Happy Birthday, Kyle!!

Today son #2 celebrates his 15th birthday! And yes, he is counting down the days until he gets his permit... but he lost his wallet with his SS card inside, so we have to get a replacement before that can happen.

Here are some fun facts about Kyle:

He is very tender-hearted.

He is a loyal friend.

He is a fierce competitor.

He is the only child of mine who was not born on a Sunday morning... he made his appearance on a Friday evening.

He loves football, and is a HUGE Atlanta Falcons fan.

He loves soccer, too, but thinks he might take a break from it next year.

He loves his younger sister, and has always been her best friend. The night we brought her home from the hospital, he stood in his crib and said, "Baby" over and over and over again!

He is a thinker... he will ask a lot of questions to make sure he understands something.

He is also a brainiac! ;) He worries a lot about his grades, and works hard to make good grades.

He loves Mexican food... it is his absolute favorite!

He loves going to seminary, but gets very frustrated with some of his classmates... they can get a little rowdy sometimes.

He will be taking a class this next semester at Bob Jones, and will get to leave from seminary and actually go to the high school...he is pretty excited about that!

He is not sure if he wants to be a doctor, dentist or engineer when he grows up.

He has always had more friends that are girls than boys. When he was little he could always be found in the middle of all the girls.

He loves music, and is trying to learn to play the guitar. He is really kind of teaching himself, but he loves to play.

When he was little he was a complete "mini-me" of his Uncle James, now he looks more like my side of the family.

His favorite car is a Camaro, and wants a red one with black racing stripes. I've bought several toy cars for him, but he is going to have to get the real thing!

He is now just a tad bit taller than his older brother, and catching up to dad fast. He is very proud of this fact!

We are so blessed to have Kyle in our family! We love him, and appreciate all that he brings to our family. Happy Birthday, Kyle!!

Happy Birthday, Josh!!

Today is Josh's 17th birthday. I am floored to think that he is already that old. He was born on a Sunday morning, in a little cabin in the woods (I had my first two children with mid-wives), and was such a sweet baby. We have been very blessed to have him in our family. Here are some fun facts about our Josh-u-way...

He is a very hard worker.

He ADORES his younger cousins, and they love him, too.

He is an awesome pizza maker.

He is a dare-devil.

He has a sweet-tooth the size of Texas.

He is very athletic.

He loves to act - he can do both dramatic and comedic pieces equally well.

He is a very good video game player.

He has a kind, loving, sharing soul.

He likes to make people happy... even if it means he has to sacrifice to do so.

He loves to wear his hair very short, and it drives him NUTS that his brother likes to wear his hair longer.

He has an infectious laugh.

He is VERY tickle-ish. He used to tickle the insides of his own hands when he was a baby, and just laugh and laugh.

He hates to have his picture taken... and is usually making some sort of face, or posing in a goofy way in every picture I take of him.

He wears his heart on his sleeve, which scares me to death. I am so afraid that some twitty little girl is going to take advantage of that. :)

He loves animals, and when we are at the farm he can usually be found playing with the cats and kittens.

He loves to build things, and use his hands. I put him to work this past summer painting/finishing some tables that my dad made, and he did a beautiful job.

Josh is actually his middle name. His full name is Mykel (prounounced like Michael) Joshua. He was almost a Mykel Anthony, but his dad and I saw the name Josh, and loved it. It fits him so well!

He is looking forward to serving a mission... and hopes that he gets to go Brazil. Why? Because the next World Cup is being played in Brazil, during the time that he will be on a mission! I told him that didn't mean much, he wouldn't be able to go to any games. He replied that he knew that, but he was sure it would be on EVERY TV in the country, so he could at least see what was going on with it now and then. I'm sure that for just for that, Heavenly Father will send him to someplace where TV's are few and far between!

I love you, Josh! Happy Birthday!!

Congrats!!

Congratulations this morning go out to my very talented first born son, Josh!! He placed second in his category (classical duet) at this past weekend's state drama festival!! So very proud of him!

The past few weeks

Haven't updated in a while, so I need to play a bit of catch-up.

This is the first Halloween in YEARS that we have not gone trick-or-treating. My kiddos have been very thankful the past few years that they have younger cousins to "help" trick-or-treat, because it gives them a reason to go out. This year, though, the kids wanted to have a party. The invited lots of their friends, we decorated the house, and had lots of candy on-hand. The kids came in costume, and everyone looked great.


A few days later we found ourselves with a free afternoon, and so we decided to head to Monte Sano to enjoy the fall colors. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of color to see, but we had fun being out. We discovered a fun trail that had once been a road, so the walk was nice and easy, and there were other trails leading off of it for exploring. Barry and the boys had fun climbing around, and even managed to scare the crud out of me! The girl and I enjoyed kicking and crunching the leaves. The weather was a bit brisk, but it felt kind of good, too.


In other news... I don't think I've mentioned that I have a new calling. After teaching RS for about 2 years, I was released and asked to serve on the Activities Committee. This is the first time I've ever done this, and I'm really looking forward to it. I got called a couple of weeks before our Halloween activity, and that also happened to be the same time my mom was in the hospital, so I really didn't do a whole lot for that activity, but we are already planning the Christmas party, and I think it will be really fun.

I've been crafting again... and I'm excited about it!! I've been busy working on some Christmas crafts, and can't wait to decorate this year. I'm planning on getting Christmas cards made this year, and I am excited to work on those, too. It's been a while since I have been excited to craft, and it really makes me happy that I'm so excited!

I've been counting some of my blessings... at least the ones I don't always think about... on my facebook page. I'll have to recap them all here soon. Of course I am very thankful for my family, friends, the gospel, and the obvious blessing I enjoy, but I wanted to focus on "little things" that often get overlooked everyday. I've been kind of amazed at all the little things there are everyday to be thankful for. I've not only gained an appreciation for them, but it has made me even more thankful for the "obvious" things as well.

So, to end things on a "thankful" note tonight, let me say that I am thankful that my kiddos are now home safe and sound from their temple trip; I am thankful that I can sleep in just a bit because I don't have to drive to seminary in the morning; and I am very thankful for the comfy bed I am about to crawl into!!

I got to craft on Saturday night!

I'm getting excited for Christmas!! I asked the very talented Mandi Wight to cut the "Ho Ho Ho" vinyl, and I painted and decorated the blocks. I've got some other ideas for gifts in mind, and I can't wait to play some more!


I've got more cuteness planned for the entryway!! Just a few more weeks til it all goes up!

I've been in a real crafting mood lately... I might even get some Christmas cards made this year. ;)

"Host" is coming!

The 18th Annual "Host of Christmas Past" is coming!!

More info here

The perfect way to get yourself in the Holiday mood!

Fall Break Trip 2010

*Warning... mega long marathon post!*

First of all, let me say...

"YAY... it's FALL BREAK!!!"

Ok... now on to the post!

Last Sunday, Barry and I sat here trying to decide what to do for fall break. We didn't have a lot of money to spend, but knew that we didn't want to sit around here, either. Our first thought was to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. It looks breath-taking, and would involve one of our favorite family activities... a long road trip! But, as we looked into it, the more we realized it was not something that we could do right now. (Total side bar here... and forgive me for sounding like a commercial... When you have a family the size of ours, it can be difficult to find hotel rooms to accommodate... you either have to get two rooms or you have to lie and sneak all the kids into one room. Fortunatley, though, a few years ago we discovered the Comfort Suites hotels, and for the same price as any other hotel, we can get a room big enough to fit all of us. And they are clean... and they offer an indoor pool and a free breakfast bar!!! Now back to our story... ) We could find hotel rooms at the beginning of the parkway and at the end, but nothing in the middle. We knew that we didn't want to hurry through the trip, and with it being Fall, we didn't want to have to camp in the mountains half-way through. (I am a big baby... I admit it!)

So, what to do?? Barry mentioned heading to Atlanta and visiting the bookstore, and wondered if there was anything in that direction that would be fun to visit. That set my mind to whirling... and my fingers to flying on the computer. I've always wanted to go to Savannah, Georgia, but we have just never taken the time. I presented my idea to the family, and everyone was quickly on-board. We knew we couldn't stay long (only a couple of nights), so we researched all the things we wanted to do, printed out maps, made out packing lists, and waited in anticipation!

We left home on Thursday morning. We decided to head over to Atlanta on mostly back-roads... well, not really back roads, but we avoided the interstate as much as we could. We went to Fort Payne, then to Rome, Ga. Barry took this route with some co-workers a few months ago, and had been wanting to go back with the family. He remembered seeing some cool places to explore, and wanted to take us there to do the exploring (the co-workers were not so much interested in stopping as they were getting to Atlanta). We found the place he wanted to stop... Little River Canyon. It's a beautiful area, which is part of the National Park Service. We got out and walked down to the falls, and we were amazed at the scenery.


Our next stop was in Atlanta. We went to the LDS bookstore (which is no longer called the "Liahona"... it's now named, "This is the Place".) I love walking around the bookstore. I bought myself President Monson's biography, Kayti got a new CTR ring, Barry got himself a CTR bracelet, Kyle and Megan each got a cool poster for their room, and Josh picked out a tote for his scriptures. I wanted to get the new Joseph Smith Papers book for Barry... but it's $100, so that was a no-go.

Next we headed to Savannah!! So excited!!

We got in pretty early in the evening, got settled in our room, ate some dinner, found a Wal-Mart (we are just such exciting people!), then had dessert at Dairy Queen. As we got ready for bed, we planned out the following day... beach in the morning, then city in the afternoon/evening. We had researched several historical sights that looked interesting, and we planned on heading by those if time allowed.

Can I tell you that I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve going to bed Thursday night?! I really had a hard time sleeping, woke up way too early, and had a hard time not making everyone else get up at 6:00 AM! I was nice, though, and let them sleep until 9:00.

