Who knew?

Look what we did!

Who knew that when we moved to Alabama there would be so many wonderful places to spend the day hiking & exploring. A couple of years ago we discovered Cathedral Caverns, just 30 minutes away, an emormous cave reaching a mile down into the Earth complete with stalactites & stalagmites! Just right in our own neighborhood, Three Caves, Monte Sano Mountain with gorgeous views & hiking trails.
A couple of weeks ago (on our Veteran's Day holiday), we headed to the Bankhead National Forrest, about an hour and a half away, and discovered the Borden Creek Trail. What a great day! Get ready, here comes LOTS of pictures...

BIG trees....

with BIG leaves!

A rushing river...

Lots of cool stuff to climb on...

How cool are those massive roots??

Rocks, cliffs, and caves, Oh My!
 

There was a fine mist waterfall falling here, that the camera couldn't quite capture...

Photo ops....

Me and my peeps...

A personal fav...

To get those big grins, all I had to do was say, "Whatever you do, DON'T SMILE!!"

I should remember this for the annual Christmas card picture that makes me lose my religion!!

Last one, for posterity....when you gotta go, you gotta go...

What a FUN day! If you live in North Alabama, make a day trip. You won't regret it. There are several trail heads to choose (even camp primitively), this particular trail had the highest family rating.  It was 2.7 miles in. You have to go through a very narrow cave to complete the trail...if you are claustrophobic, stop there. If you like a little adventure...go all the way!

Why I love kindergarten

The boys are away today. They have gone to Oxford to watch the Rebels play some football. Which leaves me & the girls home to just hang out together. It is so incredibly quiet when Gabe is gone! That boy can do some serious talking. Anyway, the beast  Amelia is napping, so it is VERY quiet and Ansley has the opportunity to play a little play-doh uninterrupted. I walked in the room & realized that she's just been hangin' out with her "bat-hat" on for hours. She made it in kindergarten & wears it like crazy. I think it's super cute. She is so loving kindergarten and I think it's all about the arts-n-crafts!

"Mom..stop takin' my picture!"

On to other things, I spent this morning at a John Rosemond conference. Love him. Read lots of his columns...never have bought a book, but so love his style of parenting. His recommendation was..."Pay less attention to your kids & stop micro-managing their every move." Discipline with love & leadership, and we are all been equipped, by God, to parent these children. Those were the ones on the top of my head. Lots of other good stuff too. Go see him, read his thoughts. It's always good to hear a level headed perspective!

Tate Farm, The Mecca....

This post was going to be named, Tate Farm, Part I. You see, this place is the field trip mecca of North Alabama in the fall. Typically I go there about 3 times a season for 3 different field trips for 3 different kids...typically it's not monsoon season in Alabama. Monsoon season has resulted in the cancellation of many flag football games and Tate Farm Field Trips. It has rained, and rained, and rained. I dare not complain though. After many years of drought, I have a hard time wishing it away. (and I must admit, 3 times to Tate Farms is about 2 times too many for me!...don't tell my kids!)

A yearly favorite: The Corn Crib...

It was all I could do not to rip off my boots and hop in there too. Don't think I didn't do it last year! I was the ONLY mom who thought it would be fun apparently. I may have looked silly, but I was quite the hit among the kindergartners!
Let me tell you, THE CORN GETS E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!!!! On the way home I cracked up when Amelia handed me a corn kernal & giggled & said, "Momma, dis corn was in my ear"... And when we got home & everyone went potty before bed & Ansley walked out of the bathroom wondering how corn got in the potty...... I guess you get my point.....

Bunny petting, always a big hit with our little ones. They're critter lovers.

We went at night this year with a group from church. It was super fun. We picked our pumpkins in the dark with the help of flashlights....not sure we made the best pumpkin choices, but it was fun. Ansley & Amelia always want to pick the tiniest pumpkins they can find. Cute.

Till next year Tate Farms!

It's beginning to look alot like....Fall!

I'm into the white pumpkins this year.

I do love my spider votive holders...

Got the Spooky Tree last year at Pier One. It's my favorite!

Ansley made the little sweet gum spider at school. Love that too.

More white pumpkins...

Didn't do much outside. In years past I've had the fake web & spiders...a blue bird got hung in it last year and I had to manually remove him. With Scissors. I was horrified he was going to flog me! No more fake spider webs here. Just mums and pumpkins. Safe for all the flying creatures :)

HAPPY FALL!!!!

Family Photo Shoot

It was a cold and blustery autumn day....

but Mrs. Erin still managed to get us to smile and pull off some great pictures!

