Pumpkin Patch

James and his class

James and Lilly help make a Scarecrow

Our Hay Ride

We've had a busy day already and we haven't even been trick or treating yet!

This morning we went to the pumpkin patch with James' school. Nana came up to be with us for Halloween, so she went with us. Once we got there, we played in the corn box (like a sand box, but with corn!), listened to scarecrow stories, visited the petting zoo, made a scarecrow, went on a hayride, picked out a pumpkin from the patch, and had a picnic lunch! Needless to say, we had a great time. James and Lilly really enjoyed the entire trip.

As soon as we got back in the car, Lilly fell asleep. James is napping as I am typing this. I am on my way to pick up Trevor from his Math Olympiad team practice and then we are off again. We are going over to our neighbor's house for pizza and trick or treating. There are about 5 families that are going to have pizza and then hit the streets. There should be about 12 kids in our group plus the adults. Trevor loves trick or treating in our neighborhood because he always scores a pillowcase full of candy!

Home Again

We made it back from our camping trip. Everyone had a great time, even Nana. The leaves weren't as pretty as they have been in years past. But, it was good to go away for the weekend. The weather was nice during the day and cool and crisp at night. Todd said the fishing was pretty good, too. It's always nice to spend some quality time with the family in the mountains, especially in the fall.

More than anyone, Trevor and James love going camping. They are in heaven the entire time. James told me today that he "wants to move to the woods!" I just laughed! I am glad that they enjoy being out and about. They are two peas in a pod!

Gone Camping!

Great Smokey Mountains National Park


Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love to look at the leaves changing colors and watch as they fall from the trees. Each year, we try to take at least one or two trips to the mountains during the fall to go camping and see the beautiful landscape.

Trevor is out of school Monday and Tuesday of next week and we decided to take advantage of it by spending the long weekend in the mountains. Todd left today and headed to the Great Smokey Mountains. He is meeting Greg there to set up camp and the rest of us are leaving in the morning to meet him. We have a favorite spot in the National Park that we like to go. It is the Deep Creek campground. Todd said that they got a campsite on the water, so it will be nice. I love to hear the water flowing in the night while I am in the tent. It is so peaceful and relaxing.

James calls our campground "Hot Creek". He is so funny! He is beyond excited about going camping. He loves it. It is really a big deal to him. I am so glad that Todd is involved with Trevor and James and takes them to do the outdoor things. They enjoy being outdoors and doing all of the camping, hiking, fishing, etc. activities that they can. Nana and Pup are even going with us this time. I'll be sure to post some pictures when we get back!

Math Olympiad

Trevor was selected to be on the Math Olympiad team at Bradley Middle School and today was his first practice.

The Math Olympiad team is an international program where students from all over the world compete against each other solving problems, foster mathematical creativity & ingenuity, strengthen mathematical intuition, and provide a joy of meeting challenges. Sessions include a mix of team problem-solving exercises, strategy instruction and individual tests.

The students were given an "application" if they were interested in participating. They had to complete the form and write a paragraph or two on why they should be chosen for the team. I was very impressed that Trevor was interested. He completed his application and wrote his paragraph. His reasons on why he should be chosen were very persuasive. My favorite reason that he stated was that it would help him get a good job in the future! The team sponsors (faculty) must have liked it, too!

I am so proud of Trevor for several reasons. The first is the fact that he took the initiative to get involved. The second is his determination in following through with the process. Last, but definitely not least, is that he was chosen to be on the team. There are a limited number of students that are selected to make up the team. Trevor is one of them!

Visit from Grandma and PaPa

Trevor takes a break from riding

James is riding out!


Lilly and PaPa take a much needed afternoon nap

We had a nice, long weekend with a visit from Grandma and PaPa. They came up Saturday afternoon and stayed until tonight. The kids were all excited to see them. The last time that they visited was in August, so it had been a while since we had seen them.

Todd and PaPa took Trevor and James to ride dirt bikes on Sunday while the girls went grocery shopping. Sunday night, we grilled out hot dogs and hamburgers and watched the final game of the ALCS (Red Sox vs. Indians). Today, it was off to school for everyone and while we did our daily routine, Rick and Wanda went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Trevor had a baseball game tonight and we all went to watch him play. His team won 16-1 and he had a great game. He got a few hits, a stolen base, and scored a few times. After the game, Grandma and PaPa drove back home.

