The 4-wheeler

Yes, its been quite a while since I posted on this blog. I figured I wouldn't be good at keeping it up. Will got a 4-wheeler for Christmas and I wanted to post some pictures of him on it.

Here he is!!! This is in the clear field back behind our house.




And this is in our woods. Alan cleared him off a small path so he could learn to maneuver between the trees.


That's all I have time for now. ENJOY!

Camping at Cherokee

We now have TWO camping trips behind us with the new popup. We went to Cherokee, NC this past weekend. Some friends from church, the Hill's, also went.

Alan is quickly turning into a "comfort camping" person. This campground was definately "city camping". Anything you needed was right there at the store/grill. It was SO HARD not to go up and BUY a steak and potatoe Friday night after setting up. But, we behaved and grilled our hamburgers.

We did cheat Sunday morning. We had to be out of the campground by 11am, and since it takes 2 hours to back up, we opted to go up to the store and eat pancakes, bisquits, etc.

Alan bought a "Dutch Oven". It was quite a success Saturday night. We did lasgnana and after that was eatten, we make "Chocolate Lava Cake". Alan made me go up to the store and buy icecream to eat with it! Now, that is "roughing it", wouldn't you agree? LOL

The campground had a little area set up with a "spook trail". Here's Larissa acting scared.

Posing, while daddy was fishing.

This was our view of the mountains. The leaves need another couple of weeks, but, it was still pretty.

This is Will (red shorts) and Nathan (orange) jumping on the "big pillow". All the kids had a blast on this. Our campsite was right next to it. This campground was much different that Table Rock! The indoor pool is that building in the left of the picture. They also had hot tubs, outdoor pool (closed for season of course), fishing ponds (stocked with trout), river, nice flat roads to bike on, etc. We are spoiled for sure!

Mr. Greg rented this 3-wheeler for the kids to ride. It didn't go fast enough so they swapped it for the 4-wheel go cart. Boy, it was FAST! That is Ben in the cart beside Will. They had to learn to take turns! I bet the kids rode 5 miles during the afternoon. They were worn out by the end of the day.

Look at the picture on the right. That is our popup in the upper left part of the picture!

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Speaking of how close everything was. Saturday night Alan and I were laying in the "bed" and our neighbors came back from being out all day. They decided to make a camp fire. Their fire pit was no more than 5 feet from our heads! LOL I could almost feel the heat. Too funny.

I think our next trip will either be back to Table Rock or Kings Mountain, NC.

And yes, the rumor is true, we are looking at up-sizing from the popup to a hybrid.

Alan's uncle has one of those big rig campers that you drive. It has a gazillion slides in it and when fully extended, its probably as big as my house! I kid you not, it has a garden tub, fireplace, 2 recliners, etc.

Hummm,........

First camping trip was a success!!

We survived our first trip in the camper!! It was so much fun. None of us wanted to come home. One more night would have been perfect.

The Lord was definitely looking out for us, as we made a few mistakes which could have been pretty dangerous, but God was good and merciful!
First mistake was when we went to unhook the camper from the truck. Note to self – Put the chocks behind the camper tires first. Thank God the chain was still wrapped around the hitch so the camper couldn’t roll into the tree (or into the kids).

Mocha is a good camping dog. The only time she barked or acted upset was when Alan walked away from the campsite. We had planned on letting her sleep in the camper with us so she wouldn’t bark, but we changed our minds and let her sleep in the back of the truck. Will was disappointed about that decision but I’m so happy not to have dog hair and smell all inside the camper!!

Saturday we got up and after breakfast went on a hike. It was HOT, but we enjoyed it. During the hike, we saw two of these. Actually, Will almost stepped on one (Thanks again God!). Then not 15 minutes later we saw another one.


At the end of the hike we told the kids they could get their FEET wet. “We promise we won’t get wet” is what they said.



Minutes later…..




Larissa fell on a slippery rock and went completely under water. I didn’t realize it at the time but she also hit her head on a rock. How scary - she could’ve been knocked out.

We toasted marshmallows, made Jiffy Pop popcorn, tried to make cinnamon apples, made baked potatoes in the camp fire coals, grilled chicken, and steaks. Breakfast was pancakes, bacon, sausage, and eggs – so we ate good!!

Saturday evening we went on a guided moonlight canoe trip. Alan and Will took one canoe and me/Larissa were in another. I had never paddled a canoe by myself before. I did pretty well as long as no one was near me. We started at about 7:15 and went til about 8:30. So, at the end there, the only light was from the moon. It was very peaceful and tranquil rowing around the parameter of the lake. I definitely want to do that again!

