Thanksgiving

Thou hast given so much to me,Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;Not thankful when it pleaseth me,As if Thy blessings had spare days,But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.~George Herbert

It's Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for. A great family, wonderful husband, 4 precious, beautiful, healthy children, and good friends. All of our needs are met, we're happy, healthy, and so very blessed. God has been so very good to me.

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God. "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction, and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?""It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance.""Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over there I've placed a continent of white people, and over there is a continent of black people. Balance in all things,"God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land area and said, "What's that one?""Ah," said God "That's Washington State, the most glorious place on Earth. There are beautiful mountains, rivers and streams, lakes, forests, hills, plains, and coulees. The people from Washington State are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent, and humorous, and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats, and carriers of peace."Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there would be balance." God smiled and said, "There is another Washington...wait until you see the idiots I put there."

Just to be fair...

You know you're from North Carolina when:

1. You've gotten used to the smell of cow manure on a car trip to Raleigh.
2. Saying "y'all" isn't just a cute expression; it actually means something.
3. There are big labrador retrievers in the back of every truck.
4. You give directions using KFC and Waffle House as landmarks.
5. You still see Dale Earnhardt tributes on cars.
6. You can't imagine life without Bojangles' sweet tea.
7. Your annual church fundraiser always deals with BBQ and potato salad
.8. You have a sunburn from May to October.
9. Your 'heavy winter clothing' consists of some turtleneck sweaters, a fuzzy jacket, and your daddy's boots.
10. Your family has fried chicken once a week.
11. You can tell the difference between cotton fields and tobacco fields while driving. .
12. One of your neighbors has a confederate flag hanging on their front porch.
13. Those "damn yankees" are taking over your school/church/workplace/neighborhood...
14. You've been "properly raised", and yankees love it when they hear you say "ma'am" and "sir".
15. You get your carbs from biscuits, rolls, pancakes, and grits.
16. You know the difference between a "redneck" and a "hick".
17. You own at least one t-shirt from Bert's Surf Shop, AB Surf Shop, or The Sanitary Fishmarket.
18. No matter what those people in Ohio say, we are still "first in flight".
19. The Coca-Cola 600 is as big as the Super Bowl.
20. You prefer Chick-fil-a to KFC.
21. You know pastry is a chicken stew, not a dessert item.
22. Every time you visit someone you’re offered something to eat and a glass of tea.
23. Your granddaddy always wore overalls and your grandma always wore an apron.
24. In summer you have home-grown tomatoes with every meal.
25 When it rains and the creek rises, everyone gathers to see how high it rose.
26. You know that "chunk" the ball means to throw it.
27. You've had a burger "all the way" - chili and slaw on it.
28. You can recognize a copperhead and your heart drops when you see one.
29. You have at least one relative that raises collards.
30. You know Krispy Kreme makes the best doughnut.
31. You have an opinion about UNC. You went there and loved it, or you hate everyone who did. 32. You know the difference between eastern BBQ and western BBQ (see number 85).
33. You would rather eat at Bojangles than McDonald's.
34. You have actually uttered the phrase "It's too hot to go to the pool".
35. You faithfully drink Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sundrop or Cheerwine everyday of your life.
36. You have your own secret BBQ sauce
37. You or your neighbors have more hunting dogs than you have family members.
38. You know Pepsi originated in New Bern, Cheerwine in Salisbury, Mountain Dew in Lumberton, and Sundrop in Gastonia.
39. You know Coke tastes better in the little bottles and that peanuts make Coke taste even better.
0. Your folks have taken trips to the mountains to look at leaves.
41. Your school took a field trip to the State Fair in Raleigh.
42. You would elect Richard Petty or Ric Flair for governor if either ever ran.
