Thanksgiving Island Style

We headed to Bald Head for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! I absolutely love the ferry ride over where you get to leave all your "troubles" behind and get on "turtle time". We had great weather, a great rental house and a lovely Thanksgiving feast, that we did not have to prepare and clean up! We had fun on the beach, ran a 5K, biked all over and enjoyed time with family and friends.

1st Awards Ceremony in 2nd Grade

M. was going for citizenship. I mean she really, really wanted the citizenship award. Why, I do not know. All we knew for sure was that she was getting some award. I arrived with my camera all set to record the occasion. Turns out she did not get citizenship but did get TWO others. I secretly hoped this would make up for the coveted one. She got outstanding reader and outstanding homework. There were several kids who got the reading award but only one homework award. Okay, I thought homework was mandatory and, of course, you would always do your best on it. Whatever, just glad it was my kid with the outstanding homework. Now I am justified for making her do it daily and to an "outstanding" job on it each and every time! Go Mom! Maybe next quarter I can get the outstanding homework drill Sargent award!

Wild West Birthday

Our next door neighbor had a western birthday complete with ponies, thanks to Nana! It was a perfect, sunny and warm November day for a backyard birthday. M. was dressed for the party, not exactly as a cowgirl but awfully darn cute! She had a "fairy" party later in the day so she was trying to dress for both. They had a fire for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows too! Great party! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA!

A happy Thanksgiving (early)

We are going out of town with my husband's family for a long Thanksgiving weekend so we had Thanksgiving with my family early- on Saturday! We also fried a turkey for the first time. And not just any turkey but a local, fresh turkey! We rubbed it first with some awesome spices then cooked it for about 35-40 minutes. It was the moistest turkey I have ever eaten!! We also had yummy green beans with walnuts, goat cheese and a vinaigrette, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry bourbon compote, brie and chive buttermilk biscuits and a jello salad. For dessert a pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap/pecan crust and pecan tarts and chocolate pie. It was a feast that we enjoyed sharing with our family, who I am so thankful for!

Fall Foliage/Eye Candy

Football Saturday

Perfect afternoon in Chapel Hill for a football game! Gorgeous blue skies and the beautiful fall leaves. Unfortunately we did not get the outcome we were hoping for but we did have fun. Kick off was at 3:30 but we were there by 1 to tailgate and the girls went to part of a NCAA field hockey game! GREAT DAY!

Pirate Pace 5K

We had a 5K for my youngest's school this morning! It was a beautiful fall day, a crisp 39 degrees but warming up. The course was unbelievably hilly but I won (in our family) with a time of 29:10. H. finished in 30 and K. and M. who ran together with no stops, finished in 38 minutes! L. refused to get up so we subbed one of K's best friends in. Fun for our whole "family"!

Good Eats!

Found the most fabulous dish this weekend. It was so good, I made it three times! It was lunch on Saturday for K. and I, then dinner for me on Saturday night (home alone with only my 7 year old), and then brunch on Sunday after church for K. and I again. DELICIOUS!! I took thick slices of country bread and made cheddar french toast with thyme (key ingredient) served with yummy cooked thick slices of tomatoes. The french toast batter is heavy cream, two eggs, sharp cheddar cheese finely grated, salt, pepper and THYME. Soak the slices 1-2 minutes per side and cook over medium heat in a skillet adding a little of the cheese left in the batter with a fork to each side. Cook until golden brown on each side. Wipe skillet then add a little olive oil and a thick slices of tomato, salting and peppering each side. Cook 2 minutes per side and serve along side the cheddar french toast. Oh So Good!!

And K. cooked up some good eats for her soccer buddies who were playing (and winning) the 2nd round of the State Championships!

Eco- explorer!

My Brownie Girl Scout troop helped a relatively new community in our city by planting hundreds of trees. We actually planted 4-5 but there were about 200 people out on a chilly Saturday morning to help with this big project. The girls learned the value of trees and how they help the earth. We planted mostly Maples, whose roots grow out and not down (I did not know that!). We were out there for about 3 hours and the temperature never got past 40 so our little toesies were FROZEN! We came home and put on Uggs with socks and had some hot chocolate! Great morning for M. and me!

Feel (ah, taste) the Love

This has been a cold week! I made homemade chicken pies for dinner this week and each was personalized with the vegetables of choice and even a "chicken free" chicken pie for my vegetarian. The pies had an initial or sign to designate its owner. They were delicious!!

Last Field Hockey Game-Rnd. 1 of State Championships

Well our team made it to the playoffs! Exciting on one hand since the team has only been in existence for 2 years and a bummer on the other because we are a little tired and the girls need more time to study! It was also our senior night where the 5 seniors on the team are honored! That part was very nice and we had a great time at the game. The team played really well and had LOTS of shots on goal (just no goals!) but lost in sudden death overtime. Rough way to end it, especially for the seniors. But we will be back next year!! Loved having both my girls on the same team for a season!!

Trick or Treat!

Busy night at our house. We had a neighborhood halloween party then I took L. to hang out with some friends, K. went to dinner with a friend after finishing up the UNC application and H. took M. trick-or-treating with friends all around the neighborhood. He said they must have walked 2 miles and based on the candy haul, I would agree! When K. returned, she and I passed out candy and just talked. It was fun hanging out together! A good night was had by all!

Choosing the perfect pumpkin!

This was the latest we had ever bought and carved our pumpkin! And it was October 31st at 2:30 pm. The big girls were at field hockey practice so we just had M. Went to the place we had always gone, a local church, whose youth group sells pumpkins as a fundraiser. So when my husband asked if the pumpkins were half price today, he was met with a "no". M. chose quickly and easily then posed with the wooden cut outs. Then we headed to Taste (again) with the whole family because it was so good yesterday! Carving followed close behind!

New "Taste" In Town

Saturday after a really awesome time at the corn maze our whole bunch went to a new frozen yogurt spot in town. We now have about 4 of these, and all opened within the past 6 months. Weird. But this place was so cute and festive, self serve and had tons of toppings! Best of all it was DELICIOUS!!! I was just going to share a bite from everyone else but ended up getting my very own. My flavor: California tart with crunchy granola and fresh strawberries.