Miss Lilikoi

Our favorite (and only, as of now) niece, Lilikoi, turned 2 years old the week before Gita turned 5. I feel so blessed to have their little family living right next door to us, especially because our other nephews/cousins are in Utah and Iowa, so having some family close by feels so precious. Lili walks over to our house at least once a day and just walks right on in and absorbs herself into our family happenings. Sometimes we don't even notice her admist the choas, that is until Alex or Kelcey comes over to let us know Lili escaped and did she possibly come over to our house? I sure love that little girl and am so excited to see her grow and develop and (early next year) become a big sister!.

Lili with the coolest balloon hat ever at the LEAF festival

snuggle bum

Happy 5th Birthday, Gita!

We celebrated Gita's 5th birthday on October 20th. She was so excited to open the stack of presents that had been growing over the past week, asking each day if she could please open just one. Her best friend, Willow, came over for the day and chased Gita on her tricycle as Gita zipped up and down the gravel road on her new 2 wheel bike (with training wheels). David says she needs to have a good solid (but not too painful) fall to put a little bit of fear in her, because as of now, she has none. I came home from work early to frost the cupcakes David made (!) and prepare dinner for the neighbors. All the neighborhood families came together with happy birthday wishes for some pre-dinner cupcakes and then a pasta dinner. Gita took full advantage of the day claiming everything was "for her birthday." Like the response to, "Girls, why don't you go upstairs and put a movie on?" is "I'll choose which one because it is my birthday movie."

Happy Birthday, Gita Pi Luca Carmona!

Little Readers

Camping at Tsali

David and the kids took a camping trip at Tsali while I was working at the conference last weekend. It was the first time David took the kids camping by himself and according to the kids reports, he did not even forget anything important like tent poles or breakfast (I will admit that I had my doubts as while my husband excels at many things, forethought is not one of them). By heading out midweek (yet another perk of homeschooling), they had the whole area to themselves. The kids enjoyed hiking, fishing, and of course, smores!

All about spelling

I found this great spelling curriculum last year that claims to work wonders with any age children. Noah and Nim are both working through the first section now. We totally love it and notice how much it is helping already.

Nim and I were working on it this morning and there was just something about the board and Nim and her tie-dye shirt that just looked so sweet. Oh, and also the sunlight streaming through the windows was quite special after days and days of some of the most intense rain I have seen, ever. My favorite picture (at the end) captures what a little girl came up with while I paused our lesson to take a work-related phone call. Notice the perfect spelling!

Gone fishin

The big news from the mountains of North Carolina is the rain. Buckets and buckets and rain have been falling for days and days. And it is getting old. David was watching football yesterday and I found myself trying to soak up some vitamin D through the high definition television. Before it started raining last week, David and Noah picked up fishing permits and started looking for some fishing holes. They have had some catches....nothing that has made it to the dinner table...but they are really enjoying themselves. Now they are waiting for the rain to stop and the rivers to settle back into their banks so they can get back out there!

Working from home

This time of year I am working working working. It is easier to go to work during the day and then bring work home for after the kids have gone to bed and stolen moments during the weekend then to just be at the office more. There are definite downsides to bringing work home; lugging my computer and notebooks to and from the office, forgetting a vital piece of info or technology (i.e. power cord) either at home or at work, etc. But there are also perks; Nimmy loves to help staple and stamp and affix labels, only being away from the home front 25-30 hours per week, and kitties that love to curl up in a file box just to bring a smile to my heart.

....quick wisdom tooth update....
I had oral surgery on Friday morning. Meredith hung out with the girls so David could take me in. I walked out of the office with a large credit card bill and holes where 4 teeth used to live, and might I mention, have been causing me great pain for years and excruciating pain for the last few weeks. I am healing well, living on liquids, loving ice packs, and so far, not swelling up like a chipmunk.And for all that, I am thankful.