I'm Back.....And Squirrel's 6th Birthday

After a long year off I am going to attempt to get back on the blogging wagon.  This past year I was taking a full load of grad courses and I did not have any spare time for uploading pictures unfortunately.  Thankfully, I graduated in May with my Masters in Elementary Education and I passed my boards so now maybe I can spend some time on the blog.  The problem is now I have become out of the practice and I actually forget I have this. 

I will not attempt to get this old blog caught up with our life.  I'll begin with where I left off....the last post I did was on Squirrel's 5th birthday.....we just celebrated her 6th!  I am going to post from her birthday celebration and gradually will post pictures from our past year and new ones as they come.

Both kids on their own decided this year that they didn't want large birthday parties with friends as we have done in the past.  Instead they wanted to celebrate with just our family.  Fine by me!  So much easier and we really enjoyed ourselves on both of their birthdays.  Squirrel requested to go to Jackson's Orchard.  The day was cool and overcast and the kids enjoyed playing on the cool playground, drinking apple cider slushes, and picking out some pumpkins.  After our time at Jackson's we headed to one of Squirrel's favorite restaurants, Red Lobster.  The child insisted that she wanted a lobster.  Since we didn't think she needed a $25.00 lobster, we satisfied her request to try lobster by ordering her lobster dip, which was much cheaper and tasty for everyone!  The day was topped off by watching our beloved Crimson Tide roll over Tennessee.  Squirrel got to pick the game menu, which was cheese dip, pigs in a blanket, and peanut butter cookies.  The whole day was great as we celebrated our little Squirrel's birthday.

A Five Year Old Squirrel

A happy Squirrel on her birthday

Squirrel's 5th Birthday

Squirrel turned five on October 20th. My how time passes so quickly! We were traveling home from Knoxville on her birthday. Before we left that morning Joel took her on their traditional birthday breakfast date. When we got home we had a little celebration with a birthday cake that Nana made her before we left that morning.

Showing off her pigs that Nai Nai made her.

A new Rapunzel doll from Daddy and Mommy.

Because I came down with a terrible case of strep throat when we got home we had to postpone the birthday party. Squirrel showed how much she is growing up when through tears she decided on her own that we needed to postpone the much anticipated birthday party because I was so sick. We finally got to celebrate last week and I'll get those pictures up soon.

Fall Break

Joel was scheduled to preach a revival in Knoxville last month so we waited to take our fall break so we could tag along. We were able to stay with PawPaw and Nana while we there. One day we took a little drive through Cade's Cove to see the pretty fall colors and try to see some animals. We saw many turkeys and deer and a momma bear with her two cubs. Despite the cold, rainy weather we had a great time.

Tie My Shoe

Joel decided it was time the kids learned how to tie their own shoes. These are pictures of Squirrel, but Possum also learned how to as well. It is so nice that they can put on their own shoes now AND tie them!

A Sewin' Squirrel

Nai Nai began making all kinds of felt ornaments and she sent Squirrel some patterns. This was her first attempt at sewing all by herself.

Huber's Farm and Pumpkin Patch

During fall break we took the kids from church to Indiana to Huber's Farm. There was so much to do there and everyone had a great time!

We played games
and rode the cowmobile

looked at ducks, pigs, cows, llamas, and other animals

picked pumpkins

went through a corn maze

and went on a tractor ride through the farm.

We also ate all kinds of good food, tried pumpkin ice cream, and enjoyed our time in God's beautiful creation!