Virginia Trip--- Day 3

We wanted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway... So we when we were ready to leave Asheville we hopped on and it was so beautiful!!! We hardly saw any other cars.  (make sure to get gas first!)...

and then we came into the mountains... oh my word.  I could just sit and look at this view for hours on end... it was SILENT.  It was much cooler and so very beautiful...

every once in a while we would go through a tunnel... all rock... it was so neat!

and our shots from the top of the mountain!!!  It was SO windy!

After about 4 hours we had to get off the Parkway and find a "real" interstate because it was taking so long and we had to get the girls to Lynchburg by 5:00 at the latest!

We got them there at 4:55!!   Wheww!!!  They were both VERY excited to arrive at Teen Pact Judicial!

I got her signed in, saw her dorm room, met a few people and then we left.  

insert sad face.

We drove around the campus for a while and finally left, grabbed a Little Caesars Pizza and headed to the hotel to just chill out!  I handled leaving her pretty well and we were all so tired!!  At this point we had driven about 1500 miles and through 8 states in less than 3 full days. Wheww!

Virginia Trip---- Day 2

We spent the night in Birmingham and headed toward Chattanooga, TN the next morning... we let the kids decide what activity to do and they choose Rock City... Look Out Mountain.  It was really, really amazing!  It is expensive and I am sure that is a deciding factor for a lot of people to not go.... but if you can afford too it is really beautiful!.  Just the drive up the mountain to GET to it is beautiful.. you are driving in and out of Tennessee and Georgia going up the mountain.

Once we got to the top we felt like maybe we had made the wrong choice picking this expensive tourist trap!  But once we were inside... we loved it.  You are meandering through natural stone pathways amidst HUGE boulders and crevices...There were people everywhere but it was quiet and peaceful!

And then we came to Needle's Eye Pass.... well it as over for me!  I was NOT going on!  I told the kids and Dave to just leave me and go on... I would make my way back the way I came.  But the kids wouldn't hear of it and after a lot of hyperventilating, crying, praying (I am totally serious) I finally gathered enough courage to go through... Dave waited on the the entrance end so no one could come up on me... and I went AS FAST AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE through this barely passable NARROW pass.  I made it!  It was truthfully very hard for me, but I was so glad that I faced my fears and did it.  1. because the kids knew how hard it was for me and saw me do it and 2. because the reward of getting through was amazing and I would have missed out!

Once we got to the top the view was amazing... so beautiful!  The top of Lookout Mountain allows a view of 7 states at once!  Coming from TEXAS that just amazes me!!!    It was so peaceful and beautiful.

There was a restaurant and we grabbed slices of pizza and Emily mined for gems then we headed back out... I was good until we go to FAT MANS SQUEEZE and I was done.  (Dave says he really barely squeezed through)   It was stairs and I knew I couldn't go fast and I just could not do it.. SO I found a worker and lo and behold there was a handicap route and I just wandered on the asphalt path all the way to the entrance!  NO SQUEEZE for me!

We headed out to Asheville from there.. we had thought we would be there about 2 hours max but we were there almost four!  It was a really great experience.



We pulled into Asheville late and TIRED, but not too tired for Krispy Kreme!!

then we headed downtown for my surprise for Kate and Sara.... a British Double Decker Bus that was turned into a coffee house!  SO MUCH FUN!

after that we found out hotel, grabbed some drive thru and crashed!

Virginia Trip-- Day 1

And finally posting our vacation pictures!!!  This is us starting out in La Port, Texas!! We picked up Sara who was with us for the first leg of the trip!

Emily appears to already be asleep...  

We arrived in West Monroe, LA just in time for a late lunch at the DUCK COMMANDER DINER!!

It was decent... expensive but really we went for the experience!  It was fun,  and the kids really seemed to enjoy it.. 

