November Fun!!!

 Well, we are more than halfway through November, and it's been full full full!!!  We celebrated Lances big 41 out to eat and then back here for presents and cake!  Hard to believe the boy I met when he was 17 is now 41!  Well, I'm blessed beyond measure!  Also, a bunch of us SFA moms hit the town for a night out and then went to the JT concert!  I must say I had a little too much fun...but wouldn't trade it for the world!!  It was great taking off my "my mom hat" for an evening and just having a blast with my friends!!

The Hollingsworth Bunch on Lance's Birthday!

Happy Halloween 2013

 Well, we were told by Jesse that this Halloween will be his last (we'll see about that.....) so he really needed to hit those houses last night quickly so that he could acrue a lot of candy....He racked up, so hopefully mission accomplished.

 Claire was a garden fairy, and while I'm not really sure what that is, she wanted me to take live ivy from my garden and apply it all over that costume....and that's just what we did....crown and all. I did overhear her telling some friends "Don't worry, it's not poison ivy!"  Anyway, she looked super cute and had a great night!!

This is the "fight picture" as orchestrated by Jesse I'm sure....  Enjoy and lots of events coming up, so I promise to post soon!

Love, Gretchen

Fabulous Fall!

 Well, now that soccer and golf are over, our weekends have freed up somewhat!  We had a great weekend filled with pumpkin carving, Priddy Farms, and trying to get out of the corn maze!  We all enjoyed the time together, and made some great memories!

 Yes, that is really old corn, and yes, Jesse ate some on a dare form his little sister.....

 Out sweet niece Gracie after helping carve her Halloween Pumpkin!!

After navigating the corn maze!

 Claire picking out her pie pumpkins

Enjoying a hayride with the kids!

So Long Fall Sports!

 Well, the kids have wrapped up their sports for now, and I am so happy! Of course we love watching them grow and do well in their activities, mom and dad are glad for the break!  Actually, Jesse will resume golf and do a bit of Fall Golf, it will just be on a weekend basis.  Yay for that!!! Claire had an absolute blast at soccer and turned out to be a great little defender...

 

 Jesse is just changing before our eyes.  Every time I see a new picture of him, I'm not sure where my little Jesse has gone.  He is just 12, but 5'4 1/2 and really growing to love the sport of golf.   Jesse played in the end of the season Fall Tourney at Mirimichi and was not happy at all with his score, but practices almost every day to improve.  This is a side of Jesse we are not used to....but we love it! Jesse's team as a whole did great and had a great season!

 Just a beautiful course to see on cool fall day!

 Jesse with his team and coach after the tourney.

Jesse and his friend MJ at Tiger Midnight Madness...had a blast!!

Hollingsworths in action

 Jesse teeing off at Stonebridge against St. Dominic's.  Jesse continues to improve with every match and seems to actually enjoy getting better!!

 I just see a little Lance here.....

 Little Claire holding her own!

Claire is having a blast playing soccer, and also seems to be improving with each game.  I'm just glad she's having a blast!!!

Lots coming up...so promise to post again soon!!!

In Full Swing.....

 Well, the school year has gotten off to a bang this year and every day we are in motion.  Between Claire in soccer and Jesse in golf.....we are a family on the go!  Jesse's golf game has grown leaps and bounds and is improving with every match.  Jesse played Stonebridge yesterday vs St. Dominic.  While SFA lost, Jesse seems to be enjoying the competition and actually seems to care when he deosn't do great.  That's a good sign...  Claire and PawPaw ride the cart, while Lance and I walk the holes....actually I often hitch a ride with PawPaw too!  Claire's learned to just do that homework in the cart and that's one less thing to do when we get home...which is often 7ish oclock!    

 Such a pretty golf bag isn't it??

 

It's actually great to see all the boys out there cheering each other on, no matter what team they are playing for.  Very good manner and sportsmanship...great thing to see.  Well, he has lots of matches coming up soon...promise to post again soon!

love, Gretchen

First Day of 7th and 2nd Grade!

 It is truly hard to believe that we are the parents of  7th and 2nd graders!  I can still remember as it was yesterday bravely walking both of them into kindergarten and then sobbing once I got into the car.  Well, there is no more sobbing....a little cheering these days.  But they were glad to be going back today and seeing all their friends and teachers!  I pray for a wonderful school year for both of them!

 Sweet little Claire ready for school!

 Sometimes sweet Jesse growing leaps and bounds!!

Packed full of stuff for the first day of seventh grade.....

Back From Paradise...

 Well, Lance and I just returned from 6 days in Paradise, AKA St. Maarten, where we celebrated our 40th Birthdays.  While we were very fortunate to go to Orange Beach in June with our entire family, this was a beach of an entirely different nature! The views and scenery were breathtaking everywhere we went.  The weather was in the 80's with an almost constant breeze....There were little mountains on both sides of our resort, which we did not hurt the views from our balcony!

 One of the outdoor eating areas in the resort.  Everything was just feet from the bright blue water.

 One of the outdoor bars.  On the other side of this bar was the pool, where people swam up for their beverages of choice!

 Lance decompressing......

 Another view from our balcony.

 A 10 minute walk on the beach took us to Phillipsburg, the Dutch capital of St. Maarten.  There were cute shops everywhere, and this little dock, where the local kids where having a blast jumping off.

 This church was just a few minutes from our resort on the beach.  Turns out, Christopher Colombus founded St. Maartens and named it after Saint Martin of Tours.....

 We had a blast riding these jet skis with no one in the water for miles, so Lance, knowing his need for speed, booked it up to 50mph.....

 One of the highlights of our trip was a little visit to Maho Bay, which is just another beach on the Dutch side of St. Martins.  The island is so small the runway starts on the beach, so people and photographers come from all over the world to watch the planes take off and land just feet from you.  In the US this would never happen, which made the trip even more enticing.  Also, the noise sooooo loud.  

 

The 727 (I believe) was only about 30 feet over our heads....hats and sunglasses were flying off everywhere! You can watch what we saw on theis link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlTNj6IWey4

 

 Great...this pic makes me look even shorter!

 OK, so normally I don't take pictures of strangers on their balconies, but all week another couple was there and the man could totally pass for Sammy Hagar. Lance insisted it was him, but being that Lance is no music expert, especially since he thought Sammy Hagar was the lead for AC/DC, I decided this was just a look alike, and a tad younger than the real Sammy for sure!

Our last photo before leaving the beautiful island and back to reality!!