Events, Holidays and other days I did not get a chance to blog about…
As a mom of teens, a tween and a toddler on top of being in college there is a lot of things I do not get a chance to share with y'all , like special events, holidays and other trips. This is a blog that catches up theses moments over the past two months or so...
Fall Festivals
Every year we go to the local Fall festivals: Mule Camp and Gold Rush. We love looking at all the stuff people have made and tasting all the food people have prepared. It is something we always look forward to doing as a family. We usually try to hit a few more, but this year, we just did the two big ones in our area.
Mule Camp: Steven and I have been going to Mule Camp together since our first anniversary! We do everything in our power to not miss it because, at this point, it is an anniversary tradition! It was drizzling day this year, but Lou did have a lot of fun in bounce house thing, and the older girls and Steve went to the used book sale… which is where we spent most of our time! (Steve found a ton of books for his baseball bookcase!)
Gold Rush: We do try to go to Gold Rush every year, but this year Steve and I were not really feeling it because we were still adjusting to him being on day shift, but we promise the girls if it was not raining we would go- and It was a bright and shiny day! I’m glad we decided to go, we had a great family day! We even ran into my “other daughter” (one of Sissy’s friends that we claim as our own) that we have not seen in such a long time!
Home Run Derby at Coolray Field
In case you did not know- we are baseball fans! Lou and Steve’s favorite place in the wholes wide world is Coolray Field. So when Steve saw they were hosting the “Red Kettle Kick-Off Home Run Derby event,” a free event there with lots of kid activities, where all the proceeds went to help The Salvation Army of Gwinnett County, he knew we had to go!
None of us had ever seen a home run derby before, and it was the first time (inaugural) this event has been held there, so we were not sure what to expect. In true Steve fashion, we were there almost as soon as the gates opened. They had so much cool stuff to see and to do before the derby even began. They had live music (it was Christmas music so… they kids enjoyed it), bouncy houses (with no height restrictions, so Lou was so happy!), face painting, some different local mascots (of course Chopper was there, Lou’s best friend), and the princess were there… OH!! and even Santa was there!!! The girls' softball team from a local college was there running the bouncy house before the derby, and they talked baseball with Lou and raced through the obstacle course with Lee! It was soo much fun!! When it was almost time to start, Steve sat us right by the field.
Basically, the goal of the home run derby is for the batter to hit “home runs” (that were markers for the different levels of players) and for every home run hit, the salvation army received $100. There were three rounds: the first they got ten non-home runs, the second they got five, and I think three for the last (I am not sure that’s the right numbers- I was not a prepared blogger and did not write it down- sorry!?) The girls' softball team were in the outfield to catch the hits and determine if their hit was in the home run zone. They had hitters from the local High School teams as well as former Atlanta Braves player: Mark DeRosa, Nick Green, and Mark Wohlers. We had such a good time!! We will definitely be going again next year!
Veteran’s Day
Veterans Day is not a huge holiday for most, but we do try to do something to remember those that we loved that have served IN ANY CAPACITY in the military, passed on, or living. A small way that we can show we are thankful for their service and sacrifice!
For Lou’s Lesson that day, we learned what a veteran was and the different branches of the military. For her “artjects” that day, she made an American Flag with Soldiers at the bottom, made a poppy field like in a story we heard about Remembrance Day, and made a thank you book that ended with pictures of veterans in her life. These veterans included our close friends and family.
The veteran we celebrate the most in our lives is Paw (my dad/ the girl's grandfather). Paw was apart of the Army and National Guard. Luckily my dad was here for the holiday this year and was able to attend Lee’s school Veteran’s Breakfast and La’s school Veteran Days Luncheon. Unfortunately, Sissy could not celebrate with him, but she got the opportunity to perform at a Veterans Day ceremony at a local church and the Veteran’s Day parade at a local Elementary school! Lou also joined in on the celebration by making him a cheesecake (that doubled as a birthday cake) for him!
Mall Trips
This may not seem like events, but mall trips sure feel like one to me! We have gone to the “big mall” two times in the last month! During the first trip to the mall, After the older girls hit all the stores they wanted to see, we all took Lou to Build-A-Bear! Someone had given the girls a Build-A-Bear gift card, and everyone agreed to let Lou use it. She got a puppy!
The second trip felt like we were there for YEARS!!!! (even though it was actually only 3 ½ hours ) But in my defense, that morning was hectic, and it was raining, so I was over the trip before it even started. La was meeting some friends to go shopping with, so it was just Sissy, Lou, and me (Lee stayed with daddy watching anime)! We walked the whole mall and looked in so many stores! Lou got to do lost of fun things too- like ride the Carousel, play at the indoor playground, and the train table at the book store! It was a super fun trip, and the two that were hanging out with me got some excellent quality sister time!
Nanny’s Birthday
One Last thing to mention ( that is last in events, but not in importance!!) is that my mother's birthday also falls in November! Lou loves to make people birthday cakes or sweets to show that she loves them! Love made her some three-ingredient peanut butter cookies (we may do them again for a Lou makes in the future because we love them, and they are soooo yummy!) While they were cooling, Lou made her a birthday card where she drew a picture of Nanny making Necklaces with her! (ironically, I will be adding a few of my mom's necklaces to the website today and tomorrow!! *SKU numbers that begin with JS*) We packed them up and went and met her to get frosties! It was not a big celebration, but we did get to send a little love her way on her actual birthday!
So that is all the holidays and event updates that I had missed sharing over the last two months or so! Even though they may not seem like major events, these are the moments I live for as a mom- the little moments where we just hang out together and appreciate being together!
We are working hard to update the website all this week, so be on the lookout for new items! As always thanks for taking time to be part of our crazy! Until next time…..