Lions and Fairies Oh My!

Once upon a time, two magical mommy fairies transformed the gates of the family castle into a magical and spooky moat of frights. There were cobwebs and spiders creeping in every corner, ghoulish ghosts flying through the trees and jack-o-lanterns grinning all in a row. Inside the magical castle were treats of every sort... pumpkins filled with chocolate and cream (pumpkin cake), chicken floating in swamps of slime (green chicken tetrazini), mummies in their shrouds (giant pigs in a blanket), ghosts on a platter (ghost cookies), bubbling brews (soups & punch) and lots of other magically sweet eats. Fairies, butterflies and magical creatures came from miles around to the magical castle full of tricks and treats. They came two by two. Lions (3) and their keepers, a very curious zebra, bees (2), butterflies (3), princesses, flowers (3) and even a creepy crawly super hero (Spider Man). They played, fluttered and posed for their pics all to be remembered for years to come... After entering the castle, and being greeted by glowing ghosts, skeletons and pumpkins (candles) the young ones munched and snacked until their bellies were full. One little tulip (Charlotte) filled her belly so full of apples and chips it could hold nothing else. The flower fairies and butterflies ate a proper meal and then it was time to prepare... After bundling up right for a very chilly night the little ones headed out to fill their buckets full! Going house to house they ran and played. At each house the buckets filled, until they could hold them no more. The little tulip passed hers off and said "it's too heebee (heavy)" so the butterfly carried her load. As long as the tulip had her magical stick in hand (a sucker) she grinned. It did not take her long to figure out that this night was a special one, and she soon learned all the magical words that earned her tons of treats! She went house to house to saying "trish treats (trick or treat)", "fees (please)", and "shank you (thank you)"! Some of the keepers of the castles gave her extra treats for using her manners! Meanwhile, the more experienced flower fairy (SG) fluttered through the kingdom so fast and with so much energy that the momma butterfly could not even find her! Once she was found, she joined the others and helped the tulip (still with sucker in hand) to the castle gates where they collected goodies together the rest of night. The flower fairy spun and leaped from house to house so much so that she rolled down hills and sprained her wing! After collecting herself from the ground and gathering her treats, she was off again...With no more room in their buckets, the mommy bees, butterflies and lion tamers collected their young and went buzzing and roaring back through the kingdom... When they returned they sorted their loot and danced into the night all the while snacking and sipping on spooky delights. They twirled, shook, jumped, spun, and sang to the happy music. The tiniest creatures retired to their cocoons and caves, the older ones ventured upstairs to play, while the momma fairies cleaned the castle from the night's tricks and treats. They all went home with tired wings and paws... with loads of loot from their travels through the magical kingdom.

Happy Halloween!

Flowers in her hair...

Because of her expertise, Sarah Grace was asked to be the flower girl in another wedding. This time for the sister of the bride in July. The weekend started off cold and wet but ended beautifully. It took place at Chota Falls in Clayton GA, about an hour and half from home, near Dillard. It was THE prettiest wedding destination I've ever seen. Everywhere you looked it was breathtaking and the Fall color was gorgeous!

I checked SG out of school early on Friday (which she loved) and we headed up for the rehearsal. The weather was terrible. It was pouring and really cold. We were all in coats and gloves. They went ahead with the outside rehearsal, under lots of umbrellas, and then we got to warm up inside for dinner. Dinner was nice, BBQ and fried chicken. Sarah Grace ate and ate. But she really couldn't wait for dinner to be over so we could go to our hotel. That was what she was most excited about. Our room was right next door to my parents and she thought it was so much fun to run from room to room playing in her pj's. After we finally got her to sleep and we had a good night's rest it was back to Chota for the wedding day.We got there around 11 AM so she could have her hair done. This turned out to be quite the saga. The original plan was for her to wear a wreath of flowers in her hair. So, after much fidgeting with that we decided it looked and felt like it was going to slide out of her hair, it was enormous. So we went to attempt #2. We took out the wreath and placed tiny roses in and around her curls, which by this time were already starting to fall out... So, after we were happy with the flowers, we had to brush out her hair and totally re-curl it. She had her done 3 times in 2 hours and she was a trooper! She did not enjoy it. But when it was done it looked sweet, and she got to put on her dress and new jewelry.

Then it was time for pictures. There has never been a more perfect place for wedding pictures! There were tree lined dirt lanes, fields, rivers, falls, fountains, a chapel, beautiful trees and a vineyard. Sarah Grace was quite the performer for the pics. She was beautiful; and she loved everyone fussing over her and getting to stay with Suzanne, the bride, all day.When it was time for the wedding she did great. It took place outside, at the base of a waterfall, on a stone bridge and the guests sat in and around ivy covered stone walls and candle light. She did just what she was supposed to do. She started out holding hands with the ring bearer and then let go and started tossing her petals. She did good, much more focused and mature than the previous wedding. Then came the bride in a horse drawn carriage, my personal favorite. The ceremony was sweet and the newlyweds were then whisked away in the carriage.

After a few group pics it was time for the reception. On the way there we saw the horses and SG got to sit on one and wear the driver's top hat, and he invited us for ride later. It was neat. After some hoer d' oeuvres, and the entrance of the bridal party Krista and I took him up on the carriage ride. It was so fun. The driver stopped the carriage a couple of times and let SG make the noise to get the horses to go. And then at the end he ran them really fast back to the reception hall, both of girls had a ball.

