Thanksgiving Week

We enjoyed a wonderful five days with G's sister, Paola, brother in law, David, and their four children. Carver and Springer loved every second with their cousins and miss them terribly. Sweet days.... Springer and Aunt Paola
They worked tirelessly to outfit Camp Carver...complete with signs, chairs and a play kitchen.

Our little frog princess, Maggie.

Springer wrestling with Uncle David.

A little Jonas Brother concert (check out the boom mic his cousin, Molly, made for him!).

Molly (11), Maggie (9), Springer (3), Jack (7), Carver (6) and Josh (15!).

the sweet 'girl cousins'

and our fellas

Springer LOVES playing with her 'big cousin' Josh

Carver and Jack really enjoyed each other. I don't think they spent 5 minutes a part all week.

Thanksgiving Celebration

Springer, Giorgio and I enjoyed a sweet Thanksgiving service and lunch at her preschool today. It was the perfect way to kick off Thanksgiving week!

Sweet Friends

What started as a fully dressed playdate with Mae ended something like this!

Renaissance Festival

After Carver's last soccer game of the season we headed up to the Renaissance Festival. At the last minute some friends offered us their tickets and we knew it would be something interesting do see and do if nothing else. It certainly did not disappoint. Out in the middle of the woods is this entire Renaissance 'town'...lots of food, animals, rides, music, jousting-most anything you could imagine. One of the highlights of the day was Carver and Springer's ride on a camel. It was all smiles and laughter until....
Springer spotted the elephant next to her. THAT was not at all what she wanted to see; and she proceeded to cover her face until he was out of sight! We still don't know why this typically fearless child (and lover of elephants) got so upset over the sitting elephant. I think that elephant made as a big impression on her as her camel ride!

The jousting was another favorite...we watched a tournament and then the children decided to try their hand at it. Yes, they each left with a shield and have enjoyed many a sword fight over the past 24 hours! (I vetoed the wood swords opting instead to go with the foam swords we have at home...I had images of visits to the emergency room with two wood swords flying around.)

A little lesson in archery.

Meeting a 'real' knight

So our Saturday didn't go quite as we planned, but boy what fantastic memories were made. They're already talking about what they want to do when we come next year!

Halloween Night

I thought that if I heard "How much longer till Trick or Treating?" I may scream. The day seemed to drag on and on; thankfully dusk did indeed come and after a yummy specail Halloween dinner we headed out.

Tomato Basil soup (aka: monster mash or monster blood-depending on who you ask!) , Mummy dogs and broccoli (thrown in for good measure to counteract all the sugar that would follow!)
Our little ballerina waiting and waiting and waiting....

The scariest little mummy ever!

All wiped out and back home to munch on goodies and hand out candy to our own trick or treaters.

The evening was a great success. Carver and Springer had the best time and seemed especially grown up this year. Several times, out of habit, I would say "Carver wait up for your sister" and then realized SHE was way ahead of him. She got the hang of things real fast and never looked back! Carver's spent the better part of the last year working up the nerve to go to the "scary house" (what this particular house is called year round). This house scared his pants off 3 years ago and he hasn't quite forgotten it. So, we headed back first thing and after G shouted out "Small children version, please!" we headed down the "spooky path". The scary wolf man kept his chain saw off long enough for them to grab some candy and head out. Neither were too tickled with it while we were there, but by the time we hit the side walk they were basking in their bravery!

Party at the Preschool

Today Springer had her fall festival at preschool. She decided to go as a Davidson cheerleader...taking her role quite seriously.... Exhibit A
Exhibit B

Painting pumpkins (it may never dry)

The bean bag toss

"Bobbing" for apples with Anna Wade and Abby

Have you ever tried wrangling fifteen 3 year olds for a picture? Fifteen three year olds in costume? Not an easy task!

The Mouseketeer

Springer adores Mickey Mouse and the movie, The Mouseketeers, is among her favorites. As I prepared dinner the other evening she disappeared (rarely good news around here). Imagine my laughter when she rounded the corner dressed in my brown suede boots singing one of the songs from the movie. She considered herself part of the gang and after serenading me went off in search of her sword!

Pumpkin Carving

After a stop by our local pumpkin spot we headed home for an afternoon of carving. There is always great discussion about just what kind of face to give our Jack-O-Lantern. This year Carver and Springer decided on a big smile with lots of teeth. They especially enjoyed digging out the 'goo' and seeing who could spit and throw the seeds the furthest. I think everyone was happy with our results and most importantly we all enjoyed making memories together.

Pumpkin Patch

A vist with the Barretts

Brandon and Liz came into town and we enjoyed a no kids dinner with them over the weekend as well as a 'with kids' trip to the park this afternoon. Unfortunately I neglected to get a shot of all five of them (and poor John Mac never even made it with all the action). Nonetheless we had fun running around the lake, playing on the playground and feeding Nini: who did make an appearance again today. Fun times with great friends: so wish y'all lived closer!Caroline, Springer, Carver and Henry

Sweet Caroline

Swan Lake

We met our friends at the park today for a little playdate, lunch and a walk down to see the ducks. Instead of ducks we met this gorgeous swan. "Nini" as Springer named her. Nini was lovely, graceful and greatly enjoyed the bread that Ellie and Springer fed her...but she enjoyed it a little too much. She mistook Springer's hand for bread and bit her! Springer looked shocked at first and then the tears came. I think it scared her as much as anything although it did pinch her hard enough to leave a mark. Springer has since deemed the unfortunate incident an 'accident' and true to form has found great humor in it. "Nini"
Ellie and Springer prior to running out of bread!

A beautiful day

Fall

Crisp, fall air greeted us this morning and Carver wasted no time in grabbing his sweatshirt. I think when you wear a uniform each day it's a pretty big deal to mix it up a bit! He looked like such a big boy as he headed out to his daddy's car that I just had to snap a picture.

Wildcat Garden

The garden at Carver's school is a regular part of their education. I'm amazed at all the lessons they incorporate into gardening. This past week the garden's soil was readied and the kindergartners (the planters) headed out to plant the fall seeds. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves and now anxiously await harvesting day. Everything they planted will find it's way to the Dining Hall and even those often neglected radishes taste surprisingly sweet when planted with such care and love!