Still Thanksgiving Here

I'm cleaning off my desk (again, sigh), and found Sam and Sariah's masterpieces from Thanksgiving, and now they will be documented here forever, haha. I love these two little ones!

by Sam

by Sam

by Sariah

by Sariah

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween Happenings

It was a busy and fun day. Busier and funner than most.

First, the littles and I went trick-or-treating on the square in downtown Newnan. This really isn't my scene, but a friend I hadn't seen in awhile invited me to go with her, so we did. The best part of trick-or-treating the square is the treats the Carnegie library hands out (IMHO). We didn't leave Madeline's costume on very long. It was designed for, you know, fall weather. Meanwhile, here in the Atlanta area we set record highs for the day. Mid to high 80 degree weather was just a bit hot for Halloween costumes.

Then came Mommy's favorite time of day. I love watching her sleep. And I love getting to nap a bit after I lay her down.

And while she was still sleeping (which was an extra long nap for her, by the way), we finally carved our pumpkins. I'm pretty proud of the carvings. They aren't bad for a non-artist like me. I had to wear gloves because I have this really weird allergy to pumpkin guts. They wore gloves because it's disgusting, lol.

Sadly, I didn't get pictures of only my kids trick-or-treating tonight. We went with friends, but I'm not going to put my friend's kids up on my blog, soooooo...just know that they are quite pleased with their candy haul, aaaaaand with all this trick-or-treating today, we met Mommy's Fitbit goal, and they all fell asleep quite soundly rather rapidly. Happy Halloween, y'all.

More Tricks and Treats

Last night I put the big boys in charge of Geronimo's antics. Shhhh! Don't tell Sam. Here's what they came up with. These photos are courtesy of a very excited Sam this morning.

I guess the army took my toilet paper complaints seriously.

Don't forget all these lookouts up above!

Those were the tricks. The treats for the day included a beautiful walk this morning with Caleb, Madeline, and Sam, as well as a super fun fireside at the church tonight with Sariah (and Caleb for our chauffeur).

It's my favorite time of year. This picture doesn't even do it justice.

Tricks and Treats

So I put this picture up first, because when I share this on FB, hello, cute!!!

But first of all what I want everyone to know is that we couldn't use our half bath today because...Geronimo. Heaven forbid that we should move Geronimo. Geronimo might need to plan better tonight. Just sayin'.

Ahem. So back to the ward Halloween party and trunk-or-treat. We didn't really see much of three of our children because they were off being social or something. They get that from their dad, not me. Obviously. In the mean time, I did get pictures of the other three. I should note that Madeline was tired (we think). She was into the collecting of candy but it was very solemn business, and when she was done, she was done. Game over.

Sam was thrilled to be Optimus Prime, although somewhat sad that he couldn't wear his mask tonight, but he'll definitely get to wear it on Monday. Yay!

Madeline was a lovebug. This was the only picture that got her super cute heart shaped antennae. So this is one of my favorite costumes because it refers to one of my childhood nicknames. Too bad that we are experiencing "record heat" in Georgia right now. She was pretty toasty, and only put on the costume for trunk-or-treating.

No smiles for mom, because hello?, he's the man in black. Duh.

Yeah. She was done.

And then we got home and got the mail, and there were letters from Sister Haynes. She'll probably kill me for posting this, but she drew Sam pictures in her letter because he had told her in his letter that he misses playing cars with her. Remember, you gotta love that sibling goodness.

Fall Friday Happenings

Geronimo, the Sugar Goblin, made his belated reappearance at our house today. Tricks for treats. It's awesome for getting rid of all that Halloween candy, lol.

And then I brilliantly decided that the little ones needed to be on a chore schedule. I totally bribed them with a "reward" trip to the movie theater after a successful week. It was a long day.

We had family dinner tonight. With so many teenagers, that doesn't always work out. But we were all here tonight, and we had to resurrect the talking stick, so that I could ask my family dinner question (what did you do for someone else today?). Some people were more excited about the talking stick than others. But when it was Lizzi's turn, she became quite animated, which was entertaining.

Not only was Rex unenthusiastic, but Lizzi is creepy.

Yes, she put it up her nose.

And of course, Friday is Fun Day because it's Hannah's missionary p-day, which means...pictures!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love fall. I love the crisp air and the vibrant colors. I even love the way the light falls at this time of year.

