No pics, but it's all good

My camera is on the fritz; it's so sad. Such a bummer. But, we are all good. Super good, actually.

Fall is in full swing, and I am loving every second of it.

Work is busy, but good. It's work, but it's rewarding at the moment.

My girls have little homework (which i love!!), and the extra time is allowing our family precious moments to bond and enjoy the changing season. We spent the last week baking, hosting play-dates, visiting the library, and biking through the neighborhood.

Life is good. We're enjoying the little things at the moment.

Apple Picking!

My family was super awesome today! I really wanted to go apple picking, but the others didn't. But, to make me happy, everyone readily agreed to drive an hour west for me. We had the best time, even the three with low expectations. We picked 48 pounds of apples; I am not kidding! We have macintoshes, golden delicious, granny smiths, and, jonathans. They are the best apples we have ever eaten which is a good thing because we are going to be eating apples until Thanksgiving. Please, send me your favorite apple recipes.

This orchard was so beautiful! The Blue Ridge Mountains are just beginning to show signs of fall.

Weekend Wrap-up

Saturday was beautiful!!! Highs in the 70's, sunshine, and a fall crispness was in the air. We planned to go camping, but Madeline really didn't feel like sleeping in our tent, and Kent didn't either. So, we decided to rent a pedal boat and cruise around Lake Accotink. Then we grilled dinner and roasted marshmallows in the backyard. To appease Sophie, I agreed to sleep in our tent in the backyard.

Saturday night was down in the 40's, and we were a bit cold. We warmed up with French toast and hot cocoa for breakfast.

Back to School Time

I decided to make the first day of school extra special for my girls this year. I like back to school time, but it is a really stressful/busy time of year for me with all the preparations and back to school stuff related to my job. This year, I decided to do some special things for my own kids, too (in Los Angeles, I was already out the door when they awoke on their first days).

 I made them a special breakfast of "first grader" and "fifth grader" pancakes. Those are berries making the numbers which weren't so obvious when I flipped them over. I'm glad I thought to take a "before" picture.

I lit candles on the breakfast table and prepared them each an envelope with encouraging messages and notes for their first day.

Of course, we took the obligatory front-of-the-house school pictures. My fifth grader getting so big:

A fifth and a first grader:

My beautiful girls. Truly blessed.

The Calm Before the Storm

We spent our last long weekend relaxing and preparing for "the storm." We did back to school shopping, organized supplies, stocked the pantry with snacks and school lunch stuff, and then we relaxed! We had Kent's family over Sunday evening to celebrate the August birthdays: Dawn, Kent, and Maddie. We grilled burgers, hotdogs, and had ice-cream cake.

Sunday night, we did our best to get to bed at a school night bed time. The neighbors had the girls over for evening s'mores, and then it was tuck in time. Madeline took over my duties! Super cute and super sweet!

Baltimore, Try #2

Over the Labor Day weekend, we decided to take a second try at the Baltimore Aquarium. We found out last time that we needed to buy our tickets ahead of time. So, we went ahead and purchased a membership this time. However, we didn't check to see if there were any other events going on in Baltimore that day. Oops. Just the Grand Prix had every road blocked off, and traffic was mis-er-a-ble. We persevered since the aquarium was Madeline's summer request, and we were down to the wire to make it happen.

The aquarium was really cool, and we all enjoyed the dolphin show. But, it was so crowded, even with the Grand Prix going on outside its front doors. When we use our membership again, it will definitely be on a week day!

Madeline purchased "Stripe" with her leftover birthday money. She loves stuffed animals!

Party Animals

Our last full day in Los Angeles was also Madeline's tenth birthday. She wanted to visit the zoo for her special day. We have been to the LA Zoo sooo many times, but this trip was, by far, the most exciting.

While observing the giraffes, we heard a large cracking noise, and then a tree fell blocking the walking path. We got to see the giraffes run and watch them eat from the fallen tree up close. The chimpanzees were in rare form running around, screeching at each other, and even throwing things at each other. It was very exciting to watch.

After the zoo, Madeline wanted to get her ears pierced. I thought she would back out, but she did it!

She chose peridot earrings, her birthstone. We let Sophie pick out a pair of clip-ons, too.

Then we headed back to Natalie's to celebrate Maddie's big day with friends, cake, pool, and pizza. It was really cool to be able to celebrate at the same time she was born just a block from the hospital.

Our trip was a great way to wrap up our summer! Happy Birthday, Madeline!