Fall Break...

What a whirlwind the past three weeks have been. Attitudes around the house have improved greatly. We received no letters from teachers concerning disruptive behavior and the parent teacher conferences went very well. We were even invited back to the school on Friday before the Fall Break to watch both the kids get a 9 weeks award. Both kids received honors for making the 2nd honor roll and Aizley was awarded "most improved" student in Mr. Trent's class.

She also did a wonderful job on her 1st project. She had to make a house from a certain period in time. She decided to do roundhouses, with real rocks and grass. I helped her glue (since they were real rocks we had to use industrial glue which stuck to EVERYTHING including my kitchen table and fingernails!)

With the onset of fall break, we are purposefully trying to relax a little, to unwind from all the long hours of studying and just chill as a family. Isn't it so easy to get caught up in all the chaos of everyday life? It's been fun for the kids to try on clothes from last year to see what they can still wear and how big their feet have gotten in a years time.

We have set aside time in the evening right before dinner for each person to do whatever they feel like doing, either by themselves...

...or with Mom or Pop. Colton has become such a shadow of mine. He has taken to checking out cook books from the library and likes making recipes from them. One night, he asked if he could make "Mexico Spaghetti" with me. I think I have the next Emerald on my hands!
Slicing Peppers...

Sauteing the veggies...

The end result! 5 pounds of pure goodness that only gets better the day after!!

We also had cousin Treyton join us at the Pumpkin Patch last Thursday. What fun the kids had! They were able to pet mules and shaggy sheep, feed ducks and goats, explore many of the old timey tractors and covered wagons they had set up, go through a corn maze (about a 100 times. Thank goodness for the swings under the shade trees!), climb on rolls of hay, slide down culvert slides and enjoy an hour long hay ride were they were able to stop and pick their own pumpkins out of the patch. I have TONS of precious pics but can't access them through blogger. I had these two on my phone. They LOVED this shaggy, dirty, crazy-eyed sheep! It was so sweet! The sheep knew how to give you kisses! OK, still issues with the pics, check back soon!!!!!

To wind up this first week of fall break, we took a trip to Chattanooga and visited Ruby Falls. The kids had a blast looking at the unique shapes in the rocks. Despite getting scared once or twice, they both made it successfully down to the falls, all 1120 feet below the surface!!

Some of the rock formations along the way. My photos did not capture the beauty of God's work 1100 feet down!



The beautiful falls are illuminated by light upon arriving at that part of the tour! You actually got to walk right up to the falls and touch it!


We then headed up the road to Rock City Gardens. The kids really loved going to this place! There is so much to do, many crevaces to explore and whimsical things to look at. The kids were able to run freely and touch anything they wanted to since it was a rock garden they couldn't distroy anything!
Acting goofy on one of the many overlooks...

Me and my cuties...

Atop Lover's Leap overlooking 7 states...

What a georgeous view (and the scenery isn't too bad, either!!)

My little muscel man...

Goofy pic of Pops (Don't tell him I posted that one!)...

Hesitantly heading out on the swinging bridge...

Ok, one goofy one of me.

What a great day that was! The weather was wonderful, the colors were bright and vibrant and the experience was memorable.

Now, with one more week of fall break ahead, we are working on pumpkin carving and costumes.