Kick-off to Christmas

About a week and a half ago, we hope we started a new family tradition. We decided to forgo the tree lots on Haywood Road and head to a local Christmas Tree Farm to find the perfect tree. We ended up at May-Lan Farms in Pelzer, SC. It was a great morning - sunny blue skies with a tiny nip of cold in the air - warm enough to not need a coat, but cool enough to feel a tad bit like the holidays. When we arrived, we were greeted immediately by a very helpful lady who told us the drill and handed us a saw. We took off to the fields of trees before us. We had a bit of a hard time decided whether we really liked a Leland Cypress tree for a Christmas tree or not. We decided that we should try it and see what we thought. After all, we could always go back to a frasier fur or whatever next year. Mason helped pick out a great tree - full and perfectly shaped. After working on pictures for our Christmas card with an uncooperative Kate, Mason and Tedd got to work cutting down our tree. Kate and I stood back and offered our support! We had to drag our tree out to the "thoroughfare" and someone brought it back up to the main area where they shook it, wrapped it and had it waiting for us.

While this was taking place, we decided to wander over to their petting zoo and check it out. They have the biggest pig I think I have ever seen in my life! He weighs over 600 lbs! They also had a couple of turkeys, peafowl, goats, rabbits, etc. The girls had fun visiting their barnyard buddies. On our way back towards our Christmas tree, we stopped off to roast a few marshmallows on the fire. Then it was time to claim our tree, get it tied on the car and head home. We now have a beautifully decorated tree standing on our den - some of the ornaments are too close to each other, but we had help decorating!

That evening we decided to take in the Poinsett Parade downtown. This is your definite hometown parade with local high schoool bands, lots of dance companys, your local government officials riding in cars and many other floats/groups. Honestly, I think if you sign up to be in this parade you are allowed in it. There was someone from Liberty Tax Service dressed up as the Statue of Liberty - probably not a bad marketing tool with tax season right around the corner! The float that had us all in stitches was the Sweet Tea Queens. They had a website so I had to go check it out. As we guessed, they are the Spartanburg local chapter of the Sweet Potato Queens, a concept which has been explained and made popular by a series of books by Jill Conner Brown of Jackson, MS, who came up with the idea in 1982. It was a bit much! Anyway, we had fun downtown with a couple of families, who each had 2 girls, so we had 6 parents and 6 girls hanging out! I've got a few pictures I'll add when I get them uploaded from my camera!

It was a great way to kick off December and get into the Christmas spirit!

He's Gone and Done It...

Who is "HE" and what is "IT," you might ask. "HE" would be my crazy husband and "IT" would be signing up for Ironman Kentucky. Yes...you heard me correctly. He plans to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles on August 26, 2007 in Louisville, KY. This is an inaugural Ironman event, whatever that will mean. We're very excited about the weekend and the whole experience. Tedd said he wanted to complete an Ironman by the time he was 40, which just happens to occur about 2 weeks after the race! He looked at Ironman Florida, which is the first weekend in November, but the summer timing suited him much better. Mainly because he's ready to go into his cave once Daylight Savings Time ends in October. He's one of those crazy people who loves the heat and humidity of a southern summer.



Louisville looks like a pretty cool place. Neither of us have ever been there so I've been doing a litte internet research on things to do...and I don't think we'll be bored! There is an incredible waterfront park, the Louisville Zoo, the "horsey stuff," Six Flags and plenty of other activities. We are planning to be there from Thursday to Tuesday, so it should be a fun vacation for most of us. I can't imagine a 140.6 mile day as a vacation, but I'm not the crazy one competing in this event! The invitation is open for anyone who would like to join us in Louisville for this monumental day in Tedd's life! Let us know if you'd like to come and we'll let you know where we're staying, etc.

Wish me luck for the next 9 months as I become an "Iron-widow" as the spouses are typically called. He'll be putting in lots of training hours especially once spring rolls around!

Hammer On...

Reliving the Past

Tonight...Duran Duran...in concert...and I was there! My dear friend Ana and I reverted to our middle school ways and acted like 13-olds - screaming for John Taylor and Simon LeBon. I sang every song and woo-hoo'd all night long. My throat already hurts! It truly was an incredible concert and lived up to my expectations, which were extremely high considering I've wanted to see them in concert for what...24 years or something like that.

I was one of those crazy Duran Duran fans when I was in middle school. My room was wallpapered with pictures of them, especially John - who was definitely my favorite. I wish I had held on to all of that stuff because I think it would be funny to go back and look at it now. I knew all kinds of crazy trivia about them. Did you know the name of John's cat back in the early 80's? I doubt it, but I did! Why in the world did I know that!? It was Chaz, by the way! Why do I still know that!?

