Apple Farm and Pumpkin Patch

On our way home from Clemson we stopped at Nivens Farms to pick apples and a pumpkin.  This was a great place to do both activities all in one.  However, note to self...Monday towards the end of the season is perhaps not the best time to go.  The trees were a little picked over, and we really picked pumpkins off of crates, not out of the patch as they had all been picked.  However, Walt and Emmie are so young they really didn't know the difference.  So, we had fun.  Everyone picked a few apples that were delicious and we found just enough room in the car to bring a pumpkin home.  It was a great way to break the drive up and let a little energy out on the way home. 

Clemson

Their blood runs orange without a doubt! We took Walt and Emmie to their first Clemson football game for the Wake Forest game. It exceeded all of my expectations. Boyd's parents rented a lake house for everyone to spend the weekend, which was fantastic. On the cold and rainy Saturday morning we set out to go to the game. All week I taught the kids to say C*L*E*M*S*O*N T*I*G*E*R*S fight tigers fight tigers fight fight fight. I was caught more than a little off guard by the weather, and thought we must be crazy as we sat in traffic for an hour to get to the game. But, it was SO worth it. We were very fortunate that Birch's tickets are under the cover, so we didn't get wet. Thank you Amy!!! Walt and Emmie yelled Go Tigers as we walked from the tailgate into the game. They really didn't get as excited as I expected over the football players running down the hill and the balloons going up, but they did get excited to cheer for the Tigers during the game. Walt took a little nap during the first quarter, but woke up refreshed and ready to enjoy the game afterwards. Every time the crowd cheered Emmie cheered with them. We lasted in to the 3rd quarter at which point, I was ready to go hang out with all of my friends at the tailgate, rather than stick around and wait for Walt and Emmie to loose interest. We are definitely planning to attend more games with them now. We all had a blast. And, both Walt and Emmie can now spell Clemson and are huge Clemson fans. Anytime Emmie sees football on TV, she yells "Go Tigers!" no matter who is playing.

Betsy, Cheri, Ashley, Erin, Amy, Paige, and Emmie.  I'm so excited for this growing group.  Ashley and Amy are due in the spring!

Emmie, Betsy, and Walt

Walt and Emmie LOVED Clemson Ice Cream

Thank you Meme and Pop Pop!

A Weekend with Uncle Will

I am determined to get caught up with all the fun things we have been doing before Halloween so that hopefully I can post those pics this weekend. 

At the beginning of October Will flew down for the weekend to go shrimping with Boyd.  When I say he flew down, he didn't get on Delta and fly down the way most of us do.  He rented a plane in Charlotte and flew as some people rent cars and drive.  Walt was completely fascinated with this and thrilled that Uncle Will was staying at our house.  The guys caught a lot of shrimp.  I mean I plan a meal every week around shrimp and will be doing this for the next 20 weeks or so unless Boyd goes again this weekend, in which case for the next year we will have shrimp on a weekly basis.  Good thing the kiddos really like it!

Anyways, on Sunday we took Walt and Emmie to see Uncle Will fly away in "his" plane.  They had so much fun getting in the plane and checking it out.  Walt even helped Will go through the checklist to take off, inspecting as any good engineer would.  I can only imagine how Walt sees Will now as the last two time they have seen eachother Will has been flying around instead of driving.  He probably thinks Will doesn't have a car like most people and just flys.    

Soccer!!!

It's official, I'm a soccer mom! I have been looking forward to this morning since the day the ultrasound tech told me that Walt was a little boy. I have envisioned the early Saturday morning at the soccer fields with the little kids chasing the ball around the field for so long. This morning was Walt's first soccer game and it was even more fun that I had hoped for! The kids were adorable and did really well. Walt is one of the youngest on the team and he has only been to two practices, but he is improving so much. He did great kicking the ball in the right direction and keeping control, and he even scored a goal! He did loose interest about half way through the game, but I think he had fun. He hasn't wanted to leave after practice.

First Days of School

Walt and Emmie both started school at the beginning of September. Walt had been looking forward to going back for a while, I'm not too sure that Emmie knew what was happening. Walt is going 3 days this year, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and even gets to stay for lunch. This has been such a big deal. He picked out his space lunch box and gets so excited every day about packing a lunch and eating with his friends. His teachers say that he is a pretty good eater, being the first one to finish his entire lunch to continue playing. Emmie is going to Mother's Morning out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first day she went right in to play and was fine until another little boys gave her the ok to cry. Once she saw him screaming she let loose and screamed from 30-40 minutes. Goldfish fix most everything with Emmie and they worked that day too. This past Thursday, Emmie had a great day, no tears just playing! She tells me that she played with the babies at school. It occurred to me, that Emmie isn't referring just to the baby dolls, but the babies in her class. You see, she has only really played with 3 year olds (Walt and his friends), so I think she thinks she is 3 1/2 too and that the kids her age in her class are babies.

Priceless

Kids do the funniest things and have a great time doing them! Dancing in the swing in her favorite outfit, "My Tutu". She would like to wear it everyday, everywhere!
The new favorite hiding place and just plain, play place, inside the oven and dishwasher of their kitchen.
Best Friends in deed! Walt wanted to get in Emmie's crib with her. She couldn't have been more thrilled.

Who doesn't like to read a magazine while on the potty?

Grandmom all dressed up in Emmie's beads

What a princess! Walt saw Emmie this awake with Papa and said, "Papa, we are doing bedtime now."

Naked painting

So me! Emmie lined her babies up on the chair and hosted a tea party.