Scarecrows!

Even Sir Topham Hat was a scarecrow!

Katherine was very excited about the scarecrows!

When I got off work we headed to Nashville to check out the Scarecrows at Cheekwood!  We also wanted to see the Trains exhibit again.  We were excited to go on a weekend when Paul could go with us.  Luke was excited to see the trains again and he loved all the scarecrows.  We went to this exhibit a couple of years ago, but it seemed liked there were a lot more this year.  There was a huge variety to enjoy.  I especially liked Noah and the Ark.  Cheekwood is so nice to visit - the gardens are still beautiful and the weather was great today. Both kids were worn out on the way home.  We got home in time to eat supper and watch some football.  We put the kids to bed early and actually got to watch both of our teams (lose) in peace and quiet!

Show And Tell

 

This is what my sweet family was doing while I was getting ready to go

Luke had show and tell today!  He was so excited.  He took the milo from the farm and Paul's old John Deere combine toy.  I asked the teacher is she would care to take some pictures of him talking to the class.  Not only did she take pictures but she printed them, mounted them on construction paper and laminated them for me!  How great!  Apologies for the orientation of the middle one.  I can not get it flipped the right way after numerous attempts. The teacher said he did great -- he told everyone exactly what the milo was for, how the combine worked, including all the different parts and what the names of the parts are.  He definitely knows more than I do!  I was so proud of our little guy!

Tonight we enjoyed kicking off the weekend.  We ate supper at Chili's at Luke's request.  It has become one of his favorites lately, mainly because they have cooked apples!  After that we went to Pier One.  I know, we are crazy!  The kids had fun playing in the toy section and Paul had fun getting a personal preview of their Christmas stuff. Yes, he asked the sales lady when they would be putting out the Christmas items and she went and got some of it from the back for him to look at.  My husband sure does LOVE Christmas!

Loving The Phone

 

Talking to Pop

Trying out her new chair

Luke has really gotten in to talking on the phone lately.  Pop called him tonight to see if he told his friends all about the combine.  They carried on quite the conversation.  It is so neat to hear his side of it.  Last night Bill and Paula brought Katherine a rocking chair!  They gave Luke a rocking chair for his 1st birthday and wanted to do the same for K, but Paula had not been able to find one.  Jon and Kristen visited her dad in Indiana a few weeks ago and Kristen found this adorable chair at an Antique store.  We love it and so does Katherine!

She actually is in to any type of chair right now -- child or adult sized.  She loves to climb in them, stand up and bounce up and down.  So far, she has not tried this when we are not around.  Hope it stays that way. 

Luke's Special Day!

Luke got a treat today!  The crop at the farm is being harvested this week.  Bill and Paula asked if they could pick Luke up early from school today so he could see the combine working.  Of course, we said yes.  Luke had a great time!  He and Pop got to ride in the combine with the worker.  When they brought him home Luke gave us a play-by-play of everything that happened.  He brought some milo home for show-and-tell on Friday.  I am so glad he gets to experience a little bit of what farming is like.  There is a part of me that wished we could come up with something to do on the farm as a family that would be able to support us!  Wishful thinking I guess. 

Now to explain the pictures.  One of the other projects I did while I was off was a linen memo board.  I saw something similar in Pottery Barn and decided I could make it for a fraction of the cost. It turned out pretty well.  As soon as I asked Paul to hang it up for me Luke was right there with him.

Back To Bed

Luke decided he was still sleepy this morning so after he got up and got ready he wanted to get in our bed.  He actually did not stay that long once he realized no one else was going back to bed.

So long, farewell...

We all slept much better last night and actually slept in!  Katherine woke up and in the middle of the night and was ready to play!  Luckily, she went back to sleep quickly.  It was after 8 before we rolled out of bed.  I know it was 8 eastern time - but still!  We decided to cook up some of the food that was left and ate breakfast at the cabin instead of eating out. 

It ended up that all of us, minus Bill and Paula stopped at the outlet mall on our way out.  We found the kids some shoes.  Luke got some new Crocs and tennis shoes.  Katherine got some brown and pink Mary Janes.  Sunday really was a good time to do the mall.  It was not nearly as crowded as I have seen it in the past.  By the time we hit most of the stores we wanted it was time for lunch.  We all met at a restaurant at the mall, ate lunch and watched the first half of the Titans game.  That worked out great.

Within five minutes of leaving the mall both kids were fast asleep.  They slept for 2 hours!  They are worn out.  We let Luke watch his new movie again and that got us almost home.  We actually did not have to stop all the way home which was a miracle!

We were glad to be home, but really wish we had one more day away.  We quickly set to work getting the suitcases unpacked and laundry started.  It is amazing how much laundry is generated by four people on a two day trip!  I planned ahead and requested tomorrow off, too.  I have a doctor's appointment and several other things lined up to do. 

The Big 3-0!

Family Birthday Dinner

Make a wish!

Luke had to help JonJon with his gifts

Real Gatlinburg moonshine...

The evidence is on his face - yummy icing!

We celebrated Jon's milestone birthday tonight!  Paula cooked supper at Jon's request - ribs, mac & cheese, green beans, salad and cornbread.  Kristen made a yummy cake.  The supper was great and we had fun watching Jon open his gifts.  Someone asked him if he was 10 instead of 30 by the type of gifts he received - basketball and board games.  Then he opened some moonshine - guess he is 30!

We had a great time.  Luke has been ok with Katherine this weekend.  He still will not leave her alone. He had been bothering her quite a bit tonight and we kept telling him to stop.  I finally had enough when he pushed her down and drug him in to the bedroom. Paul was close behind.  He got a spanking and a stern talking to from Paul and was in time out for awhile.  I hate when he acts like that but he has got to learn to leave her alone.  Paul later told me when he was talking to Luke that he asked him why he is so rough with Katherine.  He said he just wants to play with her and does not want to hurt her.  That made me tear up -- bless his heart.  He just wants her to be big so she can play with him.

Since it was vacation we let the kids stay up later than normal.  We all stayed up to listen to Lauren and Faith sing us a song.  Lauren has recently taken up the guitar so it was neat to hear her play, too. 

Beautiful Moutain Saturday

Paul and I were in charge of breakfast this morning.  Neither of us slept well last night because the mattress is very firm!  We are not used to that.  It is also very loud.  Anytime either one of us rolled over it was awful.  We were trying not to wake Katherine up which we didn't.  When we got up we were both sore and stiff from the restless night. 

We made pancakes with all the fixin's.  It was great, if I do say so myself.  With a group our size it takes a while to figure out who is doing what and when.  The guys decided they wanted to watch the UT game so they headed in to Gatlinburg to find a place to watch it. Lauren and Faith wanted to go to the aquarium and walk around downtown Gatlinburg.  In the midst of determining our comings and goings Katherine fell asleep.  Paula and I decided to stay at the cabin until she woke up.  By the time everyone left and she woke up we decided the kids needed lunch.  We fixed a quick lunch and hit the road.  We drove around for a while trying to find a good place to park.  Both kids fell asleep!  We decided to just park and let them nap.  They actually slept for a while.  By the time we got out of the car and started walking the football crew was leaving the bar.  We met up with them and strolled around downtown.  Luke got a kick out of watching them make taffy and looking at all the neat Fall displays.  Katherine was great - just smiled and took it all in. 

Bill and Paula decided to head back to get started on the birthday supper Jon requested. The rest of us stayed a while longer.  The weather was beautiful again so I just enjoyed being outside!  We found a toy store for Luke and hot chocolate for me!

Our First Night

Katherine was a captive audience for JonJon's reading of Pat The Bunny

 

The whole goal of our Family Weekend was to relax and enjoy each others company.  We each cooked a meal which worked out nicely. Jon and Kristen cooked a great Mexican supper tonight.  We all enjoyed playing with the kids.  We played games, watched TV and some enjoyed the hot tub.  It is a bit chilly here - supposed to be in the 30's tonight.  I did not exactly pack accordingly.  I got here with 4 jackets for Luke and 1 light jacket for Katherine.  I still have not fully transitioned their closets over and am quickly learning that most of Luke's things are too little.  Most of his jackets are 2T!  Lauren brought her friend Faith which is nice for her. It gives her someone her own age to hang out with instead of us "old folks".  Luke is quite enthralled by Lauren and Faith and likes to follow them around everywhere. I am trying to limit that so he won't drive them crazy!

The cabin is laid out great!  Their are 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.  Everyone has their own space.  Luke is going to sleep with Nene and Pop and Katherine will sleep with Paul and I.  Somehow we forgot the pack-n-play!  She should be fine in bed with us.

Road Trip!

We left the house this morning about 8:30 heading to the mountains!  The kids seemed so excited.  Luke has been talking about our mountain weekend for a month now.  It was a beautiful day for a drive.  Both kids did great.  Katherine slept off and on and Luke ended up taking a quick nap, too.  I had been telling him all week if he was good he would get a surprise on our trip.  He was so excited when I gave him Day of the Diesels and let him watch it in the car!  We rarely let him watch the DVD player in the car.  I just don't want them to get accustomed to having it on anytime we are in the car.  So far, he has done well with that. 

We stopped in Cookeville for a quick diaper change and continued east.  By the time we stopped for lunch, gas and groceries it was 3:00 eastern time when we got to the cabin!  We were all glad to be there!

Checking Off the Old To-Do List

Before....

After!

 One thing I have had on my to-do list forever is painting this old cabinet that used to be in our den growing up.  This piece of furniture has been around the block.  It sat in Mom's garage for years, then Andrew took it to Florida then it came back home when he and Mandi did not have room for it.  I decided I wanted it last fall and was going to paint it.  Well, one year later I finally got around to it.  I have kept it in our living room since then.  But, we "inherited" a piece of furniture that was Memaw's that Jon and Kristen did not have room for in their new house.  I played musical furniture one night between the new buffet piece, this piece and the foyer table.  I finally decided I would like this piece of furniture upstairs if it were painted black.  Paul and I moved it to the garage last week so I set to work on it last night.  I sanded it and wiped it down well and it was ready for a coat of pain this morning.  It only took 2 coats of paint and a little over an hour and half to get it finished.  I like how it turned out.  Still trying to determine what the best use of it will be. 

Paper Airplane

One of the shows Luke likes to watch On Demand is Special Agent Oso which is a Disney show.  It is about a stuffed bear who is a Special Agent who guys on assignments to help children learn how to do things.  It ranges anywhere from how to order a meal at a restaurant to how to mix primary colors to get secondary to colors.  He recently watched one where Oso teaches the little boy how to make a paper airplane.  He and Paul made one tonight and he had a blast with it!

I was pretty productive on my first "staycay" day.  I went to the eye doctor and then did a lot of errands that are a lot easier when I don't have the kids with me.  Tomorrow is my stay-at-home day to get some projects done around here that I have been meaning to do for a long time.

Just Another Normal Night

It was another typical night around here. Get home, light snack for the kids, cook supper while the kids play.  The kids know when it is getting time for Paul to come home.  Katherine starts saying "dada" and points toward the door and Luke likes looking out the dining room window for his truck.  We played upstairs after supper.  Katherine somehow ended up with no clothes on.  She loves it when Paul puts her way up high -- she squeals!  It is so fun.

I am excited because I am off until next Tuesday!  We are heading to the mountains Friday morning but I took a couple of days off to catch up on doctor's appointments and projects around the house! 

I Know It's In There Somewhere

So, Katherine is quite the adventurer as I have said before.  Yesterday afternoon I was in a cleaning mood so I started working on the bonus room closet which is a catch-all for everything.  I had several of the extra-long rolls of Christmas wrapping paper.  You know the kind that do not fit in any of those wrapping paper organizers.  So, I decided to stash them under the couch to get them out of the way.  Wouldn't you know it...that little girl remembered me putting them there and she went looking for them tonight.  She was actually successful and had a roll out and was tearing it before we realized it!

We Don't Have Electricity

Luke says the craziest things.  When we were all in his room packing for our upcoming mountain trip we asked him to go and get something in the bonus room.  He said he couldn't because the light was not on and it was dark up there.  We told him just to turn the light on to which he said but we don't have electricity!  He did finally go over there and get whatever it was we needed.

That boy is so silly!  We spent a lot of our day doing nothing.  We lounged around watching the Titans and playing with the kids.  After that we decided to get out of the house so we went to Lowe's and Old Time Pottery.  We let each child pick out a Christmas ornament.  I also picked up a few things at Lowe's that I plan to do when I take a few days off next week.  We will see how productive I actually am when the time comes though.

Such a Fun Saturday!

 

So, Paul and I started our fun day Saturday last night.  Nene and Pop picked Luke up from school for an overnight.  I was to pick Katherine up, run home where Mom would keep K, get ready and meet Paul in Green Hills for supper.  Well, those plans got changed when I picked Katherine up from school and proceeded to have a gab fest with some parents and teachers.  I did not leave there until after 5.  Poor Paul -- when I called him to tell him I was just leaving Hendersonville he said he had been driving around Green Hills for 30 minutes hoping I was on my way.  The traffic was horrible so we decided to forgo the across town outing.

Paul came home and we decided to finally use a gift card we had for Woody's Steakhouse.  It was really good and we were glad we ate there.  Their steaks are great and the atmosphere is cool.  We sat in the room with the piano man so that was fun.  We could not think of much else to do after that so we just hit a few stores and headed home. Mom was surprised when we were home by 8:30.  Katherine was fast asleep so that was nice.

This morning I headed over to Virginia's new place to check it out since she has done some things.  We went to a cool neighborhood yard sale close to her place.  I spent a whopping $2.50!  I got 5 things for that!  I saw some neat furniture that could have been refinished but we really don't need anything like that right now.  After that we grabbed a snack at Star Bagel before I headed home.

Paul met up with Paula and Luke at Lowe's in Hendersonville.  He and Luke did their weekend kid's project. Luke was pretty proud of his police car!  The all ate lunch together.  I pulled in the driveway about 5 minutes after they did.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching football, mowing the lawn and taking naps.

Explanation of the pictures - we did some more fall decorating around here so the kids had to pose.  Luke is wearing a cowboy vest that was JonJon's.  He is still saying he wants to be a cowboy for Halloween. We just need to work on getting the rest of the outfit together.  The last picture was taken when Luke was in the laundry room playing peek-a-boo with Katherine through the kitty door.  The previous owner had a cat so that is why we have a pet door.  Most everyone knows neither Paul or I are animal people so I doubt this will ever be used for much more than entertaining the kids.