A visit and the sky that made me cry

 Dinner at Colonial Pizza with Jenna, Justin, Aria, Devin, and cousin Brittany.  We went from there to Elli's parent-teacher conference.  Elli is doing very well, is a great helper to her teacher and her classmates, and is at the head of the class.  We are proud of her:)

 Brittany did NOT want her picture taken, so this is the only proof of her visit during her 6 week long trip across the states.  It was good to see her.

On the way to school, Elli and I thought the sky was so pretty, I took a picture.  It actually made me tear up, especially when Elli said, "Mommy, he is writing letters in the clouds!"  I asked who.  She replied, "God is.  Isn't it fun that He is making the sky so pretty for us?"  Love her thoughts and how they point to God!

Trunk or Treat, Wednesday Oct 26

 The Yellow Team of Sparks, sweet kids.

 Sven, aka Paula, with Rapunzel and Dora:)

 Two adorable Jasmines!

Just a sampling of the crazy crew of kids that participated in Trunk or Treat.  It was a lot of fun.  So many kids, so well organized:)

Happy Birthday Chloe!

 Princess Jasmine before the costume birthday party.

Chloe turned 6 and had a costume party for her birthday.  It was so much fun.  Elli changed though because they were playing outside and she was cold:)  Such a fun day!

Pictures and shopping with the twins

 Elli is going to be Princes Jasmine for Halloween.  She was posing before going to the mall for pics.

 Elli built this tower for the twins to knock down.  They stared at it for quite a while:)

 And then, bravery took over:)

 Seth was watching, not sure about the twins.

Sleepy kids.  We stayed out a bit too late at the Harvest Party the night before, so they wanted to watch Cars Sat morning.  It was a great weekend, and very fun to have Seth for the night.

Gatlinburg, Oct 13-16

 Elli couldn't wait to jump on the beds!!!!

 We took a gondola ride to Ober Gatlinburg.  Elli loved the ride.  It was so pretty seeing all the trees and colors.

 Elli rode with Brent on the way up and me on the way down the ski lift.  Made me so nervous!

 The carousel at Ober Gatlinburg.  Elli was free but wasn't allowed to ride by herself.  Made no sense to us, but we bought a ticket so Brent and I could ride with her.  She of course loved every minute of it:)

 A look at much of the park from Clingman's Dome.  It really was beautiful.

 FREEZING!  At the top it was only about 40 degrees.

 Just one of the pretty trees.  So hard to capture the amazing color on camera.

 She really wanted a walking stick.

 A kind woman took this picture for us.  It was a rock cave.  Pretty cool.

 The walk was long, but Elli was glad to see this cool cave.

 Our second day.  The weather was a bit better.

 Elli wanted to help read the map before going into Cade's Cove!

 She found this dog.  The dog was treated like a child with sunglasses, a car seat, and the "mommy" carried her in a carrier just like a baby sling:)

 The first stop on the loop in Cade's Cove.  A truck parked in a way that blocked the road and caused a traffic jam when the hay ride couldn't get by.  So, while we waited, we got to run, see some deer, and play:)

 Lunch on the grounds at the Mill.

 We saw this mommy bear and her baby cross the road.  So cute to see this little baby hop right along after her mommy.

 Trying to get a shot of the trees as well as us!

 Following the river through the park made us want to stop at every turn.  However, we only stopped a few times.  We climbed out on these rocks to get this cute shot.

 Pretty.

 Tired of the hikes:)

 Laurel Falls.

 Elli was brave and wanted to climb these rocks. She was our "leader" getting us back up to the top.

After Elli took two huge falls with lots of screaming and crying, we saw this mama bear and her baby.  They were a bit hidden behind the bushes, but fun to watch.

On he way up to Clingman's Dome, I was dozing off a bit.  I just happened to wake up, turn my head, and see a bear in the trees.  Brent said he couldn't stop.  So, on the way back, we saw two bears in the trees!!!
Aside from the CRAZY traffic, we had a great time and loved seeing the bears and beautiful colors.  Good weekend.

Sat, Oct 8, 2011, Clifton Gorge

 Off to a good start.  Leaves were very pretty though they look mostly green here.

 Made it to the top of the Indian Mound.  Elli was on the hunt for Indians the whole time we were walking. She kept saying things like, "I bet they would hide in those rock", or, "I wonder if the Indians would wash their clothes in this part?"

 At the top.

 On the way back, Elli was a bit tired!

 Checking out the river.

 Standing here really brought back memories of all the trips I took while I was at Cedarville.  So fun to take my baby girl there.

 We gathered a whole vase full of wild flowers.  Elli loves flowers!

We also gathered many colorful leaves to make place mats.  Elli was very particular when she chose them.  She wanted this one for daddy's, this one for mommy's, etc.  So cute watching her work on putting it all together.

More Pumpkins

 Elli loves her pumpkin dress.  We got these pumpkins from Aldi.  So fun:)

 At the Pumpkin Barn, we saw this adorable baby donkey!

 Elli also found a cat that followed her around like a dog!  Elli was so sad to leave her there and said she was the kitty's mommy!  She found a good place for her and we left.  Elli is still having a hard time with losing Fergi.

 Baby pigs:)

My sweet girl.  Elli and I decided to go to the Pumpkin Barn on Monday after school since the weather was so nice.  Also, we didn't get any little pumpkins at Adventure Acres the day before, so Elli wanted to pick some out.  We had a great time, the weather was beautiful, and there were lots of animals!  I love this picture of Elli.