I have very fond memories of walking to the Fort Benning PX with a group of about 6 girls when the Arena album came out...not a CD, mind you, but a record. It was about a 2 mile walk each way, but we asked our parents and for some reason they let us go! We spent the whole way there and back singing Duran Duran songs and talking about those 5 guys like we knew them! Wow...those were the days!

Well...I guess this proves that I am a total dork, but I'll just have to live with that because Duran Duran ROCKS!!!

Sally's 1st Day at our House

This is the day I brought Sally home. The girls were "resting" when I came in, so they were very surprised when they were able to come downstairs!

"Sally Can I Walk You Home?"

That is the title of one of the girl's new favorite songs - written & sung by Robbie Schaefer, who also happens to be a member of our favorite folk ensemble Eddie from Ohio. It's a great song, but it also helped us name the latest addition to our family - our new puppy, Sally.

When naming said pup, we realized how brainwashed a kindergartner could be. The first name that came to mind was Sally Foster...yes, as in the wrapping paper that elementary schools so forcefully sell. That just wasnt' working for me. However, that did lead me to start singing "Sally Can I Walk You Home?" I guess that was enough incentive to drop the Foster part and name our sweet pup, Sally.

How did we come to get a new puppy, one might ask - Well...

I'm standing in my den one afternoon and the phone rings. It's my wonderful aunt (for whom I am named) and she is standing in Uncle Bob's office holding the leash of a puppy who apparently has a sister that needs a home. They did provide a home for one of these 2 puppies and decided it would be fun to share the experience of a new puppy with unsuspecting family members who had never had a puppy! I laughed it off and went on with my day.

Well, I talked to her later in the week and they had taken both of these puppies back to their house and were looking for a home for the female pup. I think she knew what a sucker I might be for this puppy, especially since she knew how badly the girls wanted a dog. Tedd was on a long bike ride, so the girls and I went over the "meet" these 2 dogs. Well, one thing led to another and the as-of-yet unnamed female pup was in my car heading to our house. Not quite sure what came over me at that point - it's that sucker for a puppy part! We were just bringing her home so Tedd could meet her - yeah right! Well he liked her and buckled under the pressure. We had to take her back to Annie's house for the night because we were less than prepared for a new dog, but we went to pick her up after church the next day and she's been with us ever since!

She is a black mixed breed, with some beagle, lab and hound in her. She really is quite a precious puppy, but is definitely more work than I imagined. They are guessing she's between 4 and 5 months old. We're working hard on getting her house-trained and for the most part, she's doing fine - we have our days, though. We're also trying to work obedience school into our already too busy schedules, but it has to be done!

Mason and Sally have bonded and are examples of why kids should have a dog! They play together great and Mason wants to be Sally's boss (since we won't let her be the boss of Kate!). She has done a great job of helping feed and walk Sally. Kate loves Sally TOO much. She hasn't quite figured out how to be gentle with her all of the time. She has her moments where she does exactly what she is supposed to, but there is a lot more times where she is pulling on any one of Sally's body parts or pinching her. We're working really hard with Kate so that Sally won't be terrified of her!

I'll post some pictures of Sally when I get them downloaded from the camera. I'm just too tired to do that tonight!

"I ride a horsey at my birthday party"

Those words were heard many times each day for weeks! Kate was so excited about her birthday party...and we can't believe we talked about before the actual day. It seemed like an eternity until the party actually happened! She had a GREAT time at her party, which was held at Eden Farms. She had lots of her friends there to help her celebrate turning 4 (where does the time go!?). Thankfully, we had 2 horses for everyone to ride because we couldn't get Kate off of the horse. She took her turn and when it was time to let a friend ride, she was not happy AT ALL! We let a few friend ride and then we put her back on. From that point on, we had everyone take turns on one horse and Kate rode many, many circles around the ring. They have this great playground right next to the ring, so no one seemed to mind waiting for their turn on the horse - a great idea on Eden Farms' part, I do believe!

After one hour of horseback riding, it was time to sing Happy Birthday and eat cake (delicious cream cheese cake from Gretchen's ABS cakes in Mauldin - that might be my favorite cake!). All of Kate's friends sang, ate and then played some more on the playground. After awhile, people started to head back home so we said many goodbyes! Of course, we saw many of the friends the next day at Camille's birthday party. There were 4 birthdays in Kate's class between September 10 and September 17 - it was a week of parties for these kids!

After everyone left, we packed everything up and decided to go to Bertolo's (Kate's favorite pizza place) for dinner. It was too late to think about cooking anything and I was too tired! We invited Cara to come with us, since she's basically part of our family! We had yummy pizza for dinner and then headed home to open presents - lots of horsey things, which Kate loved! All in all, it was a great day/party. However, I was very relieved to have 3 birthdays behind me. Now all I have to do is wait for mine...and I'm not planning a party!

