Thanksgiving from Lake Lanier Islands

It was a quiet Thanksgiving this year.  We enjoyed a lovely pre-purchased holiday feast from the Fresh Market for the first part of the day.  Then, in the evening, we followed Jackson to his part time job at "SnowWorld" where, ironically, there is no snow.  But it was cold, so we pretended and had fun anyway.  So proud of Jackson for going out and getting a job all on his own and being a super employee as well as part of their advertising campaign! 

Daddy won the wishbone pull.

Working hard or hardly working?

Well, Jackson's not quite the "face" of SnowWorld, but he's close.

Let It Go Kami, Let it Go!

I like to call this Elsa perfection.  Kamryn made her momma very happy on Halloween when she said she wanted to be the beloved "Frozen" character.  The other daughter in this house (who will remain unnamed), did not bring any such joy to her mother as she refused to be Anna, Elsa's adorable sister. She wanted to be Batman in a tutu. No matter how many times I went around singing "Do you want to build a snowman?" she wouldn't budge. You would think she was a teenager or something. 

Joshua was Mr. Invisible (obviously) and had fun trick or treating with his friends, or should I say "the squad" as they have named themselves.  Along with some other moms, we trudged through the neighborhood retrieving gallons of candy and being overexposed to horrifying creatures of all shapes and sizes. One Freddy Kruger reduced Kami to hysterics.  I tried telling her he was fake and to stop crying, to which she sobbed, "but my mascara is running!" 

Once again, happy mom.

And, as usual, Jackson is missing because he is not only too cool to dressed up like a character from Frozen, he doesn't allow himself to be photographed at all unless it is a special occasion.  I even offered to buy him the Olaf costume! Teenagers.

Defensive End #9, Joshua Voorhees

We are coming to the end of another football season.  This year found Josh usually lined up as a defensive end and he has done great playing on this side of the ball for a change.  Running backs and wide receivers had a hard time getting anything past him.  And when he hit them, they knew it!  

And a little pep talk from his big brother always helps!

Competition Cheerleading: The New Contact Sport

They look quite polished in their uniforms, but don't be fooled! These girls are strong, flexible and tough. This is the first year Kathryn has been on the competition squad, so the rigorous practices, intense competition and injuries have a taken us some time to get used to.  But Kate's inner-athlete has emerged and she is doing a great job and enjoying the girls on the squad. It has been a fun experience and we continue to be impressed with our little athlete.

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

I can already tell, fourteen is going to be fun.  Of course, with Kathryn, every age is fun.  She's upbeat, cheerful and pleasant just about all of the time.  So we celebrated all of her awesomeness by shopping, lunch, and a family dinner at the Habachi restaurant.  Everyone had a great time eating with chop sticks and after dinner, enjoying Kathryn's favorite: cake pops, which are really just smaller, more expensive cupcakes on a stick. But when Princess Kate has a birthday-she gets what she wants.  Actually, Jackson and Joshua will tell you that she pretty much gets what she wants every day as she has her daddy wrapped around that little finger pretty tightly. But she is so great, she's worth it.  We love you baby girl and are so proud of you! Happy 14th birthday!

Homecoming

This year Homecoming came a little early, but still brought all the fun festivities that once again proves Buford to be a small Southern town with beautiful traditions.  A pep rally, half day of school, the annual parade and the football game was enjoyed by all.

Nerd Alert

Nobody rocks Nerd day like these two.  I'm so proud of them for being brave enough to not care what everyone else thinks and have fun!

Life Changer

Having a grown man child in the house is strange enough, but when he can drive…it's kind of like an out of body experience.  Ever since he has had his permit, we have let him drive everywhere.  As difficult as that was at first, we are reaping the rewards now.  Jackson is very capable and eager to run to the store, take kids to school, and chauffeur himself to lacrosse practice.  But every time he pulls out of the driveway I pause for just a bit and think, "is this really happening?" 

That said, I'm also secretly loving it! I can see how moms get used to this.  It is amazing how having just one extra driver during the day reduces my daily travel time.  I'm convinced this a life changing event…for the better.

No Labor on Labor Day

Hot tubing, swimming, tube rides and lots of playing-but definitely no labor for us when most of the Voorhees family came to visit this holiday weekend. We made lots of memories and had tons of laughs over these all-play-and-no-work few days. We were so excited to share our Georgia home with all of them and are so thankful they were willing to make the long trip. Here is a glimpse of just some of the fun we had:

Uncle Jay and Uncle Joe ran the chains at Joshua's game.  What a treat for Josh to have his uncles on the sidelines!

We celebrated Jay's birthday with a red velvet cake and a few candles.