The reception was nice, and the food was really good, steak and crab cakes. :) After dinner and the guys watching football in the pub, it was time to dance. Sarah Grace and Payton had already been cutting a rug, but now everyone else joined in. They were the hits of the dance floor. The bigger Sarah Grace could get her dress to spin the happier she was. Then came cake time. They were amazing! The best chocolate mousse cake and a fresh pineapple layer cakes ever!!! So good. The girls played around a little more after dessert and then it was time to go. We changed into our pj's and headed for home.

Go BLUE!

Sarah Grace has started her next venture into extracurricular activities. We're doing football cheer leading. She cheers for the K-4th grade boys flag football teams at the church she went to preschool at (and played soccer for).

We started with several weeks of practice. I was really surprised how many cheers they were expected to learn, 10+. But, by the 2nd week she was really starting to get them. She and her friend Hollie are the youngest on the squad and she's in awe of the older girls, some are twice her age. She watches them cheer, when she's supposed to be, and forgets her part because she's so interested in how they do things (but she's getting better). She fits right in with the big girls, and has seen several of them in school and is excited when older kids speak to her in front of her friends.

I would be lying if I said her games were fun. They are loooooonnnnngggg and slow, and they do the same cheers over and over and over... But she enjoys it. She feels very grown up and loves her pom poms (Charlotte loves pom poms too).

She also loves holding the banner for the boys to run through before the game. I think that's every one's favorite part. They also come to center field at half time and do cheers with the crowd, that's fun to watch. She's cute jumping around and cheering. She cheers for 2 teams, both are navy and white and they alternate weeks. She has up to 2 games a week and it gets chilly. It really feels like fall, chilly nights watching football... Go BLUE!

Happy Birthday Columbus

We celebrate every one's birthday in our house, and Christopher Columbus is no exception. ;0) Because Sarah Grace had Monday off from school for Columbus Day we decided to go somewhere and make it a special day. So, we called the Gadds and planned a day at the Game Ranch. Krista and I packed up the girls and headed to see the animals. It was a beautiful day, warm and breezy.

We got there and were greeted by 5 of the tiniest little deer. They were days to maybe a couple of weeks old. They loved peanuts! They, like all the animals, eat right our of your hand. One of them, the tiniest, had a broken leg but it hopped right up the the gate for his share the peanuts. All four girls took an immediate interest in feeding and petting the animals. Well, Charlotte didn't want to feed any of them but she did pet the deer and bunnies. And she wasn't frightened when a greedy squirrel climbed on her leg looking for a nut.

After the deer was the bunny farm. It was a huge gated area you could go in and play with bunnies. The girls loved it, especially Claire. She thought it was so funny. She'd touch one and then do her bouncy dance and squeal. The big girls liked that the rabbits came up to you (looking for treats). There were rocks for them to hind under (and the girls to climb on) and lots of bunny holes with babies peeking out. Come to think of it, all the animals had babies. You would've thought it was Spring time.

On our way to the petting farm we passed fox, coyotes, bobcat, bison, peacocks, raccoons (running in a giant hamster wheel), cougars, porcupine, and ducks. If you remember, this is the same place we sent Abby and Emmy, our Easter ducks to. We found a group of ducks like them, and they were huge and noisy, which just reaffirmed our decision to send them away. As we walked around we took breaks to feed the deer (which roam free and walk right up to you), chipmunks and squirrels. There was one squirrel that followed along behind the stroller for a while, and when we'd stop he'd run up to one of us and look for who had the nuts. He'd take the nut with one hand and hold onto your finger with the other. Some of the deer were snobbish toward nuts. They were looking for variety. They preferred veggies.

We finally got around to the petting farm. There were pigs, sheep, donkeys, and goats. And they all wanted your attention. The donkeys kicked at the gates making noise to get treats. The goats and sheep would stick their heads through the fence and nip at you until you gave them nuts or grass. But the funniest thing was the donkey that only wanted your attention if you had food. We were out of nuts and I was petting this donkey and after a few seconds he realized I had nothing to give him and he let me have it! I'm pretty sure I was cussed at in donkey. He rared his head back and then stuck his face in mine and started SCREAMING!! It was hilarious and drew quite a crowd. It was so loud and went on for at least a minute and he was looking right at me the whole time. We laughed so hard. And that pretty much ended our day, with one more stop by the baby deer as we left. :)

Pumpkin Time

I can't believe it's that time of year already. It seems like just yesterday we were at the beach... It's Fall!!! My favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather, the Fair, Halloween, my birthday, and getting out my Winter clothes (not to mention shopping for them). We just went to the pumpkin patch. It's just the start to our many October outings. We went with my family and a few people from our Sunday school class. It was a nice day, really warm, but pretty. We started by picking pumpkins (we didn't actually buy any b/c they were so $$$) but we browsed the fields and took pics. The girls were all more interested in picking the yellow blossoms than they were of looking at the pumpkins. And it was no small feat trying to get all 4 girls to cooperate for pictures! As in years past, we looked at pumpkins, went to the petting farm, rode the hayride, watched the pig races and had a picnic. After lunch and some time on the playground we went to ride the Cow Train. If you don't remember from previous posts it's made of metal drums cut to look like cows that are put on wheels and drug around the farm by a tractor. Cute, but terribly uncomfortable! What we do for our kids... After the Cow Train we went play on the slides and then we discovered the Corn Pit!!! It was the most clever idea ever. And it was by far the girls' favorite thing of the entire day. It was a shed with the floor filled to about 2 feet deep with giant corn kernels. Like a sand box/ball pit, and they had a ball! Sarah Grace buried herself, and Charlotte enjoyed making it rain corn. They played in the pit forever! It was so much fun to watch and I kind of wanted to play in it myself... It was a great day!