My children despise having their picture made! Or should I say they despise posing for us.  For Erin, it's a different story. She has a way of making having your picture made fun. We are thankful to have her for a friend and to know her sweet family. And to have the ease of picking up the phone and saying, "hey, we need a picture made!" She always pulls through for us! Thanks Erin!

The Boys...

"A Man and His Dog ... Cat"

Don't ever let him tell you he doesn't like cats.

On The Farm, Part 2

I know you can't see their faces and the quality is bad, but I just like this picture anyway. This picture reminds me of me and my friend Candy wading in creeks & ditches for hours looking for crawdads, tadpoles or any other kind of creature we could come across. This water was fresh and cold...straight out of the earth. Nice. Did I mention that in my previous "farm post" that I love the country? Especially this particular "Mountain Farm"? ....I do.

I think Janye must have been describing to Gabe what a geode looks like.

This was right after Amelia fell in the creek and her wet clothes had to be removed...I don't think she minded too much, do you?

Umm, yeah, I think she's posing... I don't know where she gets that??

Snack time on the...mower?

One more that I let slip by the other day. Bless her heart. Look at those udders. And that sweet baby calf. Perhaps just born that day? Precious.

Snack Time Babies...

Amelia needs a baby sister people. She's not going to get one. At least not of the biological variety.

As I've mentioned before, when Ansley is away at school (sounds like she's at college...but I mean a mile away at half-day Kindergarten), Amelia takes full advantage of being able to play with sister's stuff...especially the babies. 4 blissful hours of rocking, feeding, changing. And on this special day...a little Noggin....It's like preschool on TV! (?)

I know, I know, it's now Nick Jr., but I refuse to call it that. If they put SpongeBob on there, we're deleting it from the channel list.

God's Country

This my friends, is God's country. We had the priviledge of spending the day on some dear friend's farm just outside of town. Oh my. It was gorgeous and refreshing. My children had so much fun riding Rangers through pastures and between the cows, climbing rocks, wading in creek beds, hunting for geodes and buckeyes...the list goes on and ends with a fire and marshmallows. It is in their blood, you see. I spent alot of my childhood doing similiar things. Roaming countryside. I'm a country girl at heart and long to live on acreage in the middle of nowhere. (Within driving distance of a good school & a Target mind you!) You see, I am not inclined to be a homeschooler. My hats off to you homeschoolers, but it's not for me! And of course, we I chose the town we are in (over another) based on the presence of a Super Target. I know people, it's just one of those things. Roll your eyes if you must. My name is Mandy, and I'm a Target-aholic.

Getting back on track....

Is this creature gorgeous or what? Hundreds of these guys/gals wandering around not minding sharing a little space with the Humans.

Come on Mama's, we know how she feels don't we?

Sweet it is though...

"Moo cow, baby cow!!" is what Amelia always exclaims when we see a baby cow. We saw lots of brand new baby cows that day. I have lots more pictures to share. Till next time! Moooo!!!!

Sweet Dreams

Night-Night everyone!!!! 

If you're a cat lover, then you love this picture...If you're not...well then, I'm sorry! I understand that there are those who can't stand cats...their sneakiness, their shedding hair, their persnickety-ness. Maybe your nose is itching & eyes are watering just looking at it, but Boo Kitty is such a sweet cuddler to all of us. Luckily none of us have fallen victim to pesky cat allergens.  He warms us up on the coldest of nights, and purrs me to sleep nightly. It should be a sound option on the noise machine for sure! May your night be filled with warm furry cuddles & soft purring!  (If you have a cat, that is!)

Has Anybody Seen Amelia?

"Hey, does anybody know where Amelia is?"

look closely....

Oh dear. I have created a little computer monster as well. (Don't worry, it's not the internet....just family photos).

She's a Barbie Girl, In a Barbie World

Ansley's busy today...working on her thesis...

Dinner!

The update is that they killed their limit and had a blast! While Gabe wasn't exactly ready to shoot the big gun, apparently he made a good "retriever" and shell collector.

Once they were cleaned, we rolled the dove breast up with a hunk of cream cheese, a jalapeno and bacon and threw them on the grill. "Birdie Bites" they shall be known as...(taken from Uncle Joey's version of "Bambi Bites").

Everyone agreed that the dove was delish...even the girls. But seriously, anything wrapped in bacon & cream cheese and grilled is delish, right?

He's a natural born hunter.

Open Season

Guess what Gabe's doing today?



If you live in the South, then you know...today opens Dove Season!!

First Father/Son hunting trip...

(pardon the sandwich-fixin's in the background--it's lunch time)

Gabe is so pumped!



He practiced in the backyard alot this summer...

I'll let you know how it went!