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...