No more Magazines!

So the other night I knew that Scott was going to be getting home late so I decided that I was going to spend my evening catching up on my magazine reading that I have put off for months. Well, needless to say, they were still in the same spot waiting two hours later. Instead... I was on my computer reading all of my friends blogs. (Blog stalking is what I've heard it called.) I found two of my friends that I haven't talked to in 4 years! It was a perfect evening! So, I decided that I am not renewing any subscriptions this next year. Reading about my friends, their kids, and learning that I am not the only parent that has issues is MUCH better than any magazine I could read! Who needs to know how to better organize your home, decorate with money you don't have, or just read about celebs when you have your best friends BlOGS!

Gymnastics

The girls just LoVE gymnastics. Every Monday night Scott and I have to watch everything that they learned that day in class. Of course the furniture always gets in their way when they are turning cartwheels and usually they end up crying while Scott and I are laughing hysterical! Samuel and Daniel learn the new moves fast and want to try them too! By the end of their performance everyone is in tears! The kids are hurt and mom and dad have just enjoyed a incredible circus act!

claudia's prince

Claudia will tell you that she is going to be a princess mommy when she grows up and Andrew is going to be her prince.

Happy Halloween

What fun everyone had during the week of Halloween... from a Witches Party to Trunk Or Treat to Halloween Night out with all the goblins. This year we discovered a neighborhood where lots of friends of our kids live. We decided to walk once around the block. Because all the neighbors are out in their driveway handing out candy and treats while "partying" with their friends, it makes for easy access to obtain the treats. So there isn't much work to it... no ringing doorbells! Anyway 30 minutes into trick or treating and Claudia tells us that she is tired and wants to go home. She precedes to get into the stroller that Samuel was riding in and almost falls asleep before we get to the car. Everyone else had a blast and was ready to keep going. But our last stop was to Brendon, Narges, and Maia's house. There we found Raggedy Ann without her cap and red hair! Wonder were it could be??

Trees?

Daniel was 2 1/2 when we moved to Phoenix, so our first trip back to NC was about a year later. I remember so vivid to this day right before we landed into Raleigh, Daniel leaned over to the window of the airplane, looked out, and said, "Hey mom! Look at all those trees!" I just laughed to myself and thought, "yeah bud, there are a lot of trees." Well, since then we have made 5 more trips from Phoenix to NC and it never fails... Daniel looks out the window and with great excitement in his eyes, he says, "Hey mom, look at all those trees!" It just gets better every year!

Hanging OuT with our CoUSiNs!

Everyday and night was spent with our family. The kids would wake up and say, "HEY MoM! What are we doing today?" Whether it was going over to play with spaghetti and twinkle (the cats),
Breaking apart rocks with grandpa's hammer,
Riding the hummer,

Going to grandmother Jarrett's to play at the farm,
Watching WooLY WoRmS crawl all over you,

Picking SOyBeanS, otherwise known to my kids as edamame,

Trying to organize a kid picture all together,

GooFing around and being silly,

Watching how apples are cleaned and processed into apple cider,

Having a sleepover,

After sleepover,

After sleepover,

Riding motorcycles at the bowling alley,

Attempting to bowl,

Suzanne entertaining me while taking pictures,

Laughing at the kids getting their fingers smashed when the ball comes up the shoot,

Or just having a good time playing together. It was a blast spending each day with our best friends! OuR FaMiLy!!!

A Day with the Rudisill's

While in NC we had many exciting adventures with our family. Linville Caverns and Grandfather Mountain were the two places that I wanted to take the kids. So along with my parents, my brother, his wife, and kids we set out for the Great Smokey Mountains.

The kids were overwhelmed walking through the caverns. It was dark, damp with the occasional drop of water falling onto your head, and very tight quarters. We were only able to see two bats ready for hibernation. The tour guide said that the by the end of October there are hundreds that stay in the cave during the winter.

Christmas Tree Farms are in abundance though out the NC mountains. Hillside after hillside are rows and rows of trees. So of course I have my dad pull over to get a quick picture.
In every visitor center there has to be a fudge store and with mouths watering we had to get just a taste of the delicious flavor of the month, PumPkiN.

Notice the orange shirts... No one got lost!

It does make for a good picture amongst the fall leaves.

It is just amazing... the views are breathtaking!

Grandfather Mountain was a great spot that we would go as a family to spend the day while I was growing up. The highlight of the trip would be to walk across the "mile high swinging bridge" and to see my mom struggle with her fear of heights, having a death grip on the rail while crossing. My brother and I would jump up and down making the bridge shake and swing back and forth, watching her panic. She would be begging us to stop which just made us do it more. Well, to my surprise, this time it was me doing the "death grip!" My heart was pounding so hard that it was hard to breath, much less walk across. What has happened? Why me? Okay mom, now I get it. I am so sorry for the torture that I put you through! I deserve what my kids will do to me!

Because of all the walking, the kids were ready for some down time. "ANyOne ready for a game of DuCk DuCk GooSe?"
There's nothing like ending a day with delicious PiZZa. There was very little talking and Samuel didn't once climb out of his seat!!! It was a great day!

Just Me and MY FaMiLy!

I'm ready!

Ski Boots... check! Swim trunks... check! Chap stick... check! Only October? What! You mean I have to wait 3 more months until ski season! UGH!

Flossing...

As usual Samuel copies everything that he sees. So this morning he watched me floss my teeth. Needless to say, I was left without any dental floss. I think the taste of cinnamon was his reasoning for flossing.

Samuel takes over...

Samuel is moving into our closet and moving Scott out!!!

I'm always wondering, "What is going through that kids head!"