Warm days of fall

We spent the first weekend in November enjoying one of the last warm days of fall.  A hike at Humpback Rocks with good friends!  I think everyone else in the area had the same idea, but we still had a good time.  Cadence required quite a bit of carrying, but the big kids all ran ahead.  We enjoyed a snack and beautiful views at the top (along with everyone else in Central Virginia) and then made our way to Hard Rock Cidery and a new BBQ place for lunch.  An enjoyable time was had by all, even the Hennings as this was their first hike EVER since living here!  We are working on camping for next summer!  (Yes, Kelli, you heard me right!)

Laurel is working on her pouty look

 If only we could have gotten Cadence to grab on and scream like this girl!

Cadence and her daddy

The kids ventured out onto the rocks, much to the Moms' dismay!

Donate life

I spend a fabulous day last week at a Lifenet Collaberation conference.  I was surrounded by people who feel as strongly and passionately about organ donation as I do.  Check out my guest blog here about this important issue and learn how you can help.



Thankful for our home

During this month of sharing things that we are thankful for, I am very thankful for our home.  I had loved our previous house.  I was very happy in our neighborhood and didn't mind living close to others.  Brad, however, always wanted more space.  At one point he said "I NEED to have a tractor" as if his life depended on it.  (How come it doesn't work when I say "I NEED a Coach purse"?!)  Unbeknownst to me he was scoping out properties and found this gem.  Open fields surrounded by tall pines, gorgeous views, and right across from a neighborhood (key for the extrovert in me) it has ended up being the perfect piece of land for us to call home.  (Which is good since I will never again pack up this houseful of stuff!)  We are truly blessed to have a place for our kids to play and explore and for us to enjoy beautiful sunsets.  I am thankful for this.

Walking to the fort that they built

I'm making an effort to put myself in pictures with my kids... even if it's pre-shower and make-up!

Trick or treat!

 It was a chilly evening this year but we still had fun trick or treating!  The neighborhood close to us has homes on 3-7 acre lots so there can be A LOT of walking... so we decided to go back to our old neighborhood.  We hooked up with some good friends and tried our best to hit the houses that "give out the big candy bars".  The grown-ups nursed our warm beverages and breathed a sigh of relief every time the kids made it back down the long driveways, in the dark, in baggy/bulging costumes without wiping out.  Cadence did a pretty good job of keeping up with the big kids.

Laurel begged and begged for this Jasmine costume when we were at Disney World.  We all know that you do not actually purchase a  princess outfit AT Disney!  I came home and found the exact outfit, on sale, with the shoes, and free shipping - for $20 less.  Boo-yah!  Happy with the price but not completely thrilled with the outfit.  I think one of Laurel's main reasons for liking it is that it "shows her stomach".  Ugh.  Really?  You are SEVEN!!  But, the other things she wanted to dress up as were "zombie with lots of blood" or "vampire with blood".  I decided that I prefer Disney princess vs. horror character.  And she loved it!  She's worn the outfit almost everyday since she got it as an early birthday present.

Sierra pieced her outfit together early this year.  She begged me to let her see "Snow White and the Huntsmen".  Although I still haven't let her watch it she bought a few things based on the movie that she found at Claire's.  Her clothing choices have changed a few times over the past few months.  When she was all dressed and ready I told her that she had to be "something" because people will ask what she dressed as.  She decided that she was a "Modern Snow White".

Cadence was the easiest.  She picked a random dress out of the dress-up bin, put it on and claimed herself as Ariel!  It's actually a dress that Sierra wore when she was 4 or 5 so it was a tad big on Cadence, but it kept her warm.  I'm not sure how the pig mask fit into the picture, but, to each her own!

After freezing our tails off in the neighborhood we went back to our friends' house for hot cider and donuts. Ahh... the comfort of good food and good friends!  Back at our home the kids separated their candy into keep piles and give away piles.  The sugar high wasn't too bad before they crashed into bed!



Jasmine

Ariel the Pig?

Ready to go

Modern Day Snow White (?)

Will traded all of his candy with his friends for KitKats.  I thought it was very entrepreneurial!

Seperating the stash.  Notice how small Cadence's pile is?  Her dad "helped" her with her candy!

Cadence-isms

Just a couple of my favorite Cadence-isms from recent days:

Brad:  Cadence, tell Mommy what you did when you road on the   tractor with me.

Cadence:  I did... something.

Me:  And?

Cadence:  I did... something else.

Me:  And?

Cadence:  I did... something more.

As Brad said "Why?" exasperatedly to Cadence continuing to pull on the door she said simply "Because".

In conversation with Sierra and Laurel recently Cadence threw out "whatever" with the perfect teenage combination of sarcasm and disregard.  Sierra said it wasn't fair that I laughed when Cadence said it but that Sierra got in trouble!

Cadence pronounces "tomorrow" as "a-marrow".  I don't know why but I love this so!

Lastly, not something she said but something that she did.  I had worked a couple of days in a row and one morning she woke up with the sitter and just wanted Mommy and Daddy.  When I got home a little later she wouldn't let me go to bed, insisting that she wanted to go with me.  I told her that she could come but that I had to sleep and if she was there she needed to be calm and quiet.  Cadence laid there with me for 3 1/2 hours.  Calmly and quietly.  She said she slept a little bit but everytime I opened my eyes she was just looking at me.  Cadence.  Three and half hours.  Calm and quiet!  I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes!  My heart melts.