Today, Sam and Madeline and I went out to enjoy the almost-nippy temps. I took lots of pictures, because hey, they're freaking adorable!

Yes, my son is still in his pajamas. They are his favorite outfit.

Yes, Madeline has a bruise on her forehead. That kid doesn't walk, folks. She's always running full tilt. Usually, the floor wins. Just sayin'.

Pure joy. I love my boy!

Flips on the tramp.

Good big brother!

They're even cute sometimes. Roxy desperately needs a haircut. Just add that to my to do list.

He was trying to touch the camera with his feet. He came pretty dang close.

Her eyes are getting greyer, but they still pop!

Love.

 

A Little Thankfulness Goes a Long Way

Today was a really long day. Teenage antics and toddler antics and everyone-in-between antics. Sigh. Mommy was a grumpy bear at bedtime, and poor little people, Daddy was late getting home tonight to rescue them from the Mommy Monster.

But. My laundry pile is diminishing. My dish pile is shrinking. I successfully taught Sariah some math she has been struggling with. Sam is reading more words every day. I can actually see surfaces of my desk (I know, don't die). I fixed the ceiling fan chains in the little ones' room, which means they can't say they are scared of the dark in there anymore.

Caleb and Lizzi both made the high school swim team. Woohoo! I'm a double swim mom again (if I can handle it, lol).

Lizzi's FAFSA is done. Not that it does us any good. Now we only have eleventy-jillion colleges to apply to.

Rex helped me out with a bunch of chores without complaint. He also took Madeline outside to play. All you have to do is say the O word, and she's ready to go with whomever will take her.

I didn't have to leave my house today. That's a WIN. I'm such a homebody.

Tomorrow is P-day for Sister Haynes. That means we will hopefully see an email from her. Yay! She was away from home last year for school, but I was always able to call or (more likely) text her whenever I wanted. I've been missing that.

And there's a "cold front" coming in! That's good news, even for my always-chilly little self. This is my favorite season of the year!!

It was a long day, but I am blessed. There now. I'm glad we've had this little chat. :)

Favorite

Fall is my favorite season.  And apparently I've hit the jackpot here.  The colors here are awesome.  Now, some of the locals say that here, south of Atlanta, we don't have anything, and I suspect that's true--I have been farther north, up in the Ozarks in the fall, and you definitely got some bang for your buck there.  However, no nothin' here is still a lot more colorful than some years in Oklahoma, surely better than Texas fall, and absolutely more colorful than autumn in the desert (although all of those places have their own seasonal charms).  I'm in seventh heaven for a little while.

The cars aren't terribly romantic, but I love that when I drive into my parking lot at the top of the hill, I can see not only green, but also red, orange, and yellow.

These others are from my daily walk around the apartment complex.  Evergreens don't really do autumn that dramatically, but they make me feel like home in the mountains.  :)

It's Fall, and I Can Tell

Despite the relatively cool temperatures around these parts lately, and by that I mean days in the 80s & nights in the 60s with low humidity, I haven't really felt like it's fall.  I couldn't figure out why.  I mean, in Oklahoma it felt like fall when the temperatures start dropping.  And the leaves have been turning here for weeks now.  Many of the trees are still green, but we are seeing some brilliant scarlets and warm oranges and golden yellows (I've heard that fall here is gorgeous; looks like it will be so).  And football season started, both for my Sooners and my son.  I know, right?  The boys of fall, and all that jazz ... er, country?

But it still didn't feel like fall.  What's up with that?  Fall is my favorite season of all time.  How could I not be feeling it?!

And then it happened.  I was walking through the parking lot into Rex's parent-teacher conference, and I felt it.  The wind was blowing, a nice cool breeze.  It didn't have a lot of snap to it yet, but still...I'd been missing the breaths of autumn.  Awesomeness!  Now I feel like it's time for a bonfire and some trick-or-treating.

The neighbors warn me that it will be 90 again any day now.  But I'm used to that.  That's how it was in Oklahoma.

But it's good thing for that breeze.  I was contemplating letting my hair grow longer, but when I felt my hair scattered around my head like it was touching a balloon the wind on my cheeks, I remembered why I get my locks shortened frequently.  :P