2007 Brinson House Pumpkins

On Sunday, the Brinson family, including Grandma Carolyn, went to an annual pumpkin carving party at our friends, the Busbees. This year’s event turned into a pumpkin carving contest - exciting the competitive juices of certain Brinsons.

Much to our surprise, Amelia has turned out to be a pumpkin carver extraordinaire, worthy of the Brinson name.

She finished second in the 11-and-under competition. (Disregard the asterisk next to her name, signaling a little help from Dad.) Modesty prevents me from flaunting my first-place finish in the adult category.

Amelia had fun hanging out the big girls as they bobbed for apples and carved pumpkins. She did her best to keep up!

Later that evening, I completed carving my 2007 Halloween pumpkin assortment. If I do say so, they came out rather good this year. Take a look below and let me know what you think...

Halloween has begun!

We kicked off our Halloween festivities on Saturday at the Southern Village Halloween Carnival. The wonderful Neal family invited us to join them for an afternoon of costumed-fun.

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It was a beautiful day, perfect for practicing trick-or-treating in fancy costumes. Amelia and Sarah had a ball and were completely mesmerized by all the other kids in costumes.
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Our little witch and the Neal's mermaid were the belles-of-the ball, if you will. No cuter costumes could be found!

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Amelia had a hard time understanding that she didn't need to eat each piece of candy AS it was put in her treat bag.

The afternoon was a great prelude to the 31st!


















(Finally, a picture of the Brinson family photographer!)

Off to the Fair!

The Brinson family made their annual trip to the North Carolina State Fair last Monday. This marks the 10th year in a row that the Brinson family has enjoyed the sights, smells, and tastes of the North Carolina State Fair.

Combine the smells of the most ridiculous fried foods you can imagine with farm animal competitions, and you’ve got quite an olfactory extravaganza. How can one go wrong with deep-fried Twinkies, fried cheesecake-on-a-stick, homemade ice cream, applejacks, and giant turkey legs!

Amelia (and Dad) enjoyed all kinds of rides (including a bumpy bird roller coaster ride that made Dad have to take a break for a little while), including her favorite…Ponies!
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Amelia heads straight for the Ponies as soon as we walk into the fair.

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We also enjoyed the afternoon matinee of pig, billy goat, and duck races. Amelia liked the piggies the best.

Ever the negotiater, we closed the day with a coveted cowgirl hat and “one-more pony ride”. What a great day!

Amelia and Thomas the Tank Engine

Two weekends ago, Amelia had a ball with GG and Granddad at their home in Salisbury, NC. The slumber-party was highlighted with a very special ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. Friday afternoon, Julianna loaded up Amelia in the family car and met GG half-way in Greensboro to hand off "QOB," as we like to call her ("Queen of Busy").

First on the agenda was a trip to Granddad's bank to say hello and then it was off to the church playground. Amelia played on all kinds of swings, toy airplanes, and slides. GG and Granddad made sure that Amelia burned off some energy before heading to the house for dinner and bedtime.

Saturday was the BIG day Amelia had been talking about for weeks! The threesome headed over to The North Carolina Transportation Museum where they got ready to meet and ride on Thomas, the famous tank engine.

The museum was decked out in pictures of Thomas’ friend Spencer and an inflatable Percy. Bob the Builder did a song and dance and a magician was on hand as well.

None of that could top riding on Thomas, however. GG, Granddad, and Amelia climbed aboard the passenger car and traveled over the tracks as Thomas happily chugged and tooted around Salisbury. Amelia couldn't have been happier and she hasn't stopped talking about her adventure.
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In addition to Thomas and the playground, Amelia got to see GG and Granddad's terrific new home under construction. She was sure to give her best buddie, Mickey, a full tour.
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We met up half-way again on Sunday for the hand-off and Amelia was not pleased. "No Dada, I can't go home!" Between the tears and bold statements, we finally got our little one in the car. Once settled in, the stories of the weekend began pouring in from the backseat - clearly she had a terrific time!

Thanks GG and Granddad for a great weekend!

And a special thanks to GG for all the great photos she took of the weekend. For more, see below...

Whoa, Cowgirl!

We're getting ready for Halloween. As you can see, we're trying out costume options.

After seeing the crazy picture below of Matt's birthday celebration, all Amelia want to be is a "Cowgirl, like Grandma and Maddie." This puts a major kink in our formerly SOLID Cinderella plans. Grandma got Amelia a beautiful Cinderella ensemble at Disneyland this summer... fancy ball gown, glass slippers, and silver crown. It's all she's been able to talk about for the past few months!

Who knows what costume will be requested next, but we'll be sure to keep you posted!

Cute hats... CUTER babies!

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Earlier this year (March), our good friends Tanya and Keith welcomed twin girls - Katherine and Casey. Cutest little ones you ever saw!

Their arrival coincided with the start of my new hobby, knitting. I had just come back from a trip to California in February, where I was bitten by the knit-purl bug - thanks to my very talented knitter mom. I couldn't resist the opportunity the Freeman girls had given me... to expand my skill-set, not to mention expand my yarn, needle, book, etc. collections!

I delightfully chose a sweet hat pattern, searched for the perfect yarn, finally found the right needles, and dove in to the wonderful world of baby hats. I have to admit, I must have knit each of these two hats about three or four times... but it was worth it! I think they came out pretty great. The best part is that they FIT both girls. Phew!

The icing on the cake... Tanya used the photo above of the girls in their "petal" hats for her birth announcement. I was so honored! Then come to find out, she had also entered the picture - taken by our dear friend, and fabulous photographer, Lauren - in a photo contest at her work. Guess what, she won!