Tagged

A friend of mine tagged me in this post on her blog. So, here's mine Kristen (and, you even got a link).

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Pepper Pilot

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Chocolate Sugar

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Darlene Baton Rouge

5. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Green Coke Zero

6. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers): Oscar Flavel

7. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ): Jane Lee

8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Davis Denver

9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Autumn Gerbera Daisy

10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + ie or y): Watermellon Pantsy

11. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Oatmeal Dogwood

12. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”): The Photo Snow Tour

I'm tagging:

Anyone who wants to play along

Thanksgiving

We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving day at our house this year with a couple of our very best friends, Jason and Rachel. Plenty of good food, Dallas Cowboy football, good conversation and Scrabble. It was a fun day.

A few days before Thanksgiving, Lance and I were talking with Chloe and asked her what she was thankful for. Her response was, "Family. But, you can't fit a family in a cornucopia."

Rachel's 11th Birthday

My sweet Rachel had her 11th birthday on November 19th. We had a family celebration that day, then a sleepover with a few of her best friends on the weekend.

Rachel has grown into such an amazing young lady. She loves Dallas Cowboy football, the color blue, drawing, singing, stuffed animals, and playing the violin. She is a total animal lover, who spends much of her time studying dog, horse or wildlife books.

Here are a few of the many things I see in Rachel that make me so proud of her:

• She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.
• She genuinely loves people, cares for them, and wants the best for them.
• She is a terrific student, and loves to learn.

God has great plans for you, Rachel. I love watching you grow to be more like Him every day. I love you!

Words

Chloe's recent observation on reading:

"So, words are just the sounds of letters put together?"

Happy Halloween

Pumpkins

Pirate Rachel


Hannah as Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia

Chloe as Reepicheep from The Chronicles of Narnia

Group photo with our neighbor, little pirate Grayson

The Hunt IV

Yet another amazing Hunt this year! 148 students participated, and many adults. The girls and I attend the Hunt every year, and help out in some way, but this was my first year to be a driver. I had a group of six 7th graders (including Hannah) in my car. My friend Kelly rode with us and kept me sane. It took us almost 4 hours of driving around to complete the mission. We were the 12th team (out of 29) to finish. I recovered nicely after taking 4 Advil and drinking 2 Cokes.

HSM 3

Yes, we all (including Lance) went to see High School Musical 3 on Friday. It was a fun family night.

One More Reason to Love Chick-fil-A

After paying for our lunch today at the Westminster Mall, I was handed my receipt and told that I could bring it back on my next visit and get the same order I placed today free! After the surprise wore off, Lance asked "Why?" We were told that they do this every Monday. Why have I never heard of this? I'm so happy to have stumbled upon this awesome offer.

And, sharing it with you was my pleasure.

Happy Fall

We did finally get a few shots with their eyes open.

Too Bright

It was a bit sunny Saturday when we ventured out to the pumpkin patch.

Soda

Really, Food Lion?

Good Books

"A children's book read only by children is a bad children's book."

- C.S. Lewis

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

A great story told with a few words and many illustrations. I read it this summer - twice!

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

I've been a fan of Kate DiCamillo since reading The Tale of Despereaux when it came out several years ago. Edward Tulane is a story about life and love and choosing to love even though it brings pain. I read this one out loud to Chloe. We both loved it.

I'm a big fan of children's books, and the above are two of my recent favorites. What are you (or your kids) reading? What are some must reads on your list?

Recipe

We tried this recipe recently when we had a couple of friends spending the night with us. All 5 girls enjoyed mixing their individual cake, watching it cook, then eating it. Thanks for the fun recipe, Mom.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons cake flour (plain flour, not self-raising)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

a small splash of vanilla

1 coffee mug

Put dry ingredients in mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla essence, and mix again. Microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise above the top of the mug while cooking.

Crunchy Goodness

While shopping at BJ's today, I treated myself to a bag of Stacy's Pita Chips. I absolutely love these. I never buy them, because I will eat the whole bag in one day. And, I'm talking about the big 1 lb 8 oz bag. I start with a few, but can't stop myself until the bag is empty.

