Beautiful Fall Weather!

October is my favorite month and I love being here in the Smokies where the fall colors are so pretty! The kids have decorated Halloween cookies. The day they did this it was about 65 inside the house and Savannah was freezing (notice the pink band over her ears in the picture). They are excited about trick-or-treating. Savannah is only going because she wants candy, but she isn't as thrilled about dressing up this year! She's growing up!!! The weather here has been gorgeous. We've have several cold days this week; the high yesterday was 44. We had frost on the ground this morning. We went camping this past weekend in Cosby. It was in the mid 30's during the night so we got pretty cold! I'm sure we won't be camping again until spring! Savannah said she woke up during the night to find Rascal in the corner of the tent shivering so she had him snuggle up to her and she covered him with a blanket. I am certain there was a bear in the area- I heard one of the nearby garbage dumpsters rocking back and forth for about 30 minutes. People in the nearby tents were calling out, "What is that?". I couldn't get back to sleep forever because I kept listening for any noises that could possibly be from a bear! Savannah is usually a light sleeper like I am, but she didn't hear a thing because she had ear plugs in! Well- enjoy the new photos! Love to all!

Lots of Activity Here!

A couple weeks ago, we hosted the middle and high school group and their families for a cookout. We played volleyball and basketball and grilled hotdogs. We had about 45 people here! Some of the group went down to the river and stuck their feet in! They wanted to dive in so bad! One guy slipped and fell in the water, which was pretty funny! Savannah has been keeping us busy with volleyball. She made her school team and practices every single day after school for about 2 1/2 hours. I know she'll be ready to just chill out at home by the time the season ends in October! Conley and Savannah both are enjoying school. Conley plans to play basketball again this winter! Well- just wanted to do a quick update! Savannah reminded me that it had been a few weeks. Love to all!

Birthday Week for Gregg and Conley

This week was spent celebrating one birthday after another! Gregg's b-day was the 11th and Conley's was the 17th. Gregg had a b-day dinner of boiled shrimp, corn-on-th-cob, new potatoes, and french bread with a derby pie for dessert. He got a new weed-eater (and a new riding mower to come in September when they go on clearance), a gift card to Starbuck's, and money! He better enjoy this year- his last of the thirties! Conley celebrated by going to Nascar Speedpark and Mr. Gatti's Pizza on Saturday. On Sunday, he chose for me to make a Mexican lunch of tacos, beans, and rice. Then he got to open his presents and eat his cake that my mom made him. He's so funny! He didn't want any special decorating on his cake. I guess he thinks he's too big for that now. He got a R/C Hummer that will go in the dirt, money, CD's, and a karaoke machine. Savannah got him "google" glasses (the big old kind that take up your whole face) and some hillbilly teeth. For those of you that don't know it- Conley is our family comedian. He has created a character named "Diddle" with a particular look and voice and he is constantly acting as this personality. Savannah says Diddle is Conley's "alter ego"! She is always laughing at him! I'll have to post a photo of Diddle soon! Anyway- today was the first day of school here in Sevier County. Conley started a new school and will be there with his sister for the next two years until she moves on to high school. (UGH! That's too soon for me to think about right now!) The individual photos of the kids were taken this morning- the annual back-to-school picture. I'm sure they'll have another wonderful school year!

Family Time in Florida!

I just got back from the Pensacola area (Pace) on Friday night. The kids and I went to visit my family. The kids are staying an extra week then Mom and Dad will bring them home and stay with us for a while. I was able to visit with my grandmother a couple of times, we spent the night with my sister, Rebecca, and her family one night, and we went to the beach for a photo session with the kids then let them swim for a while. My aunts and uncles and some of my cousins came over one evening for dessert and it was great to see all of them! The kids in a photo above are doing their "Kid Stack"! They made that up a long time ago when they were all very little. Rebecca and I laughed that they may still be doing this when their teens! Hope you love the pictures as much as I do!

Our Winston-Salem Trip Was Fun!

Conley had a great time at Young Scholars! He had very busy and long 10 hour days at the university. He studied Crime Scene Investigation and they were given a case to solve together as a group. They studied hair and fiber analysis, footprint analysis, chemical analysis, chromatography, and handwriting analysis. In the midst of their structured times, they had recess. They were, however, organized activities! His favorite thing about going to Wake Forest was definitely the university's food court! He ate pizza, chinese food, and ice cream almost every day! By the way- they did solve the crime! While Conley was at NYSP, Savannah and I got to hang out around Winston-Salem. We worked on summer scrapbooks for her and Conley, went to the mall one day and got free makeovers at Glamour Shots. (Someone was interviewing there and needed to do a styling session as part of the process.) Savannah has decided she isn't in any hurry to wear makeup. She hated how it made her skin feel! We spent one day in Old Salem which was started by a group of Moravian Christians who fled Bohemia because of persecution by the Roman Catholics. It's very much like Colonial Williamsburg except that people actually live in the historic homes there. We also spent a day at Reynolda House Museum of Art and Reynolda Village and Gardens. RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was started there. RJ and his wife Katherine built a large bungalow home in Winston-Salem, but he only lived in it 6 months before he died. He was 30 years older than Katherine. It reminded me alot of Biltmore Estate except it is a smaller scale. Wake Forest at this time was a smaller school on the eastern coast of NC. Mrs. Reynolds coaxed the university to come there by donating 350 acres of her land to them. The Reynolds were friends of the Vanderbilt's, Pulitzer's, Rockefeller's, and Carnegie's. During this time period, the wealthy were leaving the cities and moving to the countryside mostly because of influenza, typhoid, and other disease epidemics. They believed they would be more protected from the diseases because of having fresh air from the country. We also accidently came upon Graylyn International Conference Center while driving through some neighborhoods. Graylyn was one owned by Bowman Gray- whose father was the founder of Wachovia Bank. Bowman Gray was Chairman of the Board of RJ Reynolds Tobacco. You can pull up Graylyn online at http://www.graylyn.com/ . It is really beautiful! Today it is run by Wake Forest. We are now preparing for our trip to Florida! We are so excited about seeing our friends and family there! Enjoy our photos from Winston-Salem. Love you all!

Savannah's Not-So Happy Feet!

Savannah is still recovering from her foot surgery last week. We take her back tomorrow for her follow up. We attempted to go see the fireworks on the 4th, but during the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's concert, bad weather came and they canceled the whole show. We had borrowed a wheel chair from our church for Savannah and stopped at KFC so we could picnic in the park. Savannah got a first-hand feel at what other people with disabilities go through every day. Some people stared at her, others quickly turned their heads away. But there were others who were quick to help when we needed it. I could see the anger and frustration she felt when people were staring at her or avoiding her. At one point, I almost thought she was going to speak out. We were all disappointed when they canceled the show, but Gregg took us for ice cream so that improved the kids' mood. Our neighbor, Conley's friend Carly, came over a couple days ago with a tiny newborn bunny. She found it in their garage. She brought it over to show us so the kids got to hold it. Unfortunately, it didn't survive. I knew it didn't look very good when she came over. Well, I will post more after Conley's NYSP week. He's so excited. He had two homework assignments to complete before getting there and finished those yesterday. Love to you all!

The Kids Are Chillin' Out!

While the kids have been relaxing, sleeping in every day, and having fun on the trampoline, I've been busy getting ready for VBS which starts this Wednesday. With the exception of doing the last minute things, I'm pretty sure I'm ready. Conley found these craft eyes and has been playing around with them. It was so funny I had to take his picture. He seems to be Savannah's personal comedian. She laughs every day because of his silliness. I'm just glad they laugh together more than argue. So far, anyway! Ha Ha!