Happy Halloween!

Some quick pictures from the evening.

It would have been nice if I had wiped the lens off before taking pictures. Oh well. This is Brookie's punkin'.

Cammie's punkin'.

Sweetest witch I ever did see.

Egyptian Princess.

Cammie's buddy, Cami. And their real names are both spelled CAMRYN. Imagine that. She's Miss America.

Aren't they just the cutest things?!?

Macy was not thrilled about her 'puppy at work' construction outfit. I know, I know...I could have gotten a girly outfit, but I'll be doggone if I'm going to pay more than 10$ for it. She hated it, but she loved being around all the kids.

The old stand-by. I don't typically dress up for Halloween, but my students today were expecting something. So, since we do brain teaser puzzles every day, I decided to be their puzzle for the day. It was new to them, though old to me. Presenting..... 'the black-eyed pea.'

The Outer Banks

Brookie and I were very excited when my alarm went off at 3:00 Thursday morning. It was time for the long-awaited field trip to the Outer Banks. Cammie had loved her trip and Brooke was well aware of all the fun things she would get to see and do. Cammie would be missed, but she had a very detailed social calendar to fulfill this weekend while we were gone, so she would be just fine. This is a list of things the kids and parents got to do while we were gone for three days, and man was it exhausting--but lots of fun!

Day 1 - Roanoke Island Festival Park, Wright Brothers Memorial, Jockey's Ridge

Day 2 - Bodie Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Ocracoke Lighthouse and village via the Cape Hatteras Ferry, ferry crossing Ocracoke to Cedar Island

Day 3 - Fort Macon, NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, Inner Seas Expedition

So again, this post is a little long with the pictures, but google some of this stuff and check it out for yourself. I just loved it all and so did Brooke.

Brooke and Savannah - on the road - Thursday morning, 4:45 a.m.

The three above pictures are taken at the Wright Brothers Memorial. Brooke, me, and her buddy, Lucas.

This is taken from the top of the hill at the Wright Brothers Memorial, looking out into the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The Elizabeth II. The design of this ship closely parallels one of the seven ships that came over when Sir Walter Raleigh sailed over from England to establish a colony in 1587 at Roanoke. It wasn't meant to be....not on the first try or the second. To this day, researchers and historians only have very vague clues as to what could have happened to the colony, thus the name The Lost Colony. This was about twenty years or so before Jamestown was established.

Brooke and Savannah - inside the museum at Roanoke Festival Park.

Jockey's Ridge. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Winds were whipping in at about 30 miles per hour - nothing compared to what we would experience on Saturday. Anyway, Jockey's Ridge is the largest sand dune on the East Coast.

Looking up Jockey's Ridge. Good workout, I might add, climbing up that thing. Exactly what we needed after sitting so long on a charter bus.

Fun, fun, fun!!

Bodie Lighthouse. It is pronounced like 'body'. I promise. I've always heard it the other way, but Rangers and all the people down there say 'Body Lighthouse.' Doesn't sound right, does it?

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. My favorite. The Ranger did an outstanding presentation for us. Of course, we got to see where it used to be located as well. Amazing history. Over a million bricks used to build this. Largest lighthouse in the United States and largest brick lighthouse in the world. Only Japan has a larger lighthouse and it was just built so they could boast. No history whatsoever.

Ferry ride to Ocracoke, or Okey-Dokey as we sleep deprived adults called it.

Ocracoke Lighthouse and charming little village to go along with it.

Brookie loves aquariums and so Pine Knolls Aquarium was her favorite part of the trip. We got to see the divers go down into the shark tank for a while.

We took no pictures at Fort Macon because it was raining. But here, Brooke is fishing on our Inner Seas Expedition. She didn't pull one in, but she caught one and lost it. It pulled off the bait and the hook. On this little trip, which I dearly loved, we passed Carrot Island where the wild horses roam, but we didn't see any. We saw lots of dolphins. At first, I didn't even know if we'd get to go because the wind was roaring. It seemed dangerous to me, but the captains were just fine with the conditions. I asked one of them about the wind, and he said, "Ah, this is nothing. We've been out in worse than this. It's only 38-40 mph." Alrighty, then. Whatever you say.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of the Sea Jewel. Mr. Buffett (Jimmy, that is) invited me on for a drink, but I had things to do and people to see. It would have been perfect timing. After all, it was 5:00 somewhere!!

Balloons and flowers and smiles...Oh My!