Sunday we packed up and headed home. We would’ve stayed and gone on another hike but it was just too hot.

We have another trip planned in just a couple weeks!

Brenna says goodbye to cheerleading

Brenna has quit cheerleading. Several weeks ago she hurt her back doing a back handspring. She had xrays and they thought she might have some stress fractures. Further tests showed no fractures and they said it was probably muscle. She continued to cheer and just didn’t do any stunts or tumbling. Because of the injury, she’s missed a good bit of class going back and forth to doctor’s appointments. She’s a senior and is taking a heavy load with AP and Honors classes. With the missed days, going to practice, games, etc. and then the stress of being captain of the team and all that that entails, it was pulling her morale and her grades down. After several days of trying to decide what to do, and trying to see if the team could do just football or just competition, she has decided to quit all together. I am so proud of Brenna for making this decision.

And what a wonderful teaching moment I had with Will and Larissa when I told them!
I explained to Will and Larissa almost exactly like Brenna explained it to me. She knows that being part of a team takes sacrifices, but that means not going to a birthday party because you have practice. Or you might have to miss a sleepover. It DOES NOT mean doing something that could jeopardize your future. Brenna’s grades were dropping and those grades will influence what college she goes to and what scholarships she gets. Cheerleading, and her team, had to come second

Brenna, you made the right decision! You have some great memories from cheerleading that you’ll have with you the rest of your life, but, you’ll also have your health and a great future! I’m so proud of you.

So, one daughter says goodbye to cheerleading, another one is just starting. Larissa said to me “I have a real important job now, I’m the cheerleader in the family, right mom?” (She ends almost every sentence with “right mom?”) She does want to make sure that Brenna can still help her with her cheers and her jumps. I assured her that she would!

We are loving this cooler weather. We might need a heater instead of an air conditioner for our camping trip!!

Larissa - cheerleading

Its been quite a while since I've updated. Lots going on - am super busy still, but I wanted to post a few pictures of Larissa's "Jamboree Day" - her first time cheerleading for a real football team.

The is her squad. Larissa is top row, 3rd from the left.



Larissa's cartwheet - look at the boy in the background watching her!


Their pyramid


I just like this picture


Larissa - in action!


That's all for now...

Thread Counts are really worth it

Up until about 4 months ago, I never paid attention to thread counts on our bed sheets. I think I always knew the higher the count meant higher quality, but, I just took that to mean higher price. Heck, Alan and I were still using some of the same sheets we got when we first got married. They were 200 (maybe 250?) thread count, but hey, they had lasted 13 years. How much better quality can you get than that?
OMG....MUCH BETTER....let me tell you.

I splurged and bought some 400 thread count sheets. The morning after sleeping on them, I swore I'd never get out of bed again. They are so smooth and cool and soft. No thread bare spots. No little bumps. I was in heaven.
Since then, they get washed and go right back onto the bed the same day. If I can't get them washed and dried in the same day, then they don't get changed!

OK, so, I do have a point for telling you all this. It seems Will and Larissa aren't going to take 41 years to learn the importance of high thread count. They have quickly realized that mommy and daddy's sheets are much better than theirs. They want new sheets JUST LIKE OURS.
Looks like I'll be splurging again here soon. Let me know if you hear of any sales.
And tell me, wise readers, if 400 count feels that good, does 600 or 800 feel even better? Do people actually spend $160 on bed sheets?

Tooth fairy, Gabi, and camping plans.....

One week of school down, only 35 to go! Larissa is still bouncing down the stairs five minutes after her alarm goes off, excited to start the school day. Will is still stretching the morning minutes as far as he can! Neither has had any real homework other than reading. I suspect that might change this week!

Larissa starts cheerleading practice tomorrow night and Will starts baseball on Wednesday. Larissa has been practicing her “cheers” in the kids’ den. She has written up a few cheers and is making up moves for them.

This afternoon we drove up and checked out the place where we’re going to go camping. YES, we have a date for our first trip! Camping isn’t just jumping in the car with your pillow and flashlight. There are so many things to buy and prepare for. We have grills, coolers, sheets, towels, flashlights, bug spray, fishing poles, chairs, bikes …. I’ve started a whole list!

