In a nutshell....Elizabeth turned 5 with several celebrations, the Dawgs have lost twice in dismal defeats (one at home to Alabama and one to the hated Gators) and essentially ended their bid for either an SEC or National Championship, we had a fun outing to Burt's Farm to pick out pumpkins and the kids had a wonderful Halloween, and America has elected a new president....the first African-American president in history.
How's that for the last 6 weeks or so????
I'll do my best to elaborate but life has definitely been busy as it always is in the fall!
! Elizabeth turned 5 on October 8th and she was very excited about her birthday. After much hemming and hawing, she decided on a Cinderella birthday party so we hired a Cinderella to come to the house on Sunday, October 5th. We invited all the girls from her class (Avery, Julia, Bianca, Josie, Sydney) as well as Ava, Ella, Grace, Emma, and Mia. All the girls attended and everything went very well. The girls enjoyed face painting, balloon animals, dancing, singing, and of course, cupcakes (with pink icing at Elizabeth's request) and ice cream. On her actual birthday, Ed was trying to get home from Chicago and it was rainy weather here so we went to MiMi and PaPa's for some of MiMi's spaghetti. I still can't believe that my baby girl is FIVE years old!! She's definitely not a "baby" anymore!
! Elizabeth turned 5 on October 8th and she was very excited about her birthday. After much hemming and hawing, she decided on a Cinderella birthday party so we hired a Cinderella to come to the house on Sunday, October 5th. We invited all the girls from her class (Avery, Julia, Bianca, Josie, Sydney) as well as Ava, Ella, Grace, Emma, and Mia. All the girls attended and everything went very well. The girls enjoyed face painting, balloon animals, dancing, singing, and of course, cupcakes (with pink icing at Elizabeth's request) and ice cream. On her actual birthday, Ed was trying to get home from Chicago and it was rainy weather here so we went to MiMi and PaPa's for some of MiMi's spaghetti. I still can't believe that my baby girl is FIVE years old!! She's definitely not a "baby" anymore!Then the following weekend, Ed's parents came to town. They took the kids up to Big Canoe on Saturday while we enjoyed the UGA/Tennessee football game (a Dawg victory, thank goodness) with our friends Ron and Kristi. Then we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday yet again on Sunday with all the grandparents as well as Nanny and Pa and Uncle Zac and Heather. Lots of celebrations but they were well worth it!
Ed took the day off on Friday, October 17th and although the weather was cloudy and calling for rain, we took the kids up to Burt's Farm. Our timing was perfect as we missed the rain and it was not crowded at all. We enjoyed the hay ride and the kids really enjoyed picking out
pumpkins of all sizes. We topped off our purchases with a couple of bags of pumpkin bread mix and a sampling of pumpkin bread...yum! We stopped at the outlets on the way home and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Despite the dreary weather, we had a great fall day and enjoyed being together as a family. The next day, Ed attended the UGA/Vandy game with a friend while I stayed back to take Elizabeth to her soccer game, since it was also team picture day. The Dawgs prevailed but not too wildly so I think we were both satisfied!
pumpkins of all sizes. We topped off our purchases with a couple of bags of pumpkin bread mix and a sampling of pumpkin bread...yum! We stopped at the outlets on the way home and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Despite the dreary weather, we had a great fall day and enjoyed being together as a family. The next day, Ed attended the UGA/Vandy game with a friend while I stayed back to take Elizabeth to her soccer game, since it was also team picture day. The Dawgs prevailed but not too wildly so I think we were both satisfied!We teamed up with the Dormineys again for Halloween this year and another family (Emmaline and younger sister Anna) from the Oak Grove CDC joined us. Elizabeth dressed as Ci
nderella (thanks to the costume I scored for 50% off on the day after Halloween last year!) and Daniel was a firefighter (or "fire truck!" if you asked him). The kids had an absolute blast and the weather was perfect for trick-or-treating. Daniel was able to keep up with the "big girls" pretty well and loved running from house to house. He lost steam about 3/4 of the way through and rode most of the rest of the way in a wagon. Of course, Ed and I have been helping ourselves to most of the candy so I'm anxious for it to disappear at this point! The pictures are priceless and we were happy with another fun and successful Halloween with Ava and Jack!
