Every lady wants a castle....

Did you know that I drive by this on a regular basis?!?!



It's sits just around the corner from our neighborhood! Quite the interesting sight to see! Rumor has it that it was built by a loving husband (who was a truck driver) for his wife. The house comes complete with a moat that is actually a pool and smiling gnomes that smile at those who pass by!



Here's a little more info and more pictures if you are interested!

Fairy tales can come true~
Laurie

P.S. I guess I should mention, not that you wouldn't totally assume it -- the kids LOVE it!

Watching the colors change

It has been a hectic past few weeks, but all good, fun things! I'm in the van a lot...to school, to the preschool, to the gym, to the grocery store, to the dry cleaners, to the after-school activities, etc., etc. But one thing about this time of year that makes my driving around so wonderful is the beautiful changing of the leaves! Sometimes I'll be stopped at a red light and I'll be in complete awe of my surroundings. The beauty just amazes me (and makes my "shuttle service" a little more bearable!)



We've been up to a lot of fun things the past few weeks. Let me catch you up!

We went to the infamous "Burt's Pumpkin Patch" up near Amicalola Falls. This place has the largest collection of pumpkins that I've ever seen! Colors, shapes, sizes -- you name it, they have it.

Lots of orange.....


John's muscles always come in handy....


My three punkin's!!!


After our trip to the pumpkin patch, we drove through some back roads and forest service roads and did a little hiking in the woods! The fall days have been perfect! Here are some of the sights...

We happened upon this "wildlife viewing field" and I snapped a shot of my own "wildlife"!


Before my time, but does anyone remember seeing this truck coming down the street?!?


I guess they never made it back to fill up the tank.....



Lily Clare had a sweet little Halloween celebration at her preschool. It was a western theme complete with a hay ride, petting zoo and - oh yeah - rain. So they had their trick-or-treating inside, but that didn't spoil the fun!

Yee-Haw!

Lily and her friend, Claire!

Yes, she is brushing a pig!



I know I have more to post, but that's about all I can gather up right now. I need to focus my attention on the CMA's!!!! (Sugarland makes me nauseous; Kenny Chesney makes me giddy!)

Check ya tomorrow~
Laurie

Somebody stop me.......

Actually, please don't! I'm on a crafting roll and I love it! Seriously, I don't know where I've found the time to be crafty (queing Beastie Boys) but I've found it and it's made me happy!

In my blog surfing, I stumble across several creative ladies who are so gracious to share their ideas! (So, I do not claim these crafts to be my own creation!) But, I see their ideas and I get so inspired! So, let me show what I've been up to this past few days.........

CUTE t-shirts for my girlie and me!!!




I'm finally getting to use my Williams-Sonoma acorn cakelet pan! I got his neat little pan at the end of Fall last year and I've been waiting for the chance to use it! Well, the weather has chilled and I feel that an acorn shaped treat is fitting! So, I found a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and just knew that I needed to make them into cute little acorn shapes!


And, last but not least...my Goodwill challenge! I came across a blog that shows people how to find items at Goodwill and convert them into functional, cute items! Here's my first transformation....

I spent $4 on a circa. 1980 cheese dome and candlestick (complete with lots of dust!)

I hated to cover these beautiful daisies! NOT!

I added some black spray paint and Gorilla Glue -- added some Halloween spooky stuff and voila~~~

The kids love it! And I think it's pretty darn cute, as well!

I'm crafty...I get around~
Laurie

The feel of Fall!

This morning, as I opened the door to make my 6:50 shuttle to the bus stop, I paused...what is that I feel? The hot, humid, mugginess of Summer?!?!? Nope! It was the crisp, cool, relief of Fall! Oh what a way to start the day!


The change of seasons is kinda like a "New Year" celebration to me. When you feel the temperature change, when you see the difference in the foliage, it's like a rebirth of your everyday life! Fall feels like the beginning of slower weekends, leisurely drives admiring the changing of the leaves and crisp outdoor evenings by an open-air fire. (And from my "girly side" - pulling out the sweaters and jeans, buying a new pair of boots and donning the cute lightweight jackets that have been packed away for a while!)

As I searched for an Autumn quote, I happened upon this poem and fell in love! Oh, how Mr. Cooper put into words an incredible account of this wonderful season! And what a perfect way to ring in October..........

October's Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came —
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow, At hide-and-seek they played, The party closed at sundown, And everybody stayed. Professor Wind played louder; They flew along the ground; And then the party ended In jolly "hands around.

~ George Cooper

And before I sign off, let me introduce you to my newest love for Fall! This candle....
Nature's Wick "Bonfire Nights"

Ever have a candle that you don't want to burn, because you don't want it to go away?!? This is it for me. So, I will take a jaunt to my nearest Target and clean their shelves of this little guy! It's wonderful!

Smiles~
Laurie

Livin' the "mom" life.

I feel like I've been M.I.A lately.


No, Brad Pitt hasn't taken me away again, we're just back into the school schedule and I'm livin' the mom life.

I would list the many activities that I'm involved in, but I don't want it to come across the wrong way. I volunteer my help in several different areas and I love it! Does it make my days busy? YES! Does it take away from some of my personal time? YES! Do I sometimes complain about it all? YES! But, the reality of it is that I truly enjoy it!

So anyway, my days just haven't been full of much exciting stuff; therefore,my blogging mind has taken a hiatus. But, I'll catch you up on our latest happenings and hope some creative ideas pop into my head soon!

Here's what we've been up to...

Sam started karate and loves it!


Lily turned 5! (Where has my baby gone?)



This is the first birthday party for Lily that has had a majority of girls! School has finally brought my sweet girl some female playmates!


And finally, look at what Sam wrote on his school folder....

How am I supposed to get mad at anything, if I see that when I look in his folder?!?!

Momin' it~
Laurie

Remembering....

and being thankful that I live in America!

Never forget~
Laurie

A weekend on the water!

A couple of weekends ago, we had the pleasure of being invited to one of our friend's families lakehouse on Lake Burton! Well, of course we didn't think twice about it and jumped at the chance to join them! First of all, the friend is my friend of over 30 years, Nicole. I sooo treasure this friendship. It is unbelievable to me that this is the same girl that I'd play Barbie with when we were 9 years old. And even better, we now have children that play together! (And secretly, we still act as goofy as we did in 1977! Just ask our husbands!)

So when the invitation was extended, we were packed and ready to go!

As always, Sam has no problem being the only boy!

The lake water is amazingly clear!


Of course, all of the kids had to try their hand at navigating the water.

We ate on the water.

We tubed on the water.

Some even "got cozy" on the water!


We soaked up the beautiful surroundings!


We were blown away by some of what we saw?!?! (Can you see the man sitting on the veranda in the first picture?)

But my favorite part was this.....

Does anyone recognize these cuties?!?!

Circa 1978 in the K-Mart photo booth!


Fun filled weekend~
Laurie

P.S. Of course the men were there. We needed someone to blow up the raft!