Thursday, December 25, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Halloween 2014 Take 1
Here are some pictures from our neighborhood Halloween parade. This year we are sporting ninja, Carmen Miranda, and Greek goddess costumes. This is the first year since having children that I did not make the costumes and, while I feel kind of guilty about taking the easy way out, I gotta say that I love Lydia's Carmen costume! And Lizzy made a lovely goddess. And Jacob is rocking his white socks with his ninja suit.
Here is Lydia with her smart face on.
Is it just me or are these close-ups great?? I love them!
We love our new neighborhood!!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Virginia 2014
This last week I left my husband two days before he started his new job. The day after we made an offer on a new house. And right in the middle of selling our old house. I took the 3 kids and I left him for Fancy Gap, Virginia. Ok I didn't actually "leave" him, but my parents, my sister, and her baby drove up and we all caravanned up together to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to attend my Grandmom's burial/memorial ceremony. Was is the worst timing ever to go up into the mountains where there was no internet or phone coverage? Possibly. But, hey, Fancy Gap was calling and we needed to go.
THURSDAY:
My 3 kids and I slept up in the loft where it maintained a constant temperature of about 90 degrees while downstairs in the living area Amy bundled up in sweats to keep warm in the 63 degrees down there. I'm not complaining though. Throughout the entire week not one child (or grown up) fell down the hole from the loft which is really quite miraculous.
When the sun was almost down each evening the fire flies would come out. This was a huge deal for my children who had never seen one before. The first night we went out with nets and didn't catch a single one. By the time the 2nd evening was over, however, they were pros and we were trying to keep them in an empty water bottle but ended up just letting them fly free because water bottles are very difficult to manage fire flies in!
FRIDAY:
Around this time we caught this beetle. We named him Paul. Because Mommy loves the Beatles.
SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:
About 16 of us drove back to Grandmom's house to look around. It made us all so happy!
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY:
THURSDAY:
As soon as we stepped out of the car at our cabin Amy and I took a deep breath in and remembered the smell of Virginia. It's strange how your nose has a memory of its own.
Here's our cabin: Time to Unwine
Dollar General was the closest place to buy any type of groceries and it was a good 15 minute drive away. I had to document it.
Here's Abby in her sink bath.
FRIDAY:
Fog.
The spider webs were glistening with dew drops. I couldn't take enough pictures of spider webs - they were everywhere!!
Typical meal on the front porch. The most remarkable thing was the complete absence of mosquitoes! We spent 3/4 of every day outside and not a single itchy bite to show for it.
Wild bunnies would show up randomly. Here are the kids watching one through the back window.
We ventured across the street to check out the cabins and ponds and to see if they had any other butterflies to catch.
Around this time we caught this beetle. We named him Paul. Because Mommy loves the Beatles.
We drove up to the church cemetary where Grandmom would be buried.
And here we have a documentation of my obsession of the trip: blackberries. I told my family that I felt like Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations. Every time we would drive by certain areas I would roll down my window and hang out my windows looking for more berries to pick. I think we picked around 8 cups of blackberries just around our cabin and driveway!
Early afternoon we drove by Grandmom's house. We just stood at the end of the driveway and looked at it. And took selfies.
Later in the afternoon people started to show up. There was much chit chatting.
SATURDAY:
Half of the company went to Mabry Mill to have breakfast. (Side note: I was also able to use their office printer to print off 12 papers I needed to sign for our loan company so that establishment gets extra points for helping a sister out there.)
Here's Amy and Abby. This is as snuggly as this baby gets so you have to soak it up when it happens.
Mabry Mill with cousin Heidi
This might be my favorite family photo. Minus the absence of a couple of husbands, of course...
Jacob learned many things this trip - and checkers was one of them. He's become quite the fanatic.
Here's another family photo at Lover's Leap along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Lydia was mad at me. Oh well.
Here I am at the church I was baptized in when I was an infant. It's roughly the size of my bedroom in my apartment right now.
We had a lovely, casual ceremony where everybody told stories and remembered Grandmom and then we walked over to bury her ashes next to Granddad.
After a family dinner we headed back to the cabins. Richard taught my kids to fish which was really nice because first of all, I don't fish and secondly, my patience was wearing thin with trying to keep children and fishing line untangled. Another miracle of the week is that not one person was harmed with any hooks. Seriously, I still can't figure out how we pulled that off.
Here is what Jacob was doing a good deal of the time - he loves his Perplexus balls!
SUNDAY:
Uncle Dick played "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from his balcony. :)
About 16 of us drove back to Grandmom's house to look around. It made us all so happy!
Then we had to get back in time for the World Cup finals. Jacob still found time to teach Nathan how to play the perplexus ball.
The girls picked flowers for everybody.
Most of the family had left by now so my immediate family went back to Mabry Mill to look around again.Yup, still pretty.
Around 2:00 we went back to the house again but this time we came prepared to get in the creek!
Nathan and Ian were awesome cousins and spent a good long while tossing the football around with Jacob. He was in heaven. He told me later, "I like me new cousins!"
Mikaela was a fabulous babysitter for the girls!
TUESDAY:
Here's Abby having Naked Time.
Here's Abby again with her Great Aunts and her "Great" Aunt.
Reaching for apples from the apple tree beside the cabin.
After everybody else left we went back to the house one last time. This time we brought tubes and drifted down the creek over and over again.
WEDNESDAY:
Time to go. Here was the sunrise.
As we were getting into our cars to drive away a flock of Canada geese landed in the lake in front of us. It was an enchanting way to say goodbye to Fancy Gap and our little cabin. It was a wonderful vacation!
Items not photographed: the sloping, gravel driveway, Nathan playing his songs on the porch, board games, hide and seek, "We're Floating Down the River" song and dance, driving to North Carolina for a Pizza Hut, and Lizzy's parades with the entire family.
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