A Perfect Break

While there was a true "fall break" from school a couple of weeks ago around here, our family of four had a break planned that coincided with the annual Georgia vs. Florida football game. Josh and I have been going to the game since college, and even though these days we have little ones in tow, we still enjoy making the trip. We've always joked that since the Dawgs haven't had the best luck with winning in Jacksonville in the last couple of decades, that we had to make a mini-vacation out of the trip to make the 6-7 hour drive worth it.

So, dashing out of Athens after Friday classes has turned into Wednesday morning departures from our home in Habersham. Reservations at the Omni hotel adjacent to the Jacksonville Landing (a.k.a. party central) have given way to condo rentals on the Plantation resort at Amelia Island. To visit Fernandina Beach, is to love Fernandina Beach.

With beautiful skies and warm breezes, this year's trip was a perfect break for our family of four...not to mention Saturday brought a Bulldog victory. Another great treat is that we get the opportunity to reconnect with old friends that we rarely get to see. Now that we all have children, it's always interesting when the crew gets together. (More photos of our trip here.)

Returning from a trip is always exhausting. The boys did pretty well both days we spent in the car. Unpacking and laundry filled our morning. So, although today was a sort of back to reality, that reality included escorting Superman and an adorable Giraffe to the post office, pharmacy, grocery and up and down our street. In other words..not entirely boring.

Carving Up Fun

The boys and I met up with some friends to carve pumpkins. The kids were pretty excited about it, but pumpkin carving can be kind of slow going. So, the younger ones can get easily bored and ready to move on. Jack hung on for a while. He's not really the kind that likes to get messy.

He selected a bat design for his pumpkin, but when I saw all the cuts that I would be doing we reconsidered. I managed to talk him into the batman bat, which just happened to be on his shirt. I sketched it on the pumpkin and got to carving. Jack was pretty pleased with the finished product, so all is well.

photo friday

Did a little dress rehearsal today. I think we're ready...

A Pinteresting Try

So, I gave the spaghetti & hot dog idea I saw on Pinterest a try the other night. I was already making spaghetti, so I just stabbed the hot dogs with the spaghetti and dropped it into the boiling water. It was pretty simple.

I guess it turned out much like I thought they would. I guess I would make it again...Jack didn't really eat it, but he did enjoy the spaghetti. Sam thought the hot dog part was okay, but wasn't sure about how these silly pasta in the way. He was, however, a fan of the spaghetti meat sauce. So, I guess I'll just stick to one dish in this case...the one everyone agrees on!

Cheese

We spent part of our Saturday with our favorite photographer in the nearby mountains. As you can imagine, the fall color was gorgeous and we had a lot of fun. I see another fun family Christmas card in our near future.

A few knock knock jokes and we were able to get Jack giggling and totally, absolutely beside himself. He enjoyed his time in front of the camera and took his role as little brother's guide/example very seriously.

Sam was a much tougher cookie to crack. We made silly faces, we tried ridiculous sounds. Sue Ann even had candy to bribe the boys in between frames, but he was all serious and full of thought.

Picasso

We've got an artist at work here, folks.

And here's our finished product. See, I told you he was talented!

Fall Breeze

Don't you love feeling that fall breeze blowing through your hair?

Just another Sunday afternoon ride on the choo choo train...



First Friday Flashback

Today is the first Friday in October, and I thought about doing a little flashback. If I can remember I'd like to do it every month. Wouldn't that be fun??

A week ago, we were gearing up to celebrate my dad's birthday down in Athens. It was a lot of fun, and it's always a treat when we get to have a big gathering. This party included my family, my brother & his wife, my parents, my in-laws and my sister-in-law & her fiance. Josh & I are so blessed to have families that don't just tolerate spending time together, but actually enjoy it. I know our boys will be blessed by it too!

One month ago, I was recalling a blissfully simple Labor Day, which was just what our family needed.

And while the crisp fall air has moved in and mornings now require sleeves, just three short months ago I was writing an Ode to Summer and trying to figure when Sam turned into a big boy who rides bikes and climbs ladders.

Can't believe it's been almost six months since we were unexpectedly celebrating an appearance from my kid sister, who lives in Germany. That very month I was documenting Sam's then favorite word/sign: "more." Ironically, he doesn't sign much anymore at all, but says so much more now! In fact, he's looking at me saying, "up, please!" as I sit and type this very post. Jack was also sharing his version of things.

A year ago, I had a sweet little baby that was on the brink of learning to crawl, and we took Jack to his first event at the fabulous Fox Theatre in Atlanta. That big boy was on the verge of turning three and had begun cracking us up on a daily basis. We were enjoying our first fall as a family of four.

Two years ago, we were enjoying a day at the farm with our buddies Gus and Mack. We took Jack to the final Braves game of the season, in which he napped while wearing a BK crown all the way to the ballpark! We found out we'd be welcoming a second BOY to our family. We squeezed a beach trip with great friends into our fall.

Three years ago seems soooo long ago! We were enjoying watching Jack explore his surroundings and test his legs by cruising about. He was about a month shy of his first birthday, and now we're just weeks away from the big 4!

Hope you had fun flashing back with us. Want to reminisce with us?

Pop is 61

On Saturday, we headed down to Athens to watch the Bulldogs take on the Bulldogs. My sweet sister-in-law, Lisa, agreed to watch the boys while everyone else went to the game. Well, just before kick-off Sam showed her his incredible skill of self-injury when he fell and bit through his lip. He's much better now, but had a fat lip for a while. After the game, everyone stayed to help celebrate my dad's 61st birthday.

There was popcorn, which pleased Jack to no end!

There was a teeny tiny hat, that my other sister-in-law, Kristy, had picked up at her favorite store Glitzy Chick to wear to the game.

Sam donning the hat & showing off his battle wound.

I can't figure out what tickles me more about this photo: the fact that Sam is enjoying this itty bitty hat so much or that Jack is still pounding the popcorn in the background!

We even got to share part of our celebration with my sister or Aunt Emmy via Skype. Jack enjoyed showing off the cake, and we all enjoyed singing and celebrating Pop!

Pancakes Are For Sharing

Both my boys are big fans of pancakes. I, therefore, am a big fan of the frozen pancakes that you zap in the microwave. Jack really prefers his pancakes with chocolate chips, and I don't often buy them that way. So, it takes some improvisation, but usually I can manage to turn a regular ole pancake into a chocolate chip pancake...albeit a bit messier than your typical chocolate chip pancake.

One day last week, after preparing pancakes, I left the kitchen to work on some laundry. I heard lots of laughter coming from the breakfast table. Sam (who had already eaten) had climbed into the seat beside his feasting big brother. And, naturally, Jack decided to share the delightfully messy pancakes with his little brother.

Howdy, Pardner

We had Round-Up at church recently, which is basically like Homecoming, but with barbeque and western wear. Although I didn't have cowboy boots or even hats for the boys to wear...they both had a touch of the ranch on. Not the best photo, but here's Jack in his Wrangler shirt.

 And Sam with his Wrangler jeans...

Yee-Haw!