The Home of the Brave

For a music teacher, the holiday season begins in September. All of my classes have been immersed in patriotic music for Veteran's Day since right after the first couple weeks of school. My choir has been working on our holiday musical for at least three weeks. The holidays are on the brain!

I have sung The Star Spangled Banner at least a thousand times since September. (That song is a little on overload for me at the moment.) We were headed home after the school the other day and Landry pipes up from the back of the car, "Hey! We need to find the home of the brave."

"What?" I asked.

"You know. The 'Home of the Brave.' It has to be around here somewhere."


"Oh, right." She had just been in music that day. "You know that the 'Home of the Brave' is all of America. The song is talking about our whole country."

"Well, that's the silliest thing that I have ever heard!"

First Day of School 2014

The first day of school is a process, especially for a teacher's family. Summer has been over for us since about the first week of August. We still had fun and laid around, but there was also lots of time spent at the school working in my classroom getting it ready for the new year. Fortunately, my kids have great imaginations, I have lots of great props in my room, and they actually really enjoyed going to the school to work. This was one of the massive forts that was built. There were lots.

The dogs on the other hand have not been happy to not have us around all the time. When I get home, they are stuck to my hip. I was making dinner in the kitchen and they were just hanging out, watching.

I have been very fortunate to have sisters that have been able to come down and stay with the kids during the week plus of teacher inservice days that occur before the kids head back to school. Aunt Esther made it down this year and we were happy to have her help out.

The weekend before school started Uncle Graham and Aunt Bekah also came down for some fun family time. The boys had the best time playing video games with Uncle Graham and going to see The Guardians of the Galaxy.

We girls were all headed to the grocery store. I had to stock up for the coming week! We also had a good time doing some shopping.

The first day of school finally arrived and Grace had to be at the school at 6:30 a.m. for volleyball tryouts. She and I got up and headed out early as I had to be at school pretty early as well. Dad was in charge of getting everyone else out the door.

Look at those grown up kids!

Gibson, 4th grade. 

Landry, 1st grade. 

Hayden, 3rd grade. 

Grace, 8th grade. 

By the way, after three days of tryouts, Grace did make the volleyball team for the year. We are very proud of all of our little students and are looking forward to a jam packed and productive year!

Landry is 7

I don't know where the time has gone, but this hot mess is officially seven years old. She has been asking daily about the arrival of her birthday since last Christmas. We were all relieved when it finally arrived! Of course we celebrated after church with a little Mexican food.

We have always had certain birthday traditions with our family. Of course we have a family party and the birthday person gets to choose the dinner of their choice (something that Mom makes). There is usually a cookie cake from The Great American Cookie Company (that tradition is as old as all of our children) and then there are cupcakes at school. 

(I got to sneak down and see her and her little friends while they enjoyed their snack.)

We have also always offered our kids the choice of a party or just inviting a couple of friends to go and do a fun activity. The kids usually opt for the fun activity, which is fine with me! We have been ice skating, rock climbing, movies, jumping at SkyZone, swimming, etc. It has been pretty great. No pressure for a party, minimal cost, optimal time management...

In true Landry fashion, she opted for the party. A princess party. She's been to a couple within the last couple of weeks and her expectations were pretty high. Elsa and Anna showed up at one of her friend's parties. Landry was asking for Mulan. I told her that she couldn't get here from China. She also opted out of the cookie cake, so I was on the hunt for a cute princess cake.

I hit up Pinterest and found the idea for a cupcake princess dress. I made and frosted cupcakes and put them in the shape of a dress. Add a tiara and wand...tada!

Dad saved the day and bought a bunch of princess party plates, crafts, and decorations. I love that man. He saved me a lot of stress! Landry's favorite were the princess drink flutes and the umbrellas.

As the girls arrived they made crowns, put on princess beads, and decorated wands. We had pizza and snacks and then of course had cake.

No party is complete without presents. 

We were so thankful for all of the little princesses that came to make Landry's day so special! 

Even though her party was lots more work than birthdays past, I think that everyone had a great time and it was fun to spoil so many little princesses.

D-E-Y

I tuned into a conversation between Hayden and Landry today.

H: "T-M-I, Landry! T-M-I!"

L: "Well, whatever! D-E-Y!"

H: "That doesn't even mean anything!"

L: "Oh yeah?! D-E-Y!"

Bucket List - Family Vacation

A couple of years ago we took our first trip to New Orleans as a family. We had a wonderful time and the kids have repeatedly asked to go back. After not taking a family vacation last summer, we decided that it was high time for us to hit the road.

First up, Drago's. On our last trip, we had hit up Drago's and the grilled oysters on the way out of town. I have to say that the flavor and taste had stayed with us for a couple of years and we were ready to try them again. As we pulled into town, this was our first stop. These grilled oysters are served grilled on the half shell with parmesan cheese and butter. Oh my.

After our first bite of New Orleans, we headed straight for the hotel. This year we stayed at the Embassy Suites and we were all in heaven! There was a room for mom and dad, a room for the girls, and the boys slept on the fold out couch (it had the MOST comfortable sofa mattress that I have ever felt.) Not only were we not stepping on each other, but there was a pool, complimentary breakfast (complete with an omelet bar, pastries, hot breakfast and fruit), and happy hour every afternoon (snacks and all of the drinks that you could drink.) 

