Happy Halloween!

Ryan, Will, Owen, John Burton and Miller

We had some friends come over tonight to trick-or-treat

Owen and John Burton are Will's friends from school and Miller is JB's little brother

John Will and Will next to the pumpkins they carved

Will is a Jawa. Don't ask me what a Jawa is-- it is some random Star Wars character from Tattoine that all you die hard Star Wars fans will know.

Ryan was Superman for the second year in a row. He likes to stick with what he knows.

I was a black cat. It was too cold to be Tinkerbell.

Will with the pumpkin he helped carve.

Serious Jawa at Trunk or Treat

Superman at Trunk or Treat with Meme's witch hat

David, Will, Ryan and Dawson

David and Dawson were super cute as Batman and Robin

Fall Break at the Beach

I must admit, I posted pictures on Facebook before my blog for the first time ever!! Never thought that would happen, poor blog.
We spent all last week in Hilton Head. It was wonderful. JohnWill took off work the entire week. He didn't work at all from the beach or anything. My parents joined us for the first time in 3 years and stayed in a condo just down the breezeway from ours. It was great being there with them.
The first two days were chilly, but the rest of the week was perfect beach weather. Highs in the 70s and 80s and sunny everyday.
I didn't really do anything except sit on the beach, read, sleep and eat seafood. It was perfect. A much needed vacation for all of us.

The boys did nothing but play on the beach, play putt-putt, work puzzles (the really difficult jigsaw kind) with my mom, and play Uno with John Will.

Thanks to my parents, JW and I got to go out to eat ALONE at our favorite restaurant on HHI, Red Fish, on Friday night. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed our last night there. (I must share what I had for dessert- Cream Cheese Apple Bread Pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream. It was amazing.)
We came home Saturday in time to see the UT football game- booo! that was a hard loss!

And now we are back to life. It doesn't slow down. There is something everyday. I can never get caught up on the laundry. Ryan still only wants to eat peanut butter, bread and chocolate milk. I still need to lose 10 pounds. Beds are still unmade. Phones ring, dogs throw-up, ice makers don't work, and the carpet is still dirty. It is wonderful and God is good.

Ryan wanted to play football on the beach everyday

Will with his boogie board

Ryan had to be pulled on his boogie board. And he is heavy.

Will at the Pirate's Cove putt-putt coarse

The 4 of us playing putt-putt

In front of the condo

Will finally lost his other front tooth! And the Tooth Fairy found her way to Hilton Head!

Recent Read that Rocked

I am not going to review this book. Nothing I have to say would do it justice. I have a kind of reverence for Pat Conroy and my menial words can't fully explain how much I love his writing.

I have waited fourteen years for this book. His previous work of fiction, Beach Music, was published in 1995. He is a literary genius and his knowledge and understanding of the South is

unparalleled among today's writers.

My family used to vacation on Fripp Island, SC, where Conroy lives. His house is small and unassuming, not even on the beach. Like his house, he is an unassuming man, not given to many interviews or media hype. Read more about him here.

This book has caused me to become some what of a book club slacker. We were supposed to read the Outlander, but South of Broad came out and I just couldn't seem to get into the Outlander. I am going to try to get back on the book club train now.

Mr. Conroy, please don't make us wait another fourteen years!

Pumpkin Predicament

Will was Child of the Week at school this week. So, today I took these pumpkin cookies to his class for snack time. I have an entire set of Fall cookie cutters. I thought these pumpkins turned out cute and were pretty easy. The ghosts were cute too, but I didn't get a good picture of them. My camera batteries decided to poop out on me so I didn't get any pictures at school today, either.


I know I have mentioned this before, bit I really, really love pumpkin everything. I was going to make more pumpkin muffins this week because the boys love them so much. Well, 4 grocery stores later and I now know there is a shortage of canned pumpkin because of a freeze last year that ruined the pumpkin crop. WHAT?? Seriously, how am supposed to make all my yummy pumpkin muffins and breads? Out of town friends, are you experiencing this same predicament as well? Or is this a middle Tennessee issue only? If things get desperate, I might need someone to ship me some canned pumpkin.