43. You watched as Dale Earnhardt was the only man who ever lived who could go 200 mph, spin somebody out, call them a you-know-what, and win the race, all in the last lap.
44. You skipped school or work to go to Dale Earnhardt’s memorial service.
45. A tobaggan to you means a knit cap, not a sled.
46. You sold Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a school or church fundraiser before those glazed doughnuts went global.
47. When you're traveling out of state, people ask if you're from Mayberry.
48. You remember watching the ACC Tournament on television at school.
49. The local newspaper covers state, national and international news in one page, but sports requires six pages.
50. Most men in town consider the first day of deer season a national holiday.
51. Fifty degrees Fahrenheit is “a little chilly."
52. You have no problem spelling or pronouncing “Conetoe", “Topsail", or “Beaufort."
53. You know it’s pronounced APPALACHIAN and not “App-a-lay-shun."
54. Your school classes were cancelled because of cold.
55. Your school classes were cancelled because of a chance of snow.
56. Your school classes were cancelled because of heat.
57. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waitin’ to pass a tractor on the highway.
58. Your school classes were cancelled because of a hurricane.
59. Your school classes were cancelled because of hunting season
.60. Your school classes were cancelled because of a livestock show
.61. You’ve ridden the school bus for an hour...each way.
62. You know more about ACC basketball than professional basketball.
63. You know the Carolina League is the greatest baseball league in the country.
63. You know that "Carolina" refers to UNC-Chapel Hill, while "State" refers to NC State.
64. You think South Carolina was dead weight well shed.
65. You know tea is served sweet unless you specifically ask for unsweetened.
66. You’ve ever had to switch from “Heat" to “A/C" in the same day.
67. You think ethanol makes your truck run a lot better.
68. Stores don’t have bags...they have sacks and are called Piggly Wigglys.
69. You see people wearing bib overalls at funerals.
70. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it, no matter what time of the year.
71. Most of the festivals around the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, tobacco, or seafood: Seafood Festival (Morehead), Mullet festival (Swansboro)...
72. Priming was your first job...and you know what it means.
73. Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and comes with cole slaw on top.
74. You say catty-wampus, yunto, ill-ass and ah-ite.
75. You know the difference between a deer dog, a bear dog and a coon dog by the way they bark.
76. You put security lights on your house and your garage and leave both of them unlocked.
7. Your four seasons are almost summer, summer, still summer, and highway construction.
78. You can tell if another North Carolinian is from Eastern or Western North Carolina as soon as he opens his mouth.
79. You can spell words such as Ocracoke, Fuquay-Varina and Chocowinity.
80. When asked how your trip to any foreign, exotic place was you say, “It was different."
81. Hyde County is considered a foreign or exotic place.
82. In the Piedmont, you see all the grown-ups go out and play in the snow.
83. Schools and churches hold barbecue fundraisers with banana puddin’ as the dessert.
84. After church you either stay for the barbeque lunch or the pig pickin'.
85. You know that barbeque is a food, not an occasion, and it applies to pork, not hamburgers or hotdogs. You also know that the best of any version, whether chopped or pulled, vinegar or tomato, can be found somewhere in NC.
86. You know what a "pig pickin" is and you can't wait to go.
87. You consider being a “Pork Queen" an honor.
88. You carry jumper cables in your car.
89. You know what “cow tipping" is.
90. You've driven with "Carolina Hurricanes" flags on your car because WE WON THE STANLEY CUP!!
91. You dip.
92. You've seen One Tree Hill and/or Dawson's Creek being filmed in Wilmington.
93. Pop refers a lot of things, not including soda.
94. You learned ALL about The Lost Colony in 4th grade...(and you know where Blackbeard's treasure really is ; )
95. You listen to beach music and you can shag.
96. You can pay the mechanic who worked on your truck with a quart of moonshine in return.
97. Your school was declared a "Tobacco Free Zone", but there are tobacco fields right outside. 98. You constantly see signs for tractor pulls and turkey shoots while driving through eastern NC.
99. You mash buttons and eat creamed potatoes.
100. You show this to some Carolina friends ‘cuz ya know it’s true, darlin'!

