More Thanksgiving Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from Chloe and I's trip to Utah over Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to spend time with the family and we can't wait to go back. Declan has grown so much since we saw him in August. Chloe was so cute with him by giving kisses and hugs.

Riding

Today I had some fun riding my mom's Clydesdale, Annabelle, and had so much fun. It has been way too long since I rode last, my legs are particularly feeling it since they are like jello. My mom gave me a fun lesson to get me back in the swing of things and helped me work on my 2-point. The weather has been much warmer than last week and with the exercise I didn't even need my coat. The second to last picture is from my mom working Annabelle out through her voice commands. Very neat.

Thanksgiving!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with the family and the food was fantastic. Here are some super cute pictures of the fam and Alyssa's rice crispy turkeys, but particularly my little nephew, Declan. As tradition, my grandpa, Alvie, sang Old Man River for us just before departing and it was just as beautiful as ever.

Hiking Stone Mountain

Today has been such a fun day because we decided to get some exercise and see the sites by hiking Stone Mountain. It's 2.6 miles round trip and once we neared the top it was quite steep. It sure was fun, though, and we got to stop and rest at the gift shop that was up there. Chloe rode on our shoulders most of the way but she did do most of the climbing on her own while we were on our way up. It was quite an amazing view from up there, which was such a neat change from standard Georgia views (a couple hundred feet because of all the trees). I read that on a clear day you can see 60 miles away. Stone Mountain is apparently the largest chunk of granite in the world (or at least this continent). It actually reaches (underground) all the way into Alabama.

Brad to the Rescue

I've caused several interesting, less-than-optimal experiences this past week and I'm so glad Brad's job is no more than 20 minutes away. So, last week I left the house to check the mailbox and quickly realized I had locked myself out of the house, leaving Chloe inside. I called Brad and luckily he was already on his way home after work so I was only stranded for 15 minutes or so sitting on the front porch with my hand on the fogged window and calling to Chloe. She also kept her hand on the window and every now and then did a sucker-face right to the glass.

Yesterday I made sure to take my keys with me when I left the front door to check the mail. However, I forgot to turn off the security alarm and was greeted by a screaming siren when I came back into the house. The security company called to make sure I was alright and I apologized for my mistake. That same day, Chloe managed to lock herself in the guest bathroom and no matter how hard I tweeked that wire hanger in the door handle hole, I could not unlock it. I called Brad and he came rushing home and was able to pick the lock to pieces, releasing a rather shaken Chloe. Just minutes later we ordered the emergency release keys that go with those locks so we should never have this problem again (they weren't the standard "pick it with a bobby pin" kind of locks").

Today I was hunting around the house looking for Ralphie and ventured into the garage to check for him there. I forgot again to turn off the security alarm and was once again greeted by a screaming siren. I somehow managed to be on the phone with a friend when the security company called so they sent a policeman to the house to check on us. I didn't realize they had dispatched someone so I wasn't expecting anyone when I saw and heard (through the blinds) a man trying to open our back door. Needless to say, it freaked me out and I tried to watch him walk around the house to the front door. Thankfully, once he came in view of a clear window I could see that it was a policeman. He knocked on the door and I apologized for my mistake and thanked him for checking on us.

So in conclusion, we know our new security system works and has very fast reaction times. I also have made a determined effort to always take my keys with me when I check the mail :)

Cats!

Brad and I decided to get Chloe a cat for Christmas! We found the perfect one for her in the classifides so her Christmas present came early this year. We intended to get one cat but it had a brother and the owner didn't want to separate them so we took both cats! Their names are Ralph and Rambo and they are finally starting to feel right at home. I took a few pictures of them with Chloe this morning now that they are feeling more comfortable and emerged from behind the couch.

Chloe at playtime

Here's a couple cute pictures of Chloe playing in the media room with all her toys. She sure loves being a ham for the camera. Her two favorite TV shows while I work are Bubble Guppies and Team Umi Zoomi (spelling?).

Our new lawn!

We finally have a lawn (in our backyard)! I planted the seeds a couple weeks ago and it's finally popping up. It's amazing how beautiful scrappy patches of grass can be when you planted it yourself :)

Chloe's new boots

Here is a picture of Chloe wearing her new mud boots that Grandma gave her to wear when helping to feed the horses so she doesn't ruin her regular shoes. She loves those horses :)

Happy Halloween!!

We had such a fun Halloween this year! We had a party at our house with the family, ate homemade pizza, and feasted on candy. We took Chloe Trick Or Treating for the first time and she loved it. It took quite a while before we finally found a house that celebrated Halloween but it was so worth it. We taught Chloe to say Trick or Treat and it ended up come out "Twick o Tweet Peeez". She was absolutely adorable. We got quite a lot of trick or treaters at our house so that made us really happy :)

Witch's Luncheon

Last Friday, Chloe and I were invited to a Halloween lunch party with a bunch of other moms. All the moms were supposed to dress up as witches and the kids all came in their Halloween costumes. It was so fun and Chloe loved playing with all the other kids. they had the game of "put your hands in a box of spaghetti and find the objects" but I kept finding Chloe eating the spaghetti that was in that box. Gross. The picture of the ghost rice crispy treats were for our Sunday dinner with Brad's family.