Larissa lost a tooth today. Her first in about 1.5 years. It has been loose for some time now. Will started a conversation about the tooth fairy and how she used to give more money than she used to. He was trying to figure up how many millions he could make if only you could loose and re-grow your permanent teeth. Tonight as I was tucking Larissa into bed, we had a private conversation where Larissa told me she “really knows” there is no tooth fairy. She asked me if I took the teeth and if I sold them. SOLD THEM??? She thinks I sell them to make false teeth with. I told her that I absolutely did not want her tooth and no way did I sell them. The tooth is tucked under her pillow and as I left the room she asked me how much $$ I thought the tooth fairy would leave her. I guess we’ll both find out in the morning. J

Larissa had a friend over Friday after school. Gabriella and Larissa became friends last year at school and then they did some things over the summer. Both girls are sad they didn’t get into the same class so I wanted to make sure they get a play date in every once in a while. This was the first time she has come over. I hope she had fun. I’m not sure who had the most fun between Larissa and Will. I do believe my Will is quite smitten over Gabi! While she was here, Alan took Will with him in the truck to go get a pizza. He practically had to force Will to go with him, but we were trying to give Larissa and Gabi some time alone. When they came home, Alan said he had not even gotten the truck into park before Will jumped out and ran into the house. Alan had to shut the truck door and get inside the house with the pizzas by himself. Will was already right by Gabi’s side. He has already asked when she is coming back!

Good night, God bless,
Lysa

Brenna can fly!

Care to guess which one is Brenna? Isn’t that wild looking? No wonder she made the “Highschool Cheerleading Allstars Team”. I just hope those 4 girls on the ground (her “bases”) know what they are doing. And Brenna says this was at the end of practice when everyone was tired. I'm not sure I want to see her get any higher.

!

First day of school

Well, its official. My babies are in third grade. Their alarms went off at 6:15am. Larissa came bouncing downstairs at 6:20, fully dressed, including shoes. Will, on the other hand, took quite a bit of coaxing. Still it was much easier than I had planned. The first week is usually easier than the second as they are excited. After breakfast, we took our traditional “first day” pictures and we practiced getting out of the car with the heavy bookbags. I did not walk them in this morning. I just drove up and dumped them out. I pray they found their classrooms okay since they went in thru a different door. I think I took them too early. I was trying to avoid the long lines and I definitely succeeded. I’ll leave a few minutes later tomorrow.

The house is quiet and I am already missing my gang. I think I’ll have a batch of cookies ready for them when they get home. Doesn’t that sound like a Leave It To Beaver episode?

Miscellaneous ramblings

School starts Monday. The kids got their teacher assignments and they are happy. I can’t believe there are NINE teachers for the 3rd grade. Alan said they are building a new school for grade 5-8. This town is growing so fast. The poor kids at the high school are busting out the walls!

Larissa and I went with some friends from church to see HSM play in Greer this week. It was AWESOME. I think I enjoyed it more than anyone else. I’ve heard that the high school will be doing HSM for their spring musical. I’m already looking forward to it.

Another friend from church, Kay, had a scary thing happen. Her 13 month son, Elison, got choked while with a babysitter. He got okay, but later that night he was wheezing. Luckily Kay’s “mommy instincts” told her to take him to the ER. Turns out, he had popcorn in his lung. They had to do surgery and he was in ICU for 24 hours afterwards. He’s home now but Kay is having to watch him for signs of fever. We are praying the doctors got all the popcorn and he won’t have any lasting effects from this.

Larissa and I are off to Shelby after church tomorrow for a bridal shower. Larissa just LOVES these types of events. We’ll have to get home right afterwards and start preparing for the “last night before school starts”.

Oh, everyone keeps asking us “When are you going to use the camper?”. Well, seeing how Alan won’t even go outside to play with the dog, I guess the simple answer is “Not until it cools off!”

Until next time, God willing,
Lysa

Squirrels eatting the bears!!

A while back my sister, Lynn, gave each of the kids a “bear face” to hang on a tree outside. Not long after hanging them up, we’d notice the ears would fall off occasionally. At first, we chalked it up to the wind. We now know that our backyard squirrels are EATTING the poor bears. The ears will drop off and there’s chew marks all over. Here’s what’s left of the bears now. (They should have two ears, a face, and a nose)




















The weather was somewhat cooler this evening. Here’s Mocha in her pool. And sitting in "her chair" by Alan.



A praying mantis. You think he’s praying for rain? We sure are.

It is so hot...

104, 105, 103...anything over 90 is HOT, so, it doesn't really matter. It hasn't been "this hot" since July 31, 1999, and even then it was "only" 103. Hummm, July 31st, 1999. For some reason, I don't recall it being hot then. LOL. Sorry, you won't get that joke unless you realize when Will and Larissa were born. (July 25th, 1999) I spent almost 2 solid months in the house after they were born. We did venture out to the front porch occasionally, but other than doctor’s appointments, we stayed in the house where I thought it was germ free. (Oh, to be a “first time mom” again!!)