You know you're from Benton City when:

This was from one of the groups on Face Book- I thought it was just too funny not to include: I'm trying to decide what to add to it... I noticed that it is missing our #1 claim to fame- Rattlesnake Mountain- the tallest treeless mountain in the world! LOL

1. Your graduating class had less than 100 students in it

2. your football team went all the way to Omak to play in the Toilet Bowl and lost

3. You know where Omak is

4. You know what the Toilet Bowl is

5. You hated going to Connell or Royal City to play sports because they usually owned you

6. You know what Sunnyside smells like

7. If you played tennis NO ONE wanted to play on the "upper court" because it sucked.

8. It was a huge deal when the library was built

9. You know at least 12935 different businesses that used to be in the building where Daddy-O's Pizza is now

10. You or your family is on first-name terms with all of the people that work in the post office

11. Your school secretaries recognize you by face and name

12. Your idea of a fun time is Mud Bog Racing and Road Rallies.

13. You never want to go to the KiBe Market during cherry season because it was always SO crowded with migrant workers

14. You know that KiBe Market used to be Red Apple and the library was in the basement of City Hall

15. Your mom never let you play in the park by KiBe Market or the one behind the old daycare because she was afraid you'd get either kidnapped or morally corrupted

16. You've stopped by Wolfies on your way home from elementary school because their suckers were 2 for a quarter

17. "I can report you"

18. You always littered on the playground, then picked it up and showed it to the Duty so that you could get a "Beary Special Bear" ticket and maybe win a free ice cream with Mrs. Wolkenhaur

19. You know what a Duty is and either was a kid that always sucked up to them or hated the kids that did that

20. "Ki-Be kids....all together at Ki-Be school....WE ARE GREAT!"

21. Benton City Daze is like the biggest thing that happens all year

22. People were in the Benton City Daze parade just because they wanted to...not because they had anything cool or important. Pretty much half the town.

23. You have to drive at least 20 minutes to buy anything useful like clothes, etc.

24. You went to the free summer lunch, even if you were 18...or a teeny bit older...

25. It was normal to see people riding horses down the middle of town

26. The skate park is the coolest place to hang out

27. People from "town" always make fun of you for being hicks even though they live like 20 miles away

28. "Town" is an all-encompassing term that means Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, but you never refer to these cities by name, you only call it "town".

29. You tell people from Prosser that you live in Benton City and they ask where it is even though they have to drive past it any time they go into "town"

30. Mayor Robinson sucks

31. The city librarian knows your name because you went there every day after school to play games on the computer

32. You know the librarians' names: Cheryl and Margo (and Margo is from England, just FYI

33. You 'float the river' every day in the summer, even though you know some people found a dead cow in there once...

34. The rope swing is da bomb

35. You went either to the post office or McDonald's for your first grade field trip

36. You go to the new development just past KiBe Market (by the new water tower) during Halloween because that's where all the rich people live and they have the best candy

37. the "weather streets" are bad news....

38. Every one else's senior class party was at Disneyland or some casino or a huge nice hotel...your class went to the Court Club

39. There's only one cop and he's from the county

40. The same five kids that were in highly capable in 5th grade were in all the AP classes and gave speeches at graduation41. Your "12 years together" picture in the yearbook consisted of 98% of your graduating class42. EVERYONE you know that is still alive had Mr. Jones for CWP senior year

43. Your valedictorian showed pigs at the Benton-Franklin County Fair

44. The only really fun place to go that was within 3 hours was Silverwood...the coolest amusement park on the planet

46. If you ever had a bus driver named Pearl or Connie

47. If all the high school kids at the back of the bus either chewed or smoked pot and never got caught

48. The hill behind your house burns at least once a year, maybe more

49. Someone in your immediate family works at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, otherwise known as "out at the area"

50. It's not a real windstorm until trees start falling over

51. You have ever wondered how it is that we could possibly be experiencing a drought when one of the largest rivers in the country is just a few miles away

52. You've ever washed your car just to have a dust storm drop sand on it half an hour later

53. You measure distance in minutes (20 minutes to Walmart, 7 minutes to the high school, etc)54. You found out you can't REALLY tip over a cow, they just get mad and chase you

