Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Jessica and Craig's Wedding Shower

My sister is getting married! Jessica and Craig are getting married in December and on October 25th we had her first shower at mom and dad's house. Mom did a fantastic job like always with the decorating. 
 Dad got out the apple cider press and we all enjoyed the fresh, delicious apple cider!
The future bride and groom:
 And some candid shots of the fun day spent with family and friends:
Congratulations Jessica and Craig! We can't wait until your wedding day!

Friday, October 9, 2015

September 2016

September was so much fun with celebrating Ansley's birthday, visiting with our cousins at Smith Mountain Lake, camping at Cataloochee and then the usual school, dance,and banjo routine. Not only was it a fun month, but exhausting to the little two:
 Some sweet pictures of our baby Felix:
 Uncle Marshall turned 30 in September and had a fun party at his house. We thought and thought about what to give him, and the kids and Eric decided on giving him two of our chickens (it was two that we hatched out in our incubator and the kids have played with since they were born.)  I don't know exactly what he thought about them at first, but then he seemed to warm up to the idea of being a chicken owner and having the responsibility of taking care of the two chickens.
A couple of pictures of my sweet Vada Belle, even if she does draw pictures like this. She said, "Mommy, here is a picture of you when you were mad." She keeps me on my toes and laughing all day everyday.
Ansley and Elsie in their Snow White dresses. 

We celebrated Eric's 35th Birthday at the end of September! We are so thankful of the wonderful husband and father that he is.  He works so hard for us every single day, only to come home and show us nonstop love. Thank you, Eric. We love you and you're the best!

Baby Felix is now 2 months old! He loves to smile as long as mama is holding him. He hasn't figured out this whole sleeping thing, yet, but we are really hoping he does soon. The big kids love having a baby brother to love and hug on. He weighs around 11 pounds and 1 ounce and is 1' 11'' tall.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Cataloochee 2015

Last weekend was our annual camping trip to Cataloochee to spend the weekend with the elk, deer, and bears. Our camping crew was a bit smaller this year since some of the usual campers had other plans, but those of us that were able to go had a great time.
Jackson took a notebook and had to journal everything we did, as well as any other interesting thing he saw. Ansley enjoyed practicing her handstands and cartwheels without having to worry about knocking over anything . Elsie loved all the time she got to spend with her grandparents and aunts. Vada Belle was excited about all of the sweets that her Mamaw Di and Aunt Pam brought for the kids. Felix has been a needy baby lately, but he was a totally different baby the entire weekend. It was rainy and cold for a lot of the time we were there, but I had him in a snuggly little snowsuit and I would lay him in his little swing and he was so content. He absolutely loved being outdoors!
 Since it was so rainy for a lot of our trip this time, we weren't able to go on any really long hikes (hiking for several hours with 5 wet kids didn't sound like a fantastic time). We did get to go see the elk and visit the usual tourist spots in Cataloochee, though.
Although it was cold and very rainy, we all stayed warm and dry at night in our tent.
 Sunday before we left the weather finally broke a little, and we were able to enjoy some nice little walks through the woods before we headed home.
 Here Vada Belle is with what she said was her "baby pineapple," or better known as a pine cone. Also, notice the hot chocolate that is all over her jacket. Another sweet smiling picture of Baby Felix loving being outside and Jackson and Vada inside on the barns.
 The kids hanging out at our campsite and checking out the spring house in the woods:
 While we were visiting the old school building, there happened to be a large elk that walked right up near where we were. I grabbed the kids and made them all come inside the school, but we loved that we were right up close to him.
Despite the rain and cold weather, we still had a fantastic time. We've already got our spot for next year booked, and hopefully it won't be so rainy then.