"Middle School Men" in the Boundary Waters...

...with no female/adult supervision! That sounds like trouble to me! Tedd and 3 guys spent a week canoeing in the Boundary Waters - the boundary of Minnesota & Canada, that is. His 3 canoeing buddies - all retired guys - drove the many, many hours from here to Ely, Minnesota. Since poor Tedd has to support his charming family of girls and has limited vacation days, he had to fly in. They had a great time acting like middle school boys...doing all those things they aren't allowed to do when their wives are around!

They went through an outfitter that has been planning these trips for years and it all seemed to go on without a hitch. They spent the night at the outfitters "bunk house" before putting in on Saturday (Sept. 9, which also happened to be Tedd's birthday - Happy Birthday, Tedd!). They had everything they needed for 5 nights between the 2 canoes. Tedd borrowed a fishing rod from a friend and actually had a great time fishing! There's even proof that he caught some decent sized fish! The pictures are fantastic - we live in a beautiful country! He says he can't wait to take me and the girls back there one day - maybe when they're about 9 & 10. I'd love it! It was definitely a trip I wanted to go on...just not with 4 guys! I'm not sure I could have handled that!

We are really glad he had such a great trip, but we were definitely very happy to see him when he got home a week later. He (and I) hope that we are doing such great things 20 years from now, like his canoeing buddies. If I can get some more details from Tedd, I'll add them to the blog, but this will have to suffice for now!

To Dallas...

Tonight was quite an occasion for a very special person to me. My dear friend, Jason, was ordained into the ministry tonight by FBC. I was honored to serve on the ordaining council. I have known Jason for almost 10 years. I have seen him grow up from a young high school student, move onto Clemson and finally become a divinity school graduate who has accepted a call to become an associate pastor at a church in Dallas. As happy as I am for him (and his wonderful fiance, Carrie), part of me is sad that he will be moving so far away. Sounds like I'm going to have to plan a trip to Dallas! 2006 will be a huge year for him as he has graduated from Divinity School, gotten a job, become ordained into the ministry and will be getting married in October. The church is Dallas is VERY lucky to have Jason and Carrie coming to be a part of their church family - I hope they realize just how lucky they are! They will be truly blessed.

Hiking, Campfire & S'Mores

Mason's 5th birthday party was a HUGE success...and it was all HER idea! She told us earlier this summer that she wanted to go on a hike and have a camping birthday party. Sounded great to us! We reserved a campsite at Paris Mountain State Park and started planning our party. We were lucky enough to have Ranger Kathy lead a way-cool creek hike to start the party. We had 8 girls plus a few parents join in on the hike. They were each given nets and discovered all kinds of creatures that make their homes in the creek. Everyone loved it!

They made their way back to the campsite where we were going to cook hotdogs over the campfire. We forgot the "fire" so we had to borrow a torch from some neighboring campers to get the fire started. Mason called her "guy" Bootie and asked him to come to her birthday party with his guitar. There was no way he could say no once he listened to her message! So...while the campfire getting hot enough to cook on, Bootie led the group in some fun camp songs starting with a great rendition of "Happy Birthday" for the birthday girl!

Once the fire was ready, we armed the campers with clothes hangers for their cooking sticks. It didn't take long and the whole group was eating hotdogs and potato chips. Even a few of the adults decided to roast a hot dog or two! Once everyone had finished their supper we moved right into CAKE! It was almost time for people to go home, but we had to roast marshmallows and make S'Mores. What's a camping "trip" without S'Mores!? Some of our campers only wanted marshmallows, others only wanted chocolate and some only wanted graham crackers - there were all kinds of S'Mores that evening! We had a great time and were sorry to see the party come to a close.

Our family was planning on staying and camping, but I forgot our clothes! Since it was 7:30, we decided to call it a night and plan a camping trip sometime this fall! I think I was so focused on the party part, the camping part got forgotten! The birthday girl didn't ask about spending the night there, so we figured we were safe to go home! Personally, it worked out great for me because I got to sleep late the next morning thanks to my wonderful in-laws! I know I would have been up at 6:00 if we'd camped. Ahhh....sleeping in - what a rarity anymore!

First Day of School!

I can't believe it! Mason started public school Kindergarten on August 17. There is just no way she can possibly be old enough to go to "big girl school!" I really feel like she was just born.

We've been looking forward to this day all summer. There were a few butterflies in her tummy, but not may. In fact, she wanted me to drop her off in the carpool line instead of walking her in to her class the first day. I told her I needed to take her in that day...for me! She skipped down the hall - leaving me in the dust! I went off to the "Sip 'n Sob" in the cafeteria right after dropping her off. There was no sobbing from me - I'm excited about this new adventure in her life. She is at such a fun age - I don't miss the baby stage at all!