55. There're always old guys riding tractors down the street

56. The whole community revolves around the school and its functions

57. You have ever worked "Cherry Harvest" for the Smith's.

58. You are glad you aren't from Burbank.

59. You joined "Knowledge Bowl" to get out of school and lost every match, unless you were playing Burbank.

60. You have rented a movie from "The Red Apple"

61. You joined band because choir was for geeks

62. You joined 'highly capable' to play Oregon Trail and Kid Pix twice a week.

63. You have entered an animal in the County Fair

64. You had to wear 70's style short-shorts for basketball

65. The nicest car in the school parking lot was a Ford Probe

66. You had your senior prom in the basement of the Richland Red Lion, and thought it was 'so nice'

67. You bought baseball cards from Wolfies in Elementary school

68. You tried to get student of the month so that a teacher would walk you across the street to Wolfies, where you would buy a 'Jr. Special' for $1.97

.69. You know how to drive a tractor.

70. You had your hair cut at the 'Head Shed'

71. You had driver's ed with Mr. Perry

72. Your parents didn't want you going to Pasco because that's where all the gangs were

73. You have run up 'Mc. Bee' grade and it was super intense

74. You made prank calls from the Wolfies pay-phone

75. Anyone with a two-story house is considered rich

76. Your parents still have dial-up interne

77. You hated Southridge because everyone from there was a snob

78. You tried to set Ms. Reich up with Mr. Neumann as a joke

79. You have friends who have been going to 'The Palm' since they were 15

80. You didn't have to try out for any sports team. If you showed up, you were varsity.

81. You ever had a class with Ms. Cohen.

83. Writing and performing your own lyrics to 'We Didn't Start the Fire' was one of your major class projects.

84. You lost your homecoming football game by more than 50 points

85. You bought a water-balloon yo-yo from Benton City Daze.

86. You have ever eaten a BBQ Burrito from "The Red Apple"

87. You have used the school's suitcase-cell phone to call your parents after a game.

88. I know there's more...If any or all of these apply to you then you're from the right place...our beloved Benton City!

Leaves Leaves Everywhere!

It wasn't until I got home and put them on the computer that I realized my lens is very obviously dirty- I know just who to blame- a certain rotten/precious 4 year old who is a cross between a princess and a monkey! She's lucky she's so cute!

Bath Time Fun!

I love Craigslist!

I think its about the coolest thing since sliced bread! This weekend we got a king size bed (mattress and box springs) for $150! It's in perfect condition- its not a pillow top- but I'll live! It was an absolute "must have" for the cabin which came with a full sized bed (you've got to be jokimg right???) Hubby doesn't have to sleep on the futon anymore- although honestly- Shawn and I were kind of digging having our own room! ;0) E. found a 37' flatscreen "that was just too good of a deal to pass up" WHATEVER! We went and looked at a sectional sleeper- it was kind of stained- I had my carpet cleaner in VA so honestly that should have been no big deal- but this womans house smelled so bad I wanted to throw up! It was cat pee- they were running all over the house YUCK! We left and went to Big Lots to buy a bed frame. we were bummed b/c we really wanted a new couch- but not one that would smell like cat pee for the next 100 years! We already had the trailer (we rented one to move the bed) . It was extremly disappointing! So we sat down on the display furniture in Big Lots- used our cool new phones and looked on Craigslist- I checked Richmond, Elton checked Hampton Roads- he called on one, went and picked up the boys- Shawn was tired and hadn't been able to go to sleep without mommy, Chris b/c we needed his muscles ( I bribed him with promises of PacSun and a Monster energy drink- generally I refuse to buy them b/c they are super unhealthy and he bounces off the walls- but desperate times call for desperate measures). We felt kind of bad dragging him out at 9 oclock at night (usually his self imposed bedtime) into the freezing cold -it was literally below freezing, to make the hour long drive to Portsmouth, load it up- drive an hour back and unload it. BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT! (at least for me! ;0) ) We got a $2,000 sectional sleeper for $400! It's only a year old and in PERFECT condition! It has 2 recliners and a sleeper sofa- I love it! It fits perfectly. By the time we got home, got the old living room furniture moved out into the yard, the new sectional in, talked to Dad and Janet for a while (they came over and hung out with the girls while we went to Portsmouth) and then after they went home we tore out the old bed, box spring, and the box they had built to put the bed on, and set up the new bed it was almost 3 am!

