LMU Campus

There is this really pretty amphitheatre on the LMU campus that we have visited several times. It has a big open area where the kids can run around.  They also love climbing up the stairs and running around on the "stage". It's also a really neat place to take pictures! Michelle called one day and said she was going to dress her kids up and take them over there for some pictures, so we joined her! :) I actually got several really cute pictures of my kiddos!! I'm shocked that they sat still long enough for me to take their picture! 

 

More Fall Fun!

We enjoyed some beautiful weather and went to a really nice pumpkin patch with some sweet friends in October! All the kids had a blast! 

 

This was the best we could do for a group picture! :)

 

Owen and Natalie

Owen had been telling us for weeks that he wanted to be a ghost for Halloween, so here is our little ghost and skeleton!

There is this really cute, small pumpkin patch just down the road from our house that we enjoy taking the kids to every year! I made them matching candy corn shirts! Love how they are holding hands in this picture.

Fall in the Mountains

**I know this is WAY late, but Justin's mom gave me a blog book so I'm determined to catch up and keep up to date on my blog! It was so much fun looking through the book at all the fun things we did during 1st year!

 

We enjoyed the fall weather here in the Tennessee mountains once again! The kids had a blast playing in all the leaves in our front yard.  We even painted pumpkins outside one day when the weather was nice!

 

Labor Day

Harrogate has an awesome Labor Day celebration each year at the city park, so we decided last minute that we would go check it out! We hadn't planned on going but we decided just to go for a few minutes last night after dinner.  We had the BEST time!!

 

The kids spotted the horses right off so we made our way over there to watch.  After we watched the other children riding the horses, Owen decided he wanted to ride.  So...we waited in line for a few minutes thinking there is NO WAY he will EVER put on the helmet, much less ride the horse!! Oh. my. goodness. HE RODE THE HORSE!!!!!!! He put the helmet on, and walked right up to the steps to get on the horse. We were so proud of him! He had an absolute blast! 

 

Riding a horse for the first time.

 

 He was so proud of himself!

Right before it was our turn to get on, they told us that Grace Ann could ride also if we walked beside her.  Now, I was not a bit surprised that Grace Ann jumped right on there to ride! I was so proud of her also!! This girl would still be at Harrogate City Park riding the horse if we let her!

 

Grace Ann's first time riding a horse.

 

She was so excited!!

Most of the parents stood outside of the fence taking pictures...not me.  I was the crazy parent running around jumping over horse poop trying to get pictures of both of my kids riding horses! This trip was so last minute, that our camera was dead, so I just had to take pictures with my phone. 

My Little Ballerina

Grace Ann started dance class a few weeks ago and she is doing so well! She is a little young for her class but her teacher said we could give it a try and see how she does.  After 3 weeks of class, I think she is going to get to stay! :) It's so neat to see how much she has improved since the first week of class.  She is starting to follow some of the teachers directions and I have been able to actually sit back and watch a few minutes at a time instead of being right beside her!

When Owen was this age he was in daycare two days a week and then was with grandparents the other three while I taught school. Now that I stay at home, Grace Ann is with me everyday and does not do well going to other people.  We thought having her in dance was the perfect thing to get her used to taking directions from someone other than myself and allowing her to have interaction with little girls close to her age. The class is just one day a week for 35 minutes, so it's perfect! Her teacher is so patient with her!!

My little ballerina before her first day of dance!

 

 This is the only way she would stand still for a picture!

 

Mrs. Brittany helping her walk on the line

 

 Waiting to throw their bean bags!

 

Hoola hoop time

2nd Year

Justin started his 2nd year of medical school today! It was bittersweet to see him start back today, but we are ready to get this 2nd year going! I started last year taking a picture of the kids on the morning Justin starts school each year.  It is so fun to see how much they have grown in just a year! 

                                      1st year                                                                       2nd year

Weekend Getaway!!

 

Justin and I just got back from a wonderful trip WITHOUT kids! My nana and his mom came up and watched the kids while we took a little trip before he starts school on Monday.  It was so nice to have almost two entire days to ourselves! We left early on Thursday morning and went zip lining across the Pigeon River.  We had a blast! 

After we zip lined, we headed to Asheville, North Carolina! We spent the remainder of Thursday walking around downtown and enjoyed some of the local places Asheville had to offer. Dowtown Asheville is very interesting (not in a good way), but we did have a wonderful dinner at the Lobster Trap. :) 

We slept in on Friday morning until 8:00! That is crazy late around our house with two little ones that like to get up at the crack of dawn! After we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the Biltmore Village and walked around to some of the little shops where I found a wonderful fabric store! :)

Next, we headed to the Biltmore Estate! It was amazing! We spent most of the day touring the house and the gardens there.  Everything about the Biltmore was beautiful! I would love to go back at Christmas time to see the house decorated!



We had such a wonderful time enjoying each others company! I'm so thankful for the time we had together before Justin starts his second year of medical school! We've got this!!!!