Luke's 1st Day of Kindergarten

We are officially the parents of a school age child!

Luke all dressed and ready to go with his Marvel Super Heroes back pack and Iron Man lunch box. "Come on Mom...too many pictures!" I just liked their expressions in this one... So I waited all day to hear how Luke's first day went and the moment he walked through the door, I started asking the questions. He gave no details! He seemed pretty happy though and that is always a great sign. Here's to a great year of learning!

Our Trip to Helen, GA & Anna Ruby Falls

Since this was our last weekend before Luke started school, we took a day trip up to Helen, GA. We had a picnic lunch at Anna Ruby Falls and found out that we had arrived on a very special day...Smokey the Bear's Birthday!

Miriam made a wood necklace and scored a bag of Smokey the Bear coloring pages and knickknacks. Luke was still feeling a little car sick from the drive up so he wasn't in the mood for getting free stuff. He recovered after lunch and then we headed on a short hike.

Along the path we found "clues" with interesting facts about the plant life and the Falls. The kids really got into finding the "clues" and hearing what the signs said.

Christmas already? When we told the kids where we were going on Saturday morning, Miriam remembered going to Helen before when Grandma Fife was in town. She remembered going to the chocolate store and getting a chocolate lollipop. So of course we stopped and had a little bit of chocolate. The drive home was uneventful except an emergency bathroom break just a few miles from home. It was a great day with the family and a perfect end to the lazy summer days.

Miriam in the kitchen

Miriam my little kitchen helper....always willing to help measure, mix and stir. When I told the family that I was going to make brownies for a special treat, everyone cheered and left the kitchen. Except Miriam. She stayed behind and helped. (It wasn't too tricky since it was from a box, but still...she wanted to help!) Thank you Miriam for always wanting to help me out!

More Things to do at Stone Mountain

Our most recent Stone Mountain excursion was very dangerous...

The kids were eaten by this huge horse!

Just kidding...

We explored the Museum and learned a great deal about the actual carving of the mountain. This photo just shows you how large the horse is on the mountain.

We also explored the Plantation. Here's Morgan by the Medicine House.
How fitting that this picture is taken of me in the kitchen building. This is definitely where I would have spent the majority of my days if I lived back then since I spend a good part of my day in the kitchen now!
Morgan the Gatherer of Cotton...just to be politically correct ;)

Luke and Miriam trying to be as scary as this scarecrow...fearsome I know!

We really enjoyed walking the grounds on the plantation. We got great ideas for our future garden and loved seeing the antiques in the homes.

Schoolmaster Kristin and Fife children as students in front of the School House.

Our Visit to Grandma & Grandpa Aldridge's

Since Morgan has been studying for the STEP 2 exams, the kids and I decided to give him some peace and quiet. We loaded up the van and headed to NC for a few days. We were able to play with our Lewis cousins and spend time with my grandparents. Here are a few pictures from our mini vacation:

Grandma Leona Aldridge and Eve Leona Fife

I am so cheap. I made Luke and Miriam share their lemonade at Qdoba. They didn't seem to mind!

One afternoon we went to Grandma Aldridge's and picked blueberries. The children really enjoyed getting to pick them and I am now loving the blueberries in our smoothies!

Miriam and Eve cooling off after blueberry picking.

Maw Maw and Eve

Grandma Aldridge spoiled the children. She gave them not just a few Oreo cookies to take home, she split the entire bag between them! My children were in awe! We also got a lot of fresh apples from their orchard too.

Grandma Aldridge bought Grandpa Aldridge a golf cart for Father's Day to help with hauling water to the garden. So we got to go on a little outdoor excursion while there.

Grandma is a brave soul. She let Luke drive...

and Miriam too! They nearly crashed into the cars but Grandma quickly saved them.

The kids talked about how fun it was at Grandma Aldridge's for a while that evening. She even surprised us the next day at lunch with an ice-cream party with more Oreoes!

We had a great mini vacation and are now ready for Kindergarten to start for Luke in just 2 1/2 weeks!

Look at Me Go!

Eve is now 8 months old! I love how her hair is starting to curl out at her ears and those BIG blue eyes!

Miriam my little dancer
Here is a short clip of Eve crawling. She crawls all over the house now and is quite fast too! She has even started to pull herself up to standing and then stand without holding on to anything for several seconds.

Watch Eve Go!

Eve's Busy Week

Eve has learned to crawl! I took this video of her on Sunday and as you will see, she was just on the brink of crawling.

On Monday, she was really doing it! I will post a video of it soon! The kids were so proud of her when she started crawling in their room. I don't think that they quite understand that this means Eve will be getting into their things from now on.

Eve also has her bottom 2 teeth and says "Da-da" all the time. Why not "Ma-ma?" Oh well. She does have a pretty great Da-da.

She just learned to pull herself up to standing too. She has been quite busy this week!

Eve is also a great eater. This has changed drastically in the past month. She loves to eat pears, applesauce, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas and squash. Keep your fingers crossed that these tastes stay with her. Maybe there is hope for one Fife kid when it comes to eating a variety of fruits and vegetables!