Sunday we bought blinds for all the windows, and installed all of those- no more tacky pink curtains! YEAH! It's all coming together!

Frazzled...

I have a million things to do and no time to do them! I'm still doing laundry from this weekend- at home I do laundry every day- 4 days with no washer and dryer puts me seriously behind! I did 3 loads yesterday when we got home, but I still have more. I have to go to the grocery store- what happened to all our food??? We weren't home to eat it! Last night for dinner we had ham, macaroni and cheese and applesauce (yes- sometimes we eat like 5 year olds!) The noodles finished cooking and I realized "oh we don't have any butter." sent Chris to borrow some from Janet- he gets home and I realize- I don't have any milk! Drive to grocery door to buy milk. My 10 minute dinner turned into quite a big production... Such is my life these days!

Yesterday:
Shawn woke me up at 6, made a bottle, went back to bed (It was almost 2 when I went to bed- watching some crazy movie Elton said I had to see) had extremly bizarre dreams until 7 (I never remember my dreams- so this was unusual) Sledding in the mall, driving through a field with millions of cows, realizing I forgot Chris- went back to the mall to find him. Switch to driving in a truck with my friend Casey Rowland we were pulling a boat which kept coming unhitched and rolling down the highway into oncoming traffic and we thought it was funny! Switch to Elton is pulling the boat, and we're stopped on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the dark and this woman stops and gives us a baby. A tiny little baby- barbie doll sized with no legs. If I had the time I would get one of those dream analysis books- maybe I don't want to know...
Got up at 7, packed, fed everyone, cleaned the cabin, took pictures of kids playing outside. Left Va at 1:30, long boring drive home. Kids slept most of the way, stopped in Roanoke Rapids @ Wendy's for Frostys. Got home- got home unpacked, washed clothes, cleaned house, gave B. a bath, fell into bed utterly exhausted at 8:45- K. woke me up at 9:15 to talk to one of her friends moms about organizing Scrapbook Club carpooling- its at Buffy's house this month, and she lives out in the middle of NOWHERE! Instantly back to sleep until 4. Cherishing my couple of quiet hours before the kids wake up and this day really starts. Kids to school, grocery store, pick up B. Scrapbooking club, pick up C. Graison is coming over to play with K. Try to find the time to finish cleaning my house, and the laundry. Not to mention finishing my literature review draft that is now officially 4 days late! UGH! Wednesday will consist of packing (we're going back to VA Fri. am) and cooking- we're pretty booked Thanksgiving day- Thanksgiving breakfast with my family and Thanksgiving dinner with his. My goal is to get everything done, and reflect on all the things I have to be thankful for.

Butterfly Kisses

I have read that in some cultures dragonflies are considered a sign of good luck- especially if they land on you. I know nothing of the supposed significance of butterflys (I'll have to research it in my nonexistant free time!) Saturday morning, we were outside (watching the satellite people try to find a signal through all the trees) and this crazy butterfly would land on Elton- hang out for a while, fly away for a minute, and then come back. It was really bizarre- I've never seen anything like it! I was thinking that it was possibly attracted to his red shirt (like a hummingbird) but it never once landed on it. It must have lasted about 20 minutes.

BTW- the satellite people were FINALLY able to get a signal- they were there for 4 hours Saturday! Different people (more experienced?) came out Sunday and stayed a couple of hours. My husband is a happy man now. I have to admit that it was cool to be able to watch Desperate Housewives and the Weather Channel!

My sweet boys

I did manage to get these pictures before Chris left for his big trip. Aren't they handsome???

Revenge is a dish best served cold...

Poor Elton was the subject of so much abuse last weekend! Apparently the girls didn't know what to do without their big brothers around- Elton must have looked like an easy target! Brianna McLawhorn came to VA with us and Cheddar (well his name is Chris too- but that just gets too confusing with 2 Chris's and 2 Brianna's...) went hunting/fishing with Chris and my Dad at Nags Head. They didn't shoot/catch anything (probably because noise was a factor- those boys are INSANE when they get together- but they have fun!)