Of COURSE we stopped at Duck Commander!  How could we not--

From there we headed to Birmingham, Alabama

We visited the 16 st Street Baptist Church... where four precious black girls were killed in a bombing 

Sept 15, 1963  and it proceeded to propell into motion the civil rights movement and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  It was a beautiful church and reading about what happened.. imagining the chaos and sadness that struck the community was very hard.  

smiling faces... but we absolutely took time to reflect on what had happened to remember the lives of the girls and their families...

This is the park across the street from the church... the park where marches for freedom took place and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke... it was said that since World War One that more than 50 bombings had taken place in black only institutions and that Birmingham was calling Bombingham.... 

Such a regrettable time in history. I cant imagine some of the horrors that were faced.... may God forgive our country for the hate and I only pray that the save levels of hate do not continue to manifest in our communities..  

First Day of School------2014/ 2015

So our first day of school coincided with the first day of choir-- not the best combination... 

I was up til after 12:00 doing last minute things in the school room and praying.. 

I got up not too early but early enough that I SHOULD have had plenty of time to get everything done..

Good intentions... Does that count?

I got up-- got the kids up, got into an issue starting out-- spent time on it, dealt with another issue with hubbie-- by then I barely had time to shower!  So I'm running behind, needed to blow dry Emily's hair and pack lunches...

Went to pack lunches and the leftovers that I thought I would have from the extra large dinner I made were NOT leftover... I contemplated figuring out another meal from my bare pantry but as late as I was I just let the packed lunch idea go...

Next went upstairs to start our school day-- hand out assignments etc and it was ONE issue after another...

At this point I'm 30 minutes behind when I wanted to leave! 

Finally got out the door!! We DID get a nice first day pic... Surprisingly! 

Got on the road-- 10 minutes from choir Emily realized she didn't have her choir binder and Kate had forgotten stuff she needed for later that evening...

Sigh.

So I got Emily settled, got Matt working.. Visited a bit and then ran got lunch, came back to feed the kids.. Got Kate settled then drove to Dave's work to get cash-- HE  needed lunch still so I went to get him lunch-finally got back home, grabbed the stuff and headed back across town to grab Kaitlin.  

Tomorrow WILL be a better day!!! 

#whiney 

Well hello there blog world...

I haven't blogged much in a long time.

Just busy and just spending time on other things..

HBU Choral Camp for Regions.... 

So I will play catch up over the next couple of weeks.. but for right now I just want to say it's almost that time again.  

School time- we have haphazardly schooled over the summer.. But between vacation, Intern, choir/vocal camps, misc activities and migraines... We haven't done as well as I had hoped. 

SHOCKING.

Car Schooling on the run.... 

But we did get to where I planned for Tapestry of Grace.. Well, where I planned after the first 3  changes of plans on where we should get for this school year! 

Reading on the couch after our weekly meeting for school... 

Just keeping it real!

But we have still grown a lot... Between the kids Internship...volunteering in the library at The San Jacinto Monument, art classes, book club...

We have stayed busy!

Oh and VBS!  with a field trip to a Putt Putt Fun House... :0) 

Full school starts this week!!! 

Unless I talk myself out of it between now and then! 

Steampunk--- 2014

American Girl Doll --Isabelle. Movie viewing party!!

Welcome Isabelle!!

The past three summers have seen the release of an AmericanGirl Doll movie!! We have excitedly hosted parties each year-- for a movie viewing extravaganza!!

 

Okay-- not an extravaganza-- but a good time! 

Isabella is a dancer-- so our theme was ballet!! 

Lots of pink! And tulle!!! 

And each girl got to make a tutu for her American Doll!! 

It was a great party and the movie was pretty good too!

I hope all the girls had fun!  

Painting with friends...

For Amy's birthday this year we went to one of those painting places--- 

AND we went on what was deemed "date night"!  Ha-- we were the only non-couples.  It was still fun though!

The painting was a two piece canvas set that went together at the end-- so Amy Kulik-- my partner for the evening took ours home.

We had such a good time

Amy was very serious!

Here is the final product!!

We had a great time!!