Fall Colors



God’s Beautiful Glory

We went to Robbinsville with Mom & John a couple weekends ago. The leaves were so pretty!

Some pictures…

Mini-Reunion in Hickory, NC




We found out that Aunt Renay was making a trip to NC to visit family.  Figuring that a 4 hr trip to Hickory was shorter than an 8+ hr trip to Orlando, we took a weekend and drove up to see her.  Had a great time visiting with her on Saturday afternoon and then went to dinner with 40+ Houston/Hunt clan members.  The girls could not believe they had that many “cousins!”


Sunday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we drove to Grandfather Mountain.

Renay and her friends Steve & Carol met us there and we spent the entire afternoon exploring.  The weather was beautiful, the views spectacular, and the company fantastic.  We had originally planned to drive on home Sunday evening, but we stayed at Grandfather Mtn so long we ended up stopping for the night in Asheville.

Monday turned out to be equally beautiful and we spent the entire day enjoying the sights and scenery of the Biltmore estate.  While the girls were not as impressed with the “castle” as I’d thought they would be, we had a good time nonetheless.

Mini-Reunion in Hickory, NC




We found out that Aunt Renay was making a trip to NC to visit family.  Figuring that a 4 hr trip to Hickory was shorter than an 8+ hr trip to Orlando, we took a weekend and drove up to see her.  Had a great time visiting with her on Saturday afternoon and then went to dinner with 40+ Houston/Hunt clan members.  The girls could not believe they had that many "cousins!"


Sunday morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we drove to Grandfather Mountain.

Renay and her friends Steve & Carol met us there and we spent the entire afternoon exploring.  The weather was beautiful, the views spectacular, and the company fantastic.  We had originally planned to drive on home Sunday evening, but we stayed at Grandfather Mtn so long we ended up stopping for the night in Asheville.

Monday turned out to be equally beautiful and we spent the entire day enjoying the sights and scenery of the Biltmore estate.  While the girls were not as impressed with the "castle" as I'd thought they would be, we had a good time nonetheless.

First Day of School

There’s nothing like the first day of school to bring on waves of nostalgia.  Especially when everyone at the school makes such noise about how big your girls are getting to be!  They love it, of course, because it validates that they are growing and getting big.  I hate it and love it. I’m proud of my girls – I’m bursting with pride at their accomplishments and the fact that they are growing into such lovely ladies.  I hate it, though, because it reminds me that they are growing up and that soon they won’t need their mommy like they do now.  I know it’s my job – to help them become independent ladies – but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

So, this morning, Mary B decides I don’t need to walk her in to school.  She is big now and just wants to ride in the carpool lane. I am surprised and a little sad when she makes the announcement. I mean, I knew this would come one day, but I was really  hoping to make it to, say, college, before this happened.  Seriously, though, what a big girl she was… all puffed up with excitement and ready to bound out of the car and on to her newest adventure.  As I watched her race into the building without even a backward glance, I had to think my baby bird has flown the nest.

Fast forward about 2 minutes and I’m walking Little Bit into school.  Quite the different story.  Suddenly, she has developed tentacles and I have this junior-sized Octopus hanging on my leg.  She speaks politely to the administrators, telling them good morning and thanking them for their compliments on her new haircut.  But, she does all of this with an iron grip on my leg.

We walk to her classroom and greet her friends and teachers.  All the while, she’s decided that she wants me to stay at school with her – ALL DAY. Uh, well, I don’t think that’ll work.  So, in the space of less than 10 minutes I go from being wistful and longing for the days when MB needed me to walk her in to school to trying to extricate myself from a pint-sized octopus who has decided I need to repeat Pre-K! Isn’t life ironic!

All in all, it was a great first day.  I am not really sure who was the more excited. Me or the girls.

Now, we just have to make it through the next nine months!

First Day of School

There's nothing like the first day of school to bring on waves of nostalgia.  Especially when everyone at the school makes such noise about how big your girls are getting to be!  They love it, of course, because it validates that they are growing and getting big.  I hate it and love it. I'm proud of my girls – I'm bursting with pride at their accomplishments and the fact that they are growing into such lovely ladies.  I hate it, though, because it reminds me that they are growing up and that soon they won't need their mommy like they do now.  I know it's my job – to help them become independent ladies – but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
So, this morning, Mary B decides I don't need to walk her in to school.  She is big now and just wants to ride in the carpool lane. I am surprised and a little sad when she makes the announcement. I mean, I knew this would come one day, but I was really  hoping to make it to, say, college, before this happened.  Seriously, though, what a big girl she was… all puffed up with excitement and ready to bound out of the car and on to her newest adventure.  As I watched her race into the building without even a backward glance, I had to think my baby bird has flown the nest.
Fast forward about 2 minutes and I'm walking Little Bit into school.  Quite the different story.  Suddenly, she has developed tentacles and I have this junior-sized Octopus hanging on my leg.  She speaks politely to the administrators, telling them good morning and thanking them for their compliments on her new haircut.  But, she does all of this with an iron grip on my leg.
We walk to her classroom and greet her friends and teachers.  All the while, she's decided that she wants me to stay at school with her – ALL DAY. Uh, well, I don't think that'll work.  So, in the space of less than 10 minutes I go from being wistful and longing for the days when MB needed me to walk her in to school to trying to extricate myself from a pint-sized octopus who has decided I need to repeat Pre-K! Isn't life ironic!
All in all, it was a great first day.  I am not really sure who was the more excited. Me or the girls.
Now, we just have to make it through the next nine months!

Happy Birthday to you!

Angelina celebrated her 4th birthday this weekend. My baby is not a baby anymore!

We started the day with presents at home which was quickly followed by a Princess Tea Party – at which all of her friends from school were in attendance.

They had “tea” and snacks, dressed in beautiful princess costumes and had their makeup done. After snacks, there were princess dances to be danced and a parade to walk. Then we got down to the serious business of presents.

Mary Beth and Jordan Jacoby

Following the tea party, we rested at home and then went for round 2 of the party day… a pool party at the neighborhood pool. All the “big kids” were invited and we had a blast in spite of the 90+ degree temperatures.

Now, we just have to recover!

Happy Birthday, Baby. Mommy loves you very very much.