Shaving cream war

Elton is already plotting revenge for next time... I'll just sit back and document it!

Shawn's 2nd Play Date with Hunter

Jessica, Mike, Jonathan and Hunter came to visit in Williamsburg on Sunday. It was so good to see them! I miss that girl! I really wish we lived closer! Their boys are so precious! Freezing cold, but the kids played mini golf, basketball, and ping pong anyway. Then they warmed up in the pool...

Imagination Station

I'm too exhausted to write anything!

The Giant Kalidescope

Happy 1/2 Birthday Piggy Pot Pie!

I can't believe its been 6 months already! On the other hand it seems like he's been here forever... It's amazing how much he has changed. I will take some pictures to post tomorrow...

Yet another "kid chaotic" day...

6:00- Shawn decided it was time for us to get up. This was not appreciated since I had done homework (and played on the computer) until after midnight. Gotten up at least 4 times during the night. ICK! He was in no mood to cuddle (AKA hold him and snooze).

Micahlynn and Chris were here when I got home from taking Chris to school. All 4 kids were wired! We tried to beat the rain and get some park time in, but of course it started pouring as soon as we walked out the front door. So we went to Wal-mart instead for formula and diapers. Then to Harris Teeter for $1.99 Diet Mountain Dew's, Green Tea's, and Elton's obsession= Cheese Its. Then to the library for reference material for my pathfinder which I should be working on. The citations are due in 2 hours and 8 minutes- tick tick. The kids were AMAZING at the library. I mean like kids from another dimension good. I was waiting to hear the Twilight Zone theme song. It was eerie. I talked to Rebecca (the children's librarian) forever, found some cool books on Thanksgiving, division, and biomes (Katherine's school), found all the resources I would need, xeroxed the reference material, and even picked up the Jon and Kate + 8 book (Yeah, I'm such a loser- we love that show... It's not like I'll actually find time to read it though!) I would have been content to spend half the day at the library, but Shawn had different ideas. Home to unpack groceries, fix lunch. Went to McDonald's for ice cream. We really just went for the Play Place. It rained ALL day! Picked Chris up from school. Took the 5 little ones to the YMCA for Katherine and Micahlynn's YouthFit class. Spent a very enjoyable hour talking to Buffy, Kay, and Renee. Shawn was content to sit in his car seat, Brianna, Chris, and Jacob sat in the corner and played with trains and read books. We got home in time to clean up a little bit and Will came and picked his kids up. I gathered up my 4, took a movie back and dropped the 3 oldest off at Dad and Janet's to spend the night. Shawn has been asleep for 3 hours and the house is so eerily quiet... I would LOVE to go to bed, but I've got too much to do, and no ambition to do it... Gray's Anatomy came on tonight, but I'll be good and resist -Elton and I always watch it together... I think we'll go to Imagination Station tomorrow. I'm running out of ideas, and the very thought of spending all day cooped up in the house (rain forecast again) sends shivers down my spine!

Sweet Potato Surplus!

Not that thats a bad thing! Our good friend Jennifer Pierce ( also our blueberry provider- always great to have friends like that! ;0) ) brought us some sweet potatos and I really need to figure out what to do with them. I made a sweet potato souffle- which rocked, but I'd like to try something new. I spent a few minutes on Foodnetwork.com (I have not watched one single Foodnetwork episode in months- NOT ONE! I'm really tired of being so busy... I found some awesome sweet potato recipes that I'm anxious to try: Sweet potato biscuits, roasted sweet potatos with honey butter, sweet potato chips with chili pepper etc. I have got to find a recipe for Sweet Potato muffins. That is one of our favorite breakfasts. Sweet potato muffins and apple cider from the Raleigh Bakery in Colonial Williamsburg- YUM! I think they serve them at Christiana Campbells too...

Pee in the Ballpit!

Exscuse the picture quality. They were taken with my new phone... Obviously great pictures is NOT one of the cool features! LOL!

