We had rain!

 After a very dry fall we have been very excited to have a couple of nights of rain.  There has been quite a bit of splashing and a little bit of bridge building.

 Even Peter's tiny toes got to experience the muddy puddles.

 He loved it.

Around the Home

 This guy does a lot of standing and takes a step here and there but not walking yet.

 The nativity is very tempting for tiny hands.

 A wise man. Victory!

 Foiled by a big brother.

 Speaking of big brothers, this one is a ninja at present.

Nina and Pinta came for a visit.

 Replicas of two of Christopher Columbus' ships are on the Tennessee River so we went to check them out.  But first we stopped by the Cherokee monument and talked about what he would have been thinking if he saw the real Nina and Pinta coming up the river.

 The ships were much smaller than I thought they would be.

 Next we popped in the aquarium to pet some horseshoe crabs.

Visitors

 Anna and her girls stopped back by on their way to Pennsylvania, this time they brought kittens.  Three kittens.  None of them stayed here but they were enjoyed during their quick visit especially by Viola who has already decided to become a "cat lady".

 The first attempt at a picture of the littles involved some tears from Peter.

 Calico was the favorite.

 Puzzle times.

 These two play amazingly well together.

 These two are crazy together and like to pretend to be kittens.

And these two, well they just like to hang out.  Good times.

The Wildcat, the Birthday Boy, and the other stuff too

 Charlie has been branching out into animals with his face paint.

 Tiger.

 Leopard.

Bed head.

 Peter turned one with a yucky fever so we celebrated the day after with a Maple Peanut butter-butter cream cake.  Charlie volunteered to perform the candle blowing honors.  All three kids have used the same "1" candle.It's not that I'm sentimental, just thrifty.

 He managed to eat his cake without a problem.

 A "precious moment" in the midst of another day of home school.  

They used their break to write letters to their friends.

A Chiefly Village on the Etowah

 What better place to go with you face painted than Friday fun history field trip to the mounds at Etowah where people have lived since A.D. 1000.  Now those were some very native Americans.

 We stumbled upon a display of weapons and got to see a presentation of how they were used.  Charlie was thrilled.

 To the mounds!

 They were quick going up.  Not so much on the way back down.

 View from the top of Mound A.  Something different on the horizon than when the Chief lived up here a thousand years ago.

 My little gatherer found some nuts to collect in her makeshift apron.

 It's okay. It's natural.  People have been picking their noses for thousands of years.

 Proof of Peter's enthusiasm for the mounds.

 This was her favorite spot.

 The house was his favorite.  And he managed to find a "bow and arrow".

 For anyone who wants to read more about Etowah.

The Brave had tears

 This little Native American got his head stuck in the tree.  Good thing his sister was there to tell him how to pull it out.

 Viola, trying to look serious like old photos of Native Americans we've been looking at lately. 

Her idea.

 Not quite as serious.