Carving good times

Did someone say 40?

TODD, I SAID, DID SOMEONE SAY 40?!?!? He can't hear so well now that he's literally in his 40's. Monday marked the day that old man McLure hung up his 30's swag and combed his hair a little more to the front to cover the tell tale signs of being in your 40's.  We spent the majority of the weekend watching...soccer! That's right. Even though it's your birthday, there are two little men in this household that will make sure to make it all about them. The boys had heartbreaking losses in their games on Sunday but they are the best losers around! Their team held their heads high and kept on playing as if the score didn't matter. (Wish we could have gotten a mercy ruling at some point, but they kept on playing their little hearts out!) 

Dinner later at hibachi was widely celebrated and you wouldn't have been able to tell that the boys lost even one goal, they were just happy to try and catch a flying shrimp in their mouth. Monday, Todd took off work and did whatever he wanted. When the boys came home from school he whisked them away to Stars and Strikes and they played video games and bowled for as long as they could. Todd opened presents when we got home and we had a nice relaxing evening. Happy birthday, old chap! This house loves you and hopes the next 40 are just as great!

Socc-o-ween!

Last weekend the boys Strickers soccer club had a Halloween party for the players and families at the Outdoor Y. Nolan was sooooooo mad at me for making him dress up. He nearly cried the whole way to the party, wore a sweatshirt when we first got there and hardly spoke to me. Then, after all the other parents told them how awesome their outfits were, he began to love being Franz (and, he told me later with a wink...I'm the taller one).  These were their Halloween outfits from when they were 3-years-old and I had no idea at the time that I would be able to use them again.  I cut the sleeves and sprayed their hair.  They loved it!

I 

Germans? Forget it, he's rolling.

No, his frat name is not 'bluto', he does not have a 0.0 grade point average, and he cannot drink an entire liter of Jack Daniels in one swig. (I will say, I can't wait for the day I can watch a movie like 'Animal House' with the boys!)

This past week the boys have had Greek week where they've studied mythology, gods and goddesses, and played Olympic Games like cotton ball shot put and paper plate discus. They even got to wear togas in honor of the deities. Nolan had one as well but wanted to wait to get to school to put it on to make sure everyone else was dressed up and he wasn't the only one!  Reed doesn't care what other people do or think, he puts himself out there and just goes with it. Opa!

The Mc-Hikers

We wanted to explore the north Georgia mountains with a hike on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Seeing as once we got to the mountains we realized how well our kids listen when we told them what to pack...they listen to nothing!  We told them to pack a jacket...Reed forgot one so he wore my sweatshirt all weekend. We told them to pack socks and shoes...Nolan heard 'socks', wait, no he didn't, he had to borrow Reed's. Also, Nolan only brought slides and soccer cleats. Not the best hiking shoes, buddy. Long, moderate/difficult hikes were out of the question. We found a short, paved half mile in, half mile out stroll to see Anna Ruby Falls. Even though the trail was pretty crowded, it was, in fact, pretty. The falls were lovely and everyone loved seeing Polly coming up the hill. 

Lederhosen trekking

Last weekend the boys had 2 soccer games on Saturday somewhere inside the perimeter. They did very well themselves, even with Reed taking a ball straight to the face, but lost both match ups. From there, we got permission from the great Emily Harris, 'Andma', to use her house in Helen for a quick little getaway for the night in the mountains. The weather was perfect and even though it was technically 'Oktoberfest', it wasn't all too crowded like we've seen Helen get at this time of year. We got up there in time to drop Polly at the house and head into town for dinner. Being that the UGA game was on at that time, we required a restaurant that served food, beer, and ESPN. Big Daddy's was a recommended place from the nice lady at the first biker bar we stopped at. She was right! They had plenty of TVs with the game on and a looooooot of gooooooood people watching! After dinner, the boys wanted to play putt-putt and Pirate's cove was open until 11pm so we had plenty of time to play, even though it only took them about 90 seconds to get through the whole course!

I had to sit outside of the game because I had my ferocious beast of a dog with us at the game. The ref told me that the 'Decatur poh-leece ain't got no troubles written ya a ticket for the dawg'. 

Walking for the ta-ta's

We laughed.  We cried. We walked.   We (they) survived. 

We walk and cry and laugh some more and the survivors keep surviving.  Every possible emotion worth experiencing, comes out in a weekend like the 2-day walk.  Each year I'm more and more impressed and inspired by people's generosity, love, and support for me as a walker.  It's amazing to go through this experience year after year, and every year gets better,  and every year I can't wait to sign up and do it all again 365 days later. 

This year my lifelong childhood friend since the 2nd grade flew all the way down here from Wisconsin to spend the weekend with me and walk the short 30 mile distance for breast cancer. She was such an amazing companion to have by my side and I know that if anything ever happens to me, she'll be right there, ready for anything. Thanks, Ashley O! 😘

And as if walking all weekend wasn't enough, my sweet Ma brought the boys to meet me at the finish line and then we headed to The Ted to see the Braves win! Reed caught a foul ball within the first 20 minutes of the game and Nolan found a Tom Glavin bobble head in his chair. They both said, "this is the luckiest day of our lives!" 

The Hard Rock Cafe opens its doors to our giant 2-day group for breakfast and some encouraging words to get us excited to walk in the rain!

Katie's brother, Bryan, and his excellent photo bombing skills. 

These 11 beautiful ladies are the survivors on our Breasta Fiesta team. Every year I do a little something for them (to make them feel special) at the Saturday night dinner. Kris Barkely (middle, grey long sleeved t-shirt) has kept each item and worn them at the dinner. One year it was a cape, the next a tu-tu, then a glow Mohawk, and this year they all got cowboy hats. Looks like I'll have to come up with something else to add to her collection next year!

Can someone check Lorin's pulse!?!

Yes! Finally finished!!

And then the Braves! Aunt Ashley took the boys to the pitching cages to see how fast they could throw. I'm pretty sure the MPH gage was broken as the boys could pitch a few 40+'s but then would hit 60! Ha, they all had a great time!

Beach babies

Fall break was over a week ago but it's never too late to post pictures! We had such a fun week at Seagrove this year and the weather was perfect. We relaxed on the beach, went crab hunting, dug holes, went for bike rides, and found new and cool places to hang out. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take much to convince this crew to move down to 30-A. Until next September...