Pumpkin Carving

We had a party today involving pumpkin goo.

 

Since we uttered the word party, this was clearly an occasion to dress up.

 And we cooked the seeds, naturally.

 Can you believe this was growing inside a pumpkin?

 See you tomorrow!

Dwali Festival and Chinese New Year

We spent the last 5 weeks learning about ancient China, Africa and India. Last night, the kids presented some of their hard work.

Jonah gave a 5 minute, entirely memorized, presentation about the history of India, Hinduism, Dwalii and traditional dress. I never knew so much about India! We were in awe of his memorization skills.

Oh yeah, so Jackie has a big crush on Jonah and it drives him nuts. I'll get to that story in a later blog.

The grandparents partied with us and the two grandmothers were responsible for nearly every craft done. Clearly, we’re not pottery people, as our Ming Bowls broke. Twice. So we gave up on those.

Jackie presented on The Chinese New Year. She drew pictures and borrowed Jonah’s robe, straight from China! (Also Made in China). I’m so proud of her.

Cameron was going to present on the rainstick and Anansi the Spider, but last minute decided he would rather be a spectator at this party. So I read the fairy tale he wrote to the audience.

Amy got African music and the kids played their home-made instruments. Jonah was really moved by the music and danced as a tiger would.

These two were inseparable! Bella couldn't even use the bathroom without company.

We ate Indian food, Chinese food and forgot about the couscous. It was a fantastic night and I hope the kids remember these times!

Fairy Tales

The kids are studying fairy tales. They had to re-write their favorite and then come up with their own. It's been a fun few weeks.

Kiawah Island: Land of the Reptiles

A few weeks ago we took our buddies, Beth & Braxton to Kiawah Isl, SC for a weekend get-away, courtesy of MTF. While Dave worked the days away, the rest of us squeezed in some quality water time.

 Even though the breeze was a bit chilly, it didn't stop the kids from spending hours in the ocean.

The condos came equipped with boogie boards and other fun toys, including an alligator swimming lazily along the river outside the condo.

Awesome wildlife!

After the beach and the pool, we made it to the Wildlife Center (sans a napping Lucy Lu). There, they had every reptile-friend or foe- on Kiawah Island, live for our viewing, and touching pleasure!

Can't say we ever pet an alligator before! These guys were 1-2 yrs old. There were also plenty of live snakes for us to enjoy, including the copperhead, the cottonmouth and the rattlesnake.

Then it was off to the playground for some acrobatic exercises.

And this was ALL in one day! Kiawah was great. They had miles of tree-covered running/biking paths and it was heaven.

Gymnopedia

There's a new gymnastics place in Chapel Hill that just opened it's doors 2 weeks ago.

The kids each have private lessons, b/c no one knows about this place yet. It's been a real hoot Thursday evenings spending the night as a family at the gymnasium. The kids are asleep in the car before we get on the highway.

October Excitement

Much to my chagrin, the Egyptian-and/or-mummy-costumes-as-Halloween-costumes didn’t fly so well with Jackie and Cameron. They want to be ghosts & witches, because clearly those are the scariest Halloween costumes ever. Lucy wants to be a ghost too. No a witch too. Jackie wants to pick out the Halloween candy now so we have it, you know, just to be ready for Halloween. CamO's idea of Halloween candy is green jello. Oh my kids lead such sheltered lives!

This month, Jackie also started earning an allowance. She came up with a list of her weekly chores and she’s saving her allowance for an American Girl doll. It's been a great motivator for homework and practicing. And I see her (clean but don't want to pick up) clothes flying over the railing to get washed every morning. Who is this kid?!

Work has ramped up for me and I’m traveling again. Tonight, Cameron said to me: “I want to go with you wherever you go, Mom. If you were a kangaroo, I could go to work with you in your pocket.” Yeah, my little joey, that would be cool.

Lucy is loving school. She can’t get out the door fast enough. But her favorite thing these days is gymnastics class! Seriously, I think it’s so good for her sight/coordination issues. Why didn’t anyone tell me to do this sooner?!

Jackie took this picture of Grandad and Grandma Holly before the cold front hit NC.