Halloween 2014

Happy Halloween from Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit.  Is anything much more fun than a 4 and 2-year old Halloween?  I think not, my friends.  So, Granna scored Canaan's bunny outfit for about $2.00 after Halloween last year.  When she showed it to me, I immediately started thinking about what in the world would go with the costume.  Hence, Alice was born.  Since Hadley loves all things Disney anyway, she was super excited about the idea. 

So Halloween was absolutely freezing for us this year.  I mean.....started sleeting on us kind of freezing.  We didn't stay out as long as we normally do because Canaan was crying he was so cold and even Hadley was begging to go home and get warm.  After all, we did have chili and homemade pimento cheese sandwiches waiting on us.

I found Hadley's costume on Etsy this year.  It can actually double as a pioneer dress.  Maybe preschool will do a pioneer unit this year and we can get double use?  It would be nice anyway.

Could he be any cuter?  In Canaan's three short Halloweens, he has been a mouse, sheep, and now a rabbit.  Wonder how long he will continue to be an animal?  We tried to get him to say, "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date."  He wasn't feeling it though.

We did manage to make it to several houses to trick-or-treat and get some candy.  I got to see several of my kids from school and of course we hit up the church handing out the free hot dogs and hot chocolate.  Canaan thoroughly enjoyed getting to walk up to the houses himself and get candy.  My how things change in a year.

The downside of sitting up front in the stroller was that Hadley got the full force of the cold winds.  At least she blocked it for Canaan a little bit.

Granna and Grandad joined us, as they have for the past few years.  We always love having them around and are so thankful for them. 

I had to take this picture for posterity's sake.  Canaan was out of his mind with cold.  We had literally raced back to the house to get out of the sleet.  He was crying and we were all shivering.  A Halloween to remember, for sure, but aren't those sometimes the very best memories?  Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

Ballet Dress-Up

Getting to dress up for ballet was certainly an exciting experience for our little ballerina.  Although she was going to dress up as Alice for Halloween, I was scared we would get the costume dirty right before the big night.  So we opted to be a fairy princess instead and since I had scored this costume from a consignment sale, I was prepared and ready to go.  Plus, Hadley loves to dress up as anything super-girly, so she was totally fine with this compromise.

Hadley's class had been working on a dance to the song Monster Mash.  They were too stinkin' cute as they mashed and twirled to the fun Halloween song.

Now that's a determined look from a focused little girl.

At the end of class, the girls got to hand out their Halloween treats.  Hadley proudly handed out her cake pops to all her friends.  A few of the girls even gave Canaan some candy, which thrilled his little soul.

Oh how I love the daintiness of this activity; a stark contrast from our Saturdays this fall in Upward Basketball.  Ballet is more Hadley's style for now anyway, which kills her father's soul ;)

Ms. Heather is such an awesome teacher and we are so glad to have her this year!  We can't wait for the recital next spring.  Crazy to think it will be here before we know it.  Happy Halloween from Ms. Adrienne's Dance Studio!

Corn Maze

Year two of our night time corn maze adventure was so much fun. We met up with plenty of family and friends and hooped and hollered our way through the super dark corn maze.

This year the corn maze was cut into a corvette pattern.  We played the same game as last year, trying to answer the questions to the riddle at each checkpoint.  We tried googling certain questions to help us along the way.  However, cellphone service wasn't the best way out in the country.

We were better prepared this year with glowsticks and flashlights for the little ones. They would run off in front of us, which always led to someone yelling for his or her child to come back.  The corn field terrain is not completely flat and it's pretty easy to lose your balance and stumble.  This only added to the excitement of the experience, though. 

My pretty girl.  Growing up too fast.  She is truly at the perfect age for fun activities such as these.

Canaan was a trooper and walked quite a bit, but we all passed him around plenty of times, too.  He and Nana tried to scare passers-by any chance they got.

We always love having cousin Levi in on the fun.  Angie was such a trooper to walk through the corn maze while preggo.  What a woman.

We still didn't make it all the way through the maze, but maybe one of these years we will.  We ended our time on the playground equipment and let the kids wear themselves out even more. We had such a great time at the corn maze and can't wait to come back next year!

Jackson's Orchard

Jackson's Orchard is one of my all-time favorite fall traditions.  We try to go during Fall Break, when the crowds aren't nearly as bad, but this year our break was a particularly wet one.  We had to wait until things dried off a little bit, which didn't happen until Saturday.  Although there were lots of people there, we didn't let that get in our way.  Nothing was going to spoil our fun!

These two.  They make my heart swoon.  Oh how I love the matching outfits.  I'm enjoying it while I can because it won't last much longer. 

We even crossed paths with cousins Chase, Jacklyn, and baby Mya.  We helped them pick out the perfect pumpkin to scoop out the seeds and set Mya in for picture taking.  Wish my kiddos were still small enough to fit in a pumpkin.  Sniff....

The Cider Slider provided great fun for the kids, and adults, alike.  They could have kept going and going and going.

It's hard to believe that someday little brother will probably be taller than big sister, but if Hadley takes after her short mama, it will probably happen.  These two are the "apple" of my eye.

Jackson's Orchard is the epitome of my Fall experience.  Before we ever had kids, we enjoyed coming here and watching families make memories while we dreamt of our own little family.  Now we actually get to make those memories for ourselves.  Ah, life is good.

