Christmas!

We had a lot going on in December besides our vacation to NY and PA. The kids had parties at school. The middle school took the kids to Bounce U for a special field trip and the Kindergarten and 1st grades were taken to Chuck e Cheese. I finished up my first semester in school. Curtis had taken weekly guitar lessons the first semester of school and he got the chance to show what he had learned during chapel in early December. Emily was in the school Christmas play. And ofcourse there were Christmas celebrations! Curtis and Emily were out of school for two weeks. We baked cookies and fudge, did a lot of shopping together and they mostly hung out together. They return to school Jan 3rd.

Curtis playing guitar in chapel at First Assembly School on December 7th

Emily as a sheep in the school play December 14th

A few pictures from Christmas eve at dad and Donna's and our house on Christmas day. Baby Will and mammaw Donna.

our house Christmas morning

my moms house on December 29th.

New York Vacation

We took a trip to Pennsylvania and New York in mid-December. We visited New York City, Philadelphia, Long Island. Went by to see Brian and Nona in Sea Cliff.

We visited some museums and tourist spots....just a few: Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Museum of Natural History, Central Park Zoo, NBC store, Ground zero, Seaport Museum in PA, the liberty bell, Aquarium in New Jersey, Long Beach and Atlantic beach on Long Island. Curtis and Emily enjoyed riding in the taxi cabs and on the subway. We did a lot of walking and sitting in traffic. We ate a lot of good food at quite a few restaurants.





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Curtis birthday party

Curtis had his 12th birthday party at Pizza Hut.

Corn Maze

We went to a corn maze in Meadows of Dan, Virginia today. We also went to a Bluegrass Festival in Stuart, Virginia and had some good food and heard good music.

Baa Moo Farm

Curtis picking the one and only pumpkin we grew in our yard this year. We didn't plant it on purpose.

Emily's Class visited Baa Moo Farm in Olin, NC today. She gathered eggs, milked a cow, took a wagon ride, fed a calf, and picked a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

Dixie Classic Fair

Neal and I took Curtis and Emily to the fair on Sunday, September 30th. We all had a great time.

Grandparents Day

Grandparents day at FACS.

First day of school

August 21st was the first day back to school! Emily started kindergarten this year at First Assembly Christian School. Neither of us got teary eyed. She was eager to go to class. Her teacher is Mrs. Kelley and Mrs. Scott will be the reading teacher. She already knew Mrs. Scott since her daughter has been in Curtis's classes in the past.

Curtis likes middle school here as well. He has been in school here since 4th grade. He is gradually getting the hang of changing classes 8 times a day. He likes changing classes but it's a bit challenging to grab the correct books and doing everything else he needs to do within 2-3 minutes.

I took a couple of pictures of Emily the first day but Curtis didn't want any taken. ;)

Emily the first day, starting her first assignment.

Snakes Alive!

I recently took Curtis and Emily to a Snakes Alive presentation at the King Public Library. The owner, Ron Comer, had 2 dozen snakes that we were able to hold and carry around and we also had the chance to hold on to a 200 lb Burmese Python and we saw an Iguana Lizard. We had a great time and all three of us want a pet snake (well a little bitty snake might be nice to have). I did get a little attached to the little hognose snake (Miss Piggy) that I was allowed to carry around.

West Virginia and Ohio

We drove up to Charleston, West Va and Cleveland, Ohio this past weekend. We stayed in Westlake, Ohio - a few miles from Lake Erie. We visited the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame museum, The Great Lakes Science Museum and visited Lake Erie. It was a bit chilly up that way, only in the 60's both days. I was on the other end of the camera but I did get a lot of good pictures of Neal, Emily and Curtis.

Picture # 1 above is at the Ohio River on the West Virginia side. Ohio was on the other side of the river. Picture #2 is at Lake Erie. Picture #3 is at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, standing beside Johnny Cash's tour bus. Picture #4 is Emmy at Lake Erie.

Fathers Day

Jim and Sandra visited for fathers day and brought Savannah. We had Mexican food, cheesecake and ice cream. The kids had a great time playing in the pool together.

Turtles & Ice Cream!

This morning we saved two box turtles we saw while driving down the road. We got out and drove them to safety at a nearby creek.

In the afternoon I took Curtis and Emily to Toria Gales Bakery for the ice cream & cake making class. They made a cold cake made from chocolate biscotti and pudding. They also made their own ice cream using baggies. Emily's ice cream must have been lacking on the sugar because it tasted just like frozen milk. She didn't seem to mind. They had a great time.