Another Full Day

We left before the sun was up and returned after it was down! Today was a good, full day. Lots of pictures to come, but here are a couple for now.

A Long Weekend

The kids are off school tomorrow, so we decided to take a long weekend and visit the Smoky Mountains. We all took today off and came down yesterday. Here are some pictures from today. The pictures really don't adequately capture the true beauty of the trees. Wow!

The kids started the day off right with a little hot tub time.

We crawled our way to the observation tower at the top of Clingman's Dome.

It is only 1 mile round trip, but it is almost straight up (or down). It was tough but we were not the only ones panting!

The kids had never been to the top before. Ron and I were both several pounds lighter and at least a decade younger the last time we climbed up! Well worth it, though!

I swear this was not posed, although they may have been trying to avoid me taking a picture of their lovely little faces.

A lot of the trees at the top elevations have already lost their leaves. A lot of the birds seem to have migrated already, too.

 

We finished off our day with a cookout and s'mores.

A Little Volleyball, a Viking, and a New Van

Today was Danielle's last volleyball game of the season. She did really well and has learned a lot. She had fun, too. I think this is something she'll want to play again. Her coach had a party for the kids at her house afterward. That was nice, too.

Tonight we went to the zoo's Halloween event. Tyler picked out a "wasteland warrior" costume when we were at the store a couple weeks ago. I think he was on the fence about whether or not he was going to go trick-or-treating until he found it. For the record, I really don't like his costume. I miss the simple, cute, little kid costumes. But, he really isn't a little kid any more, and this one made him happy. He doesn't have to wear it at school this year, and it doesn't have any blood on it, so I let him get it. He likes to doodle pictures involving toxic waste and parts of the costume glow in the dark, so I can understand why he likes it. Danielle wanted to be a viking this year, and she wanted a homemade costume so no one else would look like her. I can appreciate that. We bought the helmet, but we made the "vest" and boots. I think it turned out really cute, and it was really simple. I ordered a shield and sword for her, but they haven't come yet.

We traded in my van and bought a new one today. (It was a very busy day!) Ron and Tyler stayed to complete the paperwork while I took Danielle to her party. I think Tyler enjoyed the negotiating. Ron said at one point when the salesman walked out of the room, Tyler offered Ron $9 he had in his piggy bank if it would help us afford the van. Ron had to explain to Tyler that it wasn't really that we couldn't afford that much, it was that he knew the price could be lower. And eventually it got there. It is a step up from what we traded in, so the kids are pretty starry eyed about it. Once again, I am mindful of God's blessings on our little family.

Rib-Off

Our neighborhood friends hold a rib-off on Labor Day Sunday every year. This year it was postponed due to rain, but they had it today. The weather today wasn't great either, so the venue was changed to a shelter house at the park. Once again it was a wonderful day of food and friends.

Ron was one of 4 judges again this year. He and the other judges tasted all 7 entries and awarded a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place. This is one contest where you don't want to be runner-up! 2nd place gets a shaving cream pie in the face by the 1st place winner.

The kids and I liked the 2nd place winner's ribs best. There was lots of other good food, too.









Usually they have lots of organized games for the kids. Since we were limited by space and weather today, there weren't as many games. We had over 20 kids there, though. It's really neat to be able to count our neighbors as friends and to be able to watch all our kids grow up together.

 

During the first game, Danielle had one of those moments that make a mother's heart swell, but I wouldn't be able to do justice to her little act of kindness if I attempted to articulate it. As Ron told her tonight, "that one went in the daughter hall of fame". She has such a kind heart.

Tyler joined the cornhole tournament this year. He had a lot of fun and seemed to fit in better there than with the other kids who were running around outside the shelter house. Now if only he could hit the board. :) (He actually did hit the board and even got some in the hole occasionally.)

We had a very good day. We are blessed to have such good friends and neighbors and blessed to have such special kids.

Say Cheese!

Tyler agreed to give me 5 minutes to shoot away while he was wearing something other than a tshirt today. Thankfully I managed to get a few keepers within that 5 minutes because he was not giving me one minute more! He looked so handsome today. He is also looking very grown up - much more like a teenager than I'm ready to accept. The first one is my favorite.

 

Fall Reflections

I sat by the river for awhile this afternoon. I was hoping to see some wildlife but I had no luck whatsoever. I felt so bad for my unused camera that I had to find something to photograph! So, here are some pictures of the water. Or, more accurately, of the trees' reflections in the water. And the last picture is of my brother in his race. I didn't take that one.

This & That

I took this last week but didn't get the chance to post it. The leaves were just starting to turn, but they look even prettier now.

Danielle brought home her school pictures last week. They include a photo id card to record your child's height, weight, etc. I keep them on the refrigerator and stopped to compare them when I added her new pic this year. I know the kids are growing up, but the changes seem so subtle until you look back like this. She looks so old.

Danielle and her friend have discovered they can talk to each other through the upstairs windows. I don't know why, but I find this quite amusing.

Tyler got a new Lego set the other day. It was a combination birthday present from Mamaw & Papaw, his birthday money, and a little help from us. It is for ages 14+ and has over 2000 pieces. He zipped right through it without any problems at all. I seem to be incapable of taking a decent cell phone pic, but it's a pretty cool set.

And congrats to my brother who placed 3rd in his age division in the Cat Caper 5k today!

Our Woot! Deal

We still haven't secured the elusive "bag of crap", but we did score a couple Meon Bike Writer Triple Packs this week. I looked them up first to be sure I was getting a deal and found that the Woot! price was 1/4 of the regular price! They were worth every discounted penny; they are fun and the kids love them. The packs included a wheel writer, a gyro-flasher, and a light striper.