She Makes Me Smile...

Today,

my baby Girl did something

that made me smile...

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After her birthday party,

Baby Girl wanted to keep the
"Pin the Smile on the Face" poster...

 ...so I let her hang it in her room.

When I was helping her change the sheets

on her bed today,

I noticed that she had written...

 ...something on the top of the poster.

It said:

thinks-I-need-to-pray for...

frinds & family

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Oh,

how she blessed my heart today!

You made me smile,

Baby Girl...

Not Back to School Blog Hop: Student Photo Week

We began our new homeschooling year
back at the beginning of July.

Thankfully,
I DID remember to take pictures
of my kiddos that day...

...even if they were a tad "squirrely" at 

the beginning of our photo shoot.

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Little Wild Man-

1st grader

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Baby Girl-

2nd grader

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Jungle Girl-

5th grader

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It's gonna be a GREAT year!

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Linking up with the

Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop...

Cousin Camp Day 6

The last day of 

Cousin Camp

began with a BIG, homemade...

...Pancake Breakfast.

It fascinates me the different ways

kiddos choose to top their pancakes...

Blueberries AND syrup?

REALLY?

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After breakfast was done and everyone was dressed,

we packed up the van and head up to

Berea, KY and stopped at...

...The Kentucky Artisan Center.

This was the "meeting" spot in which we returned

Cousin KK to her parents.

After perusing the center and admiring

all the creative wares Kentucky has to offer,

we all went and ate at...

...The Dinner Bell Restaurant-

local cuisine at its finest!

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Then,

it was time to say

Goodbye...

*SIGH*

We really did enjoy having Cousin KK for the week,

and we hope to have Cousing Camp next Summer too.

I *think* Cousin KK enjoyed her stay with us,

for the most part-

although I'd say she was glad to be home...

...if this hug she gave her car is any indication 

of her happiness... :0)

Cousin Camp Day 5

 After all that hiking on

Day 4

of

Cousin Camp,

we took our last full day together

rather easy

and hung around the house,

watching 

"Dr. Who" episodes on Netflix.

(Oh, the things Cousin KK has introduced

my kiddos too...)  ;0)

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In the evening,

however,

we did venture outside for the 

3rd annual

Neighborhood Movie Night.

On the evening's agenda was

as showing of...

 ...The Muppets

and

the making of our own...

...Talking Stick Puppets.

(You can see how to make the puppets

by clicking HERE.)

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The puppets are called 

"Talking" because their mouths can...

...open...

...and close.

The kiddos in the 'hood

were very creative with the 

personalities they chose to give their puppets,

which included:

An Owl Puppet

A "Miss Piggy" Puppet

A "Self-Portrait" Puppet

Twin Puppets

A Monster Puppet

A Hairy Puppet

But the "prize" for MOST creative puppet has

to got to...

...Cousin KK for her rendering of...

...a "Donna Noble" Puppet!

(Be proud,

all you "Dr. Who" fans-

be proud!)

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After the puppets were finished...

 ...and the sun began to set over the culdesac...

...everyone grabbed a bag of popcorn and a cup of Kool-Aid...

 ...and settled in for...

 ...the movie.

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Oh,

my "Cousin Camp" posts are almost complete-

how sad!

I only have one more to go-

until next year, of course...

Cousin Camp: Day 4

Day 4

of Cousin Camp

brought an adventure in the 

Great Smokey Mountain National Park.

We began our day at the...

...Sugarlands Visitor Center.

The kiddos always enjoy checking out the mini-museum

and gift shop,

plus we got in one last potty break before

we headed up to the..

...Laurel Falls.

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Before we even got on the trail,

we ran into one of nature's little surprises...

...a young Copperhead!

See-

this is the stuffed one from the 

Visitor's Center.

Poor thing-

I am certain he was more scared of us

than we were of him.

(And NO, we did NOT get too close to him-

I took that picure with my zoom lens...)

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After looking at the snake,

we headed up the trail.

Now, 

to make the hike even more fun,

we used...

...THIS Scavenger Hike Adventures Book.

We followed clues...

...like the ones above

and discovered a lot more about the trail

than we would have if we hiked it

without the book.

Here is what we discovered:

1.  Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron

 2.  The "Jungle"

 3.  A Pine Tree That was Killed by

Southern Pine Beetles

4.  The Second Growth Forest

5.  The Trees Twisted by the Wind

6.  A Tree Growing Through an 

8-Foot-Tall Boulder

(The kiddos had a great time exploring the boulder!)

7.  The Bench by the Stream That Never Runs Dry

8. Roots Climbing Over and On a

Large Group of Rocks

9. The Smokey Mountain

"Produce Department"

(aka Blueberry Bushes)

 10. Blanket Mountain

11. A Group of Jammed Up Rocks

12. Rock Tripe

13.  The Dynamite Hole

14.  The Bright Yellow Lichen

15.  The Dripping Rocks

16.  The Galax

(Shiny Leaves Used by Florists)

17.  Laurel Falls!

18.  The View from the Upper and Lower Falls

 (This is the spot you can see both levels of the falls from,

but I couldn't get a good picture of both levels

at the same time.)

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We had a great time cooling off in the falls-

until Baby Girl fell and hit her head...

Ouch!

(She was OK-

don't worry...)

So once I calmed her down,

we put our shoes back on and headed back

down the mountain.

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We stopped at Maloney Point

to enjoy some lunch...

...and the view.

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We just love...

...the Great Smokey Mountains!