Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend was the first free weekend we've had in a while because of marching band. Hannah has always enjoyed fall activities, so we decided to take her to Pettit Creek Farms. They have pumpkins and a petting zoo, plus it was only half an hour away from home. Most of the good pumpkin or apple farms are much further.

Hannah enjoyed feeding the goats, sheep, and alpacas.

The corn maze was more of a walking path rather than a maze, but it was enjoyable. We've been to serious corn mazes and this was not at all like those.

Hannah got to ride a camel. She said that was on her bucket list.

There was a nice hay ride (minus the hay) that went around the property. There are all kinds of exotic animals on the farm, such as zebras, kangaroos, and emus. 

There were two feeding stops on the ride, so we got to feed camels.

We let Hannah pick out a couple of mini pumpkins too. 

We had a very nice afternoon. We ended up spending about two hours there. It was a little chilly when we first arrived, but it warmed up while we were there. Hannah wants to go back there at Christmas time to see the lights and reindeer.

Off to College

My last post was of my baby boy's graduation. Fast forward a couple of months and yesterday we dropped him off at college.

The last few days were a bit emotional for this momma. I think the thing that has hit me the hardest is knowing that things will never be the same again. Yes, he's going to be visiting us. He's going to be spending holidays and summers with us. He may even live at home and commute for some of his college years. But it's going to be different. It's the realization that he's an adult now. He's moving forward and that's tough.

I'm wondering if I have prepared him adequately for everything. He's ready, but am I?? I don't think I'll ever be ready, but it's too late now. We dropped him off at his dorm yesterday.


The van is all loaded. It doesn't look like much, but the back seats were down and the whole back of the van was full - it was just a single layer of stuff. It is a lot less than I took when I moved into college though!

I got teary eyed a few times this week. This was the worst - it was when James said goodbye to his cat, Scout. 

His dorm - he's living in one of the older dorms on the Marietta campus of KSU. 

Check-in was really easy. They had carts so it was really easy to move in. It just took one trip from the car.

It's a traditional dorm room - 2 beds, 2 dressers, 2 closets, 2 desks. The bathroom is across the hall.

It's a small room. Aren't most dorms? The guys have their closets/wardrobes up against the foot of their beds, facing their desks.

Here's James and his roommate.

Here's James and Hannah. She helped set up the dorm room for her brother.

Yes, he is only 15 minutes away from home. However, I felt it was very important for him to get the dorm experience - at least for the first year. It's all part of the growing up experience. We will see him today because we have to drop off some things he has decided he needs.

We're proud of you baby boy!!!

Graduation Day 2016

Today my baby boy graduated from high school. It was an emotional day for me!!! My father and his girlfriend drove down for the event. Chris' mother flew down. We invited our good friends, the Washburn family, too. Eric Washburn happens to also be our personal photographer. Here are some pictures from our day.

The day started with some light rain. The rain stopped about 10 minutes before the ceremony began. And then it was hot & muggy! Graduation started at 9:00 am. There was at least one medical emergency in the stands. I was pushing water bottles on our group so no one would get dehydrated. T


My eyes were a little teary during the processional. Because James hasn't had a hair cut in a few months, he was easy to spot because of his hair.

I had to use bobby pins to get hold his mortar board on him. He bumped it as he exited the car and never got it straightened again. So throughout the ceremony, his cap was tilted way to one side.

Another teary moment for me was the recessional. I did okay during the rest of the ceremony.

There were 550 graduates. The whole ceremony was finished at 10:30.

We had everyone over for brunch afterwards. Eric took some family pictures for us there.


James with his Grandma Pat. (Chris' Mom)

James with my Dad, Grandpa Karl.

The family

Brother & Sister

James and parents

The four of us

Another family shot

James and his friend, Tyler (son of our photographer friend)

James with his kitty, Scout

We are so proud of this guy!!!!

Gardens

On this beautiful Sunday, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and do some gardening. Last summer we never got around to planting our summer vegetable garden, so we started with that.



This raised garden was here when we moved, so we have enjoyed utilizing it. Our last successful garden was a "Salsa" garden and that's what Hannah wanted to do this year. We are growing tomatoes, jalapenos, and banana peppers. We are also going to grow onions, but we need to find a different place for them.

Chris will set up the weeping hose in here for easy care.

Then Hannah started her fairy garden. Actually it's a gnome garden if you want to be technical. She's going to make a few more fairy gardens around the yard later.

Then Chris added this solar light above the gnome garden so the gnomes have some light.

We got a lot accomplished today!

Winter Guard 2016

Shortly after marching band season ended, Winter Guard started up. The season started in December and lasted through the first weekend in April. Winter Guard is more dance and performance along with flags and weapons. They participated in 3 or 4 SAPA competitions and 1 WGI competition. Here are some photos from the season.

The costumes weren't ready in time for their first competition so they all wore black.

The small, but mighty group after that first competition.

Getting hair help from a friend before another competition.

At some events there was a lot of down time which meant hanging out with friends.

Or trying to take a nap.

A Starbucks stop before the competition at Marietta HS.

James came to one of the competitions to support his sister. We didn't make him attend all of them.

A week before the last competition, Hannah broke her thumb at practice. She couldn't spin or twirl flags for the last competition.

Here are some pictures from their performances.

The championships were in Chattanooga. Hannah took a nap on the bus ride to Tennessee.

Chris drove the blue McEachern truck to Chattanooga.

Before the final performance.

Group photo with some of the MHS Winter Guard alumni.

And after the performance, Hannah broke out the Sharpies and let everyone sign her cast.

On our way out, the concessions workers were giving out free pizza and popcorn. Hannah was happy.

It was definitely a tough season. She had practices on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays every week and most Fridays & Saturdays too. But since it was a small group, she made lots of new friends. She enjoyed it, but is thinking about passing on it next year. We'll see......