The day before Halloween...

How did you spend your Sunday afternoon? When I awoke this morning, I planned to read, take a walk, and do a little computer work after church. Oh, and I wanted to pull out the costumes that the kids had selected for Halloween. Do you remember the cool Ninja costumes that we bought after Halloween last year? I thought we had settled that the boys would wear those.

All I thought I had to do was make a set of Minnie Mouse ears. Yesterday, I purchased a black headband and some fabric - 7 inches to be exact to get the correct width. I wasn't sure what I would do with the rest of the length.

So, after church, I was about to dive into the costume box to fish out all of the Ninja pieces when Andrew announced that he wanted to be a pumpkin. And Scott decided to be Cat in the Hat (with a hat Aunt Stephanie made a few years ago.)

I was determined not to fight the crowds today. Everything had to be something we already have in the house. Luckily, I have a good craft supply (and that extra black fabric that I purchased yesterday...I used it in all three costumes.) Here are the results:

I have to sew the face on the pumpkin (recognize the orange fabric?) I think I'll also put a piece of elastic on the bottom and stuff Andrew with balloons. He's pretty excited about that.

So, we'll be wearing original costumes made from things we already had at home. Just needed a little sewing, glue gun action and some time. (And I may have to venture to the store in the morning...we don't keep colored hair spray at this house. I think Andrew needs orange hair. Or, I may just fashion a hat with a stem...any ideas?)

Disney World!

Guess where we spent Fall Break...



Disney World!! We had a wonderful trip. It truly is the Happiest Place on Earth. Magical. Fun. Special. I loved it and can't wait to return in a few years.

I've just sifted through 300 pictures and wanted to share some highlights here.

My parents joined us on the trip and we all stayed in a really cool place that had a little water park. The kids loved playing on it the first day we arrived. I thought it was a little cold, but joined in on the action a little.

We spent one full day at Magic Kingdom. Here we are as we arrived!! (The ears were just for the picture...they stayed in the car the rest of the day.)

One of the boy's favorite rides was Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. You shoot the bad guys with these laser guns and get points. At the end of the ride, you can see who had the most points. Once Derrick won and the other time my Dad collected the most points. It was fun for all ages!!




The other favorite ride was Space Mountain, of course. The boys rode it four times. It was great fun!


Amanda's highlight was meeting the princesses. They were wonderful and spent so much time with each little girl. Cinderella won Amanda's heart with her kindness.


Belle taught Amanda how to twirl.


And Aurora wore pink...what more could you ask of her?



Amanda's other favorite ride was "riding the elephant." She loves elephants, so was thrilled to ride one.

The second day was a bit more hectic. We hopped between parks. The boys wore their Mater shirts and the cast members called them "Mater" all day.


We saw the stage show of Beauty and the Beast and that sealed it for Amanda that Belle is her favorite princess. She was entranced with the entire 30 minute performance.



Here are Andrew and I getting ready for Star Tours. It was the end of the day and certainly one of the best rides.


Each child picked out a souvenir to bring home.

Tallulah Gorge

Derrick has fall break this week. That means we get to hike in the mountains!! It has been a while since we've been and this time decided to make a short (2 hour) drive to Tallulah Gorge to see the falls. Even though the leaves were still green, it was a beautiful day for hiking.

As we left the car, Amanda insisted on taking Merry on our hike. I told Derrick that I've always wanted to have four children and Merry is my easiest baby yet! Amanda insisted on walking most of the time, so Merry rode in the backpack. We had several families pass us and look twice in the pack to see if the baby was real.



Here is Derrick with Amanda and Merry at the beginning of the hike.


I'm not sure if you would call what we did a "hike." I'd rather think it should be called "stair climbing." There are about 2,000 steps down and back up. My calves hurt for several days.


There was a brave little spider who spun a web on the suspension bridge that crosses the gorge.


I have to say that my trip to Montana spoiled me. These pictures turned out much better than the hike in real life. In Montana, the beauty was so vast that it was hard to capture in a single frame. Here, the beauty (while still beautiful) was on a much smaller scale and easier to photograph.


Taking a break...


I love my automatic timer. The blinking light actually holds the kids' attention. It is the only way I can take a family picture and have everyone looking at the camera.


Andrew - the funny thing about his outfit (besides the fact that it doesn't match), is that Scott wore the same outfit often in Kindergarten. All day I kept looking at Andrew (from behind, with his hood up) and think it was Scott and then worry because I couldn't find Andrew.


