My Punkins

We had a fantastic day today, just having some family time. It's been quite a while since Tracy has taken an entire Saturday off. We ran some errands and then visited a local pumpkin patch. This was our first time to go, and it was a fun little outing.

First we headed to the corn maze...

Luke's not sure which way to go...

He decides sticking with Daddy is the best option!

Believe me, I was right behind them! Even though it was daytime, I was not that crazy about the corn maze. Oh sure, I could get out, one way or other, even if it meant running right through the corn, but for some reason it just wasn't that "fun" for me.

Now this is the way to travel...

Taking a break, waiting to get on the wagon to go to the pumpkin patch. Isn't it funny the way little kids drink out of bottles?

We found the perfect "punkins" as Luke says!

This & That

Whew! I am waaaayyy behind in keeping y'all up to date with all the exciting fabulousness that makes up my family's life. Uh, yeah, right. October has just been a crazy, crazy month! Why is it that all of them are starting to be kind of crazy? Sometimes I just want life to slow down! Tracy has been baling peanut hay in the afternoons and at night, so the boys and I have been on our own a lot.

School is also stressing me out right now. We have some new programs and strategies, mandated by the state DOE, that have to be implemented, and honestly, there just aren't enough hours in the day. It already takes all we can do to plan for and keep up with the paperwork associated with our classes. But we're supposed to be superheroes, I guess....Thank goodness we are on fall break next week. We need it something awful!

Here are a few scenes from the last few days...



Luke explains to me that the duck is going through the car wash.
I just love what he comes up with sometimes!

And it must take a lot of concentration to operate said car wash...




Somebody has started wanting to get in my bed to watch TV...



And of course, it's the season for Halloween costumes!

I couldn't resist this photo of Matthew in his hat, snuggling with Luke in his bed.

(Luke's bed, not Matthew's!)



We also had our school's Fall Festival.

Matthew was so excited about being Mario that most of my photos wound up like this...





I finally managed to get one halfway decent picture,

although you can tell Matthew isn't too happy about standing still!

Have a great weekend, friends! I'll hopefully be back soon with more pics!

Signs of Fall

I've had fall fever for a few weeks now. It first hit during a cool snap we had a several weeks ago, but then it turned off blistering hot again, and I kind of lost interest. That, and the fact that I've been waiting on Tracy to help me get the box of fall decorations down from the attic! This past weekend though, I decided that one way or another I was getting some fall decorations out!

When I started going through the box I was a bit disappointed. I thought I had more stuff than I do...if I had realized that I would've stocked up on some more while I was at Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago. Actually, part of what it is, is that I have several pieces that I no longer want to use. They're more of a cutesy, country look, and I've gotten away from that. Here are a couple of new things I've done this year though.

A new wreath for the front door...

A pretty platter with fall leaves on top of the refrigerator. I still need something else to go with it.

I also finally finished re-doing the planters on my front porch. Remember me showing you these several months ago? Well, I finished them about 6-8 weeks ago, but have just now thought to take a picture of them. I was pleased with the way they turned out.

Before...

...and after...

Hope it's feeling more like fall where you are! Show me your fall decorations! I'm always looking for ideas!

A trip through the car wash....

As you can tell, Luke wasn't totally thrilled with it!

We have had one of THOSE WEEKS...parent night at school, trying to get progress reports out, and a 330 plate steak dinner fundraiser. After this week, I was not just "beat", I was whooped!

Have enjoyed a pretty relaxing day today, and even squeezed in a nap. Perfect since it was a rainy afternoon. Praise the Lord for the rain!!!!!

Hope the rest of your weekend is great!

A Night with "Royalty"

This weekend, Tracy and I took a little belated anniversary trip. We headed to Birmingham on Friday to see Queen Reba and King George, aka Reba McEntire and George Strait, in concert. We have seen Reba in concert twice before, but this was our first time to see George. We had tickets to one of his concerts a few years ago, but Matthew and I both caught the flu that week and we had to sell our tickets.

My cousins Tricia and Wanda are big country music fans, and they met us in Birmingham to go to the show. It was kind of a surprise trip for Wanda; Tricia just told her about it a week ago, and she was estatic! She is an absolute HOOT, so it was treat for us too! We started out with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, and then headed for the concert. This was our first time to eat at Cheesecake Factory and all I can say is YUUU-UUUMMM! Delish! When we go out of town, we try to eat at places we don't have at home!

LeeAnn Womack opened the show

Can you believe the heels on these shoes? There is no way I could perform in them!

Next up was Reba!

The red "Fancy" dress...she always wears a red dress to perform "Fancy", and yes, she came to the stage in the yellow taxicab! And don't you love these shoes?

Would you take a look at the size of the rock she's wearing?

King George!

No flashy stage set, no flying around the arena , he just picks his guitar and sings....now THAT'S talent!

Goodnight, George...

