Memorial Day Weekend

 We spent our Memorial Day weekend camping local at Burke Lake Park. We were trying to arrange a trip with our New Jersey cousins, but all the campgrounds booked up while Kent and I patiently waited to hear any news about our short sale. So, the weekend came with no news about closing dates (bummer), and as it turned out, our VA cousins were free and a nearby campground gave sites first come, first serve. As a result, we ended up camping close to home Saturday and Sunday nights.

The girls loved camping with Kyla, Ian, and Kellen. They went for a few adventures around the campground and found a dry creek bed filled with golf balls (over 100!) for entertainment.

On Saturday, we took a couple mile hike around the lake, rode the train and carousel, and had some ice-cream before returning to camp. It was hot, hot, hot with temps in the 90's and with high humidy.

Ralph and Shirley joined us for dinner Saturday night which was a special treat! Unfortunately, Sunday was filled with rain, rain, and rain. We all retired to our tents around nine o'clock. Luckily, it didn't thunder or lightning, but the plentiful rain did make packing up the Monday morning more challenging.

All in all, we had a really fun weekend!  We hope to meet up with our Jersey cousins multiple times this summer, too!

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, I chose to go camping. We went to the same campground we were at last fall and even stayed at the same site. This time, it was warm enough to go tubing.  Kent and Maddie floated down the Shenandoah River for 90 minutes, while Sophie, Leah and I listened to the rapids and set up camp. We had a really lovely time enjoying the scenery and each other's company.

Princess

The closest Madeline has ever come to wanting to dress up as a princess. . . The third grade celebrated an end to their study of ancient cultures last week. Students dressed up in ancient wears, sampled different foods, and made various arts and crafts.  Madeline went with an Egyptian princess costume because, well, that's all this creative mama could find at Party City.  It is an adult medium, so I did have to get a bit creative to make it fit. I thought she looked beautiful.

Summer . . .

We heard that familiar sound last Tuesday evening that told us summer is not too far away! It was a very exciting evening to say the least.

School Stuff

 We have been busy at work and school. Madeline had an art show with a few pieces on display, and  . . . drum roll . . . Sophie went to her kindergarten orientation! She loved it! She even went on a bus ride around the school parking lot. She seemed to think it was better than Disney Land. Needless to say, she is amped up and excited for the fall. I am too, for so many reasons. Number one is no more full time daycare costs. Number two is no more dropping off or picking which equals less time in the car. Number three, I'll get to see my little one and even have lunch with her once a week.