It was lunch time when I purchased them. I had them opened and was munching on them before I left the store parking lot. And now I'm just trying not to get chip crumbs in my keyboard as I type and crunch.

First Game

Saturday morning at 7:00, my bedroom door swung open. I woke up to find Chloe standing in the doorway fully dressed in her soccer uniform. Her very first "game" was at 12:00 that day and she was ready. I talked her out of putting on her cleats until closer to game time.

In the 4-6 year old soccer academy, the teams are split up on game days and they play 3 on 3 matches on tiny fields. No score is kept and the coaches are on the field with the kids. It is a lot of fun to watch and Chloe is having a blast. Go Team Italy!

Good Morning, Chloe

I walked into Chloe's room this morning to wake her up.

I sat down beside her on the bed.

She opened her eyes, looked over at me and said, "It's really weird how boy dogs pee, isn't it?"

Time Away

Lance and I leave early tomorrow morning for Refuge.

Soccer Season

Rachel had her first game today. This girl is fast! She was all over the field.

Chloe's First Day

School Days

Today is the first day of school. Today is also the first day of a new stage of life for me. I have a 7th grader, a 5th grader, and a kindergartner this year. The girls are all in school now, and I am home without any kids during school days for the first time in over 12 years. It's been a great day so far. The girls were ready for school and I was, too.

So, what am I going to do now? I have plenty of things on my to do list that will keep me busy, lots of projects and things to catch up on. But, those can wait. Today I'm just going shopping. Alone. It will be strange not having my shopping buddy with me. But, it should take a lot less time.

My Thursday

[The following took place on a Thursday, and should in no way be confused with the My Friday movement]

My day started with Kindergarten orientation with Chloe at 9:00. Hannah, Rachel, and a friend that stayed with us the night before accompanied us. Chloe met her teacher, checked out her class room, made a new friend, took a ride on a school bus, and loved every minute of it.

We got back home at 11:00 and Lance called soon after that. He was headed home from this year's Ride of Passage trip and needed to be picked up at the church in about 30 minutes. I headed to the church with all 4 girls, and helped Lance load up his gear. We picked up lunch around 12:45 at Chick-Fil-A and came home to eat.

At 2:00 Rachel and I headed back to the school for open house so that she could meet her 5th grade teacher and look around her class rooms. At 2:30, Rachel and I left the school, stopped by the house to pick up her violin and music, and took off for her 3:00 violin lesson.

We returned home at 4:00. At 4:30 Hannah's friend was picked up by her dad. At 5:00 I began making dinner for the kids (Mac and cheese and Chicken nuggets). At 5:30 another friend arrived to spend the night.

At 6:00 Lance and Rachel left for her soccer practice. I cleaned up from dinner and played outside with Chloe and her neighborhood friends until dark. After the practice Lance and Rachel picked up another friend that would also be spending the night. They got back to the house around 8:30. A little later, the 5 girls and I tried out a new recipe. After that I cleaned up the kitchen.

During the kitchen clean up I told Chloe to put on her pjs and snuggle with her dad for a little bit until I was finished. This is how I found her in the living room at around 10:30.

More Signs

What?!?!

When we saw this last week we had to stop for a photo.

Camping at Codorus

We took off for a few days of camping this week at Codorus. I'm glad we decided to squeeze this trip into our busy August schedule. It was relaxing and a lot of fun to be outdoors. The weather was beautiful and cool. Low temperatures were around 60 degrees and highs were around 80 . . . in August! Amazing. The camp fire felt great each night.

My Favorite Things About Camping

1. Putting up the tent with Lance
2. Cooking outside on my camp stove
3. Camp fires every night
4. Setting up camp
5. The smell of breakfast cooking each morning
6. Hiking trails
7. No need for watches or alarm clocks
8. S'mores and Jiffy Pop
9. Riding bikes
10. Playing cards and board games
11. Sleeping in the tent (on my Aero bed)
12. Wildlife

August 10, 1991

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary!

Some day I'll scan in a few wedding pictures for you all to enjoy. Our hair styles alone will be quite entertaining. I love my husband, and I love the 17 years of married life we have had together. I'm looking forward to many more.

We're leaving right now for a few days of camping. The family is loading up the car, so I've got to run!