A Fitness award

Last year Ethan missed the Presidential Fitness Award by about 3 sit-ups.  He was so disappointed that he would not get a certificate signed by President Obama.  But this year he made it!  He was very excited to finally be getting that certificate from the President and being featured on the Percy Priest Morning News Report!  

He was also super SUPER excited to give me a big bumper sticker stating, "I am a proud parent of a presidential fitness award student!"  I love this child so much and I really am proud of him, but I cannot put that bumper sticker on - I have heard too many jokes associated with that type of bumper sticker!  I told Ethan that I was afraid if I put it on my van - it might get messed up...his father quickly said with a wink, "OH, I'm sure it will be fine!"  So, I think we may proudly display it on Daddy's truck.  

Our favorite Christmas song

This year for Christmas, we will enjoy - more than ever - the song "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!!"  Ethan has lost his two top teeth just in time for the holidays.

The best part of this story though is what happened the night his second tooth came out.  Ethan has joined the boy scouts and earlier that day we had gone through the child protection exercises for one of his badges.  We had discussed the many scenarios and appropriate responses.  

 

So...when Ethan lost his tooth I grabbed my camera to take his picture, but he responded with a loud, "NO!!" and took off running.  You see he only had his underwear on at the time and we had discussed earlier in the day how no one should take pictures of them without their clothes.  I think he can get his badge!

 

Halloween

This year for Halloween Ethan was Darth Vader and Naomi was Wonder Woman.  

We were shocked when Ethan announced that he wanted to be Darth Vader.  Yes...he LOVES Star Wars, but he has always refused to pretend to be a "bad" guy.  In fact, there have been times when he would get very upset if anyone wanted him to be a "bad" guy.  We even talked with him many times about how pretending to be a "bad" guy did not mean he was really bad, but he was adamant that he would NEVER be a bad guy.  I guess he finally realized it was OK or maybe he just finally saw the Star Wars episode where Darth Vader turns out to have some good in him after all.

Naomi was very confident about being Wonder Woman.  She told us how that way she got to be a super hero and a princess at the same time.  I never knew why Wonder Woman wore that crown, but I guess I do now.

We had lots of Halloween fun!  We went back to the zoo again this year.  The kids enjoyed all the fun and even got on a karaoke stage...

 

I think the kids really liked having a real microphone and a large audience.  Naomi acts all bashful when she meets someone new, but when she can perform before an audience she doesn't have a bashful bone in her body!!!

We also went back to the dance floor we visited last year and once again Ethan did his "crazy" dancing!

Our landlord is in the Nashville Symphony and he gave us tickets to the kids Halloween symphony performance.  The members of the symphony were all dressed up in some very elaborate and impressive Halloween space themed costumes - unfortunately we couldn't get any pictures of these. They told a story of a space search for Halloween candy with music that accompanied the story.  I think it was a great experience for the kids and HG and I enjoyed it too!

We also enjoyed a Halloween party at a friends house and of course, trick-or-treating.  Ethan learned a very important lesson this year as we went trick-or-treating - cute little girls sometimes get more candy.  Twice we went to homes where the homeowners said that Naomi was just so cute that they were going to give her extra candy!  After the second time it happened Ethan announced to the following homeowners, "Don't give her any extra candy just because she's cute!"  We died laughing and so did the homeowners!! 

Fall break

The kids got a week off from school in October.  HG took the week off too, so our family could spend the time together doing some fun stuff.  One of the things we knew we had to do again was camping.  We had such a fabulous time last year at Fall Creek Falls and the kids had asked several times if we could go "roughing it" again.  So...we packed up half the house (or at least it seemed that way) to camp at Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga.  We had a great time even though it rained one night and our water-proof tent wasn't quite so water-proof.

  
The campground had many things to offer, including gem panning and a cave.  The kids loved the gem panning. 

 I bet you can guess how many arrowheads Ethan found?

Naomi found a variety of "beautiful" gems.

Naomi was a little nervous about going into the cave and asked if there would be bats and spiders in it.  HG and I reassured her that there was nothing in the cave and that dispelled all her fears. So...we all went bravely into the cave.

It was great and we all enjoyed it immensely!!!  Even when we had to step around a snake on the path that was only half-way through the tasty meal of a salamander and later when a bat went flying around our heads...twice!!  Our guide told us how lucky we were....in her 6 years giving tours only one other time had a bat come out during the day and she had never found a snake in the cave. HG and I wondered how Naomi would react after our reassurance that there would not be any creatures!  But...she was super brave and just in awe of the beauty of another incredible masterpiece from our creator.

We also enjoyed the beauty of the fall leaves.  I love this picture of the trees and Naomi riding her scooter down the path.  While hiking we found this incredible tree with a hole in it.  Here's Ethan poking his head through it.

 And here's a wider shot of Naomi in the same tree.

This picture cracks me up.  She had to lean way in, so her feet were dangling in the air.  I guess since she had already braved the cave with a snake, half-eaten salamander, and bats she didn't even think twice about what creature might be living inside that tree.

