Chitlin Hoedown

When the weather begins to get cool, we know it's time for our annual trip to Yatesville for the Chitlin Hoedown with our friends, the Blounts.  This year, we took Abby with us to witness the extravaganza firsthand.  She and Emily enjoyed spinning the wheel and winning a much-needed stuffed animal and we ALL enjoyed some homemade barbecue and fried pies. Yum!  

And now it's time for a nap in the sunshine!

Modeling her new purchase.  We love hats!

Pumpkin Carving

Our friends the Westbrooks are kind enough to host an annual pumpkin carving party for their friends and family and we are thrilled to always be included.  We have a blast sharing a big dinner and carving pumpkins all over their house.  It's always fun to see all the children gather on the porch and show off their creations (or the creations of their devoted parents!). Every year, Emily puts lots of thought into her design.  This year she chose - surprise! - a Minecraft creeper.  Although I am not a fan of the game, I have to admit that he looked pretty impressive once we put a green glow stick inside of him.  Donald, the mad scientist, also brought along some dry ice to make the pumpkin unveiling even more spectacular.  A great way to spend a fall evening!

Throwback videos!

Donald and I went grocery shopping without Emily today and were smiling at the sounds of a toddler babbling in a nearby aisle.  We both remarked that Emily rarely talked like that - she stayed silent for a really long time and then suddenly began speaking in complete sentences!  We both said that it was difficult to remember what she sounded like when she first began speaking.  Fortunately, through the magic of the Blogger time machine, we get to hear her all over again!  Hope you enjoy these funny videos!

Days of the Week

Learning to Spell

Learning the Alphabet

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Apple Picking

To celebrate our friend Amy's birthday, we loaded up and took our yearly trip to Mercier Orchards.  Both the girls had a great time picking apples and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather.  After a ridiculous amount of fritters, pork rinds, boiled peanuts, and fruit, we headed home to sleep off our food stupor.  We also discovered a new favorite apple - the "September Wonder."  Emily has a tradition of bringing back apples for her teachers every year and they all really enjoyed the variety she picked this year.  Too bad we can't find them at Publix!  Guess we'll have to make another trip to Blue Ridge sometime soon.  I cooked the last of the apples in a pie to take to Homecoming lunch at church today!

Fall Days at Serenbe

After Homecoming at church today, we decided to take the girls to Serenbe to spend the afternoon.  It was too gorgeous a day to stay indoors!  We all had a great time taking a walk around the grounds and visiting with the animals.  We had the foresight to bring a bag of carrots with us, which turned out to be the best dollar we've ever spent.  All the animals enjoyed our gift!  After some glass bottle sodas from Fern's, we headed back home.  What a great way to spend a fall afternoon!

Soimeone left the henhouse door open and all of the birds were on the loose!

Today was the day for escapee animals - the donkey was out of his pen, too.

Turtle watching!

Learning to skip stones with Dad

Walking the labyrinth

The trampoline is always a highlight of a trip to Serenbe.

Time for a rest!

Throwback Time!

A few photos from the White House archives....  

Happy 8th Birthday!

Our little girl turned eight on August 31 and celebrated with a slumber party.  Yikes!  I brought three little girls home from school with us and settled down for a night of giggling and mayhem.  We ate pizza, decorated pillowcases, ate candy, made lava lamps, ate popcorn, watched a movie, ate more candy, told ghost stories, packed in a bit more candy, and finally settled down to sleep around midnight.  I apologized to their mothers for their sugar intake when they were picked up in the morning!  Overall, I couldn't have asked for three sweeter houseguests.  First slumber party = success!  By the way, y'all love my rockstar photoshopping, right? Gotta protect their identities - what happens at the slumber party stays at the slumber party!

Rise up, Falcons!

On team shirt day, Emily and I were proud to support our Falcons, even though they didn't exactly rise up against the Saints.  Better luck next time, Birds!

Welcome to third grade!

This year, I walked my little girl down the hallway to a third grade classroom and could hardly believe that I was doing it.  How in the world did she get so grownup so quickly?  She is in love with her teacher and having an excellent year so far.  She loves going to recorder club every morning, has set a goal of reading one million words over the course of the year, and has joined the Pay it Forward community service club.  We're so proud of what a conscientious and kind-hearted girl she is!