Hickory Branch Trail

After deciding, last minute, to stay home for Thanksgiving break rather than head to the beach for a quick getaway, we planned a few adventures to take advantage of the family time a break from school allows. We had some movie and dinner dates, some game afternoons in our pjs, some get-togethers with friends and neighbors, and one lovely hike. We packed a backpack full of leftover pie and whip cream, and headed to the Hickory Branch trailhead at nearby Curtis Creek. The weather was absolutely beautiful as we walked along the river. We sat at one waterfall to enjoy our snack, then headed up and up and up to the top of the mountain where we were awarded with fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. Being together, in nature, with bellies full of pie ~ that is a lot to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween

Gita the Ninja

hi-ya

Noah & Gita, the only trick-or-treaters that came to our house all night

Nimmy (devilish girl) with her 2 friends from school

Nim and cousin Lili sporting some 'staches

Kelcey, the kids, and I opened the annual Nene Halloween surprise box while David and Alex were camping to celebrate Alex's birthday. Can you guess what was in the box?

Happy Halloween!

Happy 8th Birthday, Gita!

whew ~ what a birthday!

On Friday, we brought cupcakes to school to share with Gita's class. It was also Characters Alive day (kids presented a project based on a book they had read and came to school dressed as the main character), which was a very fun day to visit! 

Gita woke us up at 7:00am on Saturday morning so she could start opening her presents and making breakfast (she requested bacon (that's my gal)). 

And then we packed up our warm clothes and picnic blankets, and headed down to Black Mountain for the Lake Eden Arts Festival where we met up with friends, ate festival food, watched the parade, saw some music, and waited for over an hour for the fireshow (something Gita has been asking for for months) to start, only to have Gita fall fast asleep 15 minutes before it began!

All in all, a very happy happy birthday celebration, on a beautiful autumn day, to celebrate the most wonderful 8 year old girl!

Edisto Island 2012

We returned yesterday from a week of fun in the sun for our 

4th annual Labor Day Edisto Island beach trip.

The weather was so amazing ~ 80* and sunny every day!

For the first time ever, this trip was sans Noah. He stayed home so as not to miss school and soccer

(what a responsible lad). 

So we spent our days sitting on the beach, reading, dolphin watching, playing in the waves, riding our bikes, eating seafood, and loving our time together. 

and just like that, we're off to school

Well, summer came and went so very quickly. 

The first day of school was last Thursday ~ and, funny enough, it was the first chilly morning we have felt in many months. The kids were all excited to start school. Excited enough, in fact, to wake up at 5:30 with no complaints! I was able to snap a few photos before running out the door (pardon the poor quality, it was still dark outside!)

Gita: 2nd Grade 

Nimuae: 6th Grade

Noah: 10th Grade

Carmona kids are ready!

drivers permit?

excuse me?

what is this?

Noah got his drivers permit? holy moly!

Installing the floor of the yoga studio ~

I am doing a terrible job keeping this thing up-to-date!

Nim came home from her trip to Chicago with presents for everyone and a whole lot of stories to share. We looked forward to our nightly skype or facetime chats because we missed her terribly when she was away.

Since her return we have had two different grandparent visits, Noah took a trip with his girlfriends (!!) family to Carowinds and Mount Mitchell, Gita finished her summer ballet classes, and we hosted a super fun costume party. I have tons of photos to share which I will get to eventually. But for now, here are a few pictures from the day that Nim and David put down the new floor in the yoga studio (which is so wonderfully close to being done!)

I

farewell, Nimuae ~

Nimuae left early this morning on her first-ever trip without parents, fully funded by her babysitting money! She hardly slept a wink last night and woke up at 3:50a.m. to hop in the car with David, heading to Greenville, SC for her early morning flight. Gramps was waiting for her at the gate in Chicago.

I got the quick call that she was safe and sound ~ I can't wait to hear how the flight was for her, what she was feeling. I am so very proud of her, putting her mind to making this trip happen, then seeing it all the way through. I am sure is is going to make memories that last her lifetime.

4th of July goofiness

Dear NeNe,

Thank you for sending the Carmonas and Loomers these lovely glasses for the 4th of July.

Here are some photos of the kids getting their goofiness ready for the celebration...

yoga studio is in the works!

Our yoga studio dream is finally coming true! It has taken many forms in our minds as we have been dreaming about it for years. For awhile we thought it would be large enough to teach classes in ~ and then thought it may just be a room in our house ~ for awhile we considered a yurt would be the perfect structure.

We tore down the yome earlier this year to make room for the new structure, and started drawing plans for an affordable studio that we could build pretty quickly. We settled on a 12 x 16 building. Also, we decided to employee our friend and master builder, Alan, to get the building dried in. Not doing the work ourselves is a new notion for us ~ and it was the best decision! Alan does the work so quickly and it is so well-done. And now that the building is framed (with a roof!) with doors & windows installed, we can take it from here ~ electricity, ceiling, walls, floor. It may take us awhile to finish it up, but it feels so exciting to have gotten this far ~ and to be so close to seeing this dream to completion!