A Week of 1st's

What an exciting week this has been... a whole lot of 1st's for the kids... and fun for all! August in the Yingst household (and probably the average American household) tends to be full of activities and new beginnings. I'll share some with you.

Peyton offically became a high schooler (that word just sounds cool!). He walked into the doors of his High School as a Freshman. I had no idea seeing him walk in to that enormous building on his first day of school would trigger sappy emotions for me... but, I'm his Mommy and it affected me. It was like an instant flashback of all his school years... just flooding my brain with memories. Wow! I felt as emotional as I did when he started Kindergarten... who knew?! I'm so proud of his, though. He is playing football for the #1 high school team in the country... BHS! And, he loves it!! He has had long and hard (and REALLY early) practices the bulk of the summer and they are continuing into the school year.

Peyton thinks he is too cool for pictures, anymore... especially "1st Day" pictures, so I had to practically beg him for some. I told him that I will ALWAYS take pictures of him, especially on the first day of anything. He should be used to it by now. Ha!

Here are some pictures of Peyton on his first day of high school...

Peyton in his practice football jersey...

He had a great first day of High School. He hangs out with all of his football buddies, so I'm sure he will have an excellent school year (as long as he maintains good grades, while hitting the gym/football)!

Khloe loves to have her own activities, as well. She was super excited about her first day of Jazz/Hip Hop dance class! She took Ballet and Tap class, last year, but we decided to add another dance class to her already busy schedule. Jazz and Hip Hop is more upbeat and up to date music that she can shake her little bottom to. It allows a little more flexibility and excitement to regular dance moves. It's fun! Needless to say, she LOVED her class and can't wait for next week's class! There are some adorable little girls in her Jazz/Hip Hop class.

Here is Khloe at her 1st Day of Jazz/Hip Hop Dance Class...

Jazz/Hip Hop dance class was exciting to Khloe... she really enjoyed it and seemed to like her teacher, as well. Yay!

Last, but not least, Khloe completed her week of "1st's" with Ballet/Tap. Although, this wasn't her 1st Day ever in Ballet/Tap, it was her 1st Day YEAR 2 of Ballet/Tap. With her same, lovely teacher, Ms. L! We actually switched her Ballet/Tap dance day from the beginning of the week to mid-week this year... and little did we know, all the girls from her dance class did the same. What are the odds?!! So, to Khloe's surprise (and Mommy's, too), she ended up with all her dance buddies from last year back in her class (with a few other new girls). She was beyond excited... and she felt right at home. Khloe loved her reunion with her dance buddies. I hope the girls have an awesome dance year... Love these girls!

Khloe's 1st Day back to Ballet/Tap (2nd Year!)...

I adore my children! I am beyond thrilled that they both had excellent experiences, this week, and started off their new school year on a happy note. Congrats, Peyton and Khloe!! We adore you two so much!

Love, Mom & Dad

"A Night with the Stars" Gala

We were invited to attend "A Night with the Stars" Gala at the Fayetteville Town Center. Our good friends were huge sponsors of this event, Adam and Chandra... they are the lovely couple who invited us to attend with them at their table.

We really enjoyed our night with Adam and Chandra (and the rest of the group they had invited. We were driven to the event by a driver (Adam rented a van for our group). Some of the guest speakers at the event were Ronnie Brewer (NBA player) and Terrell Owens (NFL player). There were several other guest speakers, too.

Here are some pictures from our fun night at the Gala with good friends...

Here is the infamous picture of Terrell Owens (aka TO), his son and I. Thanks, Adam, for such a clear picture of me with TO! LOL!!!!! Oh well...

Ha ha ha... clear picture, huh?! Too funny!

We all made it home safely and bid on way too many silent auction items! Fun times with our good friends!

Mount Etna (Volcano) Tour - Sicily, Italy - (Day 4)

We had done a little research on our destination today, Mount Etna, prior to the excursion. We discovered that Mount Etna is the tallest active volcano in the European Continent. Only two others follow. Mount Etna grows each year in height, because of the constant lava flow. It is constantly smoking, which is good, because it is releasing pressure within itself... preventing a massive eruption from occurring. The last recorded activity was January through June of this year. So, we just missed smoke rings and lava flow... shortly before we arrived. Mount Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily, Italy.

We woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel. We departed the hotel at 07:30 am on a shuttle to Mount Etna. Again, our tour guide was Syrah... She was the best tour guide (so energetic and peppy). We drove about an hour to our destination. We entered Mount Etna towards the bottom of the volcano. We had to take a gondola more than halfway up the volcano... only to get in to a Unimog (military, fire-resistant, jeep-type 4x4 vehicle) and travel the rest of the intense climb to the peak of Mount Etna.

As we got out of the Unimog, we were taken back by where we were. We were standing atop the largest active volcano in all of the European Continent. We were captivated by the view... we couldn't grasp the fact that we were walked on cooled lava rocks. They were black and unusually porous. The lava rocks weighed nothing and the texture was interesting to the touch. It was very hard to believe that most of the lava rocks we were walking on were actually flowing lava just a few short months ago. The entire Mount Etna is one big mountain created by lava... everywhere we looked it was black and smoking. Below our feet, you saw smoke coming out of the ground. Hot rocks below the cooled rocks... the pressure brewing below. We dug down into the lava rocks with our hands and only a few inches below, we could feel the intense heat pushing through the ground. You could boil water if you poured water into the burrow... and I am not exaggerating when I say only INCHES into the rocks. It was the craziest thing. It was such a wonderful experience and we can actually say that we were on the largest active volcano in all of Europe (and one of three in the whole world).  It's not your daily outing. Ha!

As we departed Mount Etna, we were shuttled to a local Italian restaurant (near the bottom of Etna). It was nice to enjoy authentic Italian food with our friends, Patrick and Kristin... and some of our other friends we were on the trip with. The served us lasagna, bread, spaghetti, salad and dessert... as well as wine and beer. We filled our bellies and headed back to the hotel. We headed to Taormina for dinner, later that night.

We made certain we documented this experience... Here is our day on Etna:

Mount Etna was an experience (and adventure) that we will never forget. It is amazing that there are places like this in our world... and that you read about this volcano in history books, but we were there to see it in person. So surreal. Mount Etna is such an extravagant land mass... Wow!

Alcantara Gorges - Sicily, Italy - (Day 3)

We woke up this morning with excitement. We were going to visit the Alcantara Gorges (a natural phenomenon in Sicily). Just to give you a little history... The Alcantara Gorges are a result of ancient lava flow (from Mount Etna) flowing into the melted glaciers of the Alcantara River (freezing waters). The lava sculpted canyons of glorious mineral deposits. The canyons are as tall as 50 feet and are the most interesting shape... you are able to see the way the lava flowed and hardened into visible columns as it came in contact with the freezing Alcantara water (centuries ago). Over time the rivers current naturally eroded a tunnel/canal through the crystallized lava columns, creating these magnificent Alcantara Gorges!

We made friends with Pat and Kristin the first night of our trip to Sicily, so we were thrilled that they were on the excursion with us. We were shuttled from the hotel (with our favorite tour guide, Syrah) to the gorges. It was 35 minutes or so from the hotel. Again, it was a blazing hot day, but the cold waters were sure to cool us off. When we arrived at the Alcantara Gorges, we had to wear waders over our clothes (and those green waders were fashionable... not!). We had to wear the waders, because the water was unbearably cold... even though some of the locals gather here to swim in the water without any protective suits. Supposedly, the freezing waters were extremely good for your blood circulation and cellulite. It was beneficial to healthy, glowing skin, as well. We waded through the water as a group, exploring the beautiful gorges. It was pleasant.

We, also, hiked the trails when we got out of the water to explore the gorges from above. What an impressive scene. Wow! We were thrilled to see such an amazing natural land mass... Serene and unbelievable! Only the brave ones in the group endured the true revelation of the gorges... meaning, they took off their waders and bared all their skin to dive into the freezing waters within the gorges. There were areas of the gorges that you could only see by swimming to the secret areas within the gorges. Kevin, being the adventurist that he is, and our friend, Pat, were among the few who took the challenge. He was baffled by it's beauty!

Here are some pictures from our day's adventure at the Alcantara Gorges:

The Alcantara Gorges were simply amazing! If you are ever in Sicily, be sure to take some time to visit this place... a MUST SEE, for sure!!