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!

Dive Season 2014

Madeline really loved participating in dive team this summer. Our pool competed in division 1 this year, and Madeline participated in every meet. I find that amazing considering we live in the Northern Virginia region where all sports are ridiculously competitive. She put in a lot of hard work and learned many new skills. She placed second at one of her meets which was a definite highlight. She was also surprised with the team rep's award at the end of the season banquet for, as the rep explained, "Her willingness to help out, politeness, enthusiasm, risk taking, and resilience." Yep, she said all those things about my baby. It definitely made all those 7:30 morning practices worth it!

Summer Camping

With summer swim and dive team commitments completed, Kent and I were excited to have some weekends to fill. We squeezed in a much anticipated weekend camping trip along the Shenandoah River.

After loading up our car, we arrived at our favorite campground, only to find they had changed their pet policy. We quickly made a plan B and with patchy phone service, we were able to reserve the last site at a campground an hour drive away. It turned out perfect: a huge site right on the river with tubing and (flushing) bathrooms!!

We hung out sans electronics, played with the dog, waded and explored the river, cooked dinner, made s'mores, and relaxed. It was fantastic.

Madeline read, and read, and read. She and I retired to our sleeping bags early so we could read peacefully through the evening.

All in all, we had an incredibly relaxing and restful weekend. We will definitely go back. I am looking forward to camping along the river with the fall foliage around us!