A hiking we will go..

We decided to take a late afternoon hike today. Where we went we tend to go every year at this time as it is so beautiful. The kids love it and the trails are not too difficult. It is a peaceful place. We saw lots of squirrels, cows, and chipmunks. No other animals would stay around this rowdy crew. We did not get to see all that we wanted and my camera batteries died so I could not get all the pics I wanted, but here are some..< >
Here they are making goofy faces atop a big rock. Yes, that is a huge soda my 2yr old is holding. It is mine, but she wanted to hold it and take secret sips when I wasn't looking. Soda is not something she gets often so it is a bit like crack to her. :)

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Here, above the top of my son's head, is the view from one part of our hike. The picture does not do it justice, it is beautiful with all the mountains in the background and the fall colors all around.
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Here are my youngest sitting on top a hay bail. My oldest climbed up for a picture after my batteries died of course. < >

Here is my rowdy crew beneath a stone bridge. The Blue Ridge Parkway is right above them. They loved the tunnel.

Tomorrow and the day after it is suppose to rain so I am glad we got to go this evening. We took the long way home on the Parkway and next time I will make sure I have good batteries so I can share the wonderful views we have.

What did you do today?

We started out day out doing this at 9:00am. This was the final game of the season. It was a sad day for my son. He loves football. I am looking forward to not having to go to practice 3 times a week plus games on Saturdays, but I will confess I will also miss it. It was nice in that his practices were right down the road about 3 miles and at a park at that. We all enjoyed these romps at the park. I promised them we would still go to the park until the weather made it impossible. Much cheering was heard. My pictures came out blurry due to my old camera does not zoom in for a good clear picture. DRAT!

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We have had some heavy rains last night so on the way home we took a pic of the waterfall that is at an old mill by our house. Usually it is gently falling over the wall, but today it was crashing with such a ferocity that I had to get a picture. Our river is swollen beyond belief. < >

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We came home and made these. Jack-o-lantern jars. The kids loved creating these and the fact that we can enjoy them long after Halloween is over is a bonus. My 6 yr old came up with the idea of changing them for each season, i.e. Christmas trees and stars for Christmas. Good idea! < >

< > My oldest led the way in making these purple treats. (We did not have orange or red food coloring so they decided purple was the way to go). They made these all by themselves. The whole pan has now been devoured so they must have been good. < >

< > We ended our evening with crotchet lessons. They are working on gifts to make each other. It was much harder than they thought. Many a frustrated "I can't do it" was heard, but finally they all got the hang of it. Even my son joined in. They seemed to enjoy it.

We ended our day with a rousing game of cartoon tag that turned into freeze tag. This was after my son had me out throwing the football and tackling each other. It was cold outside but after running around we were warm in no time. We came in at dark just because we could not see anymore. We were tired, warm, and ready for a quiet evening and looking forward to tomorrow.

Happy Birthday!

Last week my oldest turned 14. It is hard to believe that time has flew so quickly. She was my first, my unexpected surprise. I, who had never been around any babies, who thought that, " Yes, I would have children someday, like when I was in my 30's." But that is not the way things worked out and I am grateful that she came into my life when she did. I was in college and working when I was pregnant with her so the pregnancy pretty much flew by. I remember when I went into labor. I have never had such back pain as what I had then. It felt like she was trying to come out the bottom of my spine! After many hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing she finally came into the world via vacuum and forceps. She was such a beautiful baby. I was totally unprepared for the intense love I felt for her. I remember crying my eyes out when I had to leave her to go back to work. I never wanted to leave her. She was a good baby. She would have been a better one if I had ignored the doctor and listened to my own instincts and fed her on demand. It's hard being the first. Both the child and parents are learning the ropes together. So many firsts to go through. First steps, first tooth, first day of school... It seems like I was always so excited and couldn't wait for all those "firsts". It did not take long to realize that along with those "firsts" came "lasts". Now looking back I remember the last time she played with dolls, the last time she would ask me to read to her, the last time she would jump up in my arms, the last boo boo to be kissed. All these have come and gone. It seems like these "lasts" sneak up on you. Now I look at her and see she has grown into a wonderful young lady. These teen years can be tough and I pray often for her daily. I pray that the Lord gives her wisdom and discernment and strength as she goes about her day. She is still young and sometimes I feel like I am sending my sheep out among a pack of wolves. I know that she has a Great Shepard watching over her though. Her papa and I love her very much and we know that we will make it through these years with many smiles and some tears. We will see more "firsts" and also remember some more "lasts". Through it all we hold each other and give the unconditional love that we all need. We love you "little bear"! < >