nderella (thanks to the costume I scored for 50% off on the day after Halloween last year!) and Daniel was a firefighter (or "fire truck!" if you asked him). The kids had an absolute blast and the weather was perfect for trick-or-treating. Daniel was able to keep up with the "big girls" pretty well and loved running from house to house. He lost steam about 3/4 of the way through and rode most of the rest of the way in a wagon. Of course, Ed and I have been helping ourselves to most of the candy so I'm anxious for it to disappear at this point! The pictures are priceless and we were happy with another fun and successful Halloween with Ava and Jack!I had a plane ticket to fly down to Jacksonville on Saturday morning to join my parents for the game and I am so, so, so glad I did not! I was coming down with a cold anyway and decided that the logistics were just too crazy for a quick trip. The Dawgs were clobbered by a score of 49-10 and after a few spews of venom and a share of pouting, I'm quickly over it and looking to the future. Hey, and even the Falcons are overachieving right now at 5-3!
The election didn't go quite the way I wanted it to yesterday either, but I'm willing to recognize the historic significance of this election, with the first African-American family in the White House and hopefully a signal of change for the country. I hope I'm looking back on this blog years from now and realizing that this was the best decision at this time for the USA. I supported McCain and voted for McCain/Palin in hopes they would get their chance but again, after some venting and disappointment, I'm optimistic for the future.
So...all politics (my least favorite subject anyway) aside, it has been a busy but fun-filled last several weeks for the Hongs. Elizabeth's last soccer game is this coming Saturday and she seems to have made some strides this season in terms of getting a little more aggressive and learning the game. She goes back and forth on whether or not she wants to play again so we'll see what happens in the spring. She says she wants to play tennis and learn to play piano so ma
ybe those activities are in her future! She is having a great year at school and we even attended her first field trip last week to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (which, by the way, I don't know how or why I've never been there before...it was great!) She's even READING now!!! She reads signs as we drive by on the road and she can even read a few books from cover to cover. It's amazing and so much fun to see her grow and learn new skills. The Hootenanny for the preschool was this past Sunday (Nov 2nd) and we had a great time. The kids danced and sang to Eric Litwin and Elizabeth even belted out "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on stage after the event!
ybe those activities are in her future! She is having a great year at school and we even attended her first field trip last week to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (which, by the way, I don't know how or why I've never been there before...it was great!) She's even READING now!!! She reads signs as we drive by on the road and she can even read a few books from cover to cover. It's amazing and so much fun to see her grow and learn new skills. The Hootenanny for the preschool was this past Sunday (Nov 2nd) and we had a great time. The kids danced and sang to Eric Litwin and Elizabeth even belted out "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on stage after the event!I had lunch with my former Coke co-workers last week and it was great to see everyone...Linda, David, Jodi, Clark, Phyllis, Kim, and Gwen. I found out that my old boss, Maria, moved to Arkansas over the summer to work for Wal-Mart, which was somewhat shocking! It sounds like not much has changed at Coke and it reminded me to be thankful for the blessing of being able to stay home with the kids. I miss the people and I miss a little of the "Corporate Me" sense of accomplishment, but I wouldn't trade it for one second for the time I'm able to spend at home with the kids.
Whew....I think that covers all the major bases for the last little while. We have a gentler, but still steady month of November planned. This Saturday is Elizabeth's last soccer game and there's a team lunch afterwards. Then we'll be heading up to Big Canoe for a short overnight getaway with the Steeds. I think it will be fun for the kids and the adults! Things look pretty quiet for next weekend (it's the UGA/Auburn game but we don't have tickets) and then we're off to Houston on Thursday the 20th. Ed's dad is receiving an award from MD Anderson at a reception on the 20th, then I think they are hosting a small reception for Burt and Audrey at their house on either Friday or Saturday. Then it's back for two days of school and all of a sudden it's Thanksgiving!! I am getting excited for the holiday season, as I always do this time of year! The weather has been great lately and the leaves are absolutely beautiful outside. It's definitely a time to count blessings and be thankful for all that I have...I hope I can keep that in mind throughout the rest of the year and beyond!!
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