Fall fun 2022

We kicked off the fall season with a fall family night at CFC. There were bounce houses, food, a hayride, and fireworks. Paige was happy to find a friend from school there and played with her the whole evening. It was really crowded, but they still had a lot of fun. 

We also met up with Mammy and Peep there. It was the perfect fall evening. 

We ended the night with a fireworks show. 

Fall brings about a week-long fall break from school. It was MUCH needed this year. We headed to Gatlinburg with the fam, and we were so excited! 

Once we arrived we unpacked and hit the hot tub! 

Not every trip can go off without a hitch, Adam woke up not feeling the greatest. It was a little bit of a bummer, but we still went on with our plans for the day. We hit up the island for some shopping and lunch. Terry, Penny, and Autumn went with us and Paige entertained us with stories the entire ride back to the cabin. We were all laughing. 

That afternoon we played the FUNNEST game called "Telestrations". We seriously laughed until we cried. 

It was one of the funnest games I have ever played!

On our last day there we rented an ATV for the day to drive around. That is one of our favorite vacation activities. It was such a beautiful, fall day. We typically drive through the national park but decided to mix it up this time. We drove the Roaring Forks motor nature trail in hopes of seeing some bears. 

We pulled off along the trail to climb around on the rocks and enjoy the stream. We all enjoy doing that. It was nice and peaceful since there were not many people around. 

One of my favorite things about Gatlinburg has always been the stream. I can remember way back when I was a kid coming to Gatlinburg and playing in it. 

Although the trees had not completely changed colors yet, they were still beautiful. We were lucky to have such a nice weather day. 

We unfortunately didn't spot any bears along this trail, but we saw lots of beautiful scenery. It was a great day! 

When we took the ATV back to the rental place Adam was telling one of the guys about how we wanted to see bears, but unfortunately didn't see any that day. That guy told us where to go right down the road where we might see some. We seriously drove about five minutes down the road, went up a hill, and saw two bears sitting infront of someones house. I couldn't believe it!

They were entertaining to sit and watch. They were BIG! I can't imagine encountering one of them outside of the car. I was hanging out the sunroof to take these pictures. There was no way I would have gotten out of the car. We can now check bears off of our list of animals to see out in the wild. 

Once we returned home from Gatlinburg we still had a few days left of break which was nice. We met up with Paige's friend Lucy, her brother and her mom at the pumpkin patch. They had the best time together playing and doing all the things at the pumpkin patch. We were lucky to have perfect weather that day. It was a great outing with them. 

It rained one night and afterward there was the prettiest double rainbow. You can only see one in this picture, but it was still a beautiful sight to see. 

A few days before Halloween we carved our pumpkins. We don't do this very often. None of us really enjoy getting the seeds out of the pumpkin. We did it this year though, and I think they turned out pretty good.  Ella was not happy with hers and wanted to throw it over the fence. LOL! You can't win them all. 

Our family of pumpkins!

Halloween finally rolled around. It was a virtual school day for Ella and Paige. Paige didn't want to do any work, because she was so excited about halloween. Ella went trick or treating with friends this year which she enjoyed. 

Paige dressed up as Willa from Zombies 3. 

Paige went trick or treating with Rylee again this year, and they had a lot of fun. It was raining when we left to start, but luckily it let up after awhile. 

This house has the best decorations! 

They are the cutest trick or treaters!

It was a great fall season, but I was happy to see it go! Next up, the holiday season!!

August/September

In early August summer break came to an end, and it was time to start another school year. I always have mixed feelings about the school year starting. It's nice to get back to routine but also there is fear of the unknown. I just never know what the school year might bring or what struggles they may have. 

I have no idea how this happened, but Ella started eighth grade this year. It's seriously hard to believe this is her last year of middle school. It seems like yesterday I dropped her off at kindergarten crying. School is not easy for her, and she has overcome so much over the years. 

Paige started first grade this year. She was pumped and ready to go! 

A few weeks after school started, they had spirit week. One of the days was a crazy hair day. Paige was happy to sport her crazy hair. 

We had our fair share of shaved ice over the summer. I think we pretty much kept them in business. In September, our days of shaved ice came to a close. We enjoyed our last shaved ice until next summer. 

Paige finally decided to get her ears pierced. She tried in kindergarten but couldn't do it. She was bound and determined this time around. She went into Claire's and didn't shed a tear when she got them pierced. She was such a big girl and so proud of herself! 

I was able to volunteer at the book fair this year. Paige was so excited to have me there, and I was able to help her shop. I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing, because it ended up costing me money to volunteer.

Paige was invited to a friend's birthday party at Skate World. This was her first time skating, and it took her awhile to get the hang of it. She had such a fun time being around her friends though. She is a social butterfly. 

Summer 2022

Summer is long gone, but I still wanted to do a recap of some of the fun we had. I have a love/hate relationship with summer. On one hand, I love the freedom, no homework, no routine and no school drop off and pickups. On the other hand, I miss the school routine and having some time to myself. During the summer I'm on almost all the time and constantly have a sidekick or two so it definitely can be challenging. 

This summer was pretty good. Last summer started out on such a bad note (Elliott's passing) that I don't think we ever bounced back from that. This summer started out much better and ended on a good note as well. There were moments of boredom (them) and moments of hysteria (me), but we also had fun too. It was hard to see summer come to a close, but it was also nice getting back into a good routine. 

Our pool got a ton of use this summer as it usually does! We of course had a few kinks to work out when we opened it. Although I love having a pool, it seems like every year something breaks at the beginning of the summer which can be a little stressful. 

Can you tell Paige loves to swim? She spent almost everyday in the pool. 

Pool days are some of the best days! 

We got a ton of use out of our golf cart this summer. Anytime anyone was bored we hopped on our golf cart for a long ride. We went on probably 3-4 a day.We recently had to replace all of the batteries in the GC so I think we about wore it out this summer.  It was well worth it though. It provided hours of entertainment! 

 I was lucky (or unlucky;) ) enough to have a "summer workout partner". Try doing a 45 minute workout with a seven year old sidekick and tell me how fun it is. Lol! She kept it entertaining that's for sure. 

Paige went to VBS and had a lot of fun. 

This was the last night, and it's easy to see how much fun she had. 

She also went to summer camp at Acros for a few days. 

Fourth of July rolled around quickly which usually marks the half way point in summer. We did our usual activities and watched the neighborhood parade go by our house. We love watching the firetrucks and golf carts and grabbing as much candy as we can. 

Festive attire is also a must for the fourth!

We love watching the firetrucks go by, but Paige can not handle the noise of the sirens. I remember a few years ago she watched it from the window, because she was so bothered by loud noises. Thank goodness for headphones that help drown out the noise. 

I made this balloon arch for the fence and quickly found out that balloons do not do well in extreme heat. Thank goodness we were able to get a picture, because the balloons were popped by lunchtime. 

It was SO hot and humid that day. I was thankful for no rain, but the only way to stay cool was in the pool or the air conditioning. 

We headed over to Mammy and Peeps for pizza king and fireworks later that night. I love watching fireworks and the fourth in general, always have. It's probably my favorite holiday of the year. 

Once we wrapped up the fourth and went on our July vacation to Maine, summer vacation was over. It flew by as it usually does, although the last two weeks before school starts seem to drag on. Overall, I would say it was a pretty great summer. We enjoyed our freedom and all the summer fun. I hated to see it end, but it was nice to get back into our routine.