Rock 'n Roll and Family Time

OK, I know this is waaay in the past, but I drafted it not too long after it happened. Then, I guess life just got in the way and I sort of forgot about it. So here it is...This was early November 2011...

Erin and Shaun ran in Savannah's inaugural Rock 'n Roll Marathon.

Actually, they ran the half-marathon, running together most of the way and finishing with exactly

the same time - 1:50:27!

Not too shabby for a couple of 30-somethings!

While they were running, Grayson kept busy teaching school at Mimi's

(among a million other things). He goes ninety-to-nothing all day long! 

After the race, we spent the afternoon with GranAnn and GranStan,

while pulling on the Dawgs. Enjoy the pictures!

Playing Captain Hook. The bell was his hook.

Kenzie Ann

So we have neglected to get on the blog in quite some time so I wanted to at least post some pictures of Kenzie and let everyone know that we are doing great.  Big brother Grayson is being a big help and really seems to calm Kenzie down when she is fussy so that is nice.

These are a few of the pictures from Kenzie's one week photos.



All Smiles!!!

 And here are a few more pictures from around the house........

Getting ready for Valentines Day.................she is gonna be a heartbreaker (almost time to buy a gun!).

I hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying their winter (or whatever you call the season we are in.....)

Thanksgiving Weekend Trip

We took a weekend trip over Thanksgiving weekend. We went to Huntsville Alabama and then drove over the border into Tennessee. Why Huntsville and Tennessee? Well, first I will tell you how this came about.

I follow several blogs and one of the blogs I follow is called SouthernPlate.com. One day she decided to write about her family weekend trip instead of posting a recipe. They stayed in a 100 year old cabin in Falls Mill TN. Once I saw the photos, I decided to look into it further.

Next thing I know, I am emailing the owner of the cabin to see if there is any availibility. Mind you this is the Fall season, so I doubted there would be any openings. She responded the only night she had available for the rest of the year was Saturday, November 26th ( yes, GranAnn's birthday). We decided to book the one night and we are so glad we did!

Friday, we drove to Huntsville and toured the Space Center. It was really interesting and recommended, but I want to tell you about Falls Mill.

We arrived early on Saturday morning as it was only 1 hour from Huntsville. As soon as we arrived, about 10:00 am, we were greeted by the owners. I did not tell you that the cabin sits on the grounds of an operational Grist Mill!  Check-in was not until 3:00, but she said the cabin was ready and we go let ourselves in!

The owners of the Mill have owned and operated it for about 30 years. The story on how they aquired the Mill and the "ups and downs" is fascinating.

For each guest, the owners provide a loaf of fresh baked bread, bag of grits, pancake mix, blueberry muffins, blueberry turnovers, hamsteak, fresh farm eggs (the young girls from a farm nearby brought them), orange juice, milk and even cream for coffee. The bread and blueberry muffins were very good!

We cooked breakfast on the morning we checked out. She said to please not worry about the dirty dishes and to leave them in the sink, but we could not do that!  There are movies in the cabin and just about any board game you could think of. There is also hidden money and you are supposed to find it and then hid again for the next guests. Elizabeth had a great time looking for the money.

We had such a great time and will go back!  The grounds of the mill are beautiful and I have included a few photos. Oh, and you may see a few on our Christmas card in the mail to you!

The owners house:

The grounds:

Lovely place!
I hope I did not mistype any words, as I could not get the spell check to work!

Camping fun with Griffin!

While Erin and Nickey were enjoying their time in Athens cheering on the Dawgs,

Artie & Susan (Grandpa and Mimi) got to spend a long weekend camping with Griffin.

What a fun and busy weekend we had!

"The Green Cabana" (out-house) in back saved long

trips to the bath house, especially late at night!

 

Camper from across the lake.

We went fishing off the dock...

And Griffin caught the first fish. There really is a fish on that line!

Griffin actually caught the most, even though none were big enough to keep.

I think the big ones were hiding.

We went on a hike - the Swamp Bay Nature Trail.

The trail was actually one way, but it was really pretty there & back.

We had to know secret passwords at strategic places along

the path. Griffin was the gatekeeper!

 Even Shiloh hiked with us!

Shiloh is as much a camera hog as Griffin!

Griffin and Grandpa threw the football...Good catch!

We went searching for a Geocache, which was pretty hard to find.

Griffin took a silly band and a slinky from the box.

Grandpa cooked breakfast and supper - yum!

Every night we had a campfire - it was really cold!

Warm fire and video games!

We cooked s'mores, banana boats and even roasted hot dogs.

Griffin ate three hot dogs!

We put together a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle,

even though 2 pieces were missing.

There was a full moon and Grandpa took some really cool pictures!

Can you tell we had a blast? See ya later!!

Happy Halloween!

The Hogans came over to the Leipprandt's neighborhood tonight and helped us trick or treat...what fun!

Elijah and Kate were definitely the cutest superhero and princess (Cinderella of course!) at our block party.

They all LOVED the trick-or-treat part of the night. Kate and Elijah would get their candy, turn around, and ask us, "so which house are we going to next??"

Molly and Brit didn't quite make it around the block...we were all pooped by the time the night ended. Hope your Halloween was happy!

Elizabeth and 4-H

Ok, now for another attempt at blogging. I want to tell everyone about how busy Elizabeth has been with 4-H. Oh, and yes, I have been just as busy since I am driving her around to all of her 4-H events!

Elizabeth decided to join the 4-H Horse Club. Since joining in September, she has been in the Marble Festival Parade, a horse clinic on how to control a horse when spooked (for the parade), volunteered to help build a fence at Twelve Stone Farm (they rescue horses), and another horse clinic for beginners.

I am sure you are asking, did Elizabeth get a horse?  The answer is NO!  Not going to happen in any future that I can see. The horses are not expensive (we even have someone who will give us one), it is the upkeep of owning one. She can still participate and can lease a horse for an event. Or she can volunteer at several horse stables around the county and "earn" a horse for an event.

This weekend she attended the horse clinic for beginners. I learned so much about horses!  Here is Elizabeth riding Grace. Before she could ride, she had to groom the horse and play "friendly" games with her horse.

After riding with a saddle, she rode bareback, not what I thought of when someone says they rode  bareback, but this is what it was called!

Elizabeth had a great time and so did Mom! 

Until next time.....