End of summer days

The summer has drawn to an end and the school buses are in high gear again. Last week when school started around here, I was a little nervous for all the kids. I remember getting nervous before the first day, trying to pick out what to wear and making sure I woke up on time. I was a little restless that night before school last week, and I wasn't sending anyone off on the school bus!






End of summer means FAIRS!!! We hit the Chesterfield County Fair AND the Amelia County Fair where Ben's parents and sister live. We had a fun time - Madelyn can finally ride the loud, jerky, should I really put my kid on this thing rides! Seriously, I can't help but look at every rod, bolt and gear when the ride is in motion...why is that piece not moving, is that suppose to bounce up and down, why is that red light flashing...Not to mention the operators, surely they are all degreed in engineering, and they must be mechanics so they can fix the ancient ride, and they also know CPR and will bring my child a barf bag when she is sick -- right! The Virginia State Fair is coming up at the end of the month, that will be the best one yet, can't wait for that!
(PS - Kim - lets meet there, Madelyn would LOVE to ride with Jake and Rudy!!)

Chesterfield Fair:







We couldn't leave the fair without an overpriced
loud, flashy toy!



Amelia Fair:

Just some fun pics

August...

OK - I really need to stop this once a month blogging habit I've started. Lately I've found I'm more inclined to let things "pile up" and then have to catch up, even around the house - where I use to tackle things ahead of time so I wouldn't be playing the catch up game. Sometimes it's a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing since I'm not a pile up kind of person!

We've had such a fun summer, and I know next summer is going to be even better when Emily will be able to get around and enjoy all the fun things we'll do as a family. It's fun being together and letting the girls experience new things - but man is it exhausting, it has made the summer fly by...but I'd much rather this than sit around the house all the time.

After the beach (which is the last blog I posted!) we enjoyed a visit with one of my very best friends from school. Kelli was in town from New York to see her family and I went up to our ol' roots - Stafford - to spend some time with her and her daughter Brylee. Madelyn and Brylee got along great, Brylee just turned two and she is such a pretty girl, just like her momma. It's so fun to watch little ones interact, how they see the world and how they share conversations together is just awesome! They were sure there was a bear in the woods here -

My sister and Mary invited our family down to their lake house on Lake Gaston a few weekends ago. I could easily prefer "the lake" over the beach...gasp! If I spend much more time there it just might happen! The weather was fabulous, which made for some great tubing on the boat and jet skiing. We just had fun relaxing and playing in the water -- Liz and Mary are great hostesses, thank you guys!

This is the view from the porch, down to the dock -

the cove leads right out to the giant lake...so peaceful there!

Aunt Liz and "her" baby...sometimes people think

Emily is hers! ha

Ben and I have wanted to try going to an amusement park with Madelyn...so I found a deal online for Kings Dominion. I use to go there all the time as a kid, it's been about 16 years since Ben or I have been there. It was hot when we first got there but a light rain came through and cooled us off. We had plenty of time to ride some more rides and walk around a while before the downpour came later.

We were pretty sure Madelyn was going to be afraid of the rides, and she'd probably not want to go on anything by herself. But she surprised us. Her first ride was with Ben on the Taxi Jam rollercoaster - she loved it. She didn't understand that she had to get off and let the others in line ride before she could go again. She rode most of the other kids rides too - BooBoo's Tree Swings and Ranger Smith's Jeep Tours. We looked like idiots following her with the camera and oooo-ing and aww-ing at her on the rides!

The last ride we did before we left was the Scrambler - Madelyn and I rode and she had a blast. She had her hands up and squealed and laughed...I, on the other hand, did all I could to keep my lunch down and not look like I was miserable! Oh I felt awful! My head pounded the rest of the day and I felt like I could throw up at any minute...like a REALLY bad hangover! ugh! But we still had a great time, we'll definitely do it again. We can't wait until Madelyn and Em can ride together!

Emily had the right idea!

Auntie Amanda and Auntie Haylie came over later after we were home and recovered from our trip to KD. Madelyn always LOVES playing with her Aunties....and I think they enjoy being little kids with her! Amanda stayed the night and then the next day we had breakfast with her, Mimi and Grandpa. It was a great day!

Is summer really almost over??

OK - is it me, or are we heading into August already, July flying by so fast our heads are spinning? Whew....soon we'll be putting away the shorts and pulling out our fuzzy jammies and sweaters, well - really not as soon as I'd like, but it's around the corner!

We had a quick trip to the beach a few weeks ago, we usually stay at week down in the Outer Banks, but this time it was just long enough for us to get a whiff of the salty air and have the sand quickly dance on our toes, and cars. :) We weren't going to go at all this year, having just had Emily and the way money is right now, but a friend has a house down there and let us use the few days it wasn't being occupied. It was a nice little getaway, Emily was the most relaxed of us all there! Madelyn's TRYING TWO'S kept us on guard at all times - but she did have fun. Thanks Mom!













We'll pick right back up with weekend BBQ's and fun with friends and their little ones. Soon the summer picnics and swimming pools will be put away and we'll be starting pre-school and picking pumpkins!

Emily is groooowwwing!

It seems impossible that Emily is already 3 months old! She's really starting to talk and wiggle, she's almost rolling over now. She has been such a good baby, so happy all the time and content with her surroundings. Madelyn was a pretty easy baby also, I'd say Em is a little more laid back - maybe because we're more confident as parents, or maybe it's just her. Either way, we think she's a keeper along with her big sister!

6 weeks old:

11 weeks old:

3 months old:

Oh Emily, the things you put up with...I have a feeling it will only get worse!

Odds & Ends

Just a few pics from all of our recent happenings...

Peyton & Madelyn chillin'

Fathers Day

Emily - about 11 weeks old

Heather & Christina

Jacob & Emily (she's a month older)

Call me a slacker!

Wow, here I go again getting all backed up with this blog. Ugh, I hate that! I've always been particular about things, getting things done ahead of time and always having things put away in their places...not so much these days though!

This summer has been full of activities - birthday parties, fun days with friends, baby showers, get togethers with FAR AWAY visitors! It's hard to believe how fast summer is going by. Soon August will be here, and then it will be back to school time. I still get those butterflies in my stomach when September comes around, thinking of all the kids and their first days of school. Madelyn will start pre-school this fall, we're really excited.

A few weeks ago my sister in law Haylie attended a conference with many other people who share the same condition she has - VACTERL association, there's alot of info out there - you should google it! Her friend Mathies came back with her to stay in Virginia for a week from Denmark! He's such a nice guy, we had a fun time scoping out some history in Chesterfield County.

We cooked out with our friends Fred, Amber, Jackson and Aubrey for July 4th. We attempted to watch the fireworks that night, but the kids weren't too interested. I had a hunch she wouldn't really get it yet, maybe next year.

Last week Madelyn saw her very first movie in the theater - Horton Hears a Who! Our theater offers free movies a few mornings during the week for kids during the summer. She loved it, Auntie Haylie and my nephew Seth were there with us. Now when we turn that movie on, she says "my first movie". She amazes us!