Georgia on my mind

We took a quick trip to Athens, Georgia to visit our friends Dorothy and John. The kids were wonderful travelers, and my conversion to the wonders of minivan travel was completed :)

The big hit of the trip? Probably a tie between John's art studio (he's an artist) for Lucy, and Rocco the giant dog for Calvin. They studied each other for quite some time ...

Hugs in stitches

Miss Lucy received her pinwheel quilt from Nana before Thanksgiving. It's been very, very loved. By both Lucy and Calvin :)

This is the face of a runaway ...

... Calvin Jesse ran out of the Opthamologist's office five times during our visit today. The staff was amazed; for Lucy and I, though, it was par for the course.

Calvin Jesse turns two!

What a cute two year old! Calvin had some help with the candles after he began to think that to blow them out he should be closer ...
Miss Lu decorated the cake (featuring Percy the train per Calvin's request): mounds of chocolate frosting, sugar letters, and sprinkles if course.

Here we are again

Miss Lucy is having her eyes examined under anesthesia today. So, one week out from my knee arthroscopy and lateral release, we're back at the Huntsville Surgery Center. I've got to say, I'm much less nervous this time around ... And since we just did this, it was easy to let her know what would happen!

Happy Halloween!

The pics are a bit fuzzy, but our mouse and chicken sure had fun at the trunk or treat!

Signs of fall

Cotton fields, suddenly full of fluffy cotton. They are tucked in everywhere!

Park!

One of the best things (at least in Calvin's opinion) about Auntie JuJu coming to visit was that we finally made it to a park! Of course, the first thing Calvin Jesse headed for was the pink pony ... Maybe it's time to cut back on our MLP consumption. The highlight though? When Auntie JuJu got him to go down the big orange slide :)

New school

Miss Lu likes her second grade class at Columbia--and I like her kind, experienced, organized teacher! They had a parent night a week after things started, and all the kids drew pictures of their families. Miss Lucy's? The bright one. With a warning ...

New House: the front yard

I love the plantings around our front door!

Happy 7th birthday, Lucy!

Miss Lu was pretty worried that with moving and all she wouldn't have enough friends to have a party. I think we proved her wrong with a very successful "My Little Ponies"-themed birthday bash :)

More New House: Entry

The Grand Entryway:

And where I'm going to hang a beautiful quilt someday:

More New House: Family Room

More New House: Master bedroom and bath!

More New House: Kitchen

New House!

Bit by bit we are settling in to our new home in Alabama.
The front room: