17 months- Love that VA Red Clay!

Our little munchkin is 17 months today!

Her new antics include: eating dirt. Putting dirt on the cat. Walking backwards. Signing. Dancing. Climbing into baskets. Putting diapers on her head, etc.

She is doing a great job at her care-givers each day while I am at work.

She enjoys painting and getting the mail. Her favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus." She likes pizza. She says so many new words: mail, pizza, raining, toilet, and "are you ready?"

She also tells me "night, night" and asks for her "bottle."

We are headed to West VA for Labor Day weekend. We've got a carload full of stuff and will take lots of pictures!

Summer Reading Program and a Day of Skating

Staying up late to watch the Olympics.

Ice Cream Party and Magic Show

Before...

During...

After...

Funny Faces at IHOP

A Day of Ice Skating and Roller Skating

The big kids have been having lots of fun as summer winds down...

We went to two final programs for the summer reading program at the public library. Both kids got picked from the audience to be in a magic show at a special ice cream social for kids who met their reading goal. A few nights later we went to a roller skating party sponsored by the library for the older kids who reached their goal. The rollerskating party was on the same day the kids went on a field trip to an indoor ice skating rink! Margaret was thrilled because she finally got to wear a special ice skating costume that was a hand me down from our friend Nikki's daughter. I came across a matching outfit for her American Girl doll- complete with ice skates- so we were excited about the day she and her doll would get to go skating! The kids earned some food coupons for all of the reading they did and we redeemed them this week. Margaret felt very special ordering a pizza online for free! We ate it as we watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics. On the skating day we also went to IHOP and got free "Funny Faces" which are the BIGGEST chocolate chip pancakes I've ever seen! AP finished his- but Margaret and Abby opted to take home goodie bags!

Grandma and Grandpa Mac visit and school starts

Grandma and Grandpa Mac came to VA to watch the kids for us a few days this week since I am back to work. They took the kids bike riding, to the movies, a museum, a water park and played in the hotel pool.

First day of school- and we were on time! Margaret picked out special matching outfits for her and Abby and they looked adorable. I even had time to curl Margaret's hair! ...I just hope we can keep it up! We decided to have Margaret repeat 2nd grade this year. She seems happy with the decision and even got to have the same teacher! Patrick is in 5th grade this year. He wasn't as excited about getting back to school, but was happy to see his friends and start the fall soccer season.

Fun at the Air and Space Museum

We spent a Sunday afternoon at the Air and Space Museum in Dulles recently. It was a great place to visit and all three kids enjoyed it. AP liked seeing the bombers and machine guns mounted on the war planes. Abby liked being able to run down the ramps in the hangers. We will have to go back to enjoy the simulators and the IMAX theatre. Afterward, we went to a cook out at one of Patrick's law school friend's house where we got to try Wii for the first time. Margaret beat Patrick at bowling, and it was a hoot! As you can see, I've been having fun dressing the girls in matching outfits. They are growing up so fast, I might not have much more time to do it before they start to protest...

Fun at Grandma Griz's

Spent two nights at Grandma and Grandpa Griz's house this week. The kids enjoyed playing in the sprinkler and taking bubble baths.

On Sat. we went to the Richmond Children's Museum. Barney performed a concert for teh kids and the place was a zoo. Grandma almost got into a fight over seats! Abby danced and claped to the music. I will post a video clip when I get a chance.

The highlight was playing outside in the sand and water area. Whent eh museum closed, we had a picnic outside. It was a special weekend.

House work and upgrades

We've been busy working on little things around the house now that Patrick passed the Bar and I will be returning to work soon. We added electric base board heat to all of the rooms, tore down and hauled away an old shed, painted an outbuilding and have taken care of some minor repairs.

The kids have pitched in and we've all worked hard to made the place look a bit nicer! Having an old farm house is a bit daunting sometimes, but we love the view and enjoy the yard enough to make it worthwhile.

We had highspeed wireless installed and purchased a king sized bed for the master bedroom over the summer as well. We also traded in my old Explorer and bought a used Expedition. We had installed with a third row seat and it gives the kids more space.

Other summer highlights...

The big kids attended a two day 4-H bread making workshop in July. They made French bread and traditional basic breads from scratch. They did an experiment with yeast and even made unleavened bread. They were so excited about their bread, I let them wrap it in a blanket and take a loaf to bed one night! We enjoyed homemade French toast the next morning, prepared by Margaret.

Margaret got a retainer! She got to pick the colors and decorate the case. Remembering to tighten it twice a week has been a challenge...

Abby enjoyed her first Vacation Bible School and had a blast with the bigger kids, eating tasty snacks, blowing bubbles and playing outside with a giant inflatable beach ball. Unfortunately the week after, she got "Hand, Foot and Mouth" disease and was covered in spots.

AP at tended Bible camp for the second year in a row and was excited to have two school friends as bunk mates! He enjoyed boating in the pond, playing in the game room and attending chapel each day. Patrick also attended scout camp, soccer camp and two other day camps where he got to go swimming and roller skating each week and took field trips to the carnival ice skating and other cool places.

Margaret dressed up at Camp Cully, a camp she attended to learn about our town's history; including crafts and activities that focused on dinosaurs and the American and Civil Wars. On the last day, the kids made stew and bread & butter for parents and families and had a camp fire. Here's a picture of Abby stealing the camp mascott after eating her bowl of stew.

4th Annual Camp Cousins!

Camp Cousins was held at Letchworth State Park this year and Abby and I were the newest campers! We enjoyed fishing, playing in the playground, making Native American head dresses and singing around the campfire. The kids fished and hiked and earned badges for their effort! Thanks for Grandma and Grandpa Mac for another successful family get together!