Invasion of the Scarecrows

A fairly new fall tradition of ours includes venturing back to our former hometown, Scottsville, for Invasion of the Scarecrows.  Scottsville has the cutest town square ever and each October they transform the square into a scarecrow infested haven.  Local businesses get together and decorate a fall-themed scene with scarecrows.  We always incorporate a supper at Dumplin's restaurant, too, which is so tasty.

One of the local churches built an ark out of hay that even had a slide coming off the back.  The kids ran around the hay ark for the longest time.  Some friends of ours were driving around the square when they saw us and yelled from their truck.  You just can't beat small towns.

Not sure what this local business was, but the elephant trunk slide was too cute and the kids loved it.  I'm telling you, these people go all out!

And Sonic closed out our evening with dueling banjos.  The kids didn't quite know what to think about the scary skeletons, but we talked them in to taking a picture with them.  They were actually playing some great bluegrass music.  Just another fun fall activity with our family and I love every minute of it!

Gatlinburg 2014

We look forward to our family trip to Gatlinburg as soon as we leave each year.  This was our second year to all stay in a cabin together and can I just say how much I love it?  I love waking up with my siblings and nieces and nephew.  I love bed heads, yawns, and how did ya sleeps?  It is just so special to me.  This year certainly did not disappoint.  In fact, that's one reason why my picture taking was way down this year.  We were so comfortable at the cabin, that Justin and I really didn't want to leave.  Tiffany and her family headed out for fun adventures.  Bradley and his family did the same.  My parents even went out on their own.  My family....well we were so comfy in the cabin that we really didn't want to leave.  And I loved every minute of the down time.

I can hardly believe how quickly these kiddos are growing up.  And I cannot believe that Angie AND Tiffany are BOTH expecting babies and so we will have two wee babes in the cabin next year.  Say what?  Yes, our brood will go from five grandchildren to seven by next year's trip.  Oh, I cannot wait!! 

      Listening to the live bluegrass music is always a favorite activity of ours.  I could sit and listen for       hours.  Something about being in the Appalachian Mountains just begs for some bluegrass music.

These kids manage to have fun together no matter what they are doing.  My mom brought enough toys to entertain them for days.  There were a couple of arcade games and a pool table downstairs.  The adult men played pool for so long that I heard the clanging of pool balls in my sleep.  Our excitement for one night was when we suddenly heard the thud of someone's child very obviously falling down the wooden steps.  We all looked at each other, registered what was happening, and made mad dashes for the steps.  When I got there, I could see my sweet Canaan, upside down and backwards, falling down the steps.  I screamed like there was no tomorrow, Justin pushed me out of the way, and somehow he and Bradley reached Canaan first.  In the end, our boy was perfectly fine, just some bruising up and down his spine.  But the mounted ram on the wall didn't come out so lucky.  It seemed that when Bradley and Justin jumped down several steps to get to Canaan, the jarring that caused knocked the ram head off the wall.  This, in turn, broke the antlers off the ram.  So we had to head to Wal-Mart and super glue those bad boys back on.

            Breakfast at the Apple Barn has become a favorite treat of mine when we visit Pigeon Pigeon            Forge.  The apple fritters, homemade apple butter, and apple juleps are over the top delicious.               Of course, after our meal we have to visit the store and get some tasty goodies to take home.

I'm a sucker for any picture in front of fall decor.  Our annual Gatlinburg family trip was one to remember.  We love being with our family and getting to make memories.  Until next year, Gatlinburg!

Frozen on Ice

 On our way to Gatlinburg, we took a little detour, through Nashville, to see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  Since my sister's family was going to Gatlinburg, as well, it worked our perfectly for us girls to meet and catch the highly anticipated show together.  Talk about some excited little girls we had!  Addison and Ava looked precious in their Elsa and Anna dresses.  Poor Hadley didn't have a little sister to dress up with and I just didn't think Canaan would pass for a very good Anna.  Nor would his father ever allow it.  Ha! 

 I was a little worried as to how the show would be and would it be worth the money, crowds, extremely late night driving to Gatlinburg, etc.  Turns out it really was fantastic; I was beyond impressed!  The set was just magical and the skaters were extremely talented.  Aunt Tiffany planned ahead and brought the girl's glow necklaces and frozen-themed suckers.  We just don't do the high-priced merchandise inside places like these; we feel that the show itself is treat enough.  

 The girls were so cute during the show; singing along to ALL the songs (wow) and just being giddy with excitement.  They acted so grown up and made it such a relief to have taken these sweet little things to such a treat.  I have to say that having a little girl is so much fun.  Hadley has been asking for a Frozen themed birthday party for months now, so my mind has been planning that.  However, we are gonna go much more low-key than we have in the past and have it at a Gymnastics venue so that the kids can play and run wild.  Shew....big birthday parties are stressful!  I am realizing how nice it is to actually be able to enjoy my kids at their parties instead of worrying and stressing the whole time.  Live and learn, right?!

We actually headed out a few minutes early (after we saw the happily ever after ending, of course) just to beat the crowds as we were leaving.  After all, we did have a long car ride ahead of us.  Such a fun night with my little Snow Princess!