American Girl '09

We made our annual mecca to the AG store in Atlanta once again on the day before Thanksgiving. We had tons of fun just being girls! My grandmother met us there as well as my sister Jill.

Me and my girls - just love these two so much!!

One of the cute displays set up in the store - they really know how to make you want to buy it all!

My Grannie Harper - she has always loved dolls and collected them, so that makes having her there extra special. The girls are holding their new treasures - Meagan got the mini Kaya doll and Avery bought the Kirsten doll with her own money she had been saving. She got the last one in the store!

Aunt Lisa, Avery and Kirsten at lunch

Me and Jill

Avery was so excited about her new doll!

I have to give props to the AG bistro this time for accommodating Meagan's allergies! They had special gluten free hot dog and hamburger buns so Meagan had both of those with fries and was happy as could be! Way to go AG!!

Can't wait to do it again next year! My cousin Jamie, her daughter Mallory and my Aunt Toni (Jamie's mom) are supposed to join in the tradition!

Chocolate Birthday Surprise

To celebrate Hannah's 33rd birthday in a special way, Sabrina and I planned a little surprise chocolate indulgance! She knew we were up to something but we kept trying to tell her Sabrina and I were taking her to Johnny Rockets for dinner. I picked the birthday girl up and everyone else met us there. She was really surprised!!


The whole gang - Hannah's mom, Nancy is behind Laurie - sorry we can't see you too well!

You know Sabrina thoroughly enjoyed the licking of the chocolate!!

Wow - Angela and Heather look super cute in those hats and aprons - maybe a part time job, girls?!!

Hannah and Laurie

Me and the birthday girl - we've spent many birthdays together but this was one of the best!!

Happy Halloween

As ususal we invaded my best friend, Hannah's house to Trick or Treat last night. Since we live in the sticks, we have to find an alternative and it's always an open door at Hannah and Wes's! I went with the Wizard of Oz theme this year for the whole family. Just in case there's any question, Hunter was a Munchkin , Gus was the Scarecrow, and I was the Tin Woman.


I made Avery's crown and I was very happy with the way it turned out!

The whole gang including Toto!!

The McClain "Wild Things" and The Kornegay "Wiz Kids"!!

We want CANDY!!!

We were lucky enough to have a trailer pulled by a golf cart to make getting around the neighborhood quicker and easier. We had a bunch of fun even though I wasn't feeling too great. So glad I was off work and could enjoy the night with my family and friends!

GO GATORS!!!!!

Okay, so my wonderful, awesome, super husband got us tickets to Saturday's Gator game and it was AMAZING!! Gus had never been and I hadn't been since I was a kid (with my dad) so we were in awe of the stadium, the excitement of the fans, and the noise! I was very excited to get to see Mr. Tim Tebow himself play. He's #15 in the picture below in case you didn't know!




Gus and I enjoyed our time together so much - it was a great date!!

The weather was perfect, the sun was at our backs and we had some great fans to sit with.

Yes, people, that's a rear shot of Tebow!!

I've never seen so much orange and blue together in my life - I definitely didn't have on enough this time, but watch out for next time....

We BARELY won!! It was a great game with lots of cheering and excited fans!

I soooooo hope we get the opportunity to go back next season!

Avery's 9th Birthday

On Tuesday, Avery and I headed south to Orlando to celebrate her birthday at Epcot. We had a great time spending the whole day together. We were worn out by the end of the day, but it was worth it!

Meet and greet with the Disney characters. Avery bought an autograph book to make the day more memorable.

Donald always makes a fun picture!

We were both excited to meet Princess Aurora in France! She was very sweet to Avery.

Hanging out in the Moroccan Market...

A Japanese tower....

Under the Sea with Nemo and Friends....

Can't believe my oldest is NINE!! It's gone by really fast. I love young lady she's becoming. She is so special to me!

What we've been up to lately

Life goes on and sometimes it seems like you don't have a minute to catch your breath. Can anyone else relate?? I am thoroughly enjoying spending so much time with Avery, but I still sometimes miss the days of chilling out and doing nothing while the little ones napped. Now, that is our best time to do schoolwork uninterrupted. I still know we are on the right path, though. Here's just a few pics of what we've been doing around our house this past month.....




Hunter is having a great time pretending to be John or Whitney and wants to be fed his "bottle." Of course he will always be our baby, so that's okay with us!


Avery and I are enjoying picking different recipes from the Paula Deen kid's cookbook and trying them out. Avery remembers reading the book "Stone Soup" in school, so she wanted to try that one out even though it's full of veggies! Sounds good to me! She had a great time making it and it was yummy!!

Avery has been picking out several dolphin books at the library one of which had some craft ideas in the back. She really wanted to make this dolphin mobile so we gathered all the supplies and got crafty! It was a joint effort, but we had fun and she loves it hanging over her bed.

The most exciting new adventure we're embarking on is DANCE CLASS!! I finally found a studio in Ocala that offered classes on the same day and same time for both of the girls. Avery is taking Tap and Meagan is taking Kinderdance (intro to dance). So far, they love it and Hunter and I hang out in the waiting area with the other kids/moms while they do their thing.

Gus and I are still working hard and of course Gus is getting geared up for hunting season. He went to GA last weekend to bow hunt, but no meat in the freezer yet!!

I'm so ready for some cooler weather with Fall, but knowing Florida weather, it's gonna be a while!!

Orlando Philharmonic Field Trip

Our first "official" field trip as a group took place last Wednesday afternoon. We all loaded up and headed for the big city of Orlando. These little girls were in my van (along with their lovely Mamas) and were so precious in their excitement at seeing the "skyscrapers" as we drove into downtown.

Of course, there was no photography allowed during the performance, but I snuck this one as the musicians were warming up. The show was titled "The Nature of Music" and was a special concert just for school children. We had been given a CD and curriculum to prepare our kids for the experience and it was great. Avery and I both learned a lot and REALLY enjoyed the show.

Along with the music we enjoyed, we were also treated to a performance by the Orlando Ballet Company dancing to Swan Lake and two opera singers that performed "Flower Duet." Our students were very well behaved and truly enjoyed the experience.

Of course, after all the being quiet and sitting still, they had to get a little silly!! Can't wait til the next adventure!