Overdue Update

I can't believe we're in December and I haven't updated the blog since early October.  Life has been super busy around here.  Nothing extraordinary, just the usual stuff.

Every year we take the kids to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin to carve for Halloween.  This year was no different except that we added a newby to the tradition. This was Huck's first visit to the pumpkin patch.  Let me just say that taking pictures with three kids is quite the task.  It was almost impossible to get a picture with all three cooperating at the same time.  Here's what we got...

Seth and McKayla were scheduled to be with their mom this year for Halloween so we decided to take the kids to Thomasville for their downtown trick-or-treating festivities.  Most of the shops passed out candy for the kids and the bookstore even had story time. 

Seth played flag football through October and finished the season just before Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we celebrated the holiday here this year.  My dad came down from Tennessee to celebrate with us and Justin's parents were going to join us as well. Unfortunately, Justin's mom got sick which made only six for dinner.  We had tons of delicious food and leftovers for days.

Now, let's see if I can stay caught up in December.

Celebrate It!

We've had a few birthdays around here lately and some other things to celebrate. Let's start at the beginning.

August 31st was Justin's 36th birthday.  We celebrated by spending the day together, just the two of us. We went out for breakfast and then headed to Firefly Pottery to do some painting.  Justin made each of the kids a little something. Seth got a shark, McKayla got a turtle, and Huck got an inch worm.  I decorated a plate (more on that later). After our pottery painting Justin and I headed to lunch and finished off the day with a special birthday dinner at Ted's with the kids and his parents. 

That last picture is of the plate I made.  I call it the Celebrate It! plate.  This is an idea I heard about several years ago on an interview with Jennie Garth and have been wanting to create it ever since.  She explained in the interview that the plate was used to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and special accomplishments.  The person with the special occasion to celebrate, gets to eat off the plate.

Not too longer after we brought it home, we had something to celebrate.  McKayla finally learned how to ride her bike.  We were so excited and so was she. 

That night she was even more excited when she saw that she got to be the first to eat from the Celebrate It! plate.

Not longer after this, we celebrated two more birthdays.  Seth turned 7 on September 25th and McKayla turned 10 on October 3rd. Unfortunately, the kids were with their mom this year for their birthdays so we had to celebrate on alternate days. 

Justin and I got Seth some new clothes, a game for the wii, and a .22 rifle.  It's a small one that fits his body size.  Anytime you asked him what he wanted for his birthday, this was all he mentioned.  He LOVES going to the range with Justin to shoot it. 

We had something extra special planned for McKayla's big double digit birthday.  She gets to go on a trip with her daddy.  Just the two of them are going to spend about 5 days together to any place she wants to go in the contiguous United States.  Basically, she and Justin will pick a few cities which they will research together.  Once they pick a place, they will plan the entire trip together.  Right now it looks like it will probably be San Diego.  Seth will get to do the same thing when he turns 10.

The kids also got a really cool present from my mom this year.  They both went on the converse website and got to design their own "Chuck Taylors" right down to the color of the stitching.

 

 

I can't wait to see what we get to celebrate next!

 

College Football Kick Off

As I'm sure all of you know, this past weekend was the first weekend of the college football season.  Thanks to my cousin Anthony, Justin and the kids got to start it out in style (Huck and I stayed home).  He got them Hospitality Tent tickets, On Field tickets, and tickets to the game.  The kids were super excited and they all had a great time.

Thanks again Anthony!!!

A Good Deed

As I mentioned in my last post, the kids came up with something pretty amazing for the last day of the "Summer Chain of Events".  Early on in the summer, McKayla told us she wanted to do a lemonade stand.  In July we started talking about how to do it and what supplies we would need.  A week or so before we were set to do it, she made a pretty remarkable decision.  She came to us and told us that she wanted to donate the money she made to cancer research.  When we asked her how much of it she wanted to donate, she said, "all of it!". I'm sure you can imagine how proud that made Justin and me.  If you know McKayla, you know she has the biggest heart (especially for only being 9).  This is not the first time she has donated her own time and money to a charity. 

About a year ago or so, we were walking out of Publix and I saw some people raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.  This is something I did a few years back.  Basically, you raise money and run in the "Rock 'n' Roll" marathon (or half) in San Diego.  Since I recognized and had been part of the charity I went and donated a few dollars and was talking to the woman about my experience.  As we walked to the car McKayla started asking questions about what it was and what the money was for.  Once I told her she immediately asked, "Can I give them some of my money?" So we went back to the booth they had set up and she gave them $15.00 (how much she had decided to donate). When we got home she ran to her piggy bank and gave me $15.00.  She has also participated with me in fundraisers for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Cancer Society. 

