The factory, Hiking and Krispy Kreme (hot)

We had such fun times over our week up in North Carolina. Here are a few of the highlights. I did not get to take pictures while all nine of us were playing Lazer Tag, it was five kids against us adults. We won. I kicked butt. It was such a hoot.
Can you tell Amy won the boxing match? She was sore for a day or two.

Chaice is a good shot!

This cool game/ride was a roller coaster simulator ride. They were cracking me up because they were screaming and laughing.

Posing at the tree before our night at the Factory. Good food and great fun.

This old, old house was on the property we went and explored off of Betty Creek Road. How was it still standing? I bet these old walls could tell some stories. A few squirrels made me flinch a time or two, but I could have stood there for hours just staring at the past that surrounded this home.

I saw this sight as the whole sky was grey, but a hole appeared and the sun made itself known on the side of the mountain. It was so amazing.

Only because the water was flowing, did I let them drink out of it... and only a sip or two.

We found a little creek to explore up in the hills between Sylva, NC, and Franklin, NC.

Rock, paper, scissors passes the time while the donuts are cookin'!

The HOT sign was on.

This girl loves her some donuts....this was trip number two on the same night ! We had to end our night out at a play in Hendersonville, NC and the Flat Rock Playhouse. We saw a great performance of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

Hot cocoa and a fresh donut...after a few hot ones....oh, well, splurge every once in a while.

Leroy and fall leaves

This is Leroy. He lives at the pond at the bottom of the hill. He was dumped in a few times, and I think his nose was broken off by the end of the week. He was visited almost daily, and he even has had a story or two written about him.

I have no idea....they were with their Dad. Gotta love it.

They conquered the rock. We had a new friend this vacation who traveled with us, Chaice M. He "mos def-ley" is a "stinkin'" good guy.

Atlanta on Saturday!

The girls had saved their money and wanted to take their dad to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Atlanta since he had "missed" the visit in July. He of course was all for it, especially when he saw the restaurant had mango smoothies on the menu. He opted for the berry milkshake though. It was him and the four girls. They all had their dolls with them, and it was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Later after checking into our hotel, we went and had some authentic Georgia diner food at the Peachtree Diner. Those were some serious burgers. We all had enough for the next day's lunch. Thanks to the host at the front desk for recommending it to us.

Look closely, we all went to "church" (click on pic) while we were in Atlanta. Oh, I just had to.

All four girls fit comfortably into the back seat. Courtney and Carly had window views.

Happy Thanksgiving

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS...HAVE A ROCKIN' MEMORABLE THANKSGIVING !!

This whole get up was due to the incredible 70's-80's Dance Party put on by our church's Young Adults. Of course, we supported them 100%! Steve was oh so proud to be Ace Frehley for the night. And I was his groupie-makeup artist-stylist-date. What a blast!

Being Thankful

This is my favorite time of year. I love this season, in fact being thankful and having a heart of gratitude gets serious points in my book. Just ask my kids. It seems like everything goes against this teaching... discontentment, always wanting more, it never being enough, or just plain old whining.

It is something in the business of life that I must make a conscious effort to do...not because it is hard, I just overlook some of the greatest things to be thankful for because I am staring at piles of laundry and dust!

So here is the short list:
1. My family. I have a hard working husband who is always looking for ways to make his three girls happy. He gives of his time, and whatever else is needed. My lovely girls...they make me smile daily. Sometimes I hug a little too hard and long. I guess I want them to know that they make my life complete.
2. My friends. They are my family. They surely are given to me from the Lord. I can never say I am a lonely girl...because of them. Even my blogging friends, they let me see things outside of my normal everyday world. For that I am thankful.
3. My church. It is a group of people who love the Lord and serve Him in a way that is inspiring. I am so thankful I can be myself and be loved.
4. A good job. Homeschooling is a chance to use my gift of teaching. (This is the play we went to a few weeks ago. It was the story of Scrooge. It was very inspiring to the kids to look into Kid's Theatre)
5. Steve's job. He loves it. I am so thankful that he gets to use his talents and has a passion for it. Because of our blessings and good stewardship, we have let the ten year old white camry go to the Toyota heaven and we have a new blessing, Mr. Blue.

I could go on and on, but I said it was a short list. We are heading to a vacation for the Thanksgiving holidays and for that I am THANKFUL! Feel loved, because you are.

Ancient Greek Symposium

Our day usually begins like this...like most school days...pledging our allegiance.

And then...things look a little different.

This day we gathered to experience some facts and ideas of Ancient Greece. Vases were drawn, gods and goddesses and myths were discussed, health and well being were taught, columns were designed and created, laurel wreaths were woven and assembled and there was a great symposium with a feast.

This was a fun game called "honey, I love ya, but I just can't smile." They all sure cracked up!

This was the table feast I prepared. We discussed olive trees and their uses. Sheep and lambs and their products, like Feta cheese and yogurt. I created a kid-friendly baklava using cinnamon rolls instead of phyllo dough, it was a big hit. Sweet bread from honey and crescent rolls along with hummus was on the table too. Pita bread to make mini gyros, watered down wine aka grape juice, honey on fruit, some squid and baked chicken rounded out the menu. They were very adventurous with their willingness to taste new things. What fun!

The worst part of the feast was when I told all the girls that they would not have been invited because they were not men...and only men attended the symposiums...well, I told them they could come if they served the food, drinks, sang, danced, or even did acrobatics...they all boo-ed the idea down...but the boys loved it!

Our own Keeping Quilt

Just look at the fifth generation laying on these quilts. We read the Keeping Quilt, by Patricia Polacco, this week. It was a great chance to get out the quilts sewn by both of my great-great grandmothers from my mothers side. One of them immigrated as a child from Germany, that would be Grandmother Pister. The other one was made from Grandmother Ulrich who was born here to Russian immigrant parents. What a wonderful time to share a bit of our history together. We thought up all kinds of adventures that we believed these quilts might have been on.

We were wondering about the fabrics cut into pieces and used to make these patterns.

This one is more worn and has the small knotted strings tying the layers together. I was reminded again how special sharing the past is with the new generations. Thanks for the reminder, Ms. Polacco.

I highly recommend her collection of books...she is a great illustrator and uses her own life stories to share stories we all can relate to. Two of them are read aloud on this site. We have learned about bee keeping, imaginary friends, brothers and silly neighbors.