Happy Girl

A sweet smile I couldn't resist posting...

Many treats - no tricks!!

Halloween night was a real treat! Check out our little princess (costume #3) and the treat bag she made at school.

The Cinderella costume came courtesy of Grandma Carolyn during our first visit to Disneyland this summer. Amelia is a real pro at the "princess pose" thanks to some training from Cinderella herself.

This Halloween we were happily joined-at-the-hip with the Neal family. We joined them once again, this time for the celebration's grand finale - trick-or-treating. They have the BEST neighborhood for Halloween... everyone decorates their houses, dresses up in costumes, and gives out premium treats.

Chris' business partner Vic and his family also joined us for the festivities. His girls Kristen and Julia know how to do Halloween right... their costumes won first prize. Julia, a very spooky Elizabeth Swan (from Pirates of the Caribbean), was so sweet to our girls, helping them to get the hang of trick-or-treating.

Friends Karlye and Jeff Butler joined our merry group with their son McCoy. McCoy balanced out our princesses (Cinderella and Ariel) with his snuggy Fire Chief costume.

Our Halloween wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Freeman house. It was thanks to them last year that we learned how fun trick-or- treating could be. Amelia adores their oldest daughter Shelby and was DELIGHTED to see that Shelby was also a princess (Aurora).

The evening ended with the Freemans. The girls snuck some of their Halloween loot and played in Shelby's fabulous room. Amelia's eyes grow very big when she enters and see all of Shelby's great toys. Tears poured out when it was time to go home (at 10:00p!!!)... we had to drag Amelia kicking-and-screaming from Shelby's room.

All in all, another terrific Halloween celebration for the Brinson record book!

Fearrington Pumpkin Festival

It wouldn't be a Brinson Halloween without our annual trip to the Pumpkin Festival at Fearrington Village. This year's event didn't let us down - it may even rank as one of the best festivals ever. We went before dark to join Amelia's best buddy, Sarah, and the rest of the Neal family for dinner, hay mazes, goats, pumpkins, and great blue grass music. The night was extra special as Amelia's Grandma - Julianna's mom Carolyn, was visiting. Carolyn is always game to join in our silly festivities!

Amelia donned costume #2, to be like Dad. Our father-daughter team rocked the cowboy theme. We had a spooky good time, although I was a bit disappointed being the only adult in costume. Imagine a hundred little kids running around in costumes, followed by one very large "kid" dressed as a strange cowboy... that would be me.

Amelia and Sarah especially loved the hay-bale maze and, much to their mom's dismay, forfeited dinner to get in more play time.

Fearrington is known for the Belted cows, but for the pumpkin festival it was all about the belted goat calves. Our girls could get a job at Fearrington feeding the animals - large quantities of hay filled their tiny hands as they begged the goats to come nibble.

Soon it was time for the little girls to get their blue-grass groove on. Check out the video below to study their fly moves...




(Double-click slideshow for bigger viewing.)

Binkley Halloween Party!!!

Amelia loves school. Amelia loves dressing up. Amelia loves her family. This past Tuesday (10/30) might go down as her “BEST DAY EVER!” because all three were thrown into a big witch’s cauldron at the Binkley Preschool Halloween party.

Amelia, Julianna, and Carolyn all donned their witch costumes while I decided to go as a cowboy. My inspiration was the Spaghetti-Western-
Clint-Eastwood variety, but folks thought I was everything from Juan Valdez, to a Mexican Revolutionary, to Pancho Villa. Julianna kept calling me "Cowboy Earl", as if I took my costume from last year - Earl, from the TV show "My Name is Earl" and simply added a cowboy hat. We won't tell anyone that my poncho is actually Julianna's pregnancy poncho.

JK came up with a great craft project for the kids in Amelia's class - trick-or-treat bags. Carolyn and I were the chief line workers, grabbing kids left and right to create their bags, factory style -- here's your kit, glue your pumpkin, stick your stickers, write kid's name, move on to next kid. It was a whirl-wind of gluing, sticking, and crafting!


Despite the fact that our little witch already had one costume on, she couldn't resist trying on another one…especially with all the Jerry Seinfeld “Bee Movie” marketing going on right now. Every day it's "I want to see Bee Movie!" How does she even know it exists?!

After some more playing, singing, and a special Halloween snack time, the party closed with a parade through K&W cafeteria. Carolyn and I were in charge of chaperoning some of Amelia's class. All was going well until I came to the cafeteria's dessert section (that pumpkin pie gets me every time)! Luckily, I kept a tight hold on my little Superman and Spiderman's hands and avoided a mini-disaster.

BEST SCHOOL DAY EVER!


(Double-click slideshow for bigger viewing.)

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!