Well our first day with M. and C. went well. Will dropped them off at 8, the kids played (Bri decided she would rather stay home and play with Chris than go to Preschool.) We went to the Wilson Daily Times Field Trip at 10:30. It was boring, I knew it would be- we've already been but I figured that it was an hour and a half that I didn't have to "schedule" and that my house wouldn't be being demolished... We went home, ate lunch and headed off to the Children's Science Museum at the Imperial Centre in Rocky Mount. "Wonderful Wednesday" = Free admission from 2-5! The kids had a great time. We saw the alligator feeding at 4, and actually headed off to the Art Gallery. It's only on the other side of the building, but the dozen or so times I've been there, I just haven't gone. We have been missing out! They had the coolest stage and tons of costumes for the kids. They had a ball! We have got to go back soon and take my camera. I must include this horrible/hilarious episode: Micahlynn got in the ballpit and said "EWWW it's wet in here!" and Brianna said " UH- Yeah- I just peed in there! " (like DUH!) I thought I was going to wet my pants I was laughing so hard! Yes I know that sounds horrible- but some of you understand where I'm coming from! Apparently B. was having too much fun for a potty break- that rotten girl- she has no shame! but she makes a darn cute sheep!

Too busy to blog...

Life has been super busy- with nothing exceptional to write about... No pictures either- I've been slack. Homework, kids, activities, dealing with our stupid insurance agent, closing on the cabin :0) Today Katherine, Brianna, Shawn and I went to the Arts Council, IHOW was having somekind of art class using recycled items. It was alot of fun. Everyone brought their collection of craft supplies (ribbons, pipe cleaner, fabric, glitter etc) and some natural items (pine cones, sweet gum balls etc). Katherine made a very intricate winter scene complete with sweetgum ball snowmen. It was very cute. Brianna and I made a bracelet, a telescope, a snowman, a "painting" She had a ball playing with several of the kids her age. It was nice to actually be able to have some "adult interaction" although admittedly the other mothers in this particular group are very "earth-mothery" they only eat organic and are very "green" living. It's very interesting, but I have no intention of making that drastic of a lifestyle change! LOL! After it was over we walked to the Court house to view some of the Veterans Day celebration. It truly wasn't very interesting, so we didn't stay long. Then on to the Grocery store with Brianna in tow (at her insistance) it went surprisingly well (I guess now that she's 4 and so mature! ;0) ) She still had to get her Hershey bar bribe at checkout- but this time she actually earned it!

Tomorrow promises to be another busy day. My friend Angie has surgery on Monday, so her kids will be staying with us the next 3 days. We've got a Wilson Daily Times Field Trip, and then I think we will go to the Children's Science Museum in Rocky Mount. It's "Wonderful Wednesday" and admission is free from 2-5. So I guess tomorrow is covered. I have no idea what we will do Thursday and Friday!

So jealous!

Purely by accident I stumbled across a blof entitled "Show us the World". I'm not including the link b/c then you might find their blog much more interesting than mine and read theirs instead... It's 2 parent and their 3 teenage kids- they sold their house, and all their stuff and are traveling the US in an RV. They are totally living my dream life!

Big party continued.

Blowing out the candles.

B. with one of her Fur Real friends she got for her birthday. It was either the puppy or the panda. She said it was cold and wrapped it up in one of Shawn's blankets. She ended up with all sorts of cool stuff for her birthday. We ended up with about 25 people.

Guess who won pin the tail on the donkey? I think she peeked!

The cake.

Guess Blogger will only let me download so many pics...

Her Big party- Nov. 1

The Pinata

Pinata hat

We had to pull out the big guns to actually break the pinata- knew he was good for something...

He took his payment in candy... Refused to use the cute little Tinkerbelle bags I bought. Guess they're not cool- and the hat is??? ;0)

Who invited Jay to the party? Where's Silent Bob?

Please note the lovely burn in my chair cushion. In an act of pure genius Hubby set the chip bowl out of his smoker on it. Gee- who would have thought cast iron would get that hot? Grrr!

Halloween 2008/ Brianna's ACTUAL 4th Birthday...

