October Happenings

We've been having lots of other fun this month in addition to our beach trip and Lily's birthday.

We went to see Luzia down at Atlanta Station one afternoon.  We always love Cirque shows, and this one was fantastic.  The sounds and sights were amazing!

 With the weather cooling down, we're outside more which is great.  Lily loves to grab her mermaid tail blanket and read outside.  One evening we built a fire and had lots of fun hanging out and playing Heads Up around it.

 Ryan and I were so excited to go to the first concert at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium: Garth Brooks with special guest, Trisha Yearwood!  They put on a fantastic show.  I love that Garth even acknowledges "you didn't come to hear my new stuff," and he played all his best hits.  We were singing along as if they were still number ones.  At one point, former President Jimmy Carter came out to present Trisha with an Outstanding Georgia Citizen award, so that was neat.  I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go to this concert.

 

 We also spent a long weekend up in North Georgia at a cabin we enjoy renting.  We left after school on Friday and stayed through Monday morning, letting the girls skip a day of school.  That was fun!

Of course we went apple picking one day.  Saturday was gorgeous weather, and we were in apple country.  We went to Mountain View Orchards which was a little more remote and quiet.  It was exactly what we were looking for.

 Sunday was another beautiful day so we all five (yes, Decker was with us) went for a hike at Fall Branch Falls.  The girls had fun wading through the water, and we all loved the beautiful waterfall.

This was such a fun outing!

 We loved the view off our balcony at the cabin.

 Of course we enjoyed the hot tub too.

 These girls make me smile.

 I taught the girls how to play pool.  Don't let them hustle you!

 On Sunday afternoon, Lily and Mia explored the woods by the cabin for a bit.  Then Lily got tired of it and didn't want to go any further, so Mia convinced Ryan to go with her to a clearing she saw.  Lily and I stayed back to play with Decker outside by the cabin for a bit.  About 20 minutes later, my phone rings, and I see it is Ryan's number.  As soon as I answer, he says "There are bears out here.  You and Lily need to get inside."  Thankfully, he and Mia quickly and safely got back to the cabin, and he told us how they saw a mama black bear and her three cubs.  He took this picture when they had walked a little bit away but he said they were much closer than this.  He could clearly see mama bear's face watching them.  Oh my goodness, I am so thankful Ryan was with Mia and not Lily.  I doubt they would have noticed the bears which could have been disastrous.  Thank you God for protecting my family.  

This was certainly an adventure filled trip!

Lily at 11

11.  Wow.  Lily is beautiful, inside and out.  She has quite the sense of humor on her; she can tell a great joke and laugh at herself.  She is so incredibly smart.  Her memory is unlike anything I've seen.  She loves school, and loves learning.  Lily is very organized and does a great job staying on top of her schoolwork.  She enjoys singing (she's taking voice lessons with Mr. Scheidt), playing the piano (she's still taking piano lessons with Mrs. Pinto), reading, building Legos, making arts and crafts, decorating her room, watching movies, cooking, playing with Decker, and traveling.  I love talking with her to hear what's on her mind and heart.  She is such a well-rounded girl, and we are so incredibly proud of her.

On her birthday, I asked Lily lots of questions to see what some of her favorite things are right now.

Color - Lavender

Movie - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

TV Show - Kids Baking Championship

Book - The whole Harry Potter series; she couldn't pick just one.

Drink - Blueberry Lemonade from Bubba Gumps or homemade cream soda from Glacier Brewhouse

Memory from the last year - Our Alaskan cruise

Wants to be when she grows up - A chef

Best Friend - Emory McKeeby

Bible Verse - 1 Timothy 4:12

School Subject - Science because they are studying zoology

Food - Macaroni and Cheese, especially if she can put some Lane's BBQ Sweet Heat on it

Activity - Going to Camp Crestridge; throughout the year she will say she is "camp sick" because she wants to go back so badly!

Place to Go - American Girl store

Game to Play - Trivia Pursuit (at home) or Human Knot (on the playground)

Restaurant - Bubba Gumps

Animal - Tie between a fox and an otter

Most Thankful for - Her family and friends

Goal this year - To have as much fun as possible.  I'd say kicking off your birthday at the beach, and then having a cooking party a few days later with great friends is a fantastic way to start reaching this goal!

