Fun on warm December days
Lost front tooth
Acres and acres of woods. We don't own the acres and acres, but we do own a nice little piece of it. Just enough of it, in fact, to make it mysterious and exciting. During the summer months we did not go back in the woods. There were lots of poison ivy, thorny bushes, and ticks. Oh, so many ticks. But once the weather turned cooler, the vegetation died off, and the ticks were gone we began to explore in the woods. We made paths, cleared out some downed trees, and the girls (with the help of Daddy) built some nice little stick forts. 
They found so many big branches to make the walls. They also found a couple of old plastic chairs to add to their forts. You never know when you may need to sit and whittle for a while. We also found some old, sun bleached, deer bones deeper in the woods, and believe it or not the girls weren't grossed out. Instead they gathered up as many as they could carry and used them as decorations. The large leg bones and the vertebrae pieces were the most coveted. I know. Bizarre. It's been raining here for a few days now and we haven't seen the sun, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the girls' forts. 
I whipped up few girly buntings while they were watching cartoons one day and sneaked down to the woods to hang them up.
It's always more fun to do outdoorsy type things if they are a little girly!
Now, if you want to see something that I found completely fascinating and inspiring you've got to check this out.
I am Home from Regina Lord on Vimeo.
I'd never seen anything like it. He let me try it out...and it was very accurate. Now I want to make a sun dial. You know, one in the yard made of pretty stones with flowers growing all around it. Hmmm, maybe in the spring. 
There's nothing more fun than getting covered in hay, ruining a couple of pairs of socks, playing in the teepee,
sliding down slides, jumping in castles, and painting cute little pumpkins while enjoying the company of friends and family. 
Then on Monday we met our friends at the library for the annual costume parade. All of the librarians were dressed up this year and all of the kids were adorable. I saw more of the parents dressed up this year, too. Right after the costume parade we went to the mall to show off the costumes where it was warm.
October was a very busy month and it flew by in a flash. I can hardly believe that it's November already. There are special birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas gift making, and so much more on the horizon for this month. Hold on to your hats this is going to be a fast one, too. xoANG
Now, I don't know anyone who loves Sara Groves' music more than Theresa so I knew it was an awesome gift. Then....she invited me to go with her! Me. The one who has never missed a bedtime. The one who loves Sara Groves music too but lacks the nerve or the want to be out...away. It was something that I could have happily lived without, but I knew that I would really enjoy it and have fun going on a road trip with my friend, sans our total of 7 children. So I went. Tim was with our girls so my mind was at ease. They all survived dinner and bedtime without me and I without them. Of course I called when we arrived at our destination and during the intermission of the concert...which was right at bedtime, so I did get to say goodnight. 
The other artists were also so laid back and normal. They were gracious with their time and stories. The concert was wonderful. We had front row seats. It was more like a time of praise and worship than a concert. The other artists were Audrey Assad and Jenny&Tyler. Both amazing singers and songwriters. They were all oozing with talent. 
God's chosen one for me, wonderful father, best friend, funny, loving, understanding, playful, hard worker, provider, encouraging, skillful, intelligent, thoughtful, leader, loyal, supportive, oh we can't forget handsome.
Yep, that's 17 things. The list goes on and on but I don't want to gag you with all the lovey-dovey mushy stuff that makes him so great. I am blessed beyond measure to be married to Tim. And seriously, the 24 year old Tim in that picture is pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.
Another day trip we ventured to take while on our staycation carried us down many a winding road, up and over mountains, and across a couple of beautiful rivers. We visited Natural Bridge, Virginia. We have taken the kids to the Natural Bridge Zoo a few times over the past 5 years, but since we just went to the mother of all zoos (on the east coast, at least) we opted out of that one. We did, however, enjoy all of the other attractions at Natural Bridge. We got a crazy-good deal on the tickets because they were collecting food for a local food bank. So if we donated a can of food per person, we could get the combo ticket for a whopping $2.00!!! Two dollars, people, two dollars...instead of $28 for adults and $16 for children. Our total could have been $88 for the four of us, but instead we paid only $8! woot!woot! Now that's a great deal and totally worth every last cent. We started off in the Natural Bridge Cavern. 
The girls had never been in a cavern before so they were super excited. It's a small cavern but fascinating and amazing and slippery and cold. It was great! Our guide was funny and very sweet. She shared a lot of interesting facts and pointed out some very cool formations. 
She even found a couple of sleeping bats for us to see...from a distance. We then headed to the actual bridge. Can I just say that the bridge is so grand and beautiful. It's stunning to see it up close and to see George Washington's initials carved in the stone when he surveyed the area. Oh yeah, the homeschool juices were flowing, baby. 
The weather, once again, was slightly overcast and in the low 70's...perfect for some trail hiking and outdoor fun. Once we soaked up the awesomeness of the bridge we headed down the Cedar Creek Trail to the Monacan Indian Village where the girls got to try their hand at grinding corn.
We also got to see inside a tepee, really more of a thatched hut, feel different animal skins, see someone making rope, and of course, more grinding of the corn. All of this was beside a beautiful creek that beckoned us to it's edge on more than one occasion as we made our way down the trail further into the woods. While at Natural Bridge we also enjoyed the indoor butterfly garden. 
I have never seen so many butterflies before in all my life. The girls really enjoyed being able to hold the butterflies and see some hatch right out of their cocoons. We also made our way through the toy museum. I must add here that a toy museum with lots and lots of toys out in the open with one grumpy woman reminding everyone not to touch anything was a little less than great. The toys were neat and my girls don't have a problem keeping their hands to themselves, but I suppose that normally isn't the case. We then went over to the wax museum. I had never been to the wax museum and neither had the girls. It was interesting to see so many different people made of wax. I probably wouldn't go back to the wax museum...there's just something a little creepy about the whole thing, but it was worth going. Overall, we had a great time.
Our favorite parts were probably the actual Natural Bridge and the Cedar Creek Trail. We had perfect weather and enjoyed our time together as a family.
And after a nice long day of having fun together and having their picture taken a hundred times this is what you end up with. xo ANG
Well, hello gorgeous! Lions, always my favorite.
Yes dear, you look fine in stripes.
Such a showoff!
A trio of amazing creations.
She turned to face the sun while it shone for few minutes.
Busy bees, those girls of mine. Also, I learned a lot from the apiarist volunteer.
This grizzly was such a poser.
A stunning pair...one with a bad hair cut, it seems.
Soaking up the warmth on the rocks.
