A Party for Dad

We were just getting into the routine of things, when it was brought to my attention by the school calendar that the children would be out of school for a week for "Fall Break".  This break happened to fall on the week of Scot's Birthday. I could already hear my kids saying,  "I'm bored!" "We never do anything fun!"  I tried to fill the week with dr's appts, but it only filled up Monday.  Before the migraine set in, I came up with a great idea. This year I decided to leave Scot's birthday party plans in the hands of 4 minors.  Cheers with "Yes!" and "Sweet!" along with dancing confirmed that I came up  with the greatest plan ever.  They sat down with Emma as the scribe and drew up plan. It was proposed,   with a list in hand.  There were a few conflicts on certain items for instance,  there was an argument as to which pinata to purchase.  It was between Spongebob and Spiderman.  After a heated exchange, The First Lady had the final say and opted for neither. We bought a jack 'o lantern instead (it was the cheapest).  Barret managed to make it all the way to the checkout line with an air horn. He threw it on the conveyor and the cashier scanned it.  I told the lady out of the corner of my mouth to take it off.  That it was not intended for 3 year olds and I wanted to keep my hearing.  She obliged.

Party day was Wednesday. Here is the birthday boy =)

Plus a few  pics of the party:

 

 

Here's me letting out a little frustration :)

I thought this was funny when Scot went to hit the pinata, Barret ran inside while the others took cover.

My camera died before I could get Scot hitting the pinata.

 It broke off the rope.  I ended up pitching it to Scot and he busted it wide open.

I made a hummingbird cake.  It was so yummy.

Down on the Farm Part 1

In Texas, Blue Bell ice cream is "the best ice cream in the country."   Here in the Tennessee Valley,  the local brand of ice cream  is called Mayfield.  They claim it to be the best.  This raised our suspicions, and felt we needed to investigate. We packed a picnic lunch on a cloudy Saturday morning and headed North to Athens, TN to the Mayfield Dairy.  We got there just in time for the next tour.  They ushered us into a theater, watched a short film and then bright red shower caps were passed out to humiliate us, before entering the plant.   Barret resisted at first but, complied when we told him he would have to stay behind alone :). 
The tour was of the milk production.  They only make ice cream during the week... Bummer.  The tour conveniently exits in the gift shop/ ice cream parlor.  There were no free samples but, the ice cream prices were inexpensive.  A single cone was 1.25 novelty bars were .50 cents.  We all voted for a cone. Here's some pics.

 

The verdict:  Were partial to the Texas brand.  Thank goodness they sell Blue Bell in Tennessee.

Down on the Farm Part 2

(Lots of pics...a little long)

  Maw, Paw, and Junior

Haas, Ellie Mae, and Little Joe

After the trip to the Dairy, we decided to head over to the dairy farm for some Tennessee style festivities. Every Fall the Mayfield Dairy farm is open to the public.  There is a farmers market that is open most of the year. They offer hayrides to the pumpkin patch a giant corn maze, a menagerie of farm animals to feed and/or pet and games such as the corn cob cannon, chunkin pumpkin, along with a myriad of unusual activities for all ages.

During our visit, A celebrity exhibition was underway, so went went right over.  Upon our arrival, we found out it was the Hillbilly Pig Races.  Celebrities in the event included famous country singer Lee Ann Pork Rinds and actor Kevin Bacon just to name a few.  More amusing than the names were the kids participating in the event.  Their mission was to run alongside the track to encourage the pigs to run the full lap.  Nathan opted out of the excitement.

Here are the boy's "hamming it up"

We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch.  Everyone picked out a pumpkin to take home.

                                                                This one is just my size

Andrew rolled his to the wagon

Emma had her eye on the prize.  She's so competitive.

The kids wanted to try the corn cob cannon and the chunkin pumpkin games. Out of all the kids, it was Emma that was persistent about doing it.

 

Nathan chunkin pumpkin (squash actually)

I think the corn box was one of Andrew's favorite activities. When we got home Barret had a handful of corn rehydrated in his diaper :)

 

Have you ever made a corn angel?

I think the petting area was Emma's least favorite.  A bunny mistakenly thought her fingers were slender parsnips.

No blood was drawn, but was overjoyed when her lower front tooth fell out while opening her water bottle with her teeth (I know... strange).

Overall, it was a fun day... A little muddy.... but fun.

Ruby Falls

 One of the neat things about Chattanooga is that there are so many things you can see and do as a family. On Saturday, we decided instead of unpacking,  that we would take the kids somewhere fun.  We headed up Lookout Mountain to a cavern called Ruby Falls.   This is a guided tour where an elevator takes you down over 170 feet into the mountain.  At the end of the tour is a large waterfall that is 145 feet high. The waterfall is named after the explorer's wife, Ruby.  They say it's America's highest underground waterfall.  The kids enjoyed it.  Nathan loves geology and Andrew has always talked about going cave exploring.  He wouldn't keep his hands out of the dirt and rocks along the path.  Barret was nervous and a little scared, but he began to relax toward the end. 

 

There were some tight spots and low spots in the cave. We all bumped our noggins a few times.

It's okay Barret.  A little cave bacon won't hurt you :)

I can't wait for the day to come when everyone can look at the camera together and smile

First Day of School-Again

Although we were 72 hours new to Tennessee, we managed to get the kids registered prior to our arrival.  They already had been assigned teachers.  We were a little worried about how Emma  since she doesn't handle change very well.  When we announced their teacher's names,  She said, What? I said I was going to quit school!  Um...Sure hun..

Nathan is never nervous about being new.  I wish I had as much confidence as he does.  He had a wonderful first day of school.  He said lunch was interesting.  There were students lined up to introduce themselves. 

Emma surprisingly went in her classroom without tears or anxiety.  I was impressed.  Her teacher says she fit right in, as if she's been there all along.  Her first day of school also happened to be on her birthday.  They gave her an ice cream sandwich at lunch for her special day. 

Andrew is much like his older brother.  He's always ready for a new adventure.  He waved us good-bye with a grin on his face.  Of course, I had to get pictures of them.

"Mom, I'm 14 now. Is this necessary?"

 

Our brave girl :) 

That afternoon I asked her if she made any friends.  She replied, "I don't have time for friends."              

 

Andrew was befriended by Joe (on the right). He was fascinated with Andrew's hair.  We walked in and found Andrew sitting on the floor with several children petting his head.

Damaged Goods

Moving day was Wed Sept 23,. The movers came (late) to pack us up for Chattanooga. As part of our farewell to Texas, we took the kids out to our favorite restaurant, Los Cucos. We figured it would be the last time we could eat good Mexican food until we could get back to Texas. Nathan tanked up like it was his last supper and paid dearly for it that night. :) The movers left around 1:00 am and we still had clean up to do. Our kids crashed on the floor and we ended up sleeping there too. Oy! Thurday morning, we said are farewells to family and neighbors and drove from Houston to Meridian, MS. Then we only had 4 hours left to Chattanooga on Friday. The movers showed up Friday afternoon (late again) in the pouring rain. It delayed getting our furninture in the house till after 4pm. While unloading the head guy noticed a broken flower pot. Turns out, they were all broken. The washer and dryer got beat up. Really it was no big loss until they unwrapped our tv and the cardboard had rubbed the finish off our TV. Plus, the glass was broken out of the plasma console. Anyways, we were compensated that evening including, a new TV. Here are some pictures of us eating at "The Last Mexican Supper" ;)

 Barret and Emma (in her Rock Star eating ice cream pose)

Notice the accessories on his arm.  He says rubber bands are an "in" thing.

Kids always seem happier when they're holding ice cream.

I pray these men were not products of the Tennessee public school system.