A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That:

Noah's self-portrait:
My toothless boy:



Michael took some photos of my attempts at royal icing flowers for my Cake Art class:


Victorian roses, daffodils, daisies, and chrysanthemums:





also...primroses, apple blossoms, and violets:


Michael came home early on Friday, so I picked him up and we had lunch with Noah and Eve who happen to be scheduled closely together for lunch.
Noah was trying to get his food container open:

Noah: "It's hard to eat ice cream with no front teeth."

Forget about Texas...don't mess with Eve:
Mmmm...chocolate milk:



:::::::::::Helping Hand:::::::::

Michael and I went to help some friends from church at a garage sale where the proceeds go to the cancer center. Noah and their son were friends in pre-k. Sadly, their son died from cancer, but they have turned their grief into positive efforts to help kids fighting cancer. We were only able to stay a couple hours because Michael was suffering from a painful head cold. We were so impressed by the people who donated their time and who came to support by buying items. Michael was able to purchase a rock climbing harness for the girls.

Take care! :)

The Tooth Fairy Sets Up A Tent at The Taylor House...

Noah was brushing his teeth, this morning, and came down with a tooth in his hand. He said it got stuck in between the bristles. He now has both of his two front teeth gone. Rachel's molar was the other day. With the way the economy is going we may just slip a few dollars in as a request with the 700 billion dollar bailout. I'm not sure anyone would notice.


Thank you to everyone who called and emailed about my last post! Y'all are AWESOME! Also, thank you to Suzanne for the crazy old advertisement email. I will never look at Lysol the same way again...EVER! I also think choosing to walk with my bad foot is still a better method at weight lose then a bottle of tape worms. :)

My neighbor, Kristen, invited me to go kayaking. We went here:

The Dam Store Canoe and Kayak
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come enjoy the North Georgia jewels, Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River in a boat. Kayak trips, Buford Dam to Settles Bridge, 5 miles, 2 + hours only $10, shuttle included. Convenient shuttle times.

We had a fun paddling in the 48 degree farenheit water, while the air was in the warm 80s. We saw a couple of blue herons, sunning turtles, mallards and a few fly fisherman. It turns out to get a photo with me in it you have to go with a friend who dares take her nice, digital camera and a Ziploc down the river.


:::::::::::::::::::::::Cake Art Class:::::::::

I finished my royal icing flowers for my final class. I put the final product away before snapping a photo, but I do have a few to upload tomorrow. I will bake the cake and put a crumb coat on Monday. I also have my color flow pieces done. I'm hoping that nothing gets demolished before "game" time.

:::::::::::::Playin' Around::::::
with a kit by Karen Lewis and Danielle Engebretson:

Take care! :)

It's SweaterSweatshirt Weather!

The cool weather approaches and the sweatshirts in my wardrobe are about to be pulled out...much to my dear spouses chagrin!

Happy Birthday to Grampa Jim! I'm glad you liked the "Duct Tape" cake!


:::::::::::::::::::::::Birthdays were celebrated for::::

Aaron on Saturday, after he and Michael returned from their camping/fishing/water skiing trip with the scouts.
Rachel's birthday was Sunday and we went to Granny Sue and Grampa Jim's for cake and presents. Mom mom bought some yummy cookie cakes for the kids.

Since the weekend was so busy we are having a couple of their friends go with us to Stone Mountain and do the Sky Hike as their birthday party.


:::::::::::::::TOO Eventful:::::::

Friday was a bad day for Aaron. Several friends and family already know what happened. If you would like to know about the particulars email me and I will let you know. I appreciate the kind words of support for him!

:::::::::::::::Book Review:::::::::

This book was a dash of Roald Dahl, with a pinch of Lemony Snicket and sprinkled with classic childrens' literature. I loved reading this book, out loud, to my kids. We enjoy things that are twisted and fun. The four Willoughby children long to be orpans like in the "old-fashioned" books they read. Their parents long to be childless. They find a baby abandoned at their doorstep...and the adventure begins. You don't have to know all of the classic tales to enjoy the book. The author provides a bibliography that gives a brief synopsis of each story referenced. My favorite one in the bibliography is the one about Mary Poppins. I give this book 5 out of 5 Baby Ruth's!

:::::::::::Almost Done with Noah's Baptism Album:::::::




:::::::::::::Our Next Family Reading Book::::::::

:::::::::::::::::::::::::Hulu.com:::::::::::::

I have watched two movies this week: "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, then I watched "Xanadu".

::::::::::::::::::::::::Photos::::::::::::::::::

I have a few I will try to upload tomorrow with photos of the kids on their birthdays and a couple of my cake art stuff.

Later gators! :)

Birthday Pics...

Michael helps the kids put on helmets:

The guide puts Eve on Moose (the horse):

Rachel climbs onto Dallas:
Noah and is funny horse, Bandit:

Aaron and Scout:
Michael on Wishes (my horse, Ranger, is in the background):



A cool Golden Garden spider at the stable office:
No birthday is complete without an opportunity to get your picture with the:



Eve says we are silly...because it is just a port-o-potty.

Michael and Noah on the 4-wheeler in Pine Mountain:

Michael with Rachel:
Noah prefers the pile of sand:
Haley and Rachel taught Aaron how to drive the "mule":
Rachel and Aaron with cousin Haley:

A cool gift from Aunt Katherine:
Rachel and Haley mugging for the camera:
Granny Alice found a yummy cake at the store:

Cousin Tyler and Aunt Tracy:

Aunt Katherine takes a spin:
My sisters using sticks to take down huge spider webs in our path...not always successfully. We were all laughing at how goofy we knew we looked. The other benefit of trapsing through the woods is taking a bunch of chiggers home...NICE! (right, Katherine!) My sisters are so funny. I really like hanging out with them!


We never did find the old cemetery we were looking for...maybe next time...and a quart of some banned chemical that keeps chiggers off!

:::::::::::::::::::Kudos:::::::

I'll upload some photos from Granny and Grampa Towhey's later. Grampa already has a fantastic blog about the birthday. He also blogged about Denny and his 30 years with the DeKalb Services Center for the handicapped. Denny was NOT thrilled with the attention, but everyone did a wonderful job. The Eagle Scout projects at the school are so needed and look great.

Yeah to mom and Jim for giving blood, too!

:::::::::::::::::::A Noah Moment:::::::

First thing this morning Aaron checked his email and called up, "Hey look, I got 12 emails, Dude!"

To whit Noah replied, "They're probably filing complaints against you!"

Take care!