Pennsylvania

Saturday, we decided to visit a new state! We drove 2 hours to Lancaster, PA to take a day trip an amusement park called Dutch Wonderland. Dutch Wonderland is geared towards younger children, so Aubrey & Will could go on almost every single ride. We had a great time and were worn out by 6, when the park closed. On our way home, we drove through a couple little Amish towns in Lancaster County. Will and especially Aubrey, loved seeing the people ride on the streets with their horses and buggies. You could see all the little boys with their suspenders and hats and all the girls in their long dresses and bonnets. The farms were beautiful and so peaceful. When I was describing the Amish lifestyle to Aubrey, I was telling her how they don't have cars or use electricity, so they don't have TVs or computers, etc... The first thing Aubrey said was, "Mommy, I'm going to pray for those people!" Then I explained to her that they choose to live a simpler life and were just fine with it. Anyway, we had a good first impression of Pennsylvania and plan to go back to other parts of the state this fall.

Roanoke

Once again, we accompanied Robert on a business trip right before Labor Day. We decided to go to Roanoke for round 2, since Robert only had one meeting. It wouldn't be much fun to sit in a hotel room all day with two busy little ones, but we could easily handle a couple hours. Robert headed out early and we just lounged in the room, watching cartoons and eating pancakes. Then we went for a walk on the covered bride to watch some trains go by below. When Robert got back, we checked out and headed to the Mill Mountain Zoo. We had beautiful weather that day and the views were great, and of course the kids liked seeing all the animals, especially the snow leopards and red pandas. They also played on a playground and took a ride on the zoo train. After the zoo, we started the drive home, but made one more stop at the Luray Caverns. Aubrey listened to the audio program the whole way through and really seemed interested in all the info. Will just kept pointing and saying, "The rocks are falling on my head!" Another fun little overnight trip!

Goodbye, Summer!

I have had blogger's block lately -- I had issues uploading all of my Texas pictures (still haven't posted Austin or Houston) and have lost motivation to post anything since then...
Here's my attempt to post a few from the end of our summer...We celebrated our 7th anniversary on 8/24 and got to go on a real date! My friend, Emiley, and I have been doing a babysitting swap, so Robert & I had a lovely dinner while Emiley watched the kids.

Aubrey was excited to get to use china for a little tea party (Izze) we had during Will's nap, but I think she was more excited about the jellybeans she got!

Some neighbors have been rotating having a playdate & potluck once a week all summer. It was our turn to host at the end of August. We had pizza & popsicles and the kids all had fun playing in the sand and jumping in the moon bounce.

The cardboard house from Costco has been a huge hit -- Will calls it his "bootiful idaloo" (beautiful igloo)

We are still checking out all the quaint little towns around us. Here, we were at the Luckett's Fair riding ponies.

Aubrey riding "Spirit".



Aubrey will start preschool on Monday (she'll go MWF from 9-11:45), gymnastics on Tuesday, and I joined a MOPS group every other Friday while Aubrey is at school. I also ordered a homeschool curriculum that I'll be doing with Aubrey this year to help us decide what to do for kindergarten next year. Thanks, Cheryl for the recommendation! I've been getting all the materials together and hope to start that tomorrow, as well. Aubrey loves doing crafts and loves to learn, so I think this will be fun for both of us. It only takes about an hour a day, but will add some more structure and purpose to our days. I'm really impressed with the material and excited to get started! The only other new thing in our schedule is that I have taken up tennis! I've only had about 3 or 4 lessons so far, but I'm hooked. I'm not really any good yet, but I'm loving it and hoping to learn enough so I can play doubles with Robert when we're 60 :) I've been taking lessons at 8 pm with a few neighbors, after the kids are in bed. Anyway, we had a fun summer, but are all ready for our favorite season... Fall in VA was incredible last year and we are looking forward to all the autumn colors, apple picking and pumpkin festivals -- come visit us!

Dallas

Well, we've been home from Texas for two weeks and I have yet to post any pictures. It took us about a week to get unpacked, tackle the laundry, restock on groceries and catch up on sleep. And then this week has just turned out to be super busy. Will has also been a little challenging lately with his two year old behavior and I have just been tired. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our time in Dallas. We spent time with my mom and grandmother everyday, which was wonderful. Aubrey loves playing with Nana's seashells and other collections, as you can see. We all got lots of home cooked meals, and the kids got lots of playtime, coloring time and story time during our visits. Aunt Joy and Uncle Tim were also there for a day -- we celebrated Joy's birthday together and Will has been singing "Happy Birthday, Aunt Joy" everyday since. I also managed to stop by and visit a friend each day -- Jessica & Jenny from UT and Jenny's new baby, Emma. We visited Amy and Noah one morning for some fun playtime. One evening, we stopped by Carole's house to meet sweet 4 day old Charlotte. Aubrey & Will loved playing with Hunter in his room and having a piece of Charlotte's birthday cake for dessert! Then, we went to Crystal's house to meet her son Jackson and have lunch at Peter Piper Pizza. Finally, I met my friend Kristen (we've known eac other since we were 12!) for coffee one night after the kids were asleep and we stayed up talking until midnight. We enjoyed every minute of out visits with family and friends. We only wish we could see you all more often!

Sprinkler Fun

Back in VA

We've been back for about 48 hours now, but we're just still unpacking, doing lots of laundry and catching up on rest so far. I was hardly on the computer for the two weeks we were gone, which was a nice break and it's taking me a while to get back in the swing of things. I have lots of pictures from our trip and I will get around to posting them soon. We had a wonderful time in Texas getting to see lots of family and friends. It was so fun to see how much so many of our friends' kids have grown in the past year and to see Aubrey & Will play with lots of their Texas buddies. And I got to meet three new babies -- Emma, Charlotte and William! Thank you, thank you everyone for having us over and spending time with us and reminding us how much we miss Texas!

We made it!

We got to Texas on Saturday afternoon and have been enjoying spending lots of time with my mom and grandmother. A & W have been soaking up all the extra attention! Robert flew in with us on Saturday, but had to fly out to Nashville all week for work. This morning I drove him all the way to DFW to find out that he was flying Southwest and we were at the wrong airport! Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic and we made it to Lovefield in time. Also, yesterday I walked out of my grandma's house to get something out of the rental car and locked the keys in the trunk. Fabulous. Thankfully, we have AAA and they were able to unlock the car for us. Other than those two incidents, everything has gone smoothly and we're looking forward to each day of out trip. This afternoon, me and the kids stopped by my friend Jenny's house and got to meet 3 month old Emma, who is precious! Our other UT friend and bridesmaid, Jessica was there, as well. Tomorrow, I get to see Amy and Carole and meet baby Charlotte! I'll post pictures once we get back to VA...

Nationals Game

Today after church, we decided to go to a Washington Nationals baseball game. Even though they're not doing so great this season, we like baseball and like checking out parks we haven't been to. Will was a little squirmy considering it was his nap time, but he pushed through and we all ended up enjoying it. It was a "Family Fun Day" where you get a ticket and lunch for $14. Also, we scored on finding a free parking spot on the street -- otherwise we would have paid $40 to park! Highlights for the kids were playing in park/play area, the grape snow cones and seeing the fireworks after the home runs. We called it a day when it was tied in the 10th inning and the kids both crashed as soon as we got in the car.

Aubrey got her first haircut at home on Thursