a collection of memories that are near and dear to us.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

a time to ponder~




and a time to be SILLY!

OH... there's MORE!



a necklace! also created especially for me by trey and miss hailey. (and check out that grin...this little apple didn't fall far from the tree now did he?)

trey & miss hailey.. busy little crafters


i heard a lite rap on my door yesterday while working. i opened the door and to my surprise trey presented me with this little lovely! "for you momma - you like?" i love it! it is currently hanging in my window and makes me so darn happy!

Monday, November 26, 2007

gingerbread fun, our family tradition










after weeks of fierce anticipation the quaintance clan arrived! they landed in charlotte just after 11pm on monday and rolled into asheville just before 2am on tuesday. in good spirits we exchanged a few quick hugs and kisses and then it was off to bed for a few short hours of sleep.

to kate's delight, opa was up in time to accompany us on our ride to school, allowing him his first real look at oakley elementary. just a few hours later; mika, aunt emmy, austin and ally accompanied me back to school as i had made arrangements to pick her up early. after stopping by the office to get our visitor badges we made our way down the kindergarten hall. kate's class was just returning from lunch when her teacher spotted us and motioned to kate.

it was a magical moment. the minute she laid eyes on austin and ally she began beaming. the kids exchanged a few quick hugs before kate marched off to return to her classroom with her fellow classmates.

mrs. donohue kindly invited us in so a curios austin and mika could get a better inside. kate was handed her pie of freshly baked pumpkin pie and smothered with hugs from her adoring teachers and we were off. destination: chuck e. cheese! i know... eekkk! but really... the one we live near is not that bad...all things being relative of course. not only did kate get to run around with austin but her pal gabrielle and my partner susan were in town and were able to join us as well.

highlights of our week together would have to include the decorating of our gingerbread men, bath time for the kids, the ladies covert trip to the grove park spa, our thanksgiving feast, pie - way too much pie, seeing the kids play, laugh and love on each other, our group dinner at the grove park, and the wonderful stomach virus many of us shared!

the days went too fast - they always do when we are all together. fortunately i am left with the many fond memories that will stand the test of time. at the end of our week together it was once again reaffirmed that i am incredibly blessed.

i have a mother i can't get enough of;

a father that i enjoy and i share more with then i ever thought possible;

i have a brother that i admire and i am incredibly proud of;

a sister-in-law i adore;

and a beautiful niece and nephew that i will always cherish!

(we missed you jim)

mika and trey having a little fun ~




our poor trey has been a pretty sick pup as of late. however he had a few good moments while mika and opa visited. here we caught mika and trey having a little fun.

AT LAST - neighbors!!!




yes it's affirmative - life here in asheville just keeps getting better! just before halloween we realized that there was other form of life living here other then bears we've been known to see.
we were BOO'd by a darling little girl named maris. not only is maris bright and bubbly she is 5 and has just started kindergarten as well. and hold on folks it get better - maris has a sister who is 2!!! how perfect is that? and here is the icing on the cake; maris seems to have incredible parents as well, doug and mary lynn.
we graciously accepted an invite to their harvest housewarming party and above are just a few of the pics we snapped.
1. kate & maris bobbing for apples
2. maris - striking a pose
3. trey with his catch
4. me and some random baby i was drooling all over
5. a happy trey in a very happy wig
we look forward to getting to know our new neighbors better and enjoying lots of play dates!

playing in the front yard with the tripod ~





Sunday, November 25, 2007

breaking out the new equipment ~





we are expecting nextdoor neighbors in april - YEAH!!! before the footers were poured the kids thoroughly enjoyed visiting the site and after the crew finished for the day.

kate's feast at oakley elementary ~





the day after we celebrated with trey we were able to join kate for her thanksgiving feast. our little pilgrim girl melted our heart as she marched into the rotunda. and just for the record - we love oakley elementary but we do not love the school lunches they serve. i am not sure what i can do but i am going to make it my mission to try and get involved. kate takes her lunch however on this day she wanted to try the school's turkey feast. notice all that she ate, her apple. i can't say i blame her. i managed to choke down some green beans. pete didn't touch a thing. below is a picture of our favorite tree on campus. we've enjoyed it all fall.

celebrating with trey's class at ATSP





i was delighted to join trey and his entire class at ATSP just before break for their fall celebration. the "little darlings" kicked off the performance component with a little song and dance which trey wanted nothing to do with. following that we all enjoyed some tasty fall favorites.