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Here is my birthday girl with her "thoughtful" look. Don't pay any attention to the date. We put new batteries in the camera and forgot to set the date. < >



< > Above is a picture of her on her birthday. She was a good sport considering her 2yr old sister and completely destroyed her cake. :)

Another football weekend

This was a crazy weekend. It started out with a morning football game in another county. We were rushing to get to the meeting place where all the parents were meeting when my son announced he did not have his mouth guard. I turned around and went back home and told my oldest to search the car while he and I searched in the house and around outside. Ten minutes later we jumped back in the car with no mouthpiece and I was on the phone calling his coach telling him what was going on. He said he thought they had one to come on so on we went. Unfortunately, we headed in the wrong direction. I rarely travel to these other counties and I confused one with the other. The problem was that one is north and one is south. Whoops. Luckily his coach called again to tell me they did not have a mouth guard and in the process I discovered my error in traveling. I was half way to the wrong county when I turned around and headed back to town. I stopped to get a mouth guard, then on to the next county and to the game. We left 1 1/2 hrs before game time and through all the mix up we ended up getting their just as his team was walking onto the field. The rain only added to the excitement of the day. What made it worse is that once we got to the game I discovered that my oldest daughter who was suppose to be looking for the mouth guard in the car had been sitting on it the whole time! Oh well, he has a new mouth guard right at the end of season. Maybe it will work for next year. We did manage to get a walk in on Sunday so I took some pics to show the leaves.< >

Here is the game. The picture is blurry due to my having a 2yr old hang off me as I tried to take pictures because she wanted to take pictures too. My son is the one running ahead of #13. < >

Here is the road we travelled on. Even in the rain it was pretty. Better hurry sis, they are changing fast!< >

Here is my son with his latest gear on that he got from a birthday party he attended earlier in the day. It was a GI Joe theme. < >

Here is my 6yr old wearing the GI Joe gear. Doesn't it compliment her skirt very well? This is a skirt I made a few weeks ago. I made one for her and a matching one for my 2yr old. < >

Here is my 2yr old getting ready to throw leaves all over herself and anybody within close range.

Evening Walk

Well my hubby went back to work and we have returned to our normal schedules. The weather has turned milder so we took an evening walk to check out the local wildlife and see how the leaves were turning colors. We only saw one deer in the field. I tried to get a picture of it but it was too far away. The other morning we had 8 huge turkeys in our yard, a buck in our apple trees, and squirrels running all over our yard collecting nuts. The kids said, "Boy, the animals are all out this morning, it's an animal party at our house!" I took pictures, then accidentally deleted them off my camera, oops. But I did get pictures of our walk!< >

Here is the view of our hill to the right side of our house. I took it right as the sun was about to set. My sister has been asking me about the leaves as she wants to come up and see them this year. I decided to take pictures every few days and post them so she could see the changes. The mountains are beautiful in the autumn! < >

These two are my favorites so far. I love the small waterfall in the background. < >

Here is my son with all his equipment on. The backpack is stocked with field guides, a container for any interesting insects and magnifying glasses. He is ready! < >

Here is my little stinker!

FINALLY

It has been a not so good week at my house. My teenager whom just started HS has been feeling her new found freedom and stepped over bounds. Did something that I strictly forbid for her to do and lied about it and now does not understand the punishment. Go figure. If I could just tape her mouth shut I think I would be better off. ;) I should get pain and suffering and mental anguish pay for these teen years! We have butted heads so much this past week I should be wearing my son's football helmet. The good news is that at least my prayers were answered. I pray each day for her safety and HIS guidance and not to let her get away with anything. HE answered. We also prayed for my hubby to get home time that he has been trying to get for weeks now and it finally came through. He is being routed home! YEAH!! It is just the right time as I was started to lose my mind with all this hullabaloo. Now I feel like I can recharge and regroup. My son is so excited that Daddy gets to finally see him play football. I am just so glad to have him HOME!