Beach

Things have been very busy around here. So, we looked at the schedule and realized that we had an opening to squeeze in a beach trip. This is the BEST time of year to go. The weather is warm, the water is warm, and the beach is empty. We were able to get a house right on the beach......there is nothing better than watching the kids play in the sand at the bottom of the stairs while you sip wine on the deck and watch dolphins play in the waves. Just beautiful...

 

 It never fails...Gage is always on a quest to catch a seagull...

 We brought our babysitter (Adam's doctoral student) Jess with us...she does so much for us!

 I got a new camera for my birthday...and this was the perfect chance to test it out...

 I love this one...

 And this one....

 And this one..I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I posted the all!

 Both kiddos got a little kite flying in one morning...

 Hard to believe that Adam's hat almost fits Gage!  That big head...is why I still pee my pants every time I laugh or sneeze ;-)

 No trip to Gulf Shores is complete without a stop at the Hangout, where we always stop to see our mermaid first!

 And take the obligatory hangout photo!

 They are growing up too fast!

 A little "we're so excited to be at the beach" dance

 A great family photo :-)

 

 We found "bird island" one morning :-)

 Sandbars are the best...

 Love this one too...

 a few shots around our house

 

 

 Feeding seagulls from our deck

 Here's Gage...heading out to our little beach spot...with a virgin strawberry daquiri in his hand :-)

 Catching sand crabs. I don't have a photo..but one night Savannah and I went out at night with our headlamps on and caught crabs -- a whole bucket of them!!! At least 25. It was so much fun :-)

 Our "sidewalk" :-)

 

 

 Cocktails on the deck

 Love it...

 Little feet :-)

Fall :-)

Fall is here.  Some days are warm and sunny, some are chilly! We seem to be collecting a lot of pumpkins this year!

 Halloween just wouldn't be the same without our witch. So funny to think that Gage used to be scared of her!

 Posing with the pumpkins

 Crazy eyeball man!

 Riding bikes...

 Or, more specifically, riding bikes with the sole intent of making skidmarks on the driveway!

 Still nice enough to be outside swinging!

 And playing in our spider-infested playset!

  Craft season is about to get into full swing.  Here are our mummy toilet paper rolls :-)

And our spooky "lipstick" ghosts!

Fun run

Today was a fun run at school. The goal was for the kids to run 35 laps..and both of them did it!  

2nd grade was up first. Savannahs class named themselves the Funky Fowlers.

Gage's class named themselves the Rhodes Rockers. 

He was so proud that he ran all 35 laps.

glad it was a beautiful fall day for this and that I was able to be there to cheer them on :-)

Green stripe

I thought that karate people went up in "belts" as they advanced. But..today Gage got a green stripe on his belt. So...apparently there are steps for stripes in between belts!

Smidge

Savannah always wants to hold Smidge. But...smidge doesn't like anyone but me to hold her. She will sometimes snuggle the kids when they are sleeping - I often catch her snuggling Gage at night. She's finicky. So...savannah was very excited that she was able to hold smidge for a minute. Literally, one minute. You can see how happy smidge looks about this ;-)

Mummy

We mummied the door for a Sunday morning craft project!

Gage's first field trip

Gage's first field trip was great!!! I am so glad I was able to be there for it. 

Instead of face painting...Gage opted for arm painting!

They had a blast on the slide. To kids would go in at a time, and as they climbed the wall...the kids would all tell "go Gage go Gage go Gage" for every kid who went in. Super cute :-)

Here is Gage and his friend Collin, riding out to the pumpkin patch.

His prized pumpkin...

So...the kids got a chance to fish...with cane pokes!! What?! I thought cane pokes were from they times of Huck Finn! But...it turns out that people in the south still use cane poles all the time. The other moms were shocked that I had never fished with one..and that I thought they were not used today. Hmm...learn something new every day.

Finally, we stopped by to pet a calf. Then...Gage decided he was hot, tired, and ready to hit the road. So, we checked out and headed home. Great day :-)

Fall Festival

Year two of Fall Festival is on the books. It was a huge success. We had 30+ carnival games, face painting, pony rides, a petting zoo, a medivac helicopter (which had to take off about 30 minutes early for a call, which the kids thought was super cool!), snow cones, and all sorts of fun stuff.

These little rats were super cute...and that's not something I ever expected myslelf to say. I loved how they kept peeking out of their little bins.

We had the chick fil a cow, sparky the fire dog..and all sorts of fun!

The kids were doing gymnastics courses, digging for plastic spiders in piles of hay, finding jewels and pirate treasure buried in the sand. 

And now...mommy is very glad it s over!!!

Addict!

Hello, my name is Gage, and I am addicted to Pepperidge Farms raisin cinnamon bread. It is the only thing I want to eat for breakfast and dinner every single day since I tasted it last week. This morning I ate three pieces for breakfast. I cannot get enough of this stuff. If I could figure out how to toast and butter it for myself at school, I would eat it for lunch every day too. 

Naked letters

Just hanging out after a bath - naked - and writing word and drawing our family on the mirror.