around the farm

our first morning in tennessee was spent hanging out around the farm.
the kids loved the creek, just down the hill from the house.
isn't huntley's sweater adorable?
(of course, he is too!)

august gave samantha an arm workout.

doing a little twig fishin'.

the men picked us up for a 4 wheeler ride.

the sights were beautiful:

smoak damn,

a waterfall,

down into a ravine,

and back up the steep hill,

(where samantha and amy waited with the little ones like smart girls),

and just a few wait-a-minute vines along the way.

next stop . . . downtown waverly.

tennessee here we come

we had the wonderful opportunity to go north to tennessee.
to see fall and do some deer hunting.
august loved the airport,
and taking his first ride on an airplane.

we arrived without a glitch.

and ALL our luggage showed up too.

here are the boys doing a little work on the tires while the men wrangle:

10 bags,

4 car seats,

and 2 gun cases (that was just the stuff we checked!).

getting it all loaded.

all loaded (thanks to the nice airport guy) and ready to go in a 12 passenger van.

yes, we loaded all 12 of us in the van and managed to get all of stuff in too.

august made it look all roomy in the back,

but let me tell you, it was just a little tight.

first stop, lunch at jack's bbq in nashville.

and man was it good.

second stop, next door to tootsies to take in some live music.

we were THOSE people who took babies into a bar,

but everyone there enjoyed them.

and those babies enjoyed some good country music.

we made quite a few more stops along the way,

but arrived safe and sound to this view from the back porch.

we sure were lucky to spend 3 full days taking in sights like this.
more to come . . .

editing, doctoring, and itching

editing tons of pics from our trip to tennessee.
doctoring a sick little boy.
and itching to cut into some new fabric.

be back soon!

old houses

i love old houses.
and this past weekend we stayed in one.
the john denham house of monticello

it is such a great place,
and full of all the details old homes have.
this is in the corner of the stairs.
(can someone please tell me what it is called?)

front porch with ferns and wicker
can you get any more southern?

doors with chipped paint

brick lattice

huge pocket doors

little boys using visors as slingshots
not part of the charming house, but look at all that light the old windows let in.

newel (yeah, i looked that up) woodwork
just the right height for knocking a knot on you head (if your are about 36 inches tall)


and so much more,
like the dark stained hardwood floors,
bead board ceilings,
and the light that those windows let in.
(i know i already mentioned that, but man it was good. )

now back to my new house.
to clean up the plastic i just burned onto the stove!

i almost forgot

parker was a money bag. i bet you didn't guess that!!

and because i had requests from so many of my faithful followers,
(o.k. so it was only samantha and bonny)
me in the clown costume 30 years ago:
and erica sent me this pic today.
kinleigh is sporting her dress made by aunt erin.
i hear she is doing some good advertising for me!!

halloween havana style

august and i hitched a ride north to celebrate halloween with the cousins.
we arrived in havana with one happy cinderella and one sleeping clown. e.n. was excited to "drive" aunt erin's car.

kinleigh is saying (with no one really listening),

"but wait everybody. we can't leave august.

we gotta wake him up" in a desperate voice.

there were so many cute kids in really good costumes.

we had a fortune teller.

she was for seeing lots of people getting rich.

(hmmm . . . maybe i should have picked up a lottery ticket)

the finally awake and on the hayride.

the fortune teller turned pirate girl.

one of the cutest spiders i have ever seen.

a very serious spider man.

a bee sweet as honey.

half the group traveling to our first house.

i wonder what they were thinking on the inside?

there was also a mermaid, dora, boots, and snow white.

finally awake enough to make the trip to the front door.

he made a great little clown,

in a 30-year-old and worn by many costume.

enjoying the loot.

the hayride ended at dark.
we traveled to the farm to enjoy hamburgers and hot dogs.
august was really happy to spend halloween havana style with his cousins.

pumpkin carving

we carved our pumpkin last thursday night.
i read somewhere that you should cut out the bottom of the pumpkin,
then all you have to do is light the candle and set the pumpkin on top.
we tried it and i will never do it any other way.
not only was it easier to light (no messy hands digging around trying to light the candle),
but i was able to make the hole bigger for better gut diggin'.
checking out the insides.

"look mama!"

putting seeds back in.

he wasn't about to get his hands in there.

he did like stirring the seeds.

the final product.

the best part:

seeing this face light up and saying "whoa, mama!"
when he saw our jack-o-lantern all lit up.

the second best part:

toasted pumpkin seeds.

yummy!