Can’t Keep Up!

The funny thing is that I just can’t seem to keep up with the blog, yet I’m not doing anything different.  Of course things are different.  The boys are getting gigantic!

This fall I started volunteering at the boys school two mornings a week.  It is great getting back to teaching, but I am sure I am not sure how full time teachers are also mamas! 

Soccer keeps us busy 4 days a week.  Miller really loves it now!  Good coaching makes all the difference in his interest!

We had some bad weather last week and soccer was cancelled, so I had a homework club at our house.

For dinner last week I made Vegetable Beef Soup.  This darlin’ ate every bite without complaining.  His face looked like this with each bite.  He even said he liked it.  Remember the Food Revoloution?  I guess it worked!

We have been getting some amazing sunsets lately.  My mama loves a good sunset, and so do I.  It makes me so happy when I hear these boys telling me to look at the beautiful sunset.  Full circle.

Speaking of which…Miller has figured out a way to get up super early…He comes into my room and snuggles up next to me and then tells me to come look at the “beautiful sunrise”.  He knows I can’t be mad at him when he is appreciating God’s work!  Smart boy!

When the weather changes here the sand flies come out in force.  One evening I got over 30 bites on one leg.  Insert sad face.  Those sand flies are the itchiest insect bites ever!

That’s all for now…

Sporty

This year the boys have new sports clothes that are part of their school uniforms.  While their everyday uniforms are fine, I adore their new sports uniforms {which they call a kit here}.  The white is so sharp!  The school crest is also sewn on the tops and shorts.

I’ve blurred it out but the name of their school is printed on their bums.  They love it!

All of the kids are given a “house” which is used for contests.  My boys are in Green House. 

While I adore the look of their uniforms, I detest the washing of them! Here is a little problem for you…

boys + white clothes = a bottle of OxyClean  a week

Miller took that nice white uniform on a field trip last week and got some mud on the shorts.  It must be magic mud because Oxy Clean and Clorox couldn't get it out of the white shorts…  Each piece of the uniform costs $22. 

I wish that they boys were going to stay with these smart uniforms forever, but the US, just doesn’t do uniforms the way they do in other places.  The boys are very eager to move to a place where they don’t have to wear uniforms…sigh!

The boys want to wear athletic wear all the time.  Ugh!  It’s just so…nylon!  I’ll just enjoy these uniforms days while they last.

 

This and That

Life is skipping right along and as I was downloading pictures, I came across a few that made me smile…

Underwear on the head…does it get any funnier than that for an 8 year old?  Nope!

I had a little arm party going…I am liking the gold again…

The boys love to play “World Cupping”  It’s a game they made up where they basically walk  past each other, barely touching the other and they both fall down in mock agony.  It is really funny to watch… Until someone gets a knee to the stomach.

Have you seen this video? 

It may have inspired their game!

The Fantastic Four had a fun time playing like boys should!

We had a box and because Miller loves to play with boxes, I left it for him to play with.  It wasn’t long before Jackson read the fine print and wanted to know where the contents were!

Somebody made his daddy proud by reading the small print!

Thursday evening as we left soccer the most amazing moon was coming up.  As we drove home along the coast, I had to pull over and try to capture it.  The picture does no justice to the beauty, but it still reminds me of the breathtaking beauty around us!

Miller is finally getting the hang of the skateboard.

Jackson is getting better all the time! 

That reminds me I have to go find his knee pads!

Going Home: South Carolina

After our time in N.C. it was time to head south to my home state of S.C.  The boys and I had been there this summer and I had been but Allen had not been in two years.  we had lots of fun hanging out with our family and friends and getting to see and do things that are not part of our life here.

We started off with my high school reunion.  It was so fun to catch up with some of these wonderful people that I’ve known forever!

We made plans to stay downtown to be nearer to the reunion.   I’ve always wanted to stay at The Poinsett.  It didn’t disappoint…the somehow upgraded us to the Presidential Suite.

It is a lovely hotel is you are ever visiting Greenville, SC.

We got two good visits in with our friends the Troyers. 

Unfortunately we missed lots of other friends due to scheduling {the kids there were not on Fall Break}.

All the guys got their eyes checked…someone needs glasses!

Michele’s neigh-bor came over to say hello!

While the boys were outside playing they found the perfect spot to swing from the tree.

Soon enough Allen had figured he needed to get them a swing made.  He had plenty of input from the females in the family…I am sure he appreciates that.

Soon enough the boys were on their new swing!

We got to make a stop at Krispy Kreme Donuts!

Allen loved Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar as much as we thought he would!

One day we took a picnic to Falls Park.  The boys had a blast rolling down the hill…again, and again and again!

This tree grows on an embankment there in the park.

Allen and I got married here…14 years ago!

My mom adores watching the boys do their thing…while she sits in the swing.

We had a few bonfires.  We all love that.  It was cold!  But that didn’t stop me from roasting two perfect marshmallows at the same time.  As my sister and husband both scoffed at me being able to even do one perfect one.

Yep, that is me holding up 2 fingers…not flashing a sign!

All of this and I don’t have a single picture of the boys with my sister, who spoils them rotten and babysat them for 24 hours while Allen and I went to the reunion, so here is an old one from this summer!

Thanks for the memories SC, we will be back soon!

Going Home

No matter where we live, the Carolinas will always be home to us.  We recently had a trip back home after being here for 4 years.  The first leg of the trip was a week with Allen’s family in Waynesville, NC.  The colors in the mountains were great and we all enjoyed being with there and getting our fix of family and Fall in the mountains.

I’m not a fan of driving in the mountains, but the views are breathtaking!

The first day we were there, we all went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Allen’s dad had been a Ranger there and we got to explore a bit.

We got to go on this trail, which Allen’s dad helped to make.

I had to get a picture of the fungi growing on this log.  It was the prettiest I’ve ever seen!

Afterwards we drove through Cherokee, NC and picked up some stone ground grits.

We took a different route back to Allen’s parents house and had more amazing views on the return drive.

Over the next week we got to do all kinds of fun things, but I think that the boys’ favorite thing that they did was go gem mining.  They can’t stop talking about it!  We went to Cowee Ruby Mine. 

You basically buy a bucket of dirt based on what kind of gems you want to get.  Jackson picked Amethyst and Miller picked Emeralds.

You use their screens and just go through the bucket a cup at a time, rinsing away the dirt to {hopefully} find gems in there.

This boy found a 591 carat amethyst.

Miller also got some really nice stones too.

They both came out with some nice rocks gems and were over the moon excited!

The boys and Allen’s parents took several hikes.  My knee doesn’t let me go on those hikes, but I know they were fun!  One day  I met them with a picnic at this rock {Standing Rock, I think} along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Soo cool!

Even cooler is that Allen’s parents saved his hiking boots from when he was a boy and now Jackson can wear them! This picture is from the summer, but he’s rocking his dad’s boots!

Jackson was also very excited to play a little trick on his Nana.  He set up some rubber mice and rats beside her water glass while she was out for a walk one evening.  He loves a good trick!  She gave him a good reaction, so I know more shenanigans like this are in the future!

The boys also got to carve jack-o-lanterns while we were in NC.  As it turns out they were not fans of the actual work of it, but they do like to boss us around while holding knives!

No trip to the Carolinas is complete without at least on trip to Mast general Store!  The boys love all the things there and they may just have come up with one more thing to add to their Christmas lists!

We made many more memories that I don’t have pictures of.  They climbed tree, swung in the swings, had an acorn throwing contest, played with the dogs, got dirtier than I’ve ever seen boys get and all around had a marvelous time!  Thanks Joe and Doris for having us!