I happen to love hot air balloons. Several years ago, Thomas and I went up in one. It was a birthday present I got for him. This coming weekend is the annual balloon festival in Statesville. It draws a very large crowd and there are lots and lots of balloons in the air at once. It is beautiful and lots of fun. This balloon has been drifting around our area several afternoons in the past week. One afternoon I felt like I was on the chase crew. I jumped in the car and followed it down dirt roads and other back roads until I thought it would land. It was right at the tree tops, but had to go back up because it got too close to I-77. I gave up. I had great pictures that day, until I realized that my memory card wasn't in the camera and the cord has yet to be located since we were in Marion. I was stuck. Age and blondeness, I guess HOWEVER I still have a few weeks before the big 40. Anyway, yesterday the balloon was floating again. I watched it as I ran, trying to finish up before I got the camera. It never came down close. My neighbors laughed at me as I tried to get a shot. They said the balloon was teasing me.

That's as close as it got.

On Thursday morning, Brooke and I head to Outer Banks on a field trip. We're both excited.

Brookie can hardly wait. It is amazing how much is packed into three days there. So many schools don't get the opportunity to do field trips like this. More on the trip when we get back.

The only thing I don't like about these trips is that I have to leave one behind. I'll miss my Cammie. This was taken before church on Sunday. Katie is another buddy.

If ya'll are getting tired of flowers, too bad. My mums are so pretty. I have never been able to grow mums in the ground - not in Hillsborough, not in Huntersville, and not in Mooresville ---until this year. They have done beautifully. I planted many of the the ones I received from people when Daddy passed away. Kind of ironic. I was telling my neighbor that and he said, "That's not ironic at all - just one more thing God puts out there to remind you of your Dad." Wow. Okay then.

I made this wreath a few years ago. I still love it. It never seems to get old to me.

Cammie drew both of the pictures one evening. She's very artsy. This was just spur of the moment. You should see some other stuff. Brooke wrote a play. Awesome talent.

And, the only concerning thing for this post is this........ I found it in Marion a few weekends ago. Jeff Foxworthy would love this.

You might be a redneck if..... you park your truck in front of your camouflage painted trailer. (Or if you stop to take a picture of it!)

Friends, Family, and Fun!

Last weekend when Christal and her family were in town, we had the opportunity to go to Linville for a picnic and hiking. There were 14 of us with Christal's family, my family with Mom, and Greg's family. Such a perfect day with sunshine, a very blue sky, and temps in the seventies. Hang on though, this is a long post.


We picnicked first. Here are a few pictures of the kids.

Mallory, Sydney, and Ian -dessert is always the best and regardless of the homemade stuff, ain't nothin' like the Oreos - right guys?!?

Our four. They're always all over each other and packed in like a pile of puppies!

Christal and Randy just chillin' - literally! Notice the jackets. It was cool in the shade.

So after a brief stay at the picnic area, we went on to hike. We hiked all the trails (I think) and got a nice little workout in (had to mention that since ya'll know what a ding-bat I am about working out). I can't remember which pictures came from which falls, but anyway, here they are.

This is on the bridge right after the Visitor's Center.

Cold and powerful, but so very awesome.

Can't go too long without cheezin' it up!

Unbelievable beauty.

They say it wasn't peak leaf color week last week, but to me, it couldn't get any better, especially with the weather we had to go along with it.

We drove on the Linn Cove Viaduct and stopped for some pictures. Christal said the color was much more vibrant coming from the other direction. There are also alot of evergreens here.

Check out all the mountain ranges.

After we experience the awesomeness of God's beauty in a way such as this (and the ocean and babies), I can only wonder how one would ever question that God exists. The answer is right in front of you....if you'll just look.

Dear Daddy,

I miss you more than you'll ever know. We all do. There's not a day that goes by that you're not on my mind. I catch myself talking out loud to you - sometimes when I'm running or driving. I can just hear you say, "Hey Babe." That sweet, humble tone just radiates through me. It's so sweet to hear the girls talk about you as we all do so often. They'll say, "Pappy would love that," or "Pappy would be so proud of me," or "Pappy would think that's so funny."

You have instilled in us so many values - integrity, honesty, loving life. We have been so blessed to have had such a role model in you. You will always and forever be MY HERO. I LOVE YOU, DADDY.

Mom did a beautiful job with Daddy's grave marker. It is lovely.

Daddy always loved mums. They are all around our house in all different colors.

Some more...for him.

Did you ever know that you're my hero,

and everything I would like to be?

I can fly higher than an eagle,

'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,

so high I almost touch the sky.

Thank you, thank you,

thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.

("Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler)

Dedicated to: Daddy From: Me