Cowan Lake, in pictures...

Here are some of the highlights from our trip to Cowan Lake:

The wonderful fall view

Our hiking boots, all lined up

Celebrating Mom's birthday

Emmy, all smiles


Playing peanut with Katie and Andy

Jacob writes "Mom" in the sand
He then wrote is own name too. I asked him to write Ellie's name and he surprised me by spelling it all on his own! What a smart kid!

The Camo Crew: Jacob, Uncle Andy (his is the real deal), and Ellie

Enjoying hot cocoa with Aunt Katie by the fire place

Walking with Papaw through the crunchy leaves

Mom, Katie, and Andy head down the big hill behind our cabin

Making s'mores

Eating s'mores

Whether in the stroller, or being carried in the sling, Emmaline always fell asleep during our walks

Ellie, Jacob, and Nathan "roughing it"

Family Photo

It was kind of sad when we loaded our stuff into the van and drove away from the cabin. We were sad to go, but look forward to next fall and all the new memories we'll make.

Another MeMe

7 Random things about Me:



1. I love being a stay-at-home mom, but sometimes wish I had a job just to escape the chaos and get some adult conversation.



2. I do not like milk. I can only stand it on cereal if the cereal is sugared or I've added some sugar to it to mask the taste. Apparently, I've never liked the taste of milk because my mom says I wouldn't drink it when I was little either. Ironically, I love cheese and ice cream!



3. My nickname is "Sticky". I was always super-thin (I hate the term skinny...it doesn't sound complimenting at all!) growing up, so my family started calling me this because I resembled a stick.



4. I love my New Balance gym shoes and wear them all the time. Occasionally, I'll dress my feet up in something nicer, but I usually pick comfort over style.



5. I am still friends with several people I grew up with. Nathan and I met in kindergarten (25 years ago). I also met Becky M., Becky D., and Jen B. at the same time. My "longest friend" award goes to Emily though because we met when we were 3-months old.



6. I hate to sweat! Therefore, I hate to be outside in the summer or doing anything that makes me feel hot and sticky. Bring on the AC!



7. My favorite place to eat is Don Pablo's. They have the best cheese enchiladas that I've ever tasted and their rice and corn cake are yummy too.



If you want to do this on your blog, consider yourself tagged.

6 Habits

Emily tagged me for a MeMe and since I don't have anything else to write about today, I'll do it now. I'm supposed to tell 6 habits I have, so here goes:

1. I wait until the last minute to get myself ready. My excuse is that I only want to do my shower/make-up/hair once, so I wait until everything else is done around the house before I make myself presentable. This is a BAD habit, because I am always in the bathroom adding the finishing touches when guests are arriving downstairs. I'm working on overcoming this, but so far, no luck.

2. I don't like diet pop, but drink a lot of it anyway. Okay, so not a lot, but any time we go out to eat, I usually get a diet whatever to drink with my meal. I was very anti-diet until I got gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy and couldn't drink regular pop anymore. Since gestational diabetes tends to comeback as type 2 diabetes later in life, I've resigned myself to drinking diet from now on. Occasionally, I'll reward myself with a regular pop...like when I go to Taco Bell (which isn't often), I always get regular Dr. Pepper. It just isn't right to get anything else to drink there!

3. I totally underestimate how long it will take us to leave the house to go somewhere. I know it takes me 45 minutes from start to finish, but I never seem to leave enough time for me to get myself plus 3 little ones into the van in a timely fashion. Hence, we are late by 5 or 10 minutes for just about everything. Of course, having a hubby who waits until the last minute to get himself (1 person) ready doesn't help!

4. I love to watch tv in the evening, so I stay up too late. Granted, I'm usually folding laundry while I watch, so I stay up until everything is folded. Unfortunately, this means I don't get to bed until 11 pm most nights. Then, I want to sleep in in the morning, which is impossible with 3 kids, so I'm tired all day, but I can't go to bed early because I have laundry to fold...it's a vicious cycle.

5. I love to cook and spend lots of time reading cooking/recipe magazines. Well..."lots of time" is relative, but I spend more time reading these magazines than others I subscribe to. It is so much fun to pick out new things to try to make by myself or with the help of the kiddos.

6. I love to blog and check other peoples' blogs. It is fun to keep others up-to-date on what our family is doing and to catch up on what friends are doing with their families.

So, there are 6 habits I have. I'm supposed to tag someone else to do this MeMe, but since most of my friends don't blog, I'm not sure who to tag. If you happen to be reading this and want to join in the fun, feel free.

Happy NaBloPoMo

Well, it's officially National Blog Posters Month. The idea is to post something on your blog every day during the month of November. I will attempt to do this, but seeing as I'll be gone for almost a week during this month, I won't promise anything. Okay, how 'bout I promise to post more often than once a week? Sounds like a good goal to me!

I was tagged awhile back to do a MeMe by Jenny at Mommin' It Up, so here goes...

What were you doing ten years ago?
1) Going to college
2) Studying
3) Dating my future husband
4) Working at Fazoli's
5) Planning my wedding

What were you doing one year ago?
1) Being a mom
2) Getting ready for Jacob's 4th b-day party
3) Complaining about being 6 months pregnant
4) Painting the girls' bedroom
5) Catching up on my scrapbooking

Five snacks you enjoy:
1) No-sugar added ice cream
2) String Cheese
3) Taco Dip
4) Triscuits
5) Peanut butter and crackers

Five Songs you know the lyrics to:
1) Glory of Love by Peter Cetera
2) Winnie the Pooh
3) The Way You Look Tonight by Tony Bennett
4) theme song to "Ducktales"
5) Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1) Buy a bigger house
2) Buy a new car for Nathan
3) Donate money to Down syndrome research
4) Pay off all debt
5) Take a family vacation with all siblings and grandparents

Five bad habits:
1) Worrying
2) Staying up late
3) Not folding and putting away the laundry right away
4) Watching too much tv
5) Getting behind on housework

Five things you like to do:
1) Spend time with my family
2) Play board games
3) Scrapbook
4) Blog
5) Eat out

Five things you will never wear again:
1) Shoulder pads
2) Pants at my waist
3) Halter tops
4) Bangs
5) Layered socks

Five favorite toys:
1) My computer
2) My digital camera
3) My son
4) My daughter
5) My other daughter

Five things you hate to do:
1) Fold laundry
2) Wash dishes
3) Mop
4) Clean up doggy stuff in the backyard
5) Pay bills

I'm supposed to tag someone else to do this and Emily, you're the only other person I know who blogs, so you're it!