Kate's Back to School Night

At Grant's back to school night I learned something. The student is supposed to come! That is different from the past several elementary schools and I wished that the flyer had mentioned it. Oh well, now I know. Katherine came with me and was glad to show and tell about her days at school. 

 "Kindergarten Rocks!"

Katherine's name tree in the Hallway

And I found this little gem of a photo on top!

She is off to a great start! Thanks, Mrs. Wensel!

Another August Happening

Baseball started back up! Grant didn't want to miss a season. So, crazy or not, here we come!

Misc August

Someone left a little artwork in Dad's office. We had to stop in to say hi and to use the restroom some days before heading back to Stafford.

 The kids love the clubhouse at their cousin's house!

We found a skate park that we enjoy (even on foot).

 Either Katherine had a PJ day or I wasn't in the mood to fight about clothes one day. Haha, could have been either one.

Remember what I said about our car being a second home? Might as well get cozy... waiting for siblings.

I visited kids and Danny for lunch a few times too.

Solar Eclipse

There was a really cool phenomenon the day after V's birthday. It was the solar Eclipse! Schools and libraries passed out glasses for viewing! It was super cool! You could only look at the sun with special glasses on, but there were amazing shadows on the ground and all around.

This is the pitiful pic I took.

These are better pics that I found via google search.

                                 

The shadows looked like cresents.

Here is a link to a video of the eclipse.

Solar Eclipse on August 21

And I believe these are reenactment photos a few hours later, but they might have been seeing it right after school.

V's 14th Birthday Weekend

Victoria really wanted to go to the river house for her birthday! She loves the it there! She loves the water, her family, her Grandma and Grandpa, and she also wanted to see her friend, JT.

We wanted to give Bobby and Kattia some privacy too. They have been so so kind to us in letting us stay there for such a huge chunk of their summer!

The younger two kids on the way...

 Thankful to be there! Thanks, Mom and Dad! We have often discussed why we love the river house so much. Obviously, the setting is beautiful and peaceful and fun. We love being relaxed and with the family. The thing I was thinking though, and this could be a surprise, is that it may feel more like a home to us than some of our houses because it has always been part of my kids' lives. We have moved a lot of times and so those are homes that we can't go back to, but the grandparents' houses (on both sides) have remained the same. The familiarity feels comforting. 

 Paddling action.

 Mudpies...

 The perfect day...

 V put together a cute little gift for a boy who makes her smile!

 His birthday is the day before hers.

 She got to give it to him at church in Kilmarnock.

After church she opened presents and had brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream.

 new belts

 bath bombs

 a cute shower cap and wrap

 new flat iron

And JT gave her a present...

 She loves it!

 We tried to take a cute pic with her balloon by the water, but it was a bit windy.

Grant and Kate wanted "in" on the photoshoot though.

(Victoria wore this dress at the river house when she was a little girl too! It was a favorite from Grandma that I saved)

I think I have pointed this out a time or two, but I want to be clear, Christian isn't in as many pictures as the other kids because he is not a huge fan of  pictures. I respect or understand that because I don't like to be in pictures a lot of the time either. However, I hope it is clear that I love him dearly.

When we got back to Stafford, Megan and Camila had a party for V too! She is so blessed with those close cousins! I can't find the pictures- I hope I will and if I do I will add them. I am pretty sure that they made cookie ice cream sandwiches, which were amazing! Such a fun surprise!

V had a great birthday weekend!

Back to School Night for Grant

Pick up lines

So, I have discovered that a major part of my life in Culpeper is this...

Waiting in the line for drop off and pickup at 3 schools! It is a lot of time in the car, even stopped. Yikes! I am smiling because I had a good workout (notice the tank top) and because I am about to see my kids! 

Afternoon Park Stops

Some nights while we were still staying in Stafford, Danny had to work really late, but Victoria had practice after school. On those days, we made long park stops! We really like Yowell Meadow Park.  The trails offered some shade on those, still summer, afternoons.

These kids are all so special and unique. Christian was a leader and an example of bravery these first few weeks. He surely had some hard days (Middle schoolers aren't always confident enough to reach out to people who are new or alone), but he put on a brave face and was a good example for his younger siblings and big sister too. Talking about things later, he told me about his conscious decision not to complain about things because he knew probably everyone was having a hard enough time already and he didn't want to make it worse for anyone. That was very mature and very selfless of him.

Victoria (not in these pictures, but at practice) honestly makes friends very easily. It is probably not as quickly as she would like, but I guarentee she is making friends. She is smiley, friendly, kind and socially mature. She had a few rough moments though (Day 3 was really bad. From a mom who likes to say "We can do hard things," it merited ice cream. Code word- auditorium. Is that enough of a description to help us remember when we read this years later? I hope so. I think it was a what not to do/ how not to treat others lesson). When others are mean, I hope we will learn that we want to be nice.

Not related to the move, but following the trend of sharing the kids' special traits, Grant has always been a "good noticer!" He especially loves noticing things outside. He notices small things, like details in these flowers, shapes in clouds, or pieces of  trash that are not where they should be. It is a cool talent to be so keen on details.

Katherine has the gift of contentedness. She is happy most of the time and doesn't often let things bother her. Generally, she accepts things as they are and finds a reason to like them. "It's fine," "Well at least...(something on the bright side)," "I'm ok," and "I will try" are common phrases that I hear her say.