Today's Adventure

Last night, we decided to take advantage of Bobby's off time and good weather to go on an adventure today! We narrowed it down to a couple options, but decided to head toward Desoto State Park. We were going to stop at Unclaimed Baggage on the way, but it's Sunday and they're closed on Sunday. Oh well...on to Fort Payne:)

The kids watched Critters again on our way there and are anxiously awaiting the other movies to come in the mail.

LOOK! I was there, too!
Photo by Bobby

To say we are a bit disappointed in Desoto Falls would be a major understatement. It was like someone standing on the top of a hill peeing and not the gushing waterfall you see in the pictures.

Then we stopped in Mentone to look through the shops that were open. We've driven through there a million times, but this was our first time to stop.

Doesn't this look like the door handle in Alice in Wonderland?!

Beautiful 9 week old King Shepherd. Say it with me...
AWWWWWWW!!!

After that, we made a stop at Sequoyah Caverns to check it out. We had talked about camping there, but their campground is closed until the spring for renovations.

LOOK! Bobby's taking pictures!

On our way home, I read one of Cody's Goosebumps books. He sure does loves those books! He was laughing, and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next:) I love it because it's the first time he's been excited about books!

It was just a wonderful day spent with our family.

Fall is in the air

I know it's not technically Fall yet, but I can't help but to feel a little giddy this time of year. It IS my favorite after all. The leaves are changing and covering my yard, the temperature outside is considering lowering, and it's close to my birthday, which admittedly I still get excited about:)

Today I decided it is Fall enough to make the season's first pot of chili...even though it's 80* outside. This very moment, my beautiful green enameled cast iron dutch oven (THANK YOU AUNT CATHY!) is full of simmering meat, vegetables, and seasonings making our home smell absolutely delicious.

I also decided to change the blog to look more Fall-ish with a picture I took in October of last year while we were in North Carolina. Britney helped me pick the new color for the background. Thanks Brit!

So, how do you eat your chili? When I have chili, I HAVE to have a very large, very cold glass of milk. I like crackers with it, but I usually dip and not crush them all up, I like lots of shredded cheese and Tabasco.

Animal Lovers

I've gone through this stage of wanting to watch movies I watched when I was a kid. I suppose this is a sign of getting older, but I refuse to believe that. Let's see...some of my favorites are Flight of the Navigator, Short Circuit, The Last Star Fighter, Gremlins and Critters.

We bought Gremlins really cheap at Walmart one day. I was beyond surprised at the language in the movie. The rating system was just so different then. PG-13 should have been R. At any rate, the kids have seen it. We've gotten the other movies through Netflix. Yay Netflix!

Critters came in the mail, and we decided to watch it after a game of Clue. (Britney won! Go Brit!) I quickly realized that I had forgotten the whole movie. I mean everything! Did you know Billy Zane is in it?!

The language isn't near as horrible as it is in Gremlins. The kids thought it was funny and suspenseful and kind of gross at times, but I discovered something about them this evening. They would rather watch a person be killed and eaten by a Critter, than a poor defenseless little kitty. That animal better not be harmed! They showed little concern for the police officer being shredded underneath the car, and who cares about the father's shoulder getting gnawed on? Not my babies. The well being of Chewy the Cat is far too important.

Congratulations Gretta!!!

Gretta is the winner of the ornament contest and won $100 worth of Christmas ornaments! I literally did a little happy dance when I found out she is the winner! I can't think of anyone who would enjoy them more. Just remember, we get to come over and see your tree when it's ready:)

Thanks again to Teresa for having such an awesome contest!

Advertisements Work

I am often reminded of the power of advertising. Whether it's Cody cutting the Netflix envelope so "the money you could be saving with GIECO" could stare at me in the kitchen, or Britney signing and/or humming the jingle to "Call Goldberg. 800-600-6014." Not to mention the countless Disney World, Walmart, Subway...commercials.

This time the power of advertisement has gotten a hold of me and Bobby in the form of Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp. Need I say more? The commercial taunts us everyday. So far we have been able to avoid certain overeating and loss of money. I just don't know how much longer we can hold out.

On our way home

Backyard Wildlife

Bobby's cutting the grass. He came in to tell me he moved a bucket in the backyard and found mushrooms and a cicada. He came in to tell me just in case I wanted to get pictures. The man does understand my photography needs:)~

Summer Reading Contest

Today was NACHO's first homeschool skate day of the year. We opted to stay home since Cody and I are just getting over being sick. Plus, he has also been running a slight fever. Britney wasn't too happy about missing since that's when they announce the summer reading contest winners. Not to mention her extreme desire to see her friends. Sorry kiddo.

The Crawfords stopped by afterward to bring Britney's award and medal! She won 1st place in the junior high age group with 4,487 pages read this summer!

FANTASTIC JOB BRITNEY!!!!

Random Pictures

Christmas Ornament Giveaway

Gretta shared this with me, and I'm passing it on. This wonderful lady is giving away $100 worth of Christmas ornaments! It's very easy to enter. Just go to her blog and leave a comment. Be sure to tell her Gina from thewackylackeys.blogspot.com told you about the contest. Then refer your own friends to the blog for additional chances to win. Wow! Just thinking about this has put me in the Christmas mood!

http://grammyababychangeseverything.blogspot.com/

Being a wife and mother, I've done my share of cooking and thus have had my share of burns. I actually seem to have a knack for it. It's like a special skill. I wonder if I could use that on a job application.

Yesterday, I was draining pasta and poured boiling water on the knuckle of my right index finger. Ouch. Okay...to be honest I've done this before, but never this bad. It's all red and yelling and throwing a temper tantrum this morning. Ah well. I'll be more careful next time. I'll probably still burn myself, but maybe I'll be quicker in the dousing it with cold water and applying an ice cube.

I think I'm special.

Corn Snakes Are Nocturnal

Tango's house sits on top of the armoire in our bedroom. It's the warmest room in the house, so it seems like the best place for now. I get Tango out and handle him for about 20 minutes at least once a day. I always feel a little bad about waking him up. He's so peaceful and cute and sound asleep during the day. But at night and early in the morning...he's a wild man! It is so entertaining to watch him plan his big escape. He gets on top of his decorative yet functional fake log, and stretches as far as his little body will allow. He tries so hard to reach the top of the aquarium. He also likes to wrap himself around the temperature and humidity guages stuck to the side of his house. That's where he currently is. I can't get a picture of him because the light coming on, or any movement I make with a camera in hand, makes him coil back down and rethink his plans.

Here's a link to my favorite corn snake website. Check out the Photo Gallery of ALL the different color morphs. Some of them are so beautiful and some look like red-eyed demon white rat tails. I don't like white snakes...or red eyes...if you can't tell.

http://www.cornsnakes.net

Why I'm awake...

Why am I awake this early? I had a weird dream, that's why. I think the most startling thing about the dream was I was skinny. I mean 'hipbone-protruding' skinny and even though I was a size Newborn, my white panties were too small. Figures. They were not only too small, but I could see them under my white dress. Hmmm...white panties under a beautiful white dress...long, curled hair...guests...food...dancing...I'M DREAMING I'M GETTING MARRIED?!!! Doesn't my subconscious know I've been married for almost 10 years? Maybe it's remembering some talk a long time ago about us renewing our vows on our 10th anniversary? I don't know...weird.

Cody's Blog

Cody decided he wanted to have a blog of his very own. Check it out!

http://goosebumpscrazy.blogspot.com

We also played Connect 4, but by camera batteries lost their juice by then.

Flippin' Good Time