A couple days before she did her lemonade stand we got supplies (straws, cups, lemonade mix, soda, water), decided on prices, and made signs.  We put a sign up on Bannerman and two more leading people to our home. 

The sign on Bannerman

Justin and I may have helped with the signs :)

You're almost there...

Seth and McKayla are ready for customers. 

The neighbors helped too!!!

I must say, I was really impressed with all of our neighbors, many of them stopped by and gave much more than the cost of a drink.  We also had family and friends that came out to support the cause.  How much did they raise?

 

$126 

 

We are over the moon proud of these kids!!!

Summer Chain of Events, Week 6

The final week of our Summer Chain of Events was not the most well organized one.  This was my first "official" week back at work so it makes executing everything a bit tough.  Things got moved and changed around and then we still missed a couple things and substituted some.  Here's what we ended up with.

Monday, August 13th: Water balloon fights!!!

Tuesday, August 14th: Frisbees at the park. This one didn't actually happen.  We didn't have time to do it and then we got rained out on the day we were going to make it up.

Wednesday, August 15th: On Wednesday we took the kids up to Gilchrist to find out who their teachers are.  The each found their names on the class lists and were happy with who they got.  Seth has Mrs. Snyder (1st) and McKayla has Mrs. Poll (4th).  Unfortunately, the only pictures I got were of their class lists and since those have other peoples names on them I don't want to post them here. 

Thursday, August 16th: We made Fenway some yummy, home made, dog treats.  I got the recipe from my SIL and Fenway absolutely loves them!!!

Friday, August 17th: On Friday night the kids had a living room camp-out.  I have no pictures of this :(

Saturday, August 18th: This day we were supposed to have a picnic at the park but we got rained out.

Sunday, August 19th: Justin and I had planned to take the kids to the Tallahassee Museum but the kids had come up with something so wonderful, we scratched our plan and did theirs instead.  The kid's choice was so AWESOME that it's going to get its own post.  Stay tuned for that. 

Well, that's the sad ending to our summer chain of events.  I am sad that summer vacation has ended and I know the kids are too.  Luckily, going back to school means that the kids will get to start playing sports again (football, volleyball, soccer, baseball, etc.).  Only 41 weeks until we do it all again :)

Summer Chain of Events, Week 5: Week in Tennessee

For our fifth week of summer with the kids, we had only one chain and it read, "Going to Tennessee!". That's just what we did.

On Monday, July 30th, we packed up the truck with clothes, a pack 'n' play, a dog crate, a stroller, movies, snacks, and a few other essentials.  Then the six of us (including Fenway) loaded up at 5:00 a.m. and started the eight hour drive to Dandridge, Tennessee where my Dad and Step-Mom live.  Everyone traveled great and we only had to stop three times.  When we got there we were rewarded with this view from the house of Lake Douglas...

The week was jam packed full of fun.  There was water skiing, tubing, knee-boarding, swimming, jet ski's, a trip to the forbidden caverns, a trip to Wonderworks, and about a million or so games of Yahtzee (Seth's new favorite). 

I'll let the pictures tell the details...

Huck and Uncle Ryan :)

Ryan on the tractor

Dad thinks he's a farmer now because he has a tractor :)

Dad and his kids! 

Love my brother!!!

They love their uncle Ryan and owe him BIG TIME

for all the trips on the boat and being pulled by the boat. 

Huck the astronaut!

Pitching Practice

Throwing as fast as he can!

Rock wall climbing. 

Justin and dad pedaling to get upside down.  They did it!

Working on his skateboarding skills. 

The kids with Grandma Donna :)

Our house on Google Maps. 

Harder than it looks!

Huck and his Grandpa

Uncle Ryan takes the kids tubing, again!

Hanging out in the shade. 

That's McKayla knee-boarding. She can be a bit of a dare devil. 

Wave Runner Rides

Grandpa was the only one to get up on the skis. 

About to head into the caverns. 

Deep in the caverns. It's a bit cold down there!

Stopped for breakfast on our way home. 

We had another great week in Tennessee.  We're already looking forward to next year's trip.  Hopefully my SIL and the kids will make it next time.  We really missed having them there.