Halloween

 We had a pioneer theme this year which was Cailey's great idea!  She was Laura Ingalls, Ephram was a cowboy, Kinsey was an Indian, and Braden was a pioneer boy. They all LOVED their costumes!

 Mom made Cailey's outfit

 We were in the mountains when all the Fall festivals were going on at home but we had a great time. We found the perfect spot for a photo shoot.

 this makes me think of Little House on the Prairie

Linville Falls

 The beginning of our hike to Linville Falles

 we made it! (we only hiked a mile:)

 the girls were playing hand games...and being sweet:)

 this little guy found his own hideout!  then on the way back mommy and daddy told him that we weren't going to carry him. the little stinker found someone else to give him a piggy back ride ALL the way back..up hill too!

 We drove to Boone and went to Cracker Barrel for lunch (seems appropriate for our mountain trip!) This was their first time there.

they chowed down after their full morning of Linville Caverns and Linville Falls!

Happy 8th birthday, Kinsey!

 We celebrated Kinsey's birthday before our trip to the mountains. She wanted a gymnastics theme party with a basketball cake and snacks!

 For her birthday breakfast at the mountains she wanted a moon pie and juice by the fire.

 When we had a pit stop she requested BBQ chips as a snack.

 Kinsey had chick fil a for her birthday lunch (while the rest of us packed a picnic lunch to eat on our way home from the mountains).

 One of Kinsey's favorite things I do is brush her hair. She is ALL about touch and loves for me to scratch her back or brush her hair '100 times'...and loves hugs. When we were unpacked Kinsey and I sat outside together and I brushed and brushed her hair in the sunshine.

 For dinner she requested a DOUBLE pepperoni pizza. We have now decided it should be called the Pookie Pepperoni pizza in her honor. Brian used giant pepperoni's on top of the sauce, then cheese, and last covered the top completely with little roni's.

 She started to help him...but then got distracted by all the yummy pepperoni.

  She had already eaten some of the pepperoni off before I could grab the camera but she wanted me to make her pizza look like a K. My kinsey girl LOVED the pizza and ate all the toppings off before getting to the crust.

for dessert she had ice cream and soda pop

We had a great time singing to her all day long and celebrating this sweet girl!  I'm so thankful for you my Kinsey Joy!  Happy 8th birthday! My prayer for you this year is that you will learn to LOVE reading books!

Favorites:
Game- Old Maid
Sport- gymnastics
Food- pepperoni
Meal- double pepperoni pizza
Drink- root beer
Song- This Love (Mandi Mapes)
Movie- Willie Wonka
Thing to do outside- jumping on the trampoline
Color- hot pink
Dessert- cookies and cream ice cream
Toy- banky (blankie)
Thing to do- watch a movie
Book- American Girl Books (read to her)
Season- fall
Place to go- Disney World
Subject in School- reading
What do you want to be when you grow up?- missionary nurse

Linville Caverns

 We went to Linville Caverns to explore the deep dark cave:).  Though we didn't end up seeing bats but got to see giant spiders up close, a ton of egg sacs, trout, stalactites, and stalagmites. 

 It was cool to be in pitch dark and to spy different 'shapes' in the cave formations (owl, giant green hand, hobbit wedding, etc.)

Braden researched and wrote a paper on Linville Caverns before our trip and was able to tell us all about what we were going to see. (He could have been the tour guide since their info was the same!)

His paper:

     Linville Caverns has a long history.  In the early 1800's a fisherman named Henry E. Colton saw two trout swimming. He followed them to the Linville Caverns opening where it was filled with water and made completely out of limestone.
     Stalactites and stalagmites grow in the cave. When they grow together it forms a rock pillar. Oils from human hands stop them from growing. The temperature of the cave is 52 degrees year round.
     Near the end of the cave is a deep lake called the bottomless lake. Men used a 250 ft cable to measure it's depth and it still didn't touch the bottom. There is a section in the cave called the 'fireplace' that civil war soldiers used as a hiding place. They were able to stay there safely for a year until smoke was discovered coming out of the top of the cave, which led to their capture. The Cavern is deep inside Humpback Mountain.