Jack at School

Jack has an amazing teacher for 2nd grade and he is an incredible student.  We couldn’t be more proud of his performance at school—his teacher sees it as a special project to make sure he’s challenged.  He’s also kind of a class clown and his classmates think he’s a lot of fun.  I love getting glimpses into school life for Ella and Jack, although it’s gets tougher starting with 2nd grade.  I’m seldom in Jack’s classroom so I appreciate every opportunity I get.  One afternoon this fall I had the chance to help facilitate a literacy lesson that involved decorating cookies (always a hit with the kids). 

Gator

We love our furry little pup.  I still call him puppy because he’s so playful and soft and stinkin’ cute.  Over the past year, though, he’s definitely been showing his age—losing muscle tone, sleeping more, taking longer to get his rear end up, developing cataracts.  Last year, he’s had several health issues, too—anemia, elevation of his white blood cell count, severe changes in his nose.  All of this, after several tests, scans, vet appointments, had led to a, by process of elimination, diagnosis of Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE).  So, just like any senior (he’s 10 now), he’s got a daily line-up of a handful of meds.  He seems to still love me even though I shove anywhere from 6 to 9 pills down his throat each day…although, each dose is followed up by several treats.  He does love his treats—it’s hard to get him to eat most days (he’s a picky one, changes his mind constantly about what he will and will not eat, and has been known to go on hunger strikes until we cook some bacon) but he’ll always chow down on treats.  When he finds his joy, though, that’s when he’s a puppy.  He can still play a mean game of fetch for as long as anyone’s willing and he happily goes on 3.5+ mile trail hikes with me every week.  He’s always been quite the outdoorsman.  He’s a special, one-of-a-kind pup and we love his quirky personality.  He fits with us perfectly. 
This is just a quick picture of him I took when I was trying out a new lens.  Yes, I got another lens…but, in my defense, I sold two others to pick up this one (a 35mm 1.4G).

Renaissance Festival

In early November we spent a lovely day at the Renaissance Festival.  We used to go every year with our friends the Miners, but we’d missed the last few years because fall has gotten so busy.  I’m so glad we were able to fit it in this year—always a fun time and a great day spent with our friends.  I barely got my camera out that day—just a few pictures to mark the day.









{london broil—by far our favorite show each time we make it to the ren fest.  hilarious.}

Instagrammin’ in November

Another busy month—full of fall activities, travel, and good times with family and friends.
early morning tennis lessons for ella. | the renaissance festival. #huzzah | orcs at the ren fest! #lotrgeeks | the tree man #renfest | i’m not sure how this going to work, but he insisted. #toothlesswonder | how she spent her $5 at the ren fest. | sunday school | hope you did, too! | hard to believe this perfect girl gets picked on for being little. | our new niece ivy was born #11092013 | tennis in the driveway. #clevernet | veteran’s day tennis partners. | havin’ fun in philly. #congratstojuliaandbrian | early morning in philly. | nice weekend away with the hubby. | LOVE this—jonathan has an amazing, loving, fun family. #bestwishestojuliaandbrian | happy 38th to jonathan! | one of his bday presents. #mancrush #kuechly #nicetush | cutest little wolf cub out there. | girl scouts skating night. | big rock park. | he replaced my brake pads. #stamphismancard | date night to the movies! #catchingfire #sosogood | took this crew on a 3-mile walk. | ivy! ella said, “mom, when she’s my age i’ll be off to college.” #sniffsniff | happy thanksgiving! | sad to think about how much this sweet baby girl will have changed by the time we see her next. 

Halloween

This year we decided not to buy new costumes for Halloween but to instead work with what we had on hand.  Honestly, each kid has a bounty of costumes and dress-up gear making it easy to come up with something to wear for Halloween, something they’ve never even trick-or-treated in, but I guess they wanted their Halloween costumes to feel fresh and new.  I don’t blame them, so we worked together to try to come up with a creative idea, working with what we already had.  I knew Ella had a cheerleading outfit from being a basketball cheerleader last winter, so my mind went straight to zombie cheerleader.  I half-jokingly introduced the idea to my lovely, sweet darling of a daughter who has been Tinkerbell, a roller-skating car hop, and Alice in Wonderland in past years (then again, I guess she was a ninja last year)—she latched right on.  Didn’t take much to get Jack on board either, once he realized we’d do some scary makeup.  We shredded some old clothes for under their cheerleading and football gear, they practiced their zombie walks and “brains” chants, and I watched a few zombie makeup tutorials on Pinterest (unfortunately we never found the time for a practice run on the makeup).  Halloween night we brought it all together and I’m pretty proud of how it turned out, especially considering how inept I am at makeup applications—still haven’t figured out how to do my own eye makeup.  And, the kids had a blast being kind of scary this year.  Ella was particularly proud that a teenager who was handing out candy said that it was really cool that she was a zombie cheerleader.  I’m resigned to the fact that a teenager saying so definitely holds more weight than me telling them how fun and cool their costumes were.  At least they’re still taking my suggestions, right?  Hopefully next year they’ll be game for something creative, too.

{jonathan makes a great iceman in one of my dad’s old flight suits and combat boots…although i think a few people asked if he was goose.}

It’s a Girl!

My sister, who has 3 boys (ages 11, 8, and 6), is having a baby girl!  We’re so thrilled that we’ll have another sweet little niece to dote on.  Tracy’s friends hosted a baby shower for her at the end of October to fill her closets full of pink and, luckily, I was able to make a trip down to Atlanta to be there.  It was so fun to see Tracy—in all of her preggo glory—one more time before sweet baby girl arrived.     

Dixie Classic Fair

The forecast said 100% chance of rain until 4pm, but the radar told a different story.  So, we took a chance—we weren’t going to let “certain rain” get in the way of the special day we’d planned for the kids.  And special it was—I think I should be in the running for mom-of-the-year for this one.  It’s always a great day when we have the chance to hang out with our dear friends Baden, Ilse, and their mom Ivy (I actually see this crew every week because Ivy and I workout together while her homeschooled kids have their recess on a nearby playground, but Ella and Jack only see them every few months), but for this playdate we went to a county fair.  We played hooky from school to drive up to Winston-Salem to enjoy the rides, treats, and sights of the Dixie Classic County Fair.  Ivy grew up on a farm near Winston-Salem and has gone to this fair since she was a kid.  She still takes her kids every year, meeting her parents there, usually on a weekday to avoid the crowds.  Rain or shine, we couldn’t miss our chance to join them.  Ivy’s parents were entered in a few of the competitions at the fair so we got the inside tour—we parked at the very close vendor lot, Ivy’s mom guided us through the plant, food, and craft competitions, Ivy and her parents shared the best spots to get carnival food, and, of course, we spent a lot of time enjoying the rides of the midway.  We were prepared, lugging around our raincoats all day, but never got a drop of rain on us.  So glad we took the leap of faith—such a fun day!






{the round up ride hasn’t changed a bit.  it’s the one that made me ill for days in 5th grade.  ella, on the other hand, loved it.  at the end of our day, each kid could choose one more ride and ella chose the round up…and loved it.  yikes!  i think even baden was impressed.}