Kings Dominion Day!

We spent Saturday at Kings Dominion. It was a great day! The weather was perfect, and there were no lines. We felt like we had the park to ourselves!! We were able to ride many rides multiple times without even getting off! Sophie loved the swings, and I think she rode five times! Other favorites included the "Bad Apple" and the Shenandoah log ride.

Backyard Upgrades

We had some concrete poured last week!! We were very excited to enlarge our current outdoor space to include enough room for a fire pit, a picnic table, a new shed, and a sidewalk. Despite the rain storm, it turned out perfect! We had a fantastic fire Saturday night, with marshmallows, too! We still need to purchase our shed and picnic table, but we are loving our new outdoor hang!

Apple Picking!

We are working on our fall to-do list! We had such a great time picking apples last year that we decided we would try to go twice this year. We made trip number one, and we picked 40 pounds! They are delicious. So much better right off the trees than they are in the grocery store. We also bought apple/cinnamon/raison bread and a couple of apple cakes.

Due to the rainy morning, the orchard was all ours in the early afternoon.

Fall Camping

Fall is my favorite time of year. So, we try to plan a couple of trips to the great outdoors between September and November. Despite a rainy Saturday, we squeezed in an overnight camping trip to the Shenandoah River this weekend. Dawn, Tim, Eddy, and Rae joined us. The evening was chilly (love, love fall!!), but we were warmed by the campfire. Sunday warmed up enough for the girls to wade in the water.

Relaxation

After a busy week of work and school, we packed up the car and headed to the bay. It was hot, hot, hot, and humid last weekend. Kent fished, and we chilled at Mom's condo.  We were lucky enough to watch a beautiful (and pretty big) thunderstorm roll in. The views from the balcony were gorgeous and made the humid afternoon worth it.

Another First Day!

We made it through our first couple of weeks of the school year! Sophie is a second grader, and Maddie is a sixth grader. First day pancakes have become our new tradition. The girls are very happy this year. Madeline has three teachers and changes classes throughout the day. Sophie has very few of her old friends in her new class, but hopefully, this year she will make some new ones.

I feel so incredibly lucky to bring my girls to work with me. Although I work full time, I feel so involved in their school day. This year, my schedule has worked out perfectly. I am able to spend lunch with both my girls almost any day I choose. It is pretty awesome.

Next year will be pretty tough. With Maddie going to middle school in less than a year, I know I need to savor every moment.

Lunch with my little:

Birthday Girl!!

Madeline celebrated her eleventh birthday in August.  She had two celebrations. One at the beach with her cousins pictured above. She had the bakery design her a beach themed cake.  She had her second celebration a week later at home. I took her and four friends to an indoor trampoline park followed by a sleepover. She picked out a plain cake and decorated it with a few things from my cake decorating supplies. One of her candles is from her first birthday cake, one is from her 10 year birthday cake, and the two ladybug candles are from her six year old cake. Pretty unique just like my girl.

Sandbridge, Va 2014

We looked forward to our week at the beach all summer!! We rented a great house with a private pool, various small boats, a dock on the bay, and just a short 2 block walk to the beach. It was so nice to have all the cousins on my side together. They loved playing together. Kent and I are ready to lock in next year!!!

I took over 200 pictures . . . here are just a few . . .

New Glasses!

In mid-August, Maddie reported she couldn't read road signs as well as she used to be able to. So, we made an appointment, and an hour later, she had new glasses!! She was really thrilled to be able to choose her frames. I think she made a great choice. Perfect timing for the start of the school year!