On delightful pumpkin note, I had the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks this past week. My disgust at spending $4.78 on a grande disappeared with the first sip. It was heavenly. It was even worth being awake until 11:30 that night because I forgot to say "decaf" when I ordered it at 7:30 at night on my way to a meeting at church. I might go get another one in the morning!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) mini chocolate chips

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease thirty-six 2 1/2-inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups.

COMBINE all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin and oil; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Stir in morsels. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove from pans.

Fall Festival Recap

We survived last week. It rained everyday. It was Spirit Week (which meant each day had a "dress-up" theme.) I was late the day I was supposed to be lunchroom mom. I put our Silent Auction basket together and turned it in, finally. And Friday night was our Fall Festival. It got moved inside b/c of rain, but was still pretty fun.
As I write this on Sunday afternoon, it is a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky. As much as we have complained about the rain (12 straight days,) we really should be thankful. Thankful that we have clean water to drink and water to nourish the ground that grows crops. I'm sure those with flooded homes do not feel that way. Or the residents of Tent City (Nashville's homeless area downtown under the bridge next to the river.) Yes, rain is a blessing, but can also be a curse at times.
All I know for sure is that I am very glad to see the sun today!

Little Brother had to have a Lipscomb Bears t-shirt to match Big Brother. It is a little big!

Our finished basket. The grand total worth was $260. One of the smallest amounts there!

Will eating cherry Italian Ice

Ryan copying Will (even though he didn't have Italian Ice!) For some reason, he looks about 16 to me in this picture. How did he get so big?

This is hilarious! We have a little stream that forms in our side yard after lots of rain. So, the boys thought it would be fun to ride down into the water. They were soaking wet, but it does look pretty fun!

Coming soon: Whole-wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I made some this afternoon and the boys have each eaten two! Delicious and healthy!

Random Rainy Day Ramblings

All apologies to my Aunt Emily, who is my most loyal reader! It has been quite a while since I have posted. Life is crazy. It has rained for a week straight here and it is making me quite crabby. I am sitting here drinking coffee having a rare quiet moment on this rainy Monday morning. I should be at the Y working out, or grocery shopping, or cleaning, or doing laundry, but instead I am just going to sit here and write.

An attempt to catch all 4 boys in their UT wear! I have never seen JW so happy after a UT loss as on Saturday after the FL game! We all got together at MeMe and John's for the game and grilled out steaks. The boys had a blast.

David and Will in some new pirate costumes from MeMe's new dress-up trunk!

Remember how Will knocked out his front tooth on the 4th of July? Well, it is still a huge gap. Bless his heart, he looks cute but I am beginning to wonder when that tooth is going to make an appearance.

Boys in their matching Halloween pajamas reading with Daddy before bed. They love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

Jenni, Stacey, Ami, me

I went out with some friends for a belated birthday dinner last night. We ate at Catina Laredo, a new Mexican place here in Nashville. It was delicious. They make fresh guacamole at the table. I am never wearing this shirt again because I just realized how huge I look!! (maybe I really am that fat, but please oh please, just let it be the blousy shirt!!!)

Will is now loving school. This past week he told me the only thing he didn't like about school is when they go to computers on Friday. (I think they work on keyboarding skills and he thinks that is boring.) He also told me this morning that he wished it would quit raining so they could go outside during recess. I'm with you there, Will!

This week is Spirit Week and we will wrap it up with the big Fall Festival and Silent Auction on Friday night. Hopefully my room mom duties will slow down for a while.

Ryan still looks at me like I am breaking his heart when I drop him off at school. But, he always says he has had fun when I pick him up in the afternoon. He's just a momma's boy and would rather spend the day with me. I guess that is okay.

I am still teaching the young 2 year olds on Sunday mornings at church. I taught them all summer session and will continue on this entire school year. My friend Ami (in the above picture) is my co-teacher. I have really grown attached to this group of precious children. (Much more so than I expected to when I was asked to teach!) I have gotten to know the families, the personalities, and I now feel quite protective of my "babies." I am going to stay with them until they promote. It has been quite the unexpected blessing. I love how God works in small ways through a group of 2-year old children.