Random Ramblings from this week!

This past week was National Walk To School Day and while we live too far away and on too busy of a road to walk from home, I drove and parked in a nearby neighborhood so the girls could still participate.  They thought it was so much fun!  

Hudson had seen some of his friends playing a game that he just thought was the coolest thing ever and I finally downloaded it for him and the girls.  Oh my.  They are obsessed with the game and Hudson informed me the other day that his new game was "efic."  I'm guessing that meant epic.

Then later that evening he was so excited Robby got home early so he could go out and help with the yard work. Like father, like son.

On Friday afternoon Harper was so excited to get home off the bus and show me that she got to bring home their class mascot, Wally the Whale.  He got to go on all sorts of adventures over the weekend with us and then we are supposed to take pictures and write about his weekend with us.  His first adventure was a playdate with Harper's sweet friend and a golf cart ride!

Later that night Trey and Stefanie came over for a last minute dinner.  It was so nice to have the cousins all together playing and having fun!

Saturday was a busy day!  We went to the preschool fall festival, then to Handley's cheerleading game while Hudson and Robby were at Hudson's soccer game.  Handley's team did awesome and won another one and of course the cute cheerleaders did a great job!

Hudson and Robby showed up just as the game was ending and I was SO excited to get the recap from Hudson's game.  He ran up and said, "Mommy!  I got to goals and a ring pop!" He was probably more excited about the ring pop than the goals.

Gigi and Papa came to watch Harper and Hudson play soccer a few weeks ago and this week it was their time to come watch Handley cheer!  The kids were all so happy to see them.

After that we were off to the elementary school fall festival.  The kids thought it was fun because we got to park at a nearby park and take the school bus shuttle to the festival.

Harper was thrilled to run into her teacher there!  And of course we had Wally the Whale with us, too!

We came home and did a little modeling shot with the girls and caught up on the disappointing football game.  Our Dawgs just can't seem to get a win these past few weeks.  These girls were looking super cute though.  The girls just love any chance to be a "model" for our Magnolia Mamas blog and this day was no different.  They were coming up with all sorts of "poses" to show me.  :-)

North Georgia State Fair

I love a good fair or festival. It is something I have always loved and having kids just makes it that much more fun.  We had never been to the North Georgia State Fair and since this was the last weekend I had hoped to go on Friday evening. However, with all of the rain in the forecast it was not looking like we were going to be able to go.  When Friday afternoon rolled round and it wasn't raining I decided to just go for it.  Of course when Robby got home from work it started raining, but we decided to just give it a try and go anyway and I'm so glad we did.

When we pulled up and the kids saw all of the lights they were squealing with delight.  Excited was an understatement.  Walking in was like sensory overload!  This was this was the kids' first ever experience with a fair and they loved it.

It started raining harder as soon as we got in, but we didn't let that stop us.  The rain was kind of off and on all night, but we didn't mind.  The kids rode rides, we saw a human cannonball be shot out of a cannon and over a ride into a net (which was pretty amazing) and had our share of fair food before heading home.  The lights, the games, the rides and the food were SO much FUN. 

School Week Fun

Hudson is just doing amazing at school.  Before he started this year he really had no interest in writing his letters or learning to write his name and I hadn't pushed it. His teacher has really lit a fire under him though and he is learning so much!  He can write his name now and he loves practicing writing the letter of the week they are studying.  He gets excited when he has "extra practice" at home and calls it is homework just like the girls have.  I'm so proud of the progress he has made this year so far.

This week at school Hudson's class had a Wild West theme.  On Thursday they got to dress up like cowboys and cow girls and to say that he was excited about it would be an understatement.  He had been asking for some boots and I bought him a pair a while back, but they have been sitting in his closet waiting for cooler weather.  When I told him he would get to wear them to school he could not contain his excitement.  On Thursday morning he woke up and put on his boots and hat with his pajamas before he even came downstairs.  They had such a fun day.  They had a pretend campfire and also got to have s'mores.

That afternoon we kept one of my friends' kids for a few hours and had so much fun. Hudson loved having a playmate for the afternoon and I loved having a full car full of kids.

This week I also surprised the girls with a visit at lunch.  They had been asking for me to come have lunch with them, but the past few weeks have just been so busy and their lunch times are either really early or really late so sometimes it just doesn't work out with my schedule.  However, this was the week and they were so happy to have me there!

Savage Race

A little over a month ago Robby told me he had signed up to do the Savage Race.  It's one of those mud-run, tough-man races and he was so excited about us coming to watch him.  That was the plan until Handley came down with the stomach bug and the weather forecast was calling for rain all day.  But, when Handley finally woke up feeling like herself we made a last minute decision to get dressed and make the hour drive to cheer him on.

We arrived after his wave had started so we picked an obstacle to stand at and kept an eye out for he and his friends.

After standing there for over an hour the kids were getting antsy and I was beginning to rethink my decision to come.  However, after talking to several of the other racers, we learned that his group should be coming along soon so we stayed in our spots and held our ground.  And before long we saw him!!!  The kids were so excited and we couldn't wait to help cheer him on to the finish line.  

After a quick picture he was off to another obstacle, and this one was a full on mud pit.  Literally climbing through the mud.

After he moved on to the next section of the race we were off to finally find some lunch and then watch the last little bit of the race.  We had stayed pretty clean up until this point, but then as we made our way closer to the main race area it was wet and muddy.  There was no getting around it and I have never been so thankful for rainboots in my life.  It was the biggest mess out there and the rain hadn't helped.  Robby finished strong and we were so proud of him!

Key West

This past week was Fall Break for the kids and although we didn't have a family trip planned, Robby and I got out of town for a quick getaway to Key West.  We were so thankful for Gigi and Papa keeping the kids until Mimi could get into town and then for her keeping them entertained for the rest of the week.

We left on Sunday morning and flew to Key West.  We spend the day exploring the town and hanging with friends.  Seeing sights like the Southern Most Point and some of the other historical views kept us busy all day.

The next day we met up with a few other friends and checked into the house we were staying in for the rest of the week.  We were lucky enough to have access to a private boat and enjoyed lots of time on the water.  The views were gorgeous, there was tons of sea life for us to see, and the guys were on the hunt for lobster!

The week was spent feasting on wonderful meals, enjoying the company of fun friends, and taking in the gorgeous views over the water.

On our last day the weather cooperated and we got to visit Ft. Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas National Park.  It was 70 miles off shore and a very long boat ride, but so worth it for the amazing history lesson we got to have and the gorgeous views.

The next day, we were beyond excited to come home and see the kids.  It felt like we were gone forever and we missed them all so much!!!  Nothing like a great welcome home though. Coming from a tropical vacation to cold and rainy weather was a shock!  That and the fact that Handley woke up sick that night was total real life.  However, it was nice to be able to spend a few days away with Robby and I felt refreshed and rejuvenated to take on whatever might come my way!