Happy Halloween

Will's first Halloween. Boy, did he LOVE it. Aaron explained what happened on Halloween, and I just don't think he believed him. It was beyond his wildest dreams to knock on a door and get candy. Can it really get any better than that? You can't beat being Superman and getting candy from every house. He was so excited. Once he hit his first house and he discovered that Aaron was telling him the truth. He couldn't be stopped. As soon as he finished one house, he ran off to the next. Once there He quickly bellowed "Trick or Treat" followed immediately and equally as loud by "Thank You". He was delighted.

This year, Hope was an old hand at Trick or Treating. She showed Will the ropes and he ran with it. She was thrilled to get to be a puppy. She is wild about animals. Hope and Will wore their costumes all month. They loved dressing up. It was hard getting the costumes off!

Aaron and Robbi decided to re-visit Hogwarts again. They both went as Harry Potter characters. Robbi was really tickled. She made a tote bag in her sewing class, and she used to to collect candy. She loved it because it looked like a book bag she imagined would be used at Hogwarts. Aaron was thrilled because we found a Sorting Hat at a 1/2 price sale. He got every complex in his costume. He has two wands, a sorting hat, a cauldron for candy collecting, and a broom. I did notice most of his accessories stayed in the car once the serious trick or treating started.

Jacob was a wise Chinese man. He wore his Chinese costume he bought in China. He was thrilled to find a huge walking stick shaped like a snake. We spent a lot of time looking for a bald cap at the Halloween stores so his head matched his mask. They are getting particular on me. A few years ago, they wouldn't care if their hair matched their mask.

All 5 looked really good. They had a spectacular Halloween. Their only complaint was they needed to do more Trick or Treating. You can't have too much candy!

The Smokies

We spent Labor Day at the Smoky Mountains. It was so incredibly nice and relaxing. We camped at Cosby Campsite. The site was beautiful, except to get to the main part of the park, you had to go the Gatlingburg. This was not a problem until Friday night. Friday thru Sunday to get through town took 2 hours. What a nightmare! We had a very busy time - wading in creeks, hiking the hikes, touring some historical sites and enjoying the company of the Godfrey's who joined us. I think we could have qualified for group camping.

The kids had an exceptional time and greatly enjoyed a trip up to the Chimney's. I was so incredibly proud to hear Robbi was in the lead the entire hike. Our grand hikers were Jim, Jacob, Aaron, Robbi, Max, and Jasper. Jasper amazed me, he just entered 2nd grade and he made it to the top too. All the kids agree, this was the highlight of the trip. Cathy and mom ran herd on the 3 - 3 year olds. Hope, Will and Debora were inseparable. They were so cute.

We spent Thursday through Monday, and were really depressed to leave the quiet solitude. It was a really nice time.

Hope is officially a US citizen.

We got very good news in the mail this week. Hope is finally officially with all the i's dotted and t's crossed a US citizen. Since Jim travelled without me to get her, we had to officially apply for her citizenship. It too was a long and involved affair. Nothing with international adoption is easy!

Hope was really excited because we had a cake to celebrate with her name and candles on it. She insisted on the candles, because everyone knows it's not an official celebration without candles to blow out! I'll post some new photos as soon as I get them downloaded.

The kids have started school again. We have once again decided to home scool another year. They are still going to Friday classes. They are really excited about them. These classes give them the opportunities that I can't do at home, like band, sewing and Lego Robotics. We start early (Aug 3), so they have December off. So far, everyone loves their classes even the serious ones like Math games, Science and Literature.

Hope and Will are thrilled with classes this year. They actually get to go to pre-school. It has been such fun listening to them talk about their day. They definitely approve.

Robbi has added Ballet to the circuit of activities we do. Now, we have to be in Huntsille 2 timees a week. Her goal is to get to point shoes, so she has a lot of work to catch up. The only thing I dread about school starting is the start of all the activities - music lessons (violin and piano), Ballet, Girl and Boy Scouts, Girls in Action (Mission's program for Robbi), Chinese, etc. We spend a lot of time in the car.

That's all for now. I'll post pictures soon.

Holly

Proud Daddy

Well, I had to laugh about our weekly trip to Sam's. Will, Hope and I met Jim at Sam's to catch a quick lunch and do our bi-weekly milk run - we are up to 4 gallons of milk a week. We need our own cow! We eat at Sam's a lot because we all can eat for under $10.00 - not bad for a family of 7. A whole pizza is under $8.00. I wonder if my kids will be traumatized when they are older. Not many kids think eating out at Sam's is fine dining!

Anyway, Will proudly showed Jim his purse that Robbi just gave him. When we sat down for lunch, Will pulled out his chapstick. Jim wasn't too worried until he came home and found pictures of Will and Hope dressed as princesses...not my fault. They were nice and quiet playing in Hope's room. I was enjoying the nice respite. Will seems to be giving us lots of ammunition for his teenage years.

Jim had a nice quiet Father's Day. We kept it very low key since we currently are trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip financially. Jim is such a good sport! Aaron and Robbi wanted him to play the Neopets board game in the worst way, so there he sits. I just heard him travel to "fairy land". Jacob is being our computer nerd and is sitting in front of the computer. He just bought an introduction to game programming, and is trying to figure it out. He is scarying me with his devotion to learning how to program. I am amazed that he is only 12 years old and learning C programming language on his own. He definitely is his father's son!

Neopets game must be over, I hear the losers trying to justify how Robbi skunked them. My boys are too competitive! That's all for now!

Holly

What a Day!

Today, we were busy. We started off the day on a historical tour of old Madison. We learned about the ghosts, murders, plumbing, etc. of the historic area. My kids were really impressed that a civil war battle was fought on there. What grossed them out was when they found out one of the buildings was a funeral home. It has huge windows in it...this is what got my kids...when the kids rounded the corner on the school bus, they could look in the windows and see the dead bodies. It was really interesting a fun. I enjoyed what a could riding herd on Hope and Will and the many potty breaks Hope needed. Very interesting. I didn't get any pictures because my camera's batteries were dead.

The rest of the day went down hill. Hope and Will were wild. What one doesn't think about the other does. It ended when Hope came screaming into the kitchen that "Baby Will" had flushed some stuff down the toilet. What a joy! Luckily, nothing appears to have gone done, but heres what I pulled out - 1 large pink comb, 1 2" foam checker, 1 blue baby croc, 1 pink baby croc, and last but not least a magic draw board. What Hope didn't tell me is that they both contributed to the mess in the toilet. Will's just the one that pulled the lever! I was very happy to see Jim today!

We did get some good news. Aaron is offically allowed to start a campfire and carry a pocket knife at Boy Scout Events, and Jacob got his 1st class. Nice way to finish the day.

Holly

Off to PaPa's

We spent the weekend at PaPa's. Will met a huge portion of his extended family this weekend. He met cousins - too many to count- and his Aunts - Donna, Karen, and Paula. After watching Hope, he decided Papa was GREAT! Papa always had two little shadows - Hope and Will. We discoved Will watched Hope. If Hope likes you that's good enough for him.

We had a great time. A chance to send time with family. The kids loved the chance to spend time with cousins - video games and pokemon ruled. I thought I'd lose my mind if I saw another sponge bob or pokemon TV show. It made me appreciate our cable free house. The kids don't veg in front of the TV when you just have 5 channels. They just try to veg in front of video games.

We had a Memorial Day Picnic at the lake. It was so nice. We got the best spot under two cottonwoods and right next to the playground. After dinner, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, we had a chance to sit around and catch up with everyone. In the afternoon, we were sent running to the cars due to a downpour. We headed back to Papa's. Alabama is in the middle of a severe drought so it was kinda nice to get drenched in a downpour. Too bad we were in Missouri instead of Alabama.

All is Well

I keep catching myself coming and going. We finally have finished our school for the year - 180 days! Now, I have to spend sometime trying to figure out what we are going to do next year. This summer, we are going to start writing a novel. It is a grammer curriculum specifically designed to use what we have studied. Show the kids why we learn grammer. Next week, the kids start working on their main characters. So far they have LOVED it. Jim is the Editor in Chief. They have to run everything by daddy.

Jacob has been amazing me. I found a beginning C programming book. The back of the book said "If you can't spell C, this book is for you." Jacob has been plugging away. Jim checks him periodically and says he's got it. Jacob's real goal is to learn how to program his own games.

Aaron attended his first Boy Scout Camporee. He loved it. He is so excited to finally be a Boy Scout! He just had his 11 birthday. I can't believe that he is 11 years old. Where does time go!

Robbi is very excited she is officially a Girl Scout. She flew up last weekend. Her leader is staying on. We are so excited. LaConta has done such a good job. She seems to have found the right mix between working on try-its and having fun.

Hope and Will are doing so great. Will knocked my socks off. On the last day of Friday classes, he willingly stayed in the nursery. He joined Hope in her P.E. class. (Mrs Boyd graciouly allowed Hope to join her 3rd thru 5th grade class.) Will still amazes me. He really seems to feel that he has come home. One thing, I do know, he LOVES having a daddy. Jim tilled up the garden this weekend and Will was right there with him. Where Jim is your are sure to find Will. All though I will say, he likes mom too.