Our first stop of the day was Tybee Island. I have always been fascinated with lighthouses, and couldn't wait to see the lighthouse there. I was not disappointed! The lighthouse and grounds were completely charming. We paid for admission into the lighthouse, the buildings on the grounds and the Battery museum next door. I am proud to say that I made it to the top of the lighthouse! Yep, I walked up all 178 steps to the top!!


Now, considering that I am T.E.R.R.I.F.I.E.D. of heights, I'm not really sure why I did this. I guess I got caught up in the excitement of being there, but I took one step outside of the thing, and that was the only step I took while up high and on the outside. I took a few quick pictures, so later I could appreciate the view from up there, then ducked right back inside. Then, as I was having a mild panic attack, I realized (like a total dork!) that I now had to go back down those stairs. All the memories of me falling down the stairs in our apartment came flooding back to my mind... and I had a death grip on that hand rail. :) By the time I got down, I was seriously sick to my stomach. We went into one of the buildings on site and watched a video on the history of the lighthouse, and thankfully sitting in a cool room for a bit helped the ill feelings to pass. Looking back on it now, I can say that I am thankful that I did it... and I'm also thankful that I didn't fall and kill myself on the way back down.

After we went to the lighthouse, we went into the Battery Museum. The boys were too excited for this... they played with a working periscope, saw a large display of old guns, and we were able to go up on top of the building. While we were out on top of the Battery, we could smell something yummy cooking next door at this cute little beachside cafe. Our tummies decided it was lunch time and headed over.


The food was yummy, and the place was pretty cute. The windows were open, and there was a great breeze coming in. Our waiter was awesome, too. We told the kids that they needed to try something new, preferrably seafood. The boys are not huge fans of seafood, but Kyle decided to be daring and have a crab cake sandwich. He took about 3 bites, and could eat no more. We had pity on him and hot him a hot dog... and our waiter didn't charge us for the sandwich. Kyle was thankful, and left happy!

With out tummies full, we headed to the beach!! The kids rolled up jeans, ditched shoes, and ran full-steam ahead! I had to stop and take pictures of the driftwood, the lighthouse, the, the, the... the list is a bit endless, and I won't bore you with all the pictures. Just a few of my favorites of the kids, the waves splashing on the rocks, a cute crab...


I have to admit that I prefer the sand of the Gulf much more than this sand. It was a bit tough on the feet... lots of bits and pieces of broken shells in it, and it was large-grain and brown. The water was really too chilly to be in, so in the end it turned out ok that we didn't plan on swimming in it. But, I am proud to say that I have put my toes in the Atlantic Ocean!

After spending 4 hours at Tybee (we only planned on being there 2), we headed to downtown Savannah! I am so in love with this city! I could move there and be very happy. I could let me daughter move there and be delighted in the fact that I could visit her there! It was just breath-taking. I wish I had a week just to explore the fun shops of downtown. And maybe that wouldn't even be long enough. I plan on going back someday. Don't know when, but this will not be my last trip to Savannah! Here are just a few of the highlights...


The cobblestone streets down by the riverfront


The shops at the riverfront... could easily spend a day just on these!


The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist


The Lady and Son's restaurant... this is the back side of the building. (Funny story here... the line of people to get into this place for dinner was incredible. I didn't plan on even trying to go. Instead, we ate dinner at this absolute dive next door, which had some of the best hamburgers and chili fries on the planet! I would love to eat here someday, but it will have to be a girls trip... the hubby would NEVER go for it!)


The Marshall House Hotel... this would be a fun place to stay!


The tree-lined streets


The trees dripping in Spanish Moss


These huge lamps had real flames lighting them... awesome!!


The fountain at Forsyth Park... it was a must on my list.

We parked up near the riverfront, and walked all over the downtown area. This was the last thing on our "must see" list, and the sun was starting to set before we got to it. The lighting is not very good in this picture, but the fountain is beautiful.

We made it back to our hotel room that night totally exhausted, but thrilled! We didn't make it to everyting we wanted to see, and I hated to have to leave the next morning. We all slept pretty well, and got up and got ready to head out. Kyle has been BEGGING us to go eat at a Waffle House. Not sure why, but we decided to indulge him that morning. Of course we told him that if it was gross we all got to punch him! Much to his relief the food was good, and we had the cutest little southern waitress! I tried to get a picture of Kyle in front of the restaurant, but he wouldn't cooperate!

Just to add a little excitement to the trip home, we decided to go to Augusta, Ga, then skip over the river and go into South Carolina. Our GPS is pretty old (well... it runs off of a DVD that is pretty old), and for some reason we could not get the Augusta National Golf Club (where the Masters is played) to display, so we didn't see it. The city is beautiful, though, and we enjoyed the riverfront.

We decided to come back home from Atlanta on the same route we took... through the small towns, avoiding the interstate. So glad we did. The scenery was beautiful, and reminded me why I am glad to live in the South.


I am so glad we took this trip! And we have all decided that this won't be our last trip to Savannah.

Today we are all resting and recouperating... my legs hurt so badly from all the walking we did. We have one more day to rest and relax and sleep in. Not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but I am thankful that we have one more day to play together. So like I said earlier... Yay for Fall Break!!!