This is Brianna's 3rd 4th Birthday party! We couldn't let the actual day go by without commemerating it. It was super quick with just the 6 of us, and then out to Trick or Treat!

Some of us couldn't take all of the excitement...

Some of us got all hopped up on Halloween Candy and tried to kill each other at Grandma's.

Sugar Crash... It was lots of fun dragging 3 sleeping children home that night. Katherine is Daddy's girl and will stay up all night if you let her. Thankfully C. B, and S take after their momma and are good sleepers!

Birthday and Trick or Treating @ Nana & Grandpa's

10/30/08 We went to Dad and Janet's for early Birthday and Trick or Treating. They were leaving for Dallas and would miss the actual festitivies. Above is a shot of Brianna at her 2nd 4th Birthday party.

We got some nice visiting in- main topic of conversation? Politics- what else??? Please note the very large and worthless dog- this is the one who let someone(s) into my house and steal all our stuff! Guess he figured it wasn't his stuff...

Costumes 2008

Shawn- a pumpkin- how original...

Brianna- Tinkerbelle

Katherine- a black cat

Chris- a belligerent teenager LOL

Tobacco Farm Life Museum

Friday the girls and I went on a WAHE fieldtrip to the Tobacco Farm Life Museum in Kenly. It was really interesting. We got a guided tour and the girls got to make candles. K. has decided she wants to make them at her next birthday sleepover. Hmmmm 10 11 years and melted wax? Should be interesting! They had a play area for the kids and they had a ball dressing up in dresses, petticoats and bonnets. The weather was perfect and we had a picnic in the picnic area. I forgot my camera (well technically I didn't forget it- I thought it was still in the van) So I had to use generic pictures off the net.

http://www.tobaccofarmlifemuseum.org/Exhibits.htm

New Phones!

Chris & Katherine's new phones. C. got slate gray and K. got turq. I was really surprised she didn't want purple. I am so jealous of the color! K. is excited that she has unlimited texting with our new plan. C. was the only one who had it before- thats all he does is text.... So K. has been making up for lost time- texting as fast as her little thumbs will allow!

Elton and I got the same phone- and surprisingly enough we both got black. My old phone was green and I'm just over it. I don't want green anymore. Too bad this phone didn't come in turq. or purple! They do make it in pink, but Altell doesn't carry it... This phone is so cool! We've got internet and it automatically checks our emails. I've spent the last 2 days trying to figure out how everything works. It has so many cool features- I am completly lost! But it is AWESOME! Service for these is actually cheaper than I thought it would be for these. I think we have finally decided to do away with the house phone entirely... That has been E's plan all along, I guess he was just waiting for me to get onboard!

I guess I can thank our burglar for the new phones. Our house was broken into Halloween, they/he? stole our Playstation 3, X-Box, camcorder, 2 laptops, and Elton and Chris's cell phones. Some man actually had the nerve to answer the phone when I called it to make sure it wasn't just lost in the house (hubby is NOT real good about keeping up with stuff like that!) I still don't think that it has 100% sunk in yet that someone came into my house and went through all my stuff! It wasn't messed up- we just noticed stuff missing the next day. We tried to figure out when it could have happened, and the only time we can figure is when K,B, S and I were Trick or Treating (we just walked around the neighborhood- I didn't bother to lock the door) Elton and Chris were sitting on the back deck smoking a brisket on the grill. Since they went all through the house upstairs and down- I'm wondering if he/they were still in the house when the kids and I got home. We left to go to E's moms as soon as we got back.

I had been gone Friday from about 9:30-3:30, but Chris said he played x-box in his room after school. We were home until 8:30. When we left for Doris's house, I picked up Brianna's Halloween candy that she had dumped all over the couch (Rocky- Dad and Janet's dog is here for 4 days while they are in Dallas- GREAT watchdog huh???) I set her Halloween bucket on top of the cable box so the dog couldn't get it. I halfway noticed that the PS3 was gone- but it really didn't register. I just assumed Chris had taken it upstairs or something... I'm just thankful it was only material things. They can be replaced.