School starts Monday

August 1 and school begins. Remember when August was still considered summertime! Here are some things that will be new at the Nobles house this school year:

Kate starts middle school, which in Rome City is 7th grade. Once they go to middle school, they belong to Randy. At orientation I introduced myself & Kate to her teachers and promptly told them if they needed anything to call Dad down the hall. I don't do middle school!

Carrie will be senior in high school. She is a section leader for the trumpets & has a solo in the fall show. She will be taking English at Georgia Highlands (joint enrollment). Neither of the older two did that! She will also be working at Chick-fil-A at the mall. Her only college choice is Berry and the Winshape program. Pray for her as she takes the ACT in September! She needs great scores to get those scholarships.

Alyssa is starting her final year at Berry. She is student teaching at Elm Street Elementary in the 3rd grade. Elm Street has a high population of Hispanics, just what she likes! She will continue to work with the children's ministry at church. What will she do after graduation? I don't know, not sure she knows, but I'm glad that God knows!

Aaron continues his quest to finish college, at his 3rd institution! He has spent the last 3 semesters at Georgia Highlands, catching up. He will start Kennesaw University in August, commuting two days a week. He will continue to work at Olive Garden & probably do some soccer refereeing. Currently he is in Orlando with a church out of Kennesaw doing some mission work through Hands & Feet Ministries. Aaron still needs direction in his life. Pray that comes soon and that he is willing to follow God's lead & not his own.

Randy is the new athletic director at Rome Middle School this year, I don't really know what that involves, but I know it will keep him extra busy. It will also give him a supplement that will help offset those furlough days. He is in year 31 teaching 8th grade social studies, and is staying to get Kate through middle school. Because of his title of AD, I told him he needed a smart phone. He needs it for weather conditions and to take care of emails when he is out on the road.

Anything new for me? YES, I have started working out at the Cage Center on the Berry campus. Kate & I have been going on the days she doesn't swim. My plan is to continue working out there 3 or 4 days a week. I will continue my walking on other days. Age 50 does ugly things to your body, so working out will help firm up the ugliness!

I'm also VERY EXCITED to go away with some piano teacher friends when school starts next week!!! We aren't going to a conference, just to the lake. One of the ladies has a house on Lake Hiwassee in North Carolina. We're going up to have fun and relax before our teaching gets under way. I'll be the youngest of the 4, but it will be great. I'll have pictures & stories to share in my next post.

Here's to August! Let the rat race begin!

Kentucky Road Trip

We have great friends that live in Kentucky, and they are nice enough to let us crash with them every few years. Loretta & Charles Darsey lived in Rome for many years, but Charles was transferred to Kentucky the year Kate was born. They went to our church, Loretta taught my kids in preschool & she kept them for me. We call Ms. Loretta their "fairy godmother"....she spoils all of them! We spent 2 wonderful days in their home last week. It was a great getaway & reunion.

On our way to Winchester (south of Lexington), we stopped at Hall's on the River to have dinner with Rod & Julia Poynter. Julia taught at Berry for several years and took piano from me. We had lots in common and struck up a long lasting relationship.

The Poynter's & the Nobles. Friends from our early married years! We actually share the same anniversary from 1981. We don't see them often, but it's always great to catch up. Randy refers to Julia as his second wife...but that's another story!

Loretta's home is popular, and one reason is the pool. It's great to enjoy the sun, and relax while reading a book or chatting. The weather was lovely during our visit, lots of sun and LOW humidity.

The water temperature never got over 73 degrees, but Kate spent lots of time in the pool.

Kate working on her tan!

One thing my family loves about Kentucky...Ale 8. It's only sold in three states. Too much sugar for me, but it's definitely something we look forward to getting when visiting the Darsey's.

Pitter Pat, the cat!


Friday night we went into Lexington and ate at Culver's. It's a great burger joint that you can find in Kentucky. After dinner we did some shopping at a half price bookstore & Target.

Our wonderful friends, Loretta & Charles. Of course, Loretta spoiled Kate rotten since she was the only child that came to visit. The other kids had to work.

On our way back to Georgia we took a side trip to Slade Kentucky. This is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest & home to Natural Bridge State Park & Red River Gorge. It has a one lane tunnel & lots of curvy roads. There were many trails, but the ones we really wanted to hike (with waterfalls) were a bit further than we had time for.

Suspension Bridge over the creek in Red River Gorge. Kate enjoyed making it move - A LOT!

A cabin in the Gladie Community, circa 1874.

Mountain Laurel are in bloom throughout the park.

Whistler's Arch...a short hike from the parking lot

Kate & Randy at Whistler's Arch.

View from the Hemlock Lodge at Natural Bridge State Park. Maybe one day we'll return and stay at the lodge.

If you make it to Slade & this area of Kentucky make sure you get lunch at Miguel's Pizza. It is a a "hole in the wall" with great pizza. They also sell Ale 8 to quench your thirst. This area is popular with climbers & Miguel's also sells climbing equipment if want to give it a try.

We enjoyed our journey and especially the fellowship with our dear friends.

A Fourth Tradition

I'm not sure how long we have been making the USA cake, but it came from a 1997 Crayola Kids magazine. When I can find red hots we mark major cities, which usually include our latest National Park trip. The Mississippi River is over flowing its' banks due to flooding & Kate! Actually the icing was yucky, so it bled. Randy's the geography guy, but he takes no credit for how it turns out. He just enjoys eating it.

Here's the how-to:

2 boxes of white cake mix...I use 1 1/2 boxes and use 1 1/2 amounts of oil, water & eggs.

vanilla icing

green sugar (food coloring & sugar)

cinnamon sugar (cinnamon & sugar)

pecans

chocolate chips

Chocolate kisses

blue writing icing

Make your cake according to the package. Find a LARGE pan to bake it in. To make it easier to remove from the pan use cooking spray, then wax paper, then cooking spray on wax paper. Pour the batter on the "sprayed wax paper". Bake and let cool. Remove from pan and pull away the wax paper. I put my cake on a tupperware cake carrier, but you could just put it on a large platter. NOW, it's time to cut out the USA. I made my pattern by tracing a puzzle the kids have. The extra pieces that you cut away become Hawaii & Alaska...or that is what we call them. Ice your cake & let the decorating begin. You have grasslands, desert, mountains, rivers, lakes & cities (red hots, or other bright candy).

My kids LOVE making this cake. It's cheesy, but it's not the 4th without it. We have made this cake when we visited friends on the 4th! Alyssa is out of town visiting a friend & she texted me today about the cake. She told me not to eat it all. I told her we could make another when she came home to which she texted "YAY!".