We were really excited to find out that her best buddy from the neighborhood pool was in her class. They had tons of fun playing together at the pool so I know it was nice to be in the same class. Her teacher has been teaching kindergarten at that school for 31 years and taught some of our favorite people, the youngest of which is now in college! We seem to be off to a great year!

Kate had a special morning, too. Cara came to see Mason off to school for the first time and to take Kate out for a special treat - Krispy Kreme! They ran a couple of Cara's errands and then hit the "doughnut shop" for a special treat. It was hard on Kate that Mason was gone to school and she wasn't. I think she really missed her sister, but she was also really ready to go to school as well.

Heaven in South Carolina

Edisto Beach...This is truly one of our favorite places in the world. It is what the beach is to me - sand, waves and no commercialism. There are only a handful of restaurants there, but the majority of them are great. We welcomed the year 2000 at Edisto and have been going there ever since.

This year, the 4 of us were joined by Nan & Pop-Pop, Uncle John-John & Aunt Nell, Uncle Mark and our dear friend Cara. John-John, Aunt Nell & Cara stayed with us while Mom & Dad and Mark stayed at another condo. We shared cooking duties, had some big group time and had some smaller group times as well. I think it was a great week for all involved. We rented bikes this year, including one with a pull-along for the girls. They had great fun riding behind daddy in the trailer. Each day included some beach time and some pool time, which was great. One morning, John-John & Aunt Nell took the girls to the Serpentarium, which they loved. We hadn't been there yet and were glad to have other adults who were willing to go! Both girls touched the big snakes and Mason even held a boa around her neck - not something I would do! That night we all stuffed ourselves on boiled shrimp - it doesn't get much better than fresh shrimp right off the boat!

The highlight for Mason might have been her date night with John-John. She was very upset with me for "not packing (her) pretty dresses because she had NOTHING to wear!" Boy are we in trouble! They got dressed up and John took her to dinner at the Dockside. She used her good manners, as did John-John! He then took her to get ice cream for dessert. She told him that they couldn't go home after ice cream because they hadn't stayed out late enough since it was a date! It was a very special evening...and I wish I could have been a fly on the wall!

Too quickly came the end of our wonderful week at Edisto. I'm already looking forward to next year's week in SC heaven!

It's Worth a Shot...

Seems it might be time to join the blog world so friends and family can keep up with what's going on in our household. I'm not always as good at keeping in touch as I'd like to be.

We've had a great summer...it's my first summer as a full-time stay-at-home mom and I LOVE IT! It has been great being able to travel & play whenever we wanted. We've been to Pennsylvania to visit John-John and Aunt Nell (my brother & sister-in-law), had a bonus week at the beach in July thanks to my good friend Paige who invited us to join them at Fripp, and are heading to Edisto this Saturday for a week. It doesn't get much better than that!

The biggest upcoming event is the start of kindergarten for Mason. She will begin public school kindergarten in 2 weeks! It's hard to believe she is old enough for that. Where does the time go? We can't wait to find out who her teacher is and who is in her class. She has met several new friends at the neighborhood pool this summer who will also be starting kindergarten. We're also planning her 5th birthday party for the end of the month. She decided that she wanted to have a camping party, so we'll be heading to Paris Mountain State Park with a group of girls. It should be fun!

Kate will have a few weeks of "mommy time" before heading back to her school just before Labor Day. She is hopefully going to pony camp in a couple of weeks - she'll be in heaven! The latest thing with her is FINALLY getting the girl potty-trained. I thought for sure she was going to go to college in diapers. I know, I know...everyone says that they've never known anyone go to elementary school in diapers, much less college - but I was starting to wonder! She and I spent 2 FULL (and VERY LONG days) in the kitchen with only a potty chair. It was rough, but it worked! She hasn't had an accident in days. We are also working on a birthday party for this one! This will probably be either a horseback riding party or a gymnastics party - the jury is still out on this one. There's nothing like having all 4 of our birthdays within one month!

In between the girls birthdays falls the dad's birthday. He is getting to do something very cool for his birthday this year. He and 3 other guys are going on a canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters (Minnesota/Canada border). I am SOOO jealous because I would love to go on that trip - just not this time. I'll definitely have to post some photos when he returns! With all these fun birthdays, how am I going to wrap up the birthday season with mine? I'm sure it won't be able to live up to a camping party, a horsey or gymnastics party or a paddling trip in a beautiful part of our country!

It is definitely time for bed, so this is it for post #1 of our Blog! Hopefully, I can keep it updated...and hopefully, you won't be too bored reading about our lives!!