Happy Halloween!!! Boo!

Friends, family and goblins... Happy Halloween. Today, Tori and I went to see Broadway's My Fair Lady at Tpac. You should have seen the customes. The production was wonderful and Tori was in awe of the musical score. Next we hope to go see "It's a Wonderful Life" at the Tenneseee Repertory Theatre. If anyone wants to go, please let us know. Please enjoy Halloween pictures of Tori and her classic pumpkin that she carved herself. Have a Happy Halloween and love to all. P.S. The additional picture of the cake is of a cake Tori's friend made for the school cake walk. Tori loved the artwork on the cake so much, that she decided to buy the cake on behalf of Katie. Note, Katie, we are saving the cake for you when you come over. Yum....Yum...

What are your talents?

Today I was approached by Tori's teacher to help her establish a classroom approach called "Friday School", which in part, is based on in my day what they called "cooperative education". Once or twice a month, parents or volunteers, come into the classroom and teach mini courses in fun topics such as woodworking, baking, drama, and of course science. Also, giving the parent or volunteer to share their talents and/or love of a specific hobby. Oh, I thought that was wonderful idea, you know, to teach outside the four walls and to give the kids a break during the long winter months. Just sign me up I said. When I left the classroom I froze in my car thinking about what will I do mine on? Oh my gosh, I can't think of anything. Then I chuckled to myself and said, hey, I can teach them how to fold laundry. Then I thought, well, why not teach them some household domestic skills and make it fun. How do you fold a towel? How much laundry detergent does it take for one load? How do you load a dishwasher? Sweeping and vacuuming techniques. Discuss allowance amounts? The list could go on and on. No, I wouldn't be able to teach them a language or artistic techniques, but I can show them how to help at home. As you can see by the picture, we have already started with Tori mowing the yard. No, just kidding, the blade was turned off. Have a good day. Love to all.

Sweetie is ok now!

Hello friends and family... To those of you have I know just been worred to death about little Sweetie, as you can see she is going to be ok. She was in the hospital for 3 days with a near fatal infection caused by a fly larvae that embedded in her side. Now that is gross, I know. I have never even heard of that. We almost lost her. She lost 4 lbs on her little 10 pound body. We are grateful because this is the cat that is closest to Tori. Anyway, on a lighter note, the picture attached is of Katelyn and Tori changing my bathroom into a laboratory for their lab experiments creating cures for everything from dog conditions to a puke dissolver to a cure for breast cancer. They used every bath product in the house and put them into little bags with labels. Now, let me ask you a question. Did your mom ever let you do this to her bathroom? I don't know what's wrong with me. Anyway, have a great day and love to all!

Gatlinburg....again?

How many times do you have to go to Gatlinburg before you say..ok, that's it! No more for me. Once you have been there and done everything, why do you go back? Can someone answer that question? For the kids, of course. Tori and her friend Abby had a wonderful time. Horseback riding, go carts, a mirror maze (which is new), the space needle, putt-putting and then a great museum called Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge. Check out their webiste: http://www.wonderworkstn.com/ Steve also took us on a 2 hour scenic drive through the mountains. It was interesting because he told us it was just 6 miles? Ha. We did see some bears along the roadside and visited some open to the public historic homesteads that the girls loved. On the way home I asked each girl what was the best thing they did... Are you ready for this... "wading in the creek and catching crawdads (spelling?) and one said riding through the mountains". Now, isn't that interesting. Next time we will be spending more time in the creek and less time waiting in line. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Love to all....

October

Friends and Family.... Well, we are just sitting around waiting for the weather to change. Today it is 86 degrees and is too hot to play outside -- so Tori and her friend Katie, opted for listening to classical music and painting birdhouses and pumpkins. What a life! Me, just the regular Saturday stuff -- cleaning and laundry. We are looking forward to a lot of good football today. Go Vandy! Go Vols! and Go LSU!. Tori and I are trying a new Paula Dean recipe today for the football game. We will let you know how it is. You take a pound of bacon and a sleeve of ritz cracker and some parmesan cheese. Take the cracker and put a teaspon of cheese on it and then wrap in a 1/2 piece of bacon and put on a baking rack with holes over a cookie sheet. Then bake at 250 for 2 hours. Well, that's all and have a wonderful day!