Another Birthday Girl

Fish Stick birthday #2!

Lydia turned 12 on January 25.

We did our normal family celebration of gifts in the morning, cake after supper and an option to have a friend over to hang out for the day.  She invited Tessa to come but I think I forgot to take photos of them.

MQ is the official helper of opening presents and blowing out candles.  The boys asked her last night since she helped open their gifts and blow out their candles, does that mean that she will let all her siblings do the same on her birthday in June?  She seemed reluctant. 😂

Here's some sweet posts that were made for her birthday.

Cheesecake for the win!

 Happy 12th birthday, Lydia!  You are a joy!

4 More Kids

It's been about a year since our neighbor has had baby goats, so it was exciting to see 2 sets of twin kids born.  They are so adorable and grow so fast, so the Fish Sticks got all the lovin' and photo shoots possible.

 

Sweet 16!

On January 19, Ruth May turned 16!

On January 18, Grandma had a birthday as well.

On January 19, Nonie shared a birthday with Ruth.

And so the string of parties in 2021 begins.

Josiah made GM a silly balloon hat.

The traditional 16th birthday gift in the Fish House is an iPhone.  We figure if you are out driving, now is the time to get a phone.  Prior to this birthday, our teens argue over use our home iPhone 😁.  This birthday is much anticipated and Ruth was no exception!

Lydia painted this beautiful card for Ruth.💚

And on January 20, she took her driver's license exam and passed!!  YIPPEE!  Another Fish driver!

Happy 16th Birthday, Ruth!🎈🎂

 

Candid

MQ - photo cred

Photo creds?...I have no idea😄

 Cousin Julianna came over for MLK weekend to celebrate Ruth's birthday.  They went 4 wheeling over by the dairy farm and stopped to take selfies with the cows.  Lo and behold Uncle Justin, who was on a jog, ran into them.  He knew from a distance that the likelihood that his kinfolk were taking selfies with cows was high! 😜

Incline Railway & Singapore

As our tours continued, we went to ride the Incline Railway up to Lookout Mountain and look around at the Battles of Chattanooga Museum.  My Man and I love Civil War history.  We enjoyed the museum gift shop, bought the kids a few things here and there and watched a video to learn all about the wars on this mountain and down below.

And for dinner, I found a Singaporean restaurant.

While it didn't have our most favorite of all Singaporean dishes - Hainanese Chicken Rice, we did eat delicious asian cuisine and had a wonderful conversation with the owner as he told us how he landed on Lookout Mountain from half way around the globe.

So yummy, la!

This wrapped up our couples trip.

We are so glad we went and had some time to getaway together and enjoy some of our beautiful state that we had never seen.

 

Meanwhile Back At the Homestead

My folks kept MQ for a day while her siblings were at school.

She showed Nonie and Pops how awesome she is at puzzles and matching games!

Caleb went fishing on the TN River with some friends.

And this big baby just missed his alpha mama!

 

See Rock City

We then drove to downtown Chattanooga for a sushi wrap and bubble tea.

We were first introduced to Bubble Tea (which the young kids now call Boba Tea) years ago in Singapore.  It's taken a LONG time to reach the US, but it's fun to have as a treat every now and then.

Next up, Rock City. 

We didn't really know what Rock City was and I'm sure on a clear day in the spring, it would be spectacular.  On this particular day it was extremely foggy, cold and then started snowing while we were there.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves.   It was privately owned by a couple who loved old German gnomes and mythological garden creatures.  They were scattered throughout the gardens as we wound through the rocks, gardens and even caves.

I'm pretty sure my Fish Sticks would love this property to roam, run and climb for the day!

This suspension bridge was closed due to the ice and snow.

We came to the famous overlook where it has been said that you can see 7 states on a clear day.

And this photo below is all we could see.  😒

We could barely see the hand in front of our face.

See the sign below?  That photo is what it looks like on a good day.😮

Guess we just need to come back on a good day!

Finally we went through a cave where the owners had hired an artist to create scenes from nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  They were very interesting to this previous teacher who is a pro on quoting nursery rhymes.😎

Next stop....Starbucks to warm up with a grande macchiato.