Last week Lily went to the doctor for her check-up.  We weren't at surprised to see she has grown over three inches this year, and I'm convinced two of those inches came in the last month.  It's like she shot up overnight!  She's now 4 foot, 8 inches which is the 39th percentile; she's been in the mid-teen percentile the last few years.  She weighs 76 pounds which is the 35th percentile.  Blood pressure and hearing were great, and of course, we see the dentist and orthodontist for her teeth and the eye doctor for her vision.  She received four vaccines which certainly wasn't fun, but we decided to choose being grateful for healthy bodies in part thanks to these vaccines.  The doctor gave her a big health thumbs up and says she is growing strong and healthy.  We will certainly be thankful for that!

Words can never fully describe how much we adore Lily.  We are so thankful for her, and we can't wait to see what this next year, and many years to come, hold for her!

Lily's 11th Birthday

Lily turned 11 while we were at the beach on Fall Break.  I can't believe it!

After breakfast, we thought we heard a sound coming from her balcony.  Lily went to check it out.  She was in for quite the surprise.  An owl had delivered her acceptance letter to Hogwarts!  Our family is a pretty big fan of Harry Potter, so this was an awesome way to turn 11!

 

 Lily opened presents from family, and we had a great day together.  Of course, no birthday is complete without blowing out some candles to "happy birthday to you!"

We waited until after fall break to have Lily's party.  We invited all the girls in Lily's class, plus our dear friend Eliza, and Mia of course, to join in the fun.  We were happily surprised when everyone could come!  Since we were having the party after school, Ryan and I decided the easiest way to transport 12 girls was to rent a 15 passenger van.  So, after school the girls changed clothes, we had a snack and some fun playtime on the playground, and then we all piled the van!

 Lily was so excited to have her party at Young Chef's Academy.  She loves to cook, and she wanted to share this with her friends.  She chose a pasta party, so everyone was ready to learn to make their own spaghetti from scratch along with a garlic herb butter sauce.

 About to start the cooking!

 First up is making the dough.  The girls measured out the flour, cracked in the eggs, and then learned to slowly mix it together.

 Next up was chopping the garlic and herbs.  Three girls each chopped garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary.  It was really starting to smell so good in here!

  When they finished chopping, each girl scraped her board into the melted butter on the stove top so it could all come together.

 Now the really fun part...learning how to roll out and cut the pasta.  Emory was floored by this!

 Chef Ariel asked Lily to choose three people to work with, so she selected (and gave me her reasons why) Emory (she's my best friend), Camille (because we work really well together), and Eliza (because she's just awesome).  Each set of four girls worked together and rotated roles.  One person divided the dough and flattened it, one girl fed it into the machine, one turned the crank, and one caught it as it came through the roller.

 Mia, Avery, Alyssa, and Amara worked together as a team.

 Danae, Elizabeth, Isaiah Grace, and Raegan worked together as well.

 As they cut their pasta, Chef Ariel came around to collect them and put the fresh noodles in the boiling water.  A few minutes later, and they were ready.  Finally after smelling it all cook, it was time to enjoy!

 Safe to say Lily loved it!

 Such sweet friends having fun together.

Last but not least, we broke out a cookie cake for dessert.  Lily loved the little cookie chef design!

 This smile can only be the result of pure joy!

Lily thanked us multiple times for this party, and said it was absolutely perfect.  I love seeing the happiness on her face when she's spending time doing something she loves with the people she loves.  This was such a wonderful way to celebrate our precious Lily!

October Beach Fun

It was so great to be back in Gulf Shores with the family!  The weather was perfect, and the four of us always have a fun time together.  We were all excited to spend most of Fall Break down here.

 Ready to have some fun!

 Playing in the waves

 The girls tried their hands at volleyball.  We had so much fun watching Stonehaven's new 5th-8th grade girls volleyball team this season, and that inspired the girls to give it a try.

  Bathing beauties

 Reading and digging...great ways to have fun in the sand.

Soaking it up...

 ...and getting soaked!

We decided to have an evening at Pirate's Adventure Golf one evening.  Even though I had a hole in one, Ryan still won the evening.  This was so much fun that we went back a few nights later on Lily's birthday.  She and Ryan both had holes in one that evening, and Lily ended up winning by one stroke!

Learning to putt.

 A good time was had by all!

 The girls were put in to the stockades.  They weren't thrilled with that.

I sure do love these two!

Walking back from the Beach Club restaurant one evening, we stopped at the playground.  I couldn't resist making the girls take these pictures so I could compare them to our trip in 2010.  Where has the time gone?!

This was such a wonderful vacation.  Our family thrives when we can have fun and relax together.  This was the perfect Fall break for us!