Both boys enjoyed hiking and climbing the rocks. We hiked (and climbed stairs) for almost three hours and there were almost no complaints from any of the kids. I was so proud of them (and excited for future hikes with them).





This is an above view of the suspension bridge that we crossed. It was not a hike for those who are scared of heights!

gifts and regifts

As a conclusion to Amanda's birthday...she had a wonderful day and enjoyed so much being the center of attention. We ate chicken for dinner, with ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Opening presents was tons of fun.



Amanda loves this cute hat and outfit set that Grandma gave her...especially since it is pink. (As a side note, she wore the shirt today - note the pink color - with the green "dot dot" pants that she has on in the above picture. It was quite the color combination. We went all over town wearing it.)


Here is the "regift" - a dollhouse from the Borders. Everybody loves it! Amanda has told me several times, "my new dollhouse needs a stroller and swimming pool." Where does she get these ideas?

The boys spent the greater part of the evening building a TV and satellite dish for the house with Legos. I reminded them they needed a satellite in space for their company and a rocket to get it there, so those were built as well.

Another favorite gift is the matching jammie set that Nana made for the three of us - me, Amanda and Merry. We will wear them on Friday nights together when we have "sleep with Mommy" nights. (That's the night that Derrick has "sleep with Daddy" night with the boys - They don't have matching jammies. They don't know what they are missing!)

Amanda is 3!!!!!

Happy birthday to my little girl! She is my "Beautiful" and Derrick's "Precious." She's Andrew's "Mandy the Pandy" and Scott's "A--mannnnnn--da." We love her. Her joyful spirit fills our home.

Amanda has enough energy for three or four kids. And she is aware of people's needs and is generous to serve. That enthusiasm can get her into trouble, as when she, for instance, *decides* that I need to brush my teeth, so she opens my toothpaste and squeezes it everywhere to get it ready for me. But she does try to be careful and is learning how to channel that energy.

This girl loves to run! Her curls fly behind her, giving her so much bounce.

She also loves her dog and will follow him just about anywhere (including into the neighbors yard without shoes on.)


Amanda makes life an adventure and I'm excited about the journey that raising her will take us on. There is never a dull moment when she is awake.


Here are the kids waiting for guests to arrive to Amanda's Pink Party last week. I'll post those pictures in a separate posting.

Amanda's Pink Party

Warning...these pictures are very PINK!!

Amanda had so much fun at her pink birthday party last Saturday.

As everyone arrived, we just played in the backyard. It really is Amanda's favorite place to be. She loves to swing, slide and play in the sand. I was a little disappointed that it was too cold to pull out the water table, but it probably was dryer that way.

I gathered the guests and gave Amanda a present -- her very own copy of "Pinkalicious." She was so excited!


Of course, we read it immediately. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, it is about a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink. It is such a cute story and has been one of Amanda's favorites since she read it at a friend's house.



Even the boys were interested...

After you read a story like that, the only logical thing to do is go inside and try some pink cupcakes. Many cupcakes were eaten, but I don't think we produced any pink children.





Amanda also loved her other book-gift from us - The Pink Everything Book.

It was a very fun and very sweet three-year old party!

moving

I've mentioned this before, but we have many friends who are moving. In fact, there is a moving van in the driveway across the street right now as I write this blog. Our neighbor who we've grown to love is moving to Florida to be closer to her daughter. We have several friends moving because of jobs. All over the country - Colorado, Texas, Missouri. And, while our hearts grieve that they are moving, we are so thrilled for them for the opportunities they will have. We watch them leave with both tears and smiles.

One common theme that runs across all of these moves (and all moves, I guess) is the need to get rid of stuff. As I mentioned here, it has inspired me to clear some of my own clutter.

But, because we are the ones who are staying and not moving, we have been on the receiving end of many wonderful gifts. We are so grateful. It is as if pieces of these people will stay with us in our home, and we will remember them as we use their things and smile as we remember what wonderful friends we have.

Just last week, Alisa brought us a huge tire that her husband had rescued from the dump a few years ago. I'm sure he planned to make a tire swing, but it never moved to the top of the to-do list. They decided that they didn't need to haul it 1000 miles to a new home. So it became ours.

Derrick cleaned it, drilled holes and hung the swing. The kids LOVE playing with it.



I include this picture to show how precarious the installation was. I was so nervous, but luckily the ladder was steady and Derrick did not fall.
Tomorrow is Amanda's birthday and we'll give her another "moving" gift -- a "new" doll house from the Borders. I'm so excited to watch her play with it and remember our good friends. I'll post pictures tomorrow!