I'm not sure what it is about boys and fire, but I think Ethan only wants to go camping so he can poke the campfire.  It makes me a nervous wreck, but I have been told it is a boy thing that I should let happen.  I cringed and let it go...but not without reviewing the stop, drop, and roll thing.  Thankfully, we didn't have to act it out!

 Last year I gave HG a hard time about his fire skills.  Apparently, last year we had some bad firewood that made it nearly impossible for HG to get the fire going.  I suppose that must have been true because this year he got our fires going without any trouble, so I had to apologize for my teasing.  While we tore down camp the kids sat by the campfire working hard in their notebooks.  This is what they made...

 You may have to double-click the photo to see...but they made him fire awards! 

Another adventure we had on this week off was a visit to the Georgia Aquarium.  When the kids were just 1 and 2 years old I took them by myself for a day at the Aquarium while HG worked across the street at the CNN center.  

It was one of those days when I realized that I must have been crazy to try and get through the world's largest aquarium and the massive crowds by myself with 2 babies.  But...the aquarium is amazing and I really wanted to take the kids back now that they were older and could appreciate it more. The exhibits are incredible.  I just stood in awe of God the entire visit.  It is amazing how many different sea creatures there are and how incredibly each one has been designed.  God is just simply amazing!  I could post a 100 pictures that are fantastic of this place, but I'll try to limit it to just a few. 

 

Funny things the kids say

Many of the conversations in our house are simply hilarious!  I thought I would share one of these recent discussions.

Ethan:  Mama, do you know why Mt Everest is in Asia?
Me:  I suppose it is in Asia because that is where God put it.
Ethan:  No...I don't think so. I think it was in the United States, but somebody in Asia with the faith like a mustard seed moved it so they could have the world's tallest mountain.
Naomi:  Well Ethan...why don't you get the faith of a mustard seed and move it back!!

What to do?

 When I buy a gift for someone I REALLY want it to be something they will enjoy and I want them to see that I have put a lot of thought and effort behind it, so they will see how special they are to me.  In fact, it stresses me out big time when I can't figure out "the perfect gift" for a loved one. 

Although, I usually manage to come up with something special for HG it is rarely easy to do so.  See...I am VERY technically challenged.  I have no clue about electronic gadgets and my husband LOVES electronic gadgets so this often makes it more than a little challenging to find that "perfect gift" for him!  It was the same way this year for his birthday,but after much thought I realized what my "perfect gift" would be and one that would totally surprise him - Titans Tickets for the whole family!   For years, we lived less than a mile from the stadium and many times (and even more since Ethan has really gotten into the games) we would say, "someday we've got to go to a game!"  So...it was "the perfect gift" and one that totally surprised him.

On the morning of the game Naomi was sooo excited that she woke us up standing next to our bed announcing that we needed to get up at 6am for the noon game!  And...I would give anything if I had a picture of the look on Ethan's face when he stepped out and saw the stadium and Titans players! 

We all had a great time - even though the Titans lost and we were freezing in some very below-average October temperatures (which explains Naomi's expression in the picture below.)  But..I think a day of fun with the family and making memories for a lifetime turned out to be a very good birthday gift for the man I love.

The stadium was sooo loud and the kids loved the fact that we were actually encouraging them to scream as loud as they could.  But...by the third quarter of the game Naomi's early morning excitement finally caught up with her.
She curled up on my lap and took a catnap for about 15 minutes.  I mean she was out - she was even twitching and drooling!!!  Although the stadium was shaking and people all around her (including her mother) were screaming she was sleeping like a baby!  I was amazed because she certainly doesn't sleep that soundly at night!

Naomi's 6th b-day

We recently celebrated Naomi's birthday.  She just turned 6, but sometimes acts more like she's 16.  I can't tell you how many times HG and I look at each other and tell one another how much trouble we are going to be in for when she is a teenager.  She is so witty and quick already that we wonder sometimes if we'll even be able to keep up with her in a few years!  She is also growing into a very generous, kind, and compassionate young lady and we feel so blessed to have her in our lives.

The birthday gift she was most excited about this year was getting her ears pierced!  We took her to a spa type place for kids for this special treat, and they treated her like a princess.  We had tried to prepare her by saying it would hurt briefly, but the look on her face when they did the first ear let us know that it was a little more painful than she had expected.  But...she was very brave and didn't cry a bit (although I was beginning to wonder if HG might!)   

She was sooo proud of her earrings and for the next week wanted her hair fixed in a ponytail or bun, so that her earrings "would show up really good."   She has to wear this pair of earrings for 10 weeks before she can switch them out and she can hardly wait!  

For her birthday we went to see Beezus and Ramona since we have been reading the Ramona series of books.  Naomi loved the movie!  The day was beautiful, so after the movie we went to the zoo to see the new exhibit of flamingos.  Since, we have a zoo pass we go to the zoo in Nashville and other cities as often as we can.  It's amazes me that no matter how many times we go the kids still enjoy it immensely!

 












And of course, we finished the day celebrating with the birthday cake.  This year Naomi requested a zhu-zhu pet cake.  I am very thankful for the internet or I would have never figured out how to make this cake on my own.    Naomi loved the cake and enjoyed bringing all her zhu-zhu pets to the table to join in the celebration!