Blustery day adventures

On a cold, blustery day, what better activity than to try to build a tent in the backyard, right?!  That's what David thought, so he and Abigail set out with a tarp, some PVC pipe, a mallet, and some tent stakes...and they did it!  They felt very powerful as they crawled out of the noisy, cold wind and into their little haven of warmth and quiet. :)  This week, our autumn is feeling quite winter-ish!

Leaves are falling down...

 ...and my kids are growing up, seemingly as fast as the leaves go from tree to ground!

 Our princess

Our boy young man

Flashback to October 2005...see what I mean?!

Apple season!

It's that time of year again...Karen and I have been making the trek to north Georgia at apple time for years now, but this year we added to the caravan!  Two of our other friends went with us and we had a grand old time.

 The annual watching of the fried apple pie making

Picking seconds for applesauce...almost 200 lbs between us!

An apple bin full of cute kids

Getting my snuggles in :) (Danielle's daughter Isabelle)

 Abigail and Noah

 A wagonful of our pumpkins!

 The newest pumpkin in the patch (Karen's new baby)

 Friends

Girl-fun Monday

Most of my pictures today are girl-moments...even the cat!

Here is our sweet Mindy holding my hand.  She doesn't like to snuggle up close, but she often reaches out a paw to "hold" our hand or arm while she naps.  I dare anyone to try resisting this feline...she is just too loveable to resist!

On the way to a special event tonight, Abigail and I just happened to swing by Karen's for a snuggle with Adel. :)  She's so rosy and dimply and cuddly!

Afterwards, Abigail and I headed to the library for a special Kirsten (American Girl) party for 8-13 year old girls.  They had snacks and crafts common to Kirsten's time period (Swedish immigrant to Minnesota in the 1800s) as well as a skit derived from the Kirsten books and performed by teenaged volunteers.  Abigail had a wonderful time and even got a special take-home packet filled with AG goodies!  Here she is with Ms. Vicki, the "library lady" who coordinated the event for the girls.

David made it into this picture: our annual "wouldn't their grandmas like to snuggle them in these pajamas" picture. :)  Cold weather has arrived -- at least for now -- and we were all excited to pull out the flannel pajamas.  Indeed, they are snuggly...I tested them. :)

Our autumn tradition

Today we made our annual trek to Burt's Farm for pictures, a hayride, and our first taste of apple cider for the season.  The weather was perfect -- mostly sunny with a cool enough breeze to feel like fall!  We had a wonderful time, as always...

NY comes to NC

My mother-in-law's only sister is in NC visiting my in-laws for a week, so we made a trip up there yesterday to see her.  It's much easier to make the drive to NC than it is to Buffalo, NY. :)

We had a wonderful visit with lots of chatting and laughing.  We also visited the Carl Sandburg Home, a 245-acre farm where the Sandburgs lived while he wrote and she raised prizewinning goats.  It is run by the National Park Service today, and they keep a herd of about 25 goats now; we enjoyed a walk around the beautiful farm in gorgeous fall weather, with leaves starting to change color and mountains all around us.

We just happened to get there at the goats' dinner time, so the kids got to be part of the action!

Two kids having a conversation

Isn't it cute?  This is one of a set of triplets.

A breathtaking morning glory twining its way up the main house

The kids playing on the big rock where Carl Sandburg often sat to get inspired (when I started to take this picture, the kids were sitting side by side...then David started moving again and never stopped!)

Our group  (From left, Dad, Mom, Aunt Carol)

We finished off the day at Hot Dog World, which is always a treat.  David managed to finish off a whole footlong chili dog but his mother didn't capture a picture of his moment of triumph...oh well!  The last three bites were accomplished by sheer will and accompanied by much moaning. :)  We had a wonderful day and are so glad we got to spend it together!

Welcoming another 'niece'!

The day that I flew to Seattle to visit Aria and family, another new 'niece' was born!  She isn't a niece by blood, but by heart, and it is wonderful to snuggle her and stare at her and kiss her until she starts scowling...I am very thankful for a friend who is willing to share her babies with me! :)

Welcome,    Adel    Anastasia!

 

Second month of soccer

I realized as I started this post that we are already halfway through our soccer season.  Time definitely flies when you're having fun!  We had soccer this afternoon and the kids had just as much fun as ever.  The fields are in full sun, most/all of our soccer days have had temperatures in the 80s, and the kids practice and play for two nonstop hours, so they are sweaty and TIRED when they're done...and they love every minute of it. (Don't worry...the coaches are very faithful about frequent water breaks.)  They love to play...and then they love to come home for showers, pjs, dinner, and an early bedtime!

Abigail, in her own little world, practicing her moves while the ball was at the other end of the field :)

"Hi, Mom!"

Defending the goal

David in action

The school year is flying by...

I have been remiss in keeping the kids' grandmothers and great-grandmother everyone up to date on the day-to-day bits of our life!  I often feel like there isn't much that is newsworthy...but I was reminded this week that my far-away family misses out on sharing the 'everyday things' with my kids, and the blog at least helps to fill that void a little bit.

We are already a quarter of the way through our school year!  One of the big events this year has been our first foray into organized sports.  The kids are old enough to make the effort of getting there worth it now; they are really enjoying both the interaction and the intense physical exercise.  We have a great local program that meets once a week on Thursday afternoons, without extra games and such to add to already-busy weekends.  The kids LOVE it!  Here are some pictures from our first day at the Homeschool Soccer League.

My mom and I made soccer-gear bags for the kids.  It's always nice when an idea actually makes it into reality!

 David is sitting down as goalie in this one...his team had a good offense, so the ball didn't come back to him very much!

 Abigail doing drills and taking a shot on goal...

  Very hot and sweaty kids after their first session!

 This past week we were thrilled to start piano lessons again (we took the summer off) and we added something new this year -- art class as a group.  My friend teaches piano lessons but doesn't do artsy stuff...I love artsy stuff but don't teach piano lessons...put us together and our kids get music and art and everybody's happy! :)

 We got a little silly with the googly-eyes after art class. :)

We recently took a field trip to the Atlanta History Center's Fall Folklife Festival.  We enjoyed it as much as we always do...especially the petting zoo.  (Abigail is in a major horse-phase right now and does not see why her dad and I won't let her have at least a miniature horse.  Our usually-analytical-and-very-logical girl gets quite disgruntled that we won't see reason and let her keep one in our basement...)

 

 The kids making hardtack in the Civil War era kitchen.

 Quarry Garden

 Pretty berries -- "Beautyberry" bush

And just like that, the days roll along and the school year progresses wonderfully.  I still love this job and am thankful for the privilege of teaching my kids to love learning!