Campfire time!

to the left, those are REALLY stars :)

We've been lucky enough to build a few fires since the air has gotten cooler...this morning eli begged wes to build one(at 6:30 am!) before he went to work! looks like he has the fever!

we all had fun:)

Welcome Fall! We've missed you!!!

eli was singing in this one!

So this weekend was filled with some good family moments...Saturday we loaded the kids up and headed out to the Hiwassee River...We wanted to get out of the house, since it was such a nice day (with hints of fall!) and let the kids play in the water and gather rocks and such...it took us A WHILE :) to find a spot...the river was up, so there weren't very many spots that would accommodate a four, three and one year old...we went to a place that mamaw and hanny frequent, but needless to say, there were several people there already...i guess we should have expected that on a saturday...we even drove to the ocoee(wes's idea) to see if we could find a little spot...but we had no luck, so we drove back to the hiwassee...i prefer the hiwassee atmosphere than the ocoee anyway...it's much more quaint and cozy...the ocoee is too hustling and bustling...to me...the spot that we went to first was then empty...ellie was fast asleep, so we left her in the car (with the windows down!) and let her rest...eli and addie loved it...eli was a little more adventurous, of course...when ellie finally woke up, she was ready to dive in to that freezing cold water! she's a wild woman! we had a really nice time...just being up there made me want to be there more! we regretted not throwing a tent in the car...that's the only thing that wasn't in there!the air smelled smokey...i just love that smell...i even love it the next day when you get a whiff of your clothes or hair...anyway, i'm so glad that fall is today! Happy Birthday, Fall! We sure do love that you are here!

so today i'm feeling a little O.C.D

i have the organizing bug this week...i have been in the kid's rooms, rearranging...addie received a dora the explorer house for her birthday...and she got a growing family doll house for christmas...so since her birthday, i have not been able to sleep at night (maybe that's a little dramatic) because dora did not live next door to the growing family....so...a few days ago, i got in there and i rearranged! there is limited space when two gals share a room...i'm actually pretty good at getting rid of toys that are broken or that they just don't play with any more...i don't want them to be monsters...we buy them things for their birthdays and christmas...and then only occasionally throughout the year...but it surprises me at how much stuff they accumulate...we have been blessed with wonderful friends and family, so they rack up at their birthday parties...so, alot gets passed on...eli cracks me up because whenever he gets something he asks if it came from the thrift store! haha! he thinks that is the only place i shop! it works out good, though...i buy practically brand new things that some other kid got tired of...for dirt...and then when my kids get tired of it, i return it to the thrift store...viola! if you have never been to christ's chapel in ringgold, you must go...i bought addie a pair of tevas there for .50 cents! they have dress up stuff and toys and the price is everything you can stick in a bag for a dollar! i love that place! so, back to the dora/growing family house problem...i rearranged and now they are happily living as next door neighbors....ahhhhhh...now that feels better:) (of course i put all of the play food in the same basket...and all the dress up stuff in an under the bed container (that the kids haven't discovered yet !) and put all the baby doll stuff in a basket...of course they are all mixed up now...oh well...it was fun while it lasted!