We enjoyed spending time with Grandma and PaPa. The kids were excited to see them and show them all the fun things that we do! They love the company and visiting with family, especially their grandparents!

Macaulay Fall Festival

James and Lilly in the bouncer

Doing the cake walk

James at the ghost game

Looking through the goody bags

We had our annual Fall Festival today in our neighborhood. James and Lilly had lots of fun bouncing in the inflatable jumper, playing games, looking at costumes, and eating candy. We participated in the cake walk and Lilly even won! James picked out some Halloween cupcakes for our prize to take home. They also got goody bags filled with candy, pencils, rings, bubbles, and more. They had a ball!

I tried to get them to wear their costumes and they didn't want to. James even told me "It's not Halloween yet!" Can't argue with that one!

Elmo Makes Music

James and Lilly share a snowcone

Lilly rations out the cotton candy

James and Lilly pose with Elmo

We had a wonderful time at Elmo Makes Music!

We started off hitting the cotton candy and snow cones on the way into our seats. James and Lilly were taking it all in. Once the show began, they were so intrigued. James was a little more on the serious side, just watching everything. Lilly was trying to sing along and dance to the music. She would swing her little butt back and forth and move her arms up and down. She had the biggest smile on her face that I have ever seen. She is always such a joy!

The show was fun and entertaining. The kids had a blast and I had a blast watching them!

Daddys home!

Todd made it back from New York last night. Needless to say, everyone was excited to see him! James ran and hid in the kitchen pantry when he heard the garage door open. He couldn't wait to jump out and surprise him. Trevor and Lilly were equally excited when Dad walked through the door. The kids miss him so much when he is away, even if it is only for a few days.

Tonight, we are taking James and Lilly to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music. Trevor didn't want to go (of course!) so he is going over to his friend Josh's house for the evening. I'll take lots of pictures and post them tomorrow with all the details!

To Dad

A message to Dad (delivered by Lilly)

From Us All:

We miss you lots and love you more!
We can't wait to see you again soon!

Weekend of Fun

Site of the Folklife Festival

Latta Plantation

Lilly helps make some butter

Lilly picks out her pumpkin

We had lots and lots of fun this weekend. Nana, Lilly and I spent Saturday afternoon at Latta Plantation for the Folklife Festival while Todd and the boys spent the afternoon at the baseball park. The Folklife festival is a fall festival with a tour of the plantation home, shopping with many period and modern craft vendors, living history demonstrations, and live bluegrass music. We had a good time looking at all the different things that were offered and Lilly even had a chance to help make some butter!

After the festival, we came back home and let the babies take a nap. After dinner, we headed back over to Latta Plantation for the Halloween Fright Festival. They had a haunted hay ride, pony rides, pony express, face painting, pumpkin patch, and more. We skipped the haunted hay ride but James and Lilly did the pony express ride and picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

Today, we stayed around the house and played most of the day. Todd left for New York early this morning before we woke up. Nana took all the kids to Target to get some decorations for Halloween. When they got back, they decorated the house. James really gets into the decorations. He is so funny!

We all enjoyed the visit with Nana and Pup. They all love her and Pup so much. Everyone hates when it's time for her to leave and go back home. They all wish she could stay forever!

Date Night

Todd and I managed to slip away and have a date night. Nana was off of work for 3 days and made a last minute surprise visit. We took advantage of the situation and went out. We had dinner at P.F. Changs and then went to see the movie "The Kingdom".

Todd has been very busy with work since returning from Sweden and he is leaving first thing in the morning to go to New York. He is working on a huge project and will be working nonstop from now until the end of the year. It was nice to spend some alone time with him.

PS: The dinner was wonderful. The movie was violent, intense, moving, and full of action!

Cupcakes

Mixing it up

Quality check


Applying the icing

Final taste test

We decided to make some Halloween cupcakes this afternoon to get us in the spirit of the season. James and Lilly enjoy cooking and helping out in the kitchen. As much as they enjoy cooking, they love eating the icing more. They are such big helpers!

My boy is back!

The "Before" Picture

The "During" Picture

The "After" Picture

Trevor has been thinking about getting a haircut for the past couple of weeks and he finally decided that he wanted it all cut off. Today, he made it happen!

