Halloween 2015, with More Smoked Meat

Laura as Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony; Clare as a latte (costume made by yours truly with Dollar Store supplies); and Danny as Legolas, an elf from the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings

When Halloween falls on a Saturday, it's just awesome. In fact, we parents were discussing how great it would be if the powers-that-be opted to change Halloween to the last Saturday in October. No rushing from work in horrific traffic; no hurrying around to get things going because it's a school night; and no chance of having the school activities wear out the kids before trick-or-treating even begins. (It's an added bonus when Luis can smoke meat without having to stay home from work.)

Really not sure when, or why, Laura has taken to posing as though she is on the red carpet?!

Suffice to say, we enjoyed our Saturday Halloween. Soccer games and swim practice in the morning kept kids active, and then they somehow found ways to keep busy for the rest of the day (with a rare, but necessary, nap for Laura mid-afternoon). Finally it was time to don costumes and head once again to the Francos for the seventh year in a row. This year, we were joined by the DiBiase family, which was a winning combination.

As usual, Tim took Laura trick-or-treating and reports that she loves Halloween and is quite adept at walking to doors on her own, and remembering her manners. He also planted the seed in her mind that she was gathering more candy than the big kids, which obviously fueled her fire!

Both Danny and Matthew had eagerly awaited the sorting and trading portion of the night, which apparently did not disappoint. As Danny declared this morning, this was clearly his most successful Halloween. I concur!

Pumpkin Procurement

While real life called to the Francos, we delayed our return to city life just enough to swing through Burt's Farm. Not only were we in search of pumpkins, we also owed Laura a hay ride thanks to a highly disappointing trip to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch the day before. If nothing else, that trip showed us that Burt's has really figured out the logistics of such sites.

Laura was delighted by the hay ride, which was a pleasantly relaxing experience for us all on this gorgeous autumn day. From there we proceeded to the plentiful patches of pumpkins and came away with some stunners, two of which Laura has already marked up with crayons and markers. A true artiste...or maybe just a good way to pass the time while I unpacked from our weekend.

We are now in the full fall spirit around here!

5th Annual Mountain Weekend

To say that we Seymours were looking forward to our mountain weekend with the Francos is among the grossest of understatements. And to say that it flew by way too quickly? Well, it absolutely did. Which, we keep reminding ourselves, just means that we had a wonderful time.

Our hike through Fort Mountain State Park took us above the cloud line. (Twinsies!)

We feel like we may have honed in on the right house for our weekend goals and may consider a repeat booking next year. It had terrific access to the river for fishing, a fabulous FIRE pit, appropriate accommodations for all nine of us, and was surrounded by gorgeous scenery. Done and done.

After their extensive, not directionally-challenged walk.

As usual, we worked in a hike, lunch in town, plenty of s'mores and glow sticks, delicious home-cooked dinners, epic foosball matches, fishing and outdoor play (the perceived lack of wifi on the part of the kids was a magnificent bonus).

Until next year! (With a little reminder to pack foil, salt and our own wine glasses.)

Laura's Soccer Career Takes Flight

Feeling fierce before her first practice.

This fall, we decided to bite the bullet and add Laura to the family rotation of activities. The fates took mercy on me by assigning her to a team that practices at the same time and place as Danny's team, which led to a dance of joyous victory on my part.

Although she was verbally not overly enthused going into it, she jumped right in at practice. There was only one practice before the War Eagles' first game, so we weren't too sure what to expect on game day. Turns out she got into it, big time, and never wanted to be on the sidelines! After spending the first few minutes a bit unclear on which direction she should kick the ball, she wound up scoring her team's first goal!

The scoring shot...with Danny standing behind the goal, cheering her on.

Danny was on hand to cheer for her and award her a hug after her goal:

Laura definitely did not shy away from the ball, and if anything will need to be taught the art of passing and sharing with your teammates. But based on this first game, I think the timing was right for her to join the sporting life!

First Day of School 2015: Laura

Last, but not least, and nearly an entire month after Danny, Laura began her final year of preschool! She was perfectly content to go, but not nearly as excited as I was. Fortunately, it was a great day for both of us!

More Caves! (Or, Our Trip to Rock City)

The long weekend meant a great opportunity for a family outing, as did the nice weather, so on Monday we loaded up in the van and headed to Rock City. Situated just on the border of Georgia and Tennessee, Rock City sits high atop a mountain and features spectacular views (theoretically of seven states) as well as some incredible rock formations.

These included many cave-like passages that we all particularly enjoyed watching Tim squeeze through and/or duck under:

"Fat Man's Squeeze"

We ate lunch in the cafe overlooking the place where, during the Civil War, they first discovered you can see seven different states. We remain skeptical, but it was quite scenic nonetheless. After lunch we continued our amblings, including this overlook near a waterfall that height-averse Danny chose to go nowhere near - but Clare was all over it.

I think we all appreciated the opportunity to get away, get some fresh air, and just spend time together. What better way to spend a holiday?

Clare's First X-Country Meet

After several weeks of practice, the Marist Middle School Cross-Country team competed in its first meet - and did quite well! Clare looked strong, and more importantly felt great after the race. There is something very exhilarating about a race - a feeling you just don't get from a regular run.

Her entire family was supportive and proud, and Laura decided her calling is to be a cheerleader. She LOVED shouting, "Go Marist!"

I think we are all happy to be part of this community!