Fall Party

Jessica hosted a fun Fall Party at her house. Most people brought 1 pumpkin per kid. I brought 1 for my 4 kids to share. Why, you ask? Well, I only have 1 kid that will actually stick her hand in that thing and clean it out :) Avery really does enjoy this tradition (started with Jessica, not me, btw).

Sydney tried a couple handfuls and then went to the spoons :)

Look at all these fun foods! Jessica has quite the nack for finding creative and fun ways to decorate for a party and serve unique food.


Josh really would rather not touch that pumpkin at all! This was his face the whole time :)

Austin just decided to "hang out" for the party!

We had a great time hanging out with family and celebrating the Fall season. I sincerely appreciate when other people have the creative juices that I lack and choose to involve my kids. It helps me feel like my kids are missing out on that experience as much :)
We did have a lot of fun and have lots of fun stuff planned for this holiday season. It's going to be a good one!

Avery's 11th Birthday!

Yes, I am catching up on these birthday posts :)
September and October are crazy birthday months around here. But, last week, Avery celebrated her 11th birthday. The day of her birthday (Friday), we were in NC (see last pic). So, to celebrate with the Orlando crew, we waited until Sunday for lunch.
She asked for a cookie cake with icing on top. And, that is exactly what she got with her name written in chocolate chips!





We had a fun day celebrated her life and the difference it has made in ours! Avery, you have the most serving and sensitive spirit I know. I love you and Happy Birthday!

Morgan turned 12 in September!!

Only 1 more year and I will officially have a TEENAGER!
That's right, Morgan turned 12 last month.

For her birthday dinner, she decided on chicken nuggets, mac n cheese and green beans. Yum!

She wanted to make her own cake in her own way. We had vanilla cake with strawberry's and whipped cream in the middle and chocolate frosting. She loved it and it was good!

Happy Birthday Morgan! You help keep us all on track and following the rules. Love you girl!

Blue Man Group

Cory is one of those people who is just lucky. He enters contests through the radio all the time and he often wins. Well, his latest score was 4 tickets to the Blue Man Group show. We decided to make it a family night since we would only need to purchase 2 child tickets. We knew this opportunity would not come around for our family again and the girls have all been asking to see this show for years.

Well, it did not disappoint. We were not allowed to take any pictures during the show, but you it was a LOT of fun and funny!
Afterward, the girls got a picture with some members of the band.

Outside the theater

After the show we played in the field out front; running, jumping, chasing, handstands and some wrestling with daddy.

Jordan turned 7 in June. I know, I know... it's October. Don't worry, there are 2 birthdays after his that I missed too. So, back to Jordan. He had a fun evening with his family.
This is him wiping a kiss off. He does not let ANYONE other than mommy and daddy kiss him!



He will give out a hug here and there though...


Someone likes to jump in other people's pictures!


He held his breath the whole time we sang "Happy Birthday"


For some reason, he felt the need to eat his cake with no hands. Oh, boys!!


Happy Birthday, Jordan. You bring an element of funny and crazy to our family that we just wouldn't know what to do without!

Vaca In NC

We were fortunate enough to be able to go to NC for a week with Cory's parents and stay at his aunt's cabin. The weather was amazing. The leaves were gorgeous. And, we had a great time! Here are a couple pics of the week.

We walked down to the stream at the bottom of the driveway and the kids all wanted to take a drink.

Apparently, Jordan needed a little help:)

Jordan walked back with Papa to "make sure he didn't die on the way up" :)
Our view from the porch


Two days, we headed to Gatlinburg, TN... This time, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium and Guinness Museum. Lots of fun!


Papa showed the kids a Pioneer village. The kids just love to pose together.


The same day, we ate lunch by this river that had an outlet from lots of rocks. So, we had to "walk on water". The kids started with their shoes on, then we chucked the socks, shoes and rolled up our jeans. Eventually, Cory and I joined in. The water was cold and the rocks slimy, but all the kids said it was their favorite part of the day!


The guys spent a couple days working in the yard and cutting down dead trees and hauling limbs down the mountain. The kids jumped in to help, but Jordan especially thought he was just "one of the guys".


Driving over the mountain from Gatlinburg to Dillsboro


Our 2nd day in Gatlinburg, we had a lot of fun going to Ober Gatlinburg. At the top of this mountain (taken there by tram), we were able to go ice skating, flume slide down the mountain, chair lift, and other fun stuff. We went there on Avery's birthday and we all had a grand time.





At the end of the day, we headed to Pizza Hut (her choice) for dinner and I told her to stand on the chair so I could sing Happy Birthday to her. After dinner, I asked the entire restaurant to sing along with me :) On her way out the door, one of the tables called her over, said "Happy Birthday" and handed her $5! See, it sometimes pays off to have an embarrassing mom.


All in all, we had a really fun, relaxing trip. One of my prayers was answered when Cory did not have any cell phone service at the cabin and could not communicate with work very often. I didn't realize what a pain it would be for me not being able to update facebook and talk to my friends :) I guess I needed a break from that too.