Picture from Grandma's hill in Iowa

Thanksgiving in Iowa

The kids were thrilled to be able to go back to Iowa for Thanksgiving and see their Grandma, Aunts, Uncles & cousins. Since our van wouldn't make it the first 200 miles (understatement), we rented one. The trip is 24 hours/1500 miles! Nashville, Tennessee is half-way. It was cold and windy in Iowa but no snow to speak of, just a few flurries. We enjoyed seeing all of Jesse's siblings and most of their kids, too. Grandpa was in Albuquerque, NM visiting his sister, so we didn't see him. We spent most of the time eating, playing games and watching movies in front of a roaring fire. Some of the kids were under the weather (Katie, Alicia especially) so didn't do much. I was able to go visit my good friend, Jodi, and see her new baby, Genna (born Oct 22). She is so sweet! The trip back was harder as we ran into delays in Atlanta putting us way behind schedule. We did have fun getting off of the interstate in the mountains of Tennessee and seeing some beautiful scenery and picturesque towns...Bell Buckle and Wartrace to name a few. It was like being in the twilight zone to come home to 80 degree weather after being in the cold zone. It feels like summer down here and it is hard to get in the spirit of putting up Christmas decorations!!! Gotta love Florida!

Bad hair day

Ever have one of those days?

Hiking in the woods..

We had a wonderful time on Sunday picnicking and hiking at Lake Mills Park. They have a gorgeous raised walking trail through a cypress swamp, right beside the lake. The weather was perfect. You cannot beat Florida in November. On another note, Colton is out visiting my mom in Washington state and enduring some cold weather. I think he is having fun though. He will be gone a month!

Thanksgiving and other musings

It is just around the corner!! It has always been my favorite Holiday! I do miss having extended family close to celebrate it with. This year, Jesse is taking the whole week off! We are going to be camping in Ft. Wilderness down at Disney on Monday and Tuesday night. We were given a new tent by one of Jesse's customers and we have used it once, camping at Ft. Mills park, which is nearby. The kids love it! Colton is flying out to Colville, Washington on Saturday to spend a month with my mom and her husband. He will get to have a taste of very cold weather. The only heat they have is wood heat and Colton will be sleeping upstairs, which is really frigid! I am hoping it will broaden his horizons; he loves to travel. He will miss Thanksgiving with us for the first time ever. We plan to have turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn, pistachio fluff, pumpkin pie, apple pie for sure. Yum yum!!!

Pointe Shoes

Julia finally turned 12 and was able to buy her long awaited pointe shoes. She has been working for a friend, once a week, helping take care of her two toddlers and do some housework to earn money. She endured a 45 minute long fitting and tried on about 20 pairs of shoes before the right ones were chosen by the dance shoe specialist. Julia has bunyons so it is essential that her shoes fit just right. She got to dance with them on Thurs for the first time, but only at barre. Eventually she will be able to do floor work when she gets more experienced. Julia didn't become interested in dance until she was 10 years old and I am very proud that she has worked so hard to reach this level! I will post a picture of Julia and her shoes as soon as I can.

I'm back...

and will try and do better!!! November is here and we are getting ready for our Homeschool Co-op's Thanksgiving Feast on Monday. We are having a lunch at Red Bug Lake Park, along with some fun games. I am the one facilitating this event, so hopefully all will go well. Plus, cooler weather is here!! YAY! Jesse lit a big bonfire in the backyard (which I think is illegal!). Hopefully we won't wake up to our house burning down in the night. Katie and Garrett have had so much fun playing outside since it has turned cooler. They are having mud fights and building mud castles...resulting in multiple baths in a day. My camera is out now so as soon as I get it going I will post more pictures.