On the way home, he wanted to go by Josh's house (his best buddy) and show off his new look. He also stopped by his friend Caroline's. When we got home, the phone was ringing as we walked in the door. It was his other friend, Mackenzie, on three way with Caroline and Greyson and when he picked up the phone, I heard them say "Did you really get a buzz cut?" Trevor is all the craze with the girls!!! He can't wait to show off his new look at school tomorrow. He's grinning from ear to ear!

Saturday at the Ballpark

James playing Star Wars in the dirt

James looked at this picture and said, "Lilly is hauling it!"

Trevor playing left field

James gets in on the after game talk from the coach

We spent our Saturday afternoon at the ball park. Trevor's team won 15-5. So far, they are 3 wins and 2 losses this season.

Feeding the Ducks

What a wonderful day. I took James and Lilly over to the lake to feed the ducks and the carp. The lake was low, so the carp weren't there. But, there were lots of ducks to make up for it! The kids had a great time. They always know how to have fun!

Latta Plantation

James and Lilly

Mountain Island Lake

James and Lilly

Carolina Raptor Center

What a day!

I decided this morning to take James and Lilly for a picnic and some fall fun at Latta Plantation. Latta Plantation is a nature preserve on over 1300 acres on Mountain Island Lake. It is also a Historic home that is circa 1800. It is an old cotton plantation and living history farm, located within Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. There are picnic tables and hiking trails all along the lake. In addition, Latta Plantation is home to the Carolina Raptor Center. The Raptor center is is dedicated to environmental education and the conservation of birds of prey through public education, the rehabilitation of injured, and orphaned raptors and research.

I had been wanting to visit the Carolina Raptor Center but I wasn't sure what it was all about and I wasn't sure if the kids would be interested. Once we were there, I decided to give it a shot. I am so glad that I did. The kids loved it! We walked through the woods and looked at the raptor exhibits. The Raptor center focuses on rehabilitating injured birds and once they are healthy, they are released into the wild again. The ones that can't take care of themselves, for instance, they are blind, have had a wing amputated, etc., are then kept at the raptor center. James was amazed to hear some of the survival stories. There was one in particular that really caught his attention. There was a hawk that had his toes bitten off by a squirrel so he could not hunt anymore. James asked with much heart, "Were was his mommy?" He was serious. He was truly concerned for those birds. It made such an impression that he kept talking about it all day! He and Lilly had a blast running through the woods and taking it all in.

After our visit to the Raptor center, we headed to the lake and picnic area. We ate our lunch and then the kids played in the lake for a while. They didn't swim, but they got wet. They were throwing rocks in the water and looking for "sea shells". We took a (short) walk through the trails and down by the lake. I forgot to mention that we took Shorty with us. She got in on the fun today, too!

We had a wonderful time at Latta Plantation. It is only about 5 miles from our house and it is one of my favorite places to go around here. It makes you feel like you are out in the woods and away from it all. It is so pleasant and relaxing. The kids enjoyed themselves so much. And I must say, today was the best day that I have had in a while!

Unemployed!

It has been four years to the date that I have been unemployed!

Four years ago, Todd and I made a life changing decision to put my career on hold and follow his. On October 1, 2003, I quit my job at Bank of America and we moved to Pennsylvania. That decision, and all the ones that followed, have made our family what it is today. It was a tough decision and we thought long and hard before making our final call. Once we thought about it and all that it entailed, we knew that we had to do it. So, we packed up our things, I turned in my notice, and we headed due north of Sharpsburg, Georgia.......never to look back!

I now can look back on it with 20/20 vision and honestly say that it is the absolute best decision that we could have made. We were scared of the unknown, not knowing what to expect, not having family around, no friends there, etc. But we always knew that we could come back home (to Georgia) and know exactly what to expect. A big part of our decision was based on financial motives. However, our family (Todd, Trevor, and I) was the most important factor in making our decision. We knew that we wanted to give our children the best life possible and at that point, that meant us moving away.

Since moving, we have added 2 more Ganns to the clan and we couldn't be happier. Trevor has adjusted well with the moves and with the additions to our family. He is such a flexible child. He is so secure with himself and us as a family, that he just goes with the flow. The move has made us so much stronger as a family. Todd and I have grown with each other and are closer and stronger than ever before. Our family is our life.