Falling in Love with Fall

Ah, fall...

Family. Fun. Farms. Football. What more can you ask for?

Yesterday, we went to the Hunt Club Farm in Va Beach for their Fall Harvest Festival. This was something that Angie found out about and told me...and we managed to make our husbands believe that hay rides and pumpkin patches are better than college football. Ok, so maybe not. The truth is that Florida State didn't play yesterday and we went early enough to be home in time for the others. Despite hay allergies and nap-free days, we had a blast!

Trying to convince Alana that this little tiny goat was ok to pet.

Bouncy things are always a hit!

Jalen caught this chicken and carried it around :)

Ok, so maybe this isn't SO bad...just hold my hand Daddy.

Angie was like the Pied Piper of goats.

Daddy shows Alana how it's done.

On top of a huge bale of hay!

Look at me! A-CHOO!

The McKinneys on the hayride.

Alana and Jalen holding on for dear life!

So after the farm, came the football. We went to the McKinneys house to watch football and eat pizza and wings. We were so stuffed and it was so nice out that we decided to go outside and 'play' for a bit. Justin and Jeremy threw the football, and Alana and Jalen tried to keep up by throwing a ball of their own. We managed to capture a few of the highlights...it's so hard to get them still!

Go Noles!

Future Quarterback

Showing the boys how it's done

Ok, Mommy I'll pose for ONE.

I don't think this is how you tackle

Who said football is for boys?
(Thanks Angie, for this picture)

And that my friends is why I love fall.

Peace, Love and Lazy Sundays

I'm so TIREd. WHEELy I am!

I am my father's daughter, what can I say?

Today has been one heck of a day! Actually, it's been one heck of a week! So I'm pretty sure I blogged about going to the pier to pick up the Beetle, only to find it with 2 flat tires. Well, let's just say that was the beginning of an even bigger saga! The Camry has been having weird issues, the brake light (for the emergency brake) flashes on and off when you turn corners, etc...It has been staying on longer and longer, so I thought I'd google the issue and see what kind of troubleshooting answers I could find. Then on Sunday, a friend of mine (I won't mention names, but you know who you are haha) offered to take a look at my brakes because, well, he had changed brake pads before, etc...To do this you must first remove the tires.

Flash forward. The car has now been making this really crazy sound. I've been too scared to drive it too far, and I said I would just let Justin look at and listen to it when he got home and see what he thought we should do. So when I picked him up last night it was REALLY making a loud noise. He said it sounded like the tire was rubbing or something, but at a glance he couldn't see anything. When we got home there wasn't enough daylight to do anything about it, so I took it to Walmart this morning to let them check it out. On the way there, I lost the 2nd of my front hubcaps (since Sunday). When I got there, the lady informed me immediately that I needed an alignment because the tires on the front and back driver's side were bald on the outside...Mind you, this is the side Alana and I are both riding on. So safe! Then she tells me that it was hazardous and they shouldn't have even passed it for inspection last month...AND that they don't do alignments there. I needed an oil change so I decided to stay...but then I asked her about that noise coming from my front right tire. She looked at it (it had no hubcap on it by now) and she said "Maybe this is the reason your tire is making a funny sound" as she showed me that two of the lug nuts were literally hanging on by a thread. Yeah. I was two seconds away from my tire rolling off completely.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

So new tires, rotation, alignment (at another place), and hundreds of dollars later...I am home. I'm staying here for the rest of the night :)

Thank you Jesus, for not letting that tire fall off or it could've been much worse.

**Ok, and I kid you not...while I was typing this Angie just rang my doorbell and brought my hubcap by...the one that fell off on the way to Walmart (pictured above for proof). She saw it on the median and risked her life to jump out and get it. Now THAT is what I call friendship :) Angie, you're the greatest!


Peace, Love and 'Pun'ny Titles

Home Sweet Home.

Yes...This is Justin, hugging, maybe kissing (?) the floor. This came second only to hugging and kissing us :) Even though it was dark by the time he got home...he got home! I can't even tell you how nice it is to have him home after 23 long days of being out to sea. During his few weeks out, 2 people died, there was a fire...and maybe some other stuff happened. I am glad that he is safe and sound. Unfortunately, he has duty today (which means he won't be home til tomorrow morning)...

Alana loving on Daddy

Showing off their new hats :)

I am so blessed to have such a sweet family...and I can't wait til this weekend when Justin actually has THREE days off! Imagine that!

Peace, Love and Family Reunions

Rock-a-Bye Alana

Last night Angie and Jalen came over for dinner...Somehow we ended up watching these videos I made for Justin of Alana when he was out on deployment in 2006-07. I can't believe how much Alana has grown up since then! She could barely talk when Justin left on that cruise, and now I can barely get her to be quiet :) I thought I'll share some of the random cuteness I captured on tape...and as you can see she was a ham, even at 2.

I apologize ahead of time for my singing :)



Peace, Love and Snotty noses.

Mountain Climbing...and a Pile of Pictures to prove it.

Today was Alana's first day in her new gymnastics class...as if that weren't excitement enough for one day, Angie and I decided to take the kids to Mt. Trashmore (yes, that's really what it's called) to play outside in the nice fall weather. I've never been there before, just see it in passing all the time. There's a big outdoor skate park there, and seriously...it's a mountain. We climbed up and down it twice, which was a feat enough for Angie and me...but with a 22 month old and a 4 year old...yeah, they should sleep good tonight :)

This is when we reached the top, the first time over!

My little monkey

I love her sweetness.

Jalen crossing the rings with a little help from Mommy.

Chillin on the tires

Seriously, this is my attempt to get a picture of both of them together.
I've decided it's impossible.

Angie and Jalen swinging

Time to go back up the mountain!

Alana got impatient and decided to run for it.

Like Rocky, she's victorious at the top!

Angie, Jalen and Alana ran back down the other side.
I had on flip flops and decided to save my neck.

Ducks, too? This place has everything!

Bouncing on a whale

Whistling on what she called a "llama"

Cheese.

So that was our day! I'm pooped out just blogging about it. I hope to spend many more afternoons there...and next time we are taking Jalen's kite! (and for the record, Alana's hairdo was a result of that wind).

Ah, Mt. Trashmore. I find such pleasure in the simpler things in life :)

AND I JUST FOUND OUT JUSTIN IS COMING HOME THURSDAY!!!

Peace, Love and Good nights sleep for everyone!

McCain Ad on Nick Jr

***Sorry had to delete the video...I hate that it played automatically, and I feel it was too annoying :) If you are really interested in watching it, go to www.nick.com and look for "Kids Pick the President".

I found it...finally! I guess this is part of the Nickelodeon "Kids Pick the President". I thought it was cute, and wanted to share it.

Peace, Love and Campaign Raps xo

Meet Cupid!

Meet Cupid! He's known, typically, for causing people to fall in love. In this case, he's keeping those who love each other connected :) This is Jonah's fish that Alana is "fostering" until Marc moves to Washington with the rest of the family and can take him with. I'm crossing my fingers that he makes it that long under my care, haha. Shh, good thing Jonah can't read this. Alana is glad to be helping care for Cupid, and it's also a good clue as to whether or not she's ready for the responsibility of a bigger pet. We shall see!

On a rather random note...
I have been seeing all of these Obama ads on Nick Jr...This bugs me out for a couple of reason. Number one, kids can't vote. Leave them out of it. But what bothered me more was that I had not seen equal coverage for McCain. Well, let's just say I just saw one for McCain a few minutes ago...and if I can find it online I will be sure to post it. Hi-larious.

Peace, Love and Fishy kisses xo