He's making a list . . .

Ellen, Mary and John made their requests to Santa on Saturday. Santa asked Ellen if she wants a boyfriend for Christmas. Thankfully, she said, "No." John asked for a bow and arrow, Mary asked for a blinky-eyes baby doll, and Ellen asked for walkie-talkies. We'll see if the nice outweighs the naughty.

Trick-or-Treat!

Here's the official Halloween 2008 photo. Ellen dressed as Nancy Drew, John is a football player (obviously) and Mary is in her Cinderella-Before-She-Turned-Into-A-Princess costume. Clever, huh? They got all sorts of loot, home by 7:30, enjoyed their allotment of three pieces of candy, then off to bed by 8:15. We only had one kid come twice for candy this year. My biggest pet-peeve? Adults who bring their babies in a stroller, park the stroller on the sidewalk, mom walks up to the door and says, "I have a little one over there." Really? Well, I don't have any zwieback toast or baby food - who's the candy for, exactly? Happy Halloween and Bah Humbug!

Apples, apples, everywhere!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Ellijay to visit the apple orchard.



Our sweet friend Renee joined us.



John enjoyed "kicking apples" while we were supposed to be "picking apples".

Mini-Me

I've been told Mary looks like me. Okay; now I see it. Here's a picture from our weekend trip to the apple orchard.

Eewww!

The neighbor captured a little snake and the girls were so brave. John and I were totally creeped out, but the girls and Garrett were very excited the with the door-to-door petting zoo.

Location, Location, Location

We were at the Jackson Co. McCain-Palin Rally tonight. Right behind the park where the rally was held, we noticed the Obama Headquarters. We felt compelled to take the opportunity to express our dislike.

Mary's essay reading went well. . . we are so proud. I'll try to post the video of her big moment.

A Crab!

This is my favorite picture from our beach trip. Garrett caught a crab (in the bucket) and John and Mary are really thrilled at the prospects of getting closer to it . . . tee hee. John's expression is the best.

Beach Bums

We had a blast on our first trip to Jekyll Island. You would think we rented the beach for ourselves. We may have seen 20 people each day, until the last. One advantage of home schooling is that we can take advantage of a relaxing trip any time of year. John had a great time boogie-boarding. Last year, he wouldn't even get in the water alone - big change this year. A little confidence can make anything more fun. We can't wait for next year's beach trip!