Tire Swing

So over Labor Day weekend we got new tires on the van. The place where we got them was amazing and literally people stood in line for hours to have their tires done there (they are cheap). Because of this they have a huge amount of old tires, so we asked if we could have any for a tire swing. The store owner sent one of his guys out into the piles of tires (wish I had a pic of this, but didn't think to bring my camera to a tire store-hmmm...can't imagine why that didn't occur to me). They picked out a great tire swing and we hung it up from a tree (like the only tree we have) in our yard. Of course, I'd hoped we'd get all these great wonderful pics of the kids on the tire swing when it first went up, but as usual, the process took longer than we expected and by the time we got it hung, it was mostly dark. The funny thing, the girls LOVED it and wanted to go higher and higher and Harbin was a little afraid!!! He's never been a huge fan of swinging at the park, so I guess he doesn't care for tire swings either. He and daddy did have fun using it as a target for throwing the football!! The mom.

Labor Day Camping

We spent Labor Day weekend in Northwestern GA at a campground called Sloppy Floyd State Park. We met up with Scott's parents and siblings as well as a lot of his mother's side of the family. This is one of the first years that we have spent Labor Day at a location without a large body of swimming water- we were all concerned about our enjoyment of the weekend :) but low and behold we figured out lots of fun things to do. Harbin quickly found a buddy in one of his second-third-who knows how much removed cousins. He enjoyed playing volleyball with the adults as well as "riding" his scooter around between or campsites. The girls pretty much had fun riding on Cousin Starr's golf cart the whole weekend. And, secretly, I think she enjoyed it too! They didnt ride far or fast, but they rode around and around and sang songs and waved to all of us at the different campsite locations. Occasionally they would stop to eat lunch or have a treat like SNOW CONES! We also all got to ride out and see the Tinney's new property. Chuck and Melissa set out on a huge endeavour and purchased almost 80 acres of property at the base of Pigeon Mountain. Their goal is to create a Christian Camp and Retreat Center and have it up and running sometime next summer. The property is beautiful with a lake, lots of wooded area and a beautiful view. It rained a lot once we got out there so we didn't spend much time at the property but hopefully we will get to visit again soon. The mom.

Catherine's First Day of School

Catherine is already in Kindergarten if you can believe it!!! And, although we homeschool and really ALL the kids do "school" from an early age, she was excited to get to move upstairs to the Children's Church on Sundays and excited that she can now sing in the Ultimate Adventure Choir with Harbin. Unfortunately she was less excited that this year our homeschool co-op has decided to combine the PreK and Kindergarteners because of class sizes and she will be in with Lydia. I think in the long run, she will enjoy having her sister with her, but I also think it took away a bit of the excitement of starting school.

Anyways, here is her official "First Day of School" picture which coincidentally is the exact same spot I got Harbin's!!! What can I say, we love our COOP!!! Doesn't she look too old??? The mom.