Weekend Wrap-Up

So, I know it's Tuesday & I'm JUST NOW doing my weekend wrap-up post; but life happens. Ideally I want to get these posted on Sunday evenings or sometime Monday. But I think as long as I get it posted before the next weekend (or before posting about something else that happens in the week), I'm doing pretty good. And sometimes I might not post a Weekend Wrap-Up at all (either cause life happens, or I've already blogged about the events throughout the weekend).

To some of you, it may seem as though we are ALWAYS on-the-go. But I like to take the girls on little (sometimes big) adventures to local events. I didn't grow up in Somerville, but grew up in a small town & I LOVE local activities. PLUS, I have been told I'm LOW on Vitamin D; so doctor's orders....we are outdoors more.

Friday
I got to take the afternoon off cause Gree & Poppie (Greg's parents) & Greg were going to Jackson, TN to say goodbye....

...to the Outback Camper. And then they were going to eat dinner.

 

Well, I didn't feel like sitting around the house OR missing out on a yummy dinner out.

 

 So, the girls & I followed them to Jackson.

Our final good-bye to Gree & Poppie's Outback Camper.

 

Like I said, this was an afternoon outing.....

....so we got in a little nap on the way.

 

We went to check out the Casey Jones Museum. I've been there several times to eat; but I haven't really ever checked it out.

 

Since most of you follow me on Facebook too, I won't bore you AGAIN with ALL the pictures.

 

The girls were really "excited" about the exhibit part, but they did take time to look at the stuff.....just not long enough for me to read anything.

But they LOVED playing on the train replica! They played on the engine.....

...and the caboose.

OF COURSE we had to spend some time playing inside the gift shop. They had a Thomas Table to play on & little train car they could sit in.

 

After we enjoyed Casey Jones Museum, we met everyone else at Outback for dinner. It was YUMMY as usual. Stay tuned for a picture of the new camper.

Saturday
Our adventure on Saturday was to Tom's Farm. We had FUN! We wanted some of our friends (Mommy friend & her children) to meet us there; but stuffiness kept them home. Which I do not blame them for that decision AT ALL! Especially since we did a hayride....did you know it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to keep kids from playing in hay. Again, most of you follow me on FB, so I won't repost all of the pics, but give ya a couple of highlights.

The girls were excited to get there as this is a NEW adventure for us.

This is my new favorite picture with the girls. We were headed out on the hayride. Notice Jamie is not looking at the camera; but she IS smiling. For some reason, unless you are REALLY patient, Jamie won't look at the camera & smile at the same time. Now, when I'm taking pictures of them at home. I will just keep trying. But when I ask someone else to take the picture for me, I just go with whatever we get. When I look back, it reminds me of what season we are in with life.

And THIS (the hay dust there) is why it was an EXCELLENT idea for my friend to stay home.

I took this picture cause we all LOVE our rain boots. And I have decided that Fall + Field = Rain Boots. May not be like that at your house; but I don't like to wash shoes. So if we are doing outdoor activities & we could get dusty or muddy, we go with the rain boots.

After our hayride, we had a little snack & headed into the Corn Maze. It was FUN! At night, they have it as a haunted maze......being a Halloween Thrill Seeker, I think that would be A BLAST. But seeking as how my children are the ages they are; it's not appropriate to scare them...on purpose. So I'll either wait till one of my Halloween Thrill Seeker Friends says "Hey let's go to something haunted" OR until the girls get older.

 

Kayla was our leader in the Corn Maze.

For any of you who have known us for the last few years, you know that THIS is a MAJOR step for us. Kayla has not always taken it upon herself to be the leader when we are unsure of what is on the path ahead. But through LOTS of prayer, Kayla has come to trust God & put some trust in herself.....she's also realizing that she does not have to do things perfectly (more on that in a minute).

Jamie decided we had done too much walking (about 2 minutes into our 26 minute adventure).....

....so I carried her most of the way. Notice she is looking at the camera, but not smiling....again, it's the season of life we are in.

 

While Kayla was leading, we got lost. THIS helped her to realized that she does NOT have to do everything perfect. That I am going to love her just as much as long as she is trying her hardest (which she was); which in turn teaches her (yes, I am TRYING to be intential with pointing this out) that God loves her NO MATTER WHAT! That her performance in life will NOT change how much He loves her & He will NOT leave her.

 

So we started out again & I gave Kayla a little more guidance along the way. Wow...I missed being intentional with a GREAT teaching opportunity there; but I am NOT going to beat myself up over it. Maybe we can fit it in one night while we are talking before she goes to bed.

This picture shows that we were lost & surrounded by corn. It ALSO reminded me of getting lost playing hide-and-seek with my cousins in their backyard (which was a cornfield).

 

 After our Corn Maze adventure, we went back to the barn & I let the girls play for a while. They had a BLAST on all of the climbing things & swings that Tom's Farm has. They ALSO....

....had A BLAST in the "corn pool" (as Kayla called it). This is them "swimming".

After our fun at Tom's Farm, we grabbed lunch at McDonald's.

We were REALLY (okay, me more than them) excited that our Happy Meals came in Scooby Doo Trick-Or-Treat Buckets. Yes, I order a Happy Meal too for SEVERAL reasons (fewer calories, right portion of food, apples, AND toy--which I save for those times of "I'm bored" when we are in the car).

These were our Tom's Farm Pumpkins. I plan on us carving some & writing/drawing on some.

Saturdays ALSO mean football....which means YUMMY food!

These are Taco Stuffed Jalapenos I made. I have a few things I want to change about how I make them & I will blog the recipe once I do.

We also had some yummy chili...I add sour cream & cheese to my bowl. =D

The girls are not as much into football as we are, so I let them play upstairs & watch TV in our room. They were watching TV & started giggling with each other LIKE CRAZY! OF COURSE I wanted to RUN in there & see what was SO funny; but I could tell they were coming toward the living room (where we were watching football), so I patiently waited.....

....they were alternating giving each other piggy back/horsey rides. The laughes at that moment were precious! I PRAY that as my memory slips away (I've come to the realization that this WILL happen to me....I sometimes can't remember things past a blink) that these memories will stick with me. And if they don't, I will DEFINITELY have the pictures to look back on.

This moment was AWESOME! My prayer is that they will always rely on each other like they were in this moment. I KNOW they will argue as only siblings can, but that they will have MANY more moments of laughter than not.

 

Sunday

The girls & I FINALLY got to say hello to the new camper!

Hello VLite! You have SO MUCH more room on the inside, a TRUE shower stall, & an AWESOME entertainment system (stereo & TV) that I can't wait to try out!!!!

We then went to Huddle House for Breakfast for Lunch....and it was YUMMY!

Gree spent some time with the girls that evening while the rest of us adults went to eat at Hooters (I know; NOT the best scenery but I LOVE their pickles & wings!). While the girls had fun with Gree, they got a needed hair trim.

Before:

Okay, so I know this picture was from earlier in the week when they were all dolled up for school pictures, but I thought it was a cute before picture for their hair.

 

After:

Front View (their flossing their teeth)

Back View

 

I just THOUGHT Jamie's hair curled; but trimming it up took some of the weight off. I think it is SUPER cute.

 

Like I said, we had a FUN weekend!