my kitchen. I love them in my vintage ball jars. They make me so happy! And the good thing about Zinnias is that when you cut them, more grow back in their place.

"God loved the flowers and invented soil. Man loved flowers and invented vases!"

Beach Day

2011-08-08T13:38:00.001-05:00

Here are a few more photos from Beach Day in July.

Waiting for a good wave....

Mr. Beau helped Ethan on his board and then let go...

SO fun riding on the waves!!

Emma Kate had fun playing with Brooklyn!

at Lulu's...

The kids saw this man doing characatures and asked if they could get one done. It just about killed Ethan to sit still for that long!

Look at that face he's making.... He was cracking up the artist with all his funny faces!

What a fun day...I can't wait to go back soon!