Finally...A Day Off!!

We are out of school today in honor of Veteran's Day! I am so very thankful for all of the men and women, past and present, who have made it possible for my babies and me to live in a free country. I may not be happy with the way it's headed at this particular time, but I am forever grateful to live here in the United States of America.
 
Last night Justin and I went to the movies (for the first time in I can't remember when), and the kids and I are spending our day today listening to the rain hit the roof...in our pajamas...doing as little as possible. This is our first day off since Labor Day, and unless you have ever taught you cannot understand the need for the kids and teachers to have a break once and a while. The kids have been on overload, we have been on overload, and this day has been long-awaited and MUCH needed. 

Here's a little of what we've been up to lately...

Learning early;)

 

Daddy and the babes went to MawMaw's last

Friday while Ashley and I went to Christmas Village.

We went to Heritage Day last week. The kids had the best time at

  the fire station riding the horse and buggy and these pedal tractors.

 

E's favorite way to watch TV...

 

When I picked E up one day last week Mrs. Lolli said that Emma 

 had a super fabulous day...she was very obedient, did everything 

 she was told to do, and was extra helpful. I'm proud of my baby 

 every day (and she's never gotten a "bad report"), but we went out 

 for a sweet treat in celebration of her extra good report that day!

 

 E rested up before cheering on the Vols to their first playoff win!

 

Saturday we headed to GA for a baby shower for Casey and baby

  Cooper...we can't wait to meet the newest edition to the McCollum

  family! E and MawMaw took up with one another, and of course, 

 Emma and Ella Kate giggled and had a big time as usual!

 

 

 When we got home we headed to church to help with the dinner

  theater fund raiser...where Emma definitely earned her pay!

 

While we were there, I kept up with the Alabama game via ESPN College Football app. Of course, I was super disappointed in the outcome (especially since it seems as though we could have pulled off the win:/), but losing is a part of life. And I'm quite certain that A&M only pulled off the win because my Aunt Paulette had a hand in it...straight from Heaven! A wise man once said...

Veteran's Day Program

E's class sang a song at the Veteran's Day lunch at FACS today. I was able to go watch her song, and I'm so glad I was...the look on her face when she spotted me (after looking around the room for a minute or two) was priceless! The video isn't great because of where I was standing and it was taken from my phone, but I wanted to record the little voices singing!!

 

Trunk or Treat

We ended our dress up days at the Trunk or Treat held at CHS. It was massive to say the least. The kids were not interested in taking pictures, but they were interested in taking candy. ;)

BBC Fall Festival

Our church started its annual fall festival the year E was born. It has grown each year, and we always look forward to it. It was freezing cold, so E decided to dress as a bumblebee instead of Snow White tonight. As usual, we had so much fun!!

 

 

 

 

 

Pics & 3 Birthdays

This morning started off with church directory pictures, which were stressful to say the least. Ten minutes to get one decent picture of two adults and two kids is a ridiculous amount of time. Anyhow, when that was over we headed home to change clothes because fall weather arrived!! 

 

 

 

 

We had two birthday parties at the same time, so Justin and E 

 headed to the pumpkin patch, while Luke and I headed to Sarah's.

 

 

We ended our day by celebrating Moms' 79th birthday at

Olive Garden. We are so blessed to have her in our lives,

 and hope she has a great "actual birthday" tomorrow!

FACS Harvest Festival

My big girl had her very first festival Thursday night. Her

 daddy had school, so he wasn't able to be there...but he made

 it up to her by helping her make our donation of cupcakes:).

 

 

She was so excited about dressing up as a princess and

wearing lipstick. MawMaw kept Luke, so we got to enjoy

 all of the fun without having to chase around Wild Man!

 

 

 

 

 

April (aka JT and Kinlee's mom:) offered to take

 a pic of us...which, all moms know is a rarity!! :)

 

Of all the treats, Snow White chose to eat an apple;)!

 

E got to stay at home with her daddy today, since school

was closed. She had a great day, which ended with a

 Vols victory over Dadeville and a pallet in the floor.

Puppet Patch 2012

We left this morning after Sunday School and headed to Old Baker Farm in Harpersville. Luke was ever so excited about the "puppet patch" as he so delightfully called it (as if he knew exactly where we were headed). It was a fun and (mostly) relaxing afternoon, although it felt more like middle of summer than fall!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picking out the perfect "puppets"...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we hit the door the kids wanted to paint. By the time

 Daddy got home paint was everywhere, but they had so much fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to top it off I now have beautiful

 green puppets to decorate my kitchen...:)