"Pies and Keeny"

The above title means "Pumpkins and Candy" in the Tate's 2yr old language. We had our fill of Halloween festivities and have tons of candy at the house to prove it!

Our Halloween week kicked off with a visit from Gamma and a trip to the Seward Farm's Corn Maze. We had so much fun at the playground, answering trivia questions to make our way through the corn maze, riding the cow train and taking a hay ride. It is such a cute place! Pictures will follow soon - we had to use a disposable camera because my batteries were out!

Next, it was into lots of Halloween crafts - decorating Halloween t-shirts with Gamma, making pumpkin cookies and finally carving Pumpkins. Tyler carved her own kitty-cat pumpkin, Eben worked with Scott on a "scary" pumpkin and Tate and I stuck stickers on a pumpkin for him (Scott later carved a "T" into his pumpkin. Here are some pics to share:

Of course the week ended in lots of candy gained from trick-or-treating. We went with some new friends to a nearby neighborhood. The kids were thrilled with the hayride they set up in a trailer attached to their truck. We got lots of candy and we're happy to share!

Circus with Nona!

In mid-October we had a great visit from Nona, Scott's mom, known as Robbie to the rest of the world. She preached for Scott on Sunday morning while he was out of town and then had some down time with the kids for the rest of her quick stay. Definitely the highlight was a trip to the Cole Bros Circus of the Stars. While it was obviously a small-time circus, the kids didn't know any better and it was great for them to be able to sit up front and, for the boys, experience their first circus. They were spoiled greatly by Nona with cotton candy, funnel cakes and super cute face painting.

If Boys Ruled the World ...

If boys ruled the world, the following three videos explains what the world would be like ... it would include a huge mess, lots of bike riding, laughter, cuteness, a bigger mess, and some singing.

Tyler and I stepped out of the house for a bit on Saturday and here's what happened. Fortunately these boys have a wonderful father who documented it all and made sure it was all taken care of before mom got home!

First Place!

Dr. Tyler won first place in the chemistry division at the science fair! She came up with the idea to do the popular "Mentos in Diet Coke" experiment except she used several different sodas to determine which gave off the best eruption. Answer: Diet Coke! Here are some pictures of her, the experiment and her blue ribbon!

Smells Fishy!

Scott had a successful fishing trip with the guys in our small group on Sunday night. As our "hunter/gatherer" he brought home two speckled trout and two big redfish! Here are some shots of him and the boys on Monday morning cleaning them up. Tate was a bit suspect of the cold fish but Eben loved them! Oh, and can't forget to include the fact that Scott also cooked them up for us on Monday night: fried fish for the kids (trout) and blackened redfish with a seafood stuffing for the two of us! Why do I even bother?!

Belhaven, Belhaven

This past weekend we made a quick trip up to Jackson, MS (home of our alma mater, Belhaven College and also where Scott and I first met, dated, made a home, worked, had Tyler). We drove past the old apartments and met my college roommate and family (hi, Kathleen!) for lunch at Keifer's (mmm!). But, left with an hour or more to kill before the wedding we were there for, we took the kids over to Belhaven and showed them around. It was a gorgeous day and so nice to see a much-improved campus from our days there. Although we graduated some time ago, seeing our kids running through the same spots where we first started our relationship - well, it seemed to me to be a completed circle. Incredibly fulfilling to know this was a place so important in our lives - at first it symbolized the tail end of our childhoods and then our introduction to adulthood - it was the place we learned, grew up, first met, first kissed, the place we came back to after getting engaged. And now, to see our kids sticking their feet in the fountain and walking the same sidewalks was incredibly satisfying!

Belhaven has done well for itself as far as the facilities go - we were incredibly jealous to see what a gorgeous campus it's become and incredibly sad to see "our" swing is now gone and replaced by in-ground fountain.

Belhaven, Belhaven, we shall not wholly part,
This dear green hill shall bind us still to God and thee in heart.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

As a close to the birthday extravaganza week we welcome Tyler to her eighth year! Happy seventh birthday, Tyler!

I can't believe we have a seven year old, a second grader, a reader, a writer, a beautiful, caring, artistic young girl to call a daughter! As I prayed with Tyler before bed on her birthday I teared up (many of you know this deserves a blog post on it's own!) at the idea of how incredible she is at seven. She is super smart, incredibly caring, patient (especially with her brothers), thoughtful, giving, laid back and easy to accomodate. To be her mom is such a priviledge and this was one of the first times, as a young mom, I felt I could look back at a substantial period of time and feel so proud of who she has become and all she has to look forward to. Tyler tackles Bible memory with a passion, she will go along with anything and is "so bored" with second grade because it's "so easy".

We celebrated at home with presents but the next night we took three of her friends out to a nearby paint-your-own pottery place and then to CiCi's for pizza. It was such fun to see her interact with her friends, to get to know them, etc.