After the show, we headed back to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert!

I had a peanut butter, Butterfinger, Reese's Cup cheesecake.



Strawberry cheesecake



Red velvet cheesecake


And finally, the best dessert of the evening (and it wasn't even cheesecake)...
Lemoncello Creme TorteFrom the CF menu: Layers of Vanilla Cake and Lemon Mascarpone Cream Topped with Streuseland Served with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

We closed them down at 12:30 a.m., and said our goodbyes to Tricia and Wanda. I can't begin to tell you how long it's been since I was out that late!!! I am sooo not a night owl! In fact, I'm usually asleep on the couch by 8:30! The next morning, we slept in, then did a little shopping before heading home. It was the perfect weekend....a fantastic concert, hanging out with relatives we don't get to see nearly often enough, and yet some alone time for Tracy and me.
If there is one thing I learned this weekend, it is that now I am truly a camera snob. On the Ticketmaster web site when I bought the tickets, there was a notice that said "No professional cameras". Well, at a previous event, I was told that if the camera had a detachable lens, they considered it "professional". So, I didn't even attempt to take my good camera; I took my mom's point and shoot instead. I didn't get any concert photos worth anything. All these are from Tricia's camera, still a point and shoot, but a nicer one than Mama's. It has a good zoom on it, but you can tell the photos get pretty grainy when you're really zoomed in. I found myself getting really frustrated with my inability to get any good shots, and even on those close-ups in the restaurant, getting frustrated with the inability to control the flash, etc. However, I'm glad I at least have access to some photos, and I have a ton of memories in my mind!

Busy week this week....open house/family night tomorrow at school, then a steak dinner fundraiser on Friday night. Hope your week is great!

Impromptu

Wow! I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I blogged. What on earth have I been doing in that time? I feel like I've been super busy, but don't have much to show for it!

Thank you for your prayers for Matthew when he was having teeth pulled. I KNOW they worked, because he was much calmer and got along so well with the whole ordeal! We did have a really rough patch when the anesthesia started wearing off, but once his pain medicine took effect, he was doing fine. He has also adjusted his eating without much trouble. About the only thing he can't eat is a hamburger, and I'm not so sure that he couldn't do it if he tried hard enough! He has two permanent teeth already coming in, so hopefully that big gap will be filled before too long!

**********************************

We had a wonderfully relaxing Labor Day weekend. We didn't plan too much since we didn't know how Matthew would be feeling. So, on a whim, we invited a couple of his friends over to play, and then all the kids wound up being invited over to some cousins' house to swim in their new pool. We went over for a couple of hours and had a great time. Luke would only sit on the steps and splash, but at least he wasn't hanging on my neck, as has been the case the rest of the summer! Later that night, we, along with Matthew's friends and their parents (our new pastor's family), went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a time of great food and even better fellowship! We so rarely go out with other families, so this was a treat!

**************************************

Last Saturday was another impromptu gathering. Tracy's aunt has been raising catfish in a cage to release into another pond. Well, they had gotten large enough that it was time to transfer them. So the plan was that Tracy and his daddy were going to help with the transfer, and they had lined up some help for cleaning the ones that were large enough to go ahead and eat. We have a big fish fry at church coming up in about a month, so they were trying to get some fish ready for that. WELL...they wound up cleaning almost 300 fish! So the decision was made that we definitely needed to go ahead and cook some that day, and an impromptu fish fry was planned. It started off as just family, and then it was decided to invite so and so, and then somebody else said, "Well let's invite so and so too!" So we wound up with about 30 people, and it was a really fun time. I'm normally a planner, but I'm learning that these impromptu gatherings can be so much fun. The cousins played, and I took in this gorgeous scenery. Tracy's grandmother has three large ponds, one of which backs up to his aunt's house (where we had the fish fry), so I decided to pull out my camera and get some good shots of the pond. It is huge, and is absolutely beautiful!

While we've had impromptu gatherings the last two weeks, I have big plans for this weekend! Will be back soon with details and pictures!

Would you pray...

...for this little guy?

He has to have SEVEN, yes SEVEN, baby teeth pulled this morning, and to say he's nervous is an understatement. It's more like scared to death!

The oral surgeon says it's going to be a breeze....5 minutes and he'll have them all out. (Not sure I would have told how easy it is going to be considering how much he's charging us! Ha!) Anyway, it's something most adults would dread, but to an 8-year-old, he is just terrified. For adults, we can reason through things and realize that yes, there's going to be some pain, but it won't last forever, etc. To Matthew, who has never had any dental work other than routine cleanings and x-rays, he just can't really imagine what it's going to be like, and is therefore, rather afraid! He was actually physically sick this morning, and I know it was his nerves.

We had a special prayer for him last night at church, so hopefully that will help calm him. If you happen to read this in time, would you whisper a little prayer for him too? This mama sure would be grateful!