Tonight was Halloween, so we did the traditional soup dinner before the kids headed out for Trick-or-Treat. Both sets of our parents and Nathan's grandma joined us for the occasion. The kids wore the same costumes that they did to AWANA, but the girls decided to trade dresses. For Ellie, the highlight was getting her princess make-up done by Aunt Katie. 
Jacob
Ellie, all made-up
Emmy Kate
Family Photo
Katie sorted the candy for us
Recently, our church has been studying the book, Outflow: Outward-Focused Living in a Self-Focused World. Basically, it compares life to a fountain. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you can't help but have God flow into other areas of your life, namely, your family, your community, and then the world.
Ellie added the chicken stock powder
Kaiya added the vegetables
Jacob added the soy and then the bag was topped off with rice
Ellie draws her pumpkin design
Jacob scoops out the pumpkin guts
Ellie with her princess pumpkin complete with heart eyes, nose and lips
Emmaline imitates her pumpkin
Jacob and Daddy came up with this cool design
Princess Emmaline
Knight Jacob
Princess Gabrielle
It didn't take Emmaline long to get the hang of things
We always try to take a few family shots in the beautiful fall foliage. Jacob's finger injury cut this sitting short, but we still got a few pictures worth sharing.
Sai and Katie
I love the fall colors behind Ellie
Jacob in a tree
Today starts the beginning of our annual fall trip to Cowan Lake. This year we have two cabins, so we can spread out more and not have everyone and everything crammed into one small space. Each day I'll be posting pics. from favorite things while we do or see while we are there. Today we celebrate the playground and the joy the kids find while playing there.
Ellie can swing so high now that it makes me nervous
That's one way to go down the slide
The girls tried holding hands while they went down
Ellie has turned into quite the poser for pictures
Jacob is fairly careful with his knives and we haven't had to deal with any injuries to this point. Today, however, was a different story. While we were out walking, he was wittling a stick and didn't pay attention to what he was doing. Instead of cutting the stick, he sliced his left index finger leaving a 1" wound. He and Nathan spent 5 hours in the ER in Wilmington this evening waiting to have his finger treated. We've been through the stitches routine twice before with him, so we prepared he for what would inevitably be coming. For some reason though, the doctor decided to use Dermabond (glue for your skin) instead of stitching. We'll see how this holds up. In addition to the Dermabond, he has to keep his finger splinted and wrapped until we go see the pediatrician next week. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and he was still able to enjoy an ice cream sundae when he got back to the cabin.
The weather was absolutely beautiful while we were at the cabin. It was a bit chilly in the mornings, but then it would warm up enough that you wouldn't need a coat in the afternoon. We had fun walking to the lake, watching the blue heron and turkey vultures fly about, and looking at all of the fall colors that abounded in the trees.
On the beach with my hubby
Sai and Katie in the woods
Papaw and Emmaline
Emmy loved playing in the sand
Sai and Jacob skipping rocks
We've been renting a cabin at Cowan Lake for as long as I can remember. This is the first year we had two cabins and it worked out well. Our cabin became known as the party cabin and we spent the evenings (after the kids were in bed) "discussing", playing games, and having a great time.
Playing dominos with Daddy
Snuggles with Emmy
Sai learned to play "Peanut"...a must in our family!
Have you ever seen "The Office" episode where Michael and Jan host a dinner party and he brags about how he installed his flat-screen tv by himself? This tiny tv (quite a down-size from the one that was there last year and the only one in the cabin!) reminded me of his!
It's not a trip to the cabin if you don't make s'mores. We've experimented making s'mores in various ways. My favorite is pictured above: a perfectly-toasted pair of marshmallows sandwiched between two fudge-stripe cookies.
Who wouldn't love this chocolate-covered smile?!
Katie worked the assembly line
Jacob used his knife to help cut sticks for the fire
Sai, Katie's boyfriend, roasts marshmallows for his first-ever s'more experience
Mom likes her flame-kissed
Ellie sports a marshmallow moustache