We signed Will up for fall baseball. I’m already dreading the drive all the way across town to the ball fields.
Larissa is going to do cheerleading this year. Her first time. I’m already dreading buying the uniform. I told her it would also serve as her Halloween costume. She’s fine with that. Such an easy child!

Only one more week before school starts. We go next week to find out teacher assignments. Larissa is quite excited. Will could care less. Alan starts Monday and he’s still checking the calendar hoping the date will magically change back to June 1st.

Okay, so, I’m trying to think of something funny to write about. How about food? Everyone knows that we go out to eat far too much. I just hate to cook. Well, you’d laugh if you saw my frig right now. We have left over beef stew, a big pan of turkey BBQ that I made up, and a HUGE bowl of chicken salad that I made. I used two chickens!!! So, anybody want to come over for a sandwich, you are more than welcome.

Not much planned for the weekend. We’ll go to the pool for a while tomorrow if we can stand the heat. Church on Sunday and a church picnic (INDOORS) afterwards. Sunday evening we’ll drag out all the school supplies and make sure we have everything. Long gone are the requirements to bring paper and pencils to school. Now you need Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and zip lock bags!
Til next time, if God is willing,
Lysa

New phone number!!!

Well, my days with SunRocket VoIP (voice over internet) are over. SunRocket went belly up and took our phone number with them. I now have Charter Phone service with a brand new number.
So, if you don't have this new number yet, Email Lysa or call me on my cell phone and I'll give it to you.
I do have the old number forwarding over to the new one but I'm not sure how long that'll last.
God bless!
Lysa

Larissa - from expander to retainer

Last December, just a mere DAYS before the churchwide Christmas program (which Larissa had a SOLO part in), she got her Helix-expander. She could not talk for days. Or eat. She was so mad, all she would do was mumble, "Take it out". I could not take it out. It was cemented in.
Poor child.
But as the days progressed, she "got used" to it. She learned to eat with it, to talk, and she did her solo.
Here she is with it.


Well, this week she GOT IT OUT. She is so happy. She now has a retainer, which she got to pick out the color - its a sparkly blue.


Here she is wearing it. She LOVES to wear it! She is supposed to wear it at night and for a few hours each evening. Braces are in her future, probably when she's 11 or 12.

We bought a camper!!!!

We finally did it - we bought a camper. Its a popup. Its used. Its not a "hotel on wheels", but, hopefully I'll be okay! I guess if it doesn't work out, I can always check in at a local Days Inn while the rest of family sleeps in the "TENT on wheels".

I have no idea when we'll use it the first time, so for now it'll just sit pretty in the driveway. We recently extended the driveway along side of the house and into the backyard. The boat and the camper now fit.

We are tentatively planning a trip in late September, but I'd really like to test it out before then. Knowing us, we'll spend the night in it right in the driveway. So, if you pass by and see flashlights out back in the middle of the night, you'll know what's going on.

Will's birthday party

Will had his birthday party the weekend after Larissa, on the 28th. He had about 12 boys (plus Larissa and a friend's sister) come the the Swim Center. They got to swim and then eat pizza and cake. His party was much less stress on mom!

My friend, Tonya, made Will's cake and I just LOVE it. She did a great job.

Larissa's birthday party

Larissa had her birthday party on Saturday, July 21st. She had about 12 friends come to the church (New Beginnings United Methodist). They all watched High School Musical, danced, and ate.


The girls had a blast singing along with the songs. They used the microphones and not too many of them were shy!


Larissa helped me out last year when I gave my niece, Becky, a bridal shower. So, she had the following at her party; punch (complete with a punch bowl and a frozen punch ring), soda, cupcakes (with HSM rings), pizza, rice crispy treats (Larissa and G'ma Net made), Starburst candy, and fruit salad in a watermelon bowl. I was up half the night getting everything ready since Alan and Brenna were away at a church mission project.


It turned out great and I think everyone had a fantastic time. Yes, you'll notice in the pictures that Larissa is wearing makeup. That is compliments of Brenna who got home from the mission project just in time to straighten Larissa's hair and apply mascara and lipgloss!

First Posting

I peer into many people's lives via their blog, yet I'm just now getting around to creating my own. Why now? I don't know. Will I keep this blog up? Probably not. We shall see....