The kids were living it up. Gibson made himself sick a couple of times on sodas and Gardettos. 

(the bunny ears weren't a big hit.)

We explored around the hotel and were enjoying our downtown views from the roof.

This was the view from the pool at night. 

One of the must visit places for our family in New Orleans is Storyland, in the City Park. Landry truly believes that it is Disney Land and has asked many times over the last two years to go back. She was pumped! 

Storyland is a play area that was built in the 1950s and the playscapes all represent various fairy tale and story book characters. Hence the name. She was so excited that she could hardly contain herself.

Of course there was Rapunzel. 

And Snow White. 

Pinnochio and the big fish.

(After this picture, the older two were done. They went next door to a little amusement park that is also within the park and rode some roller coasters.) 

Cinderella... 

Hayden and Landry didn't even notice that the older two were gone.

I'm treasuring the fact that they had so much fun. They won't be this age much longer. :( 

We also enjoyed visiting Jackson Square. This time around we got in one of the horse carriages in front of the square and took a tour through the downtown area. This was one of the most fun activities while we were there. Our driver was very funny and great with the kids. It was a great experience.

We walked along the river and saw the paddleboat.

While in New Orleans, we had to eat po'boys, gumbo, fried shrimp for a couple of different meals and bread pudding from Mother's!

We also ate at a place by recommendation from our driver. The Royal House did not disappoint. 

We enjoyed walking the downtown area and seeing the history and architecture of the French Quarter. 

Another favorite stop in New Orleans is the aquarium. When walking in, there is a big tunnel. That day we got to watch divers feeding the stingrays. This is Hayden's favorite place to visit. Science, sharks, marine biology. Check.

The kids got to feed the stingrays in a separate exhibit and see divers in the shark tank.

It was a memorable trip and enjoyed by the whole family. It's fun to see our little family getting older and have stamina to enjoy these kinds of things without having to stop for naps.

Charleston Day 5

I was sad to see our last day of vacation arrive. We had such a great time exploring the area and eating      our way through so many different restaurants. We noshed tasty morsels and daydreamed about moving. I was very taken with the Southern lifestyle. I have always considered myself a Southern girl, but there is a definite difference between Texas girls and Southern debutantes! We also laughed numerous times throughout the week at all of the men in pink. I have never seen so many pink polos, pink oxford shirts with the sleeves rolled, seersucker suits, plaid shorts, or even solid color shorts with little prints. (I saw a grown man with a blue pair of shorts with little red anchors embroidered all over them. He was secure in his masculinity.)

We ate our last meal in Charleston at a place called The Glass Onion. (I got a cookbook from them as well the The Hominy Grill. I love to read cookbooks!) Once again, they had deviled eggs and pimento cheese. As it was our last meal, we felt obligated to eat both!

Shane also had the fried chicken po'boy with a side of mac and cheese. They actually ship in their po'boy bread from New Orleans. It was pretty authentic. This restaurant is a firm believer in local ingredients and support the local suppliers by buying as many of their ingredients from local farmers, fisherman, and butchers as possible. It was a fine meal. 

Grilled pimento cheese with house made bread and butter pickles. There is not much in life that makes me happier than good food. 

After we enjoyed our lunch, we were off to explore the other side of Charleston. (Up to this point, we had only been in the downtown area and western side.)

While we were driving around we found the plantation district as well as the original Charles Town Landing. We started to tour a plantation, but decided on the Landing instead. I'm glad that we did, it was fascinating. Charleston wasn't originally built on the harbor. When the original colonists came to the area, they actually settled across the river and the creek at this spot. They lived here in a fortified city (That term is used loosely. There were only about 250 colonists.) that was bordered by the marsh, the creek, and a fence with cannons. After 10 years of not really being able to trade, the colonists picked up the city and trekked across the river and set up a new city in the harbor. The rest is history! (hee hee)

We opted to use a self paced audio tour. I'm really glad that we did. The park was beautiful, but there was so much information that was added per the audio tour. It was very interesting. This fence below was an example of fencing from the time period.

This statue depicts the chief of the Indian tribe that met them at the river and invited them to shore. He was hoping for an ally to fight against neighboring Indian tribes.

 

These were stocks that were used for discipline within the town. 

None of the original buildings are still standing. This was an example of a house. 

We were looking classy with our headphones. :) 

Four cannons pointed towards the river to provide protection from anyone approaching there. 

Little huts with thatched roofs were the original dwellings. 

After the town was moved, one of the families purchased all of the land and then lived on the premises for the next 200+ years. In 1970, the land was sold to the state for the tricentennial celebration and then turned into a state park the next year. The property was a plantation for years. 

The park was beautiful with some of the oldest and largest trees that I have ever seen. 

Seriously.

The plantation had beautiful gardens and the governor actually lived in the big house for a while. 

After sweating through our tour, we climbed back into our air conditioning and drove back to Charlotte for our return trip home. 

We have decided that we love the Carolinas. We met so many truly friendly people that were so proud of their state and were happy to visit and to help. We got many recommendations from others for restaurants, parks, at one point we even got a ride from someone back to our car. Southern hospitality at it's finest. I think that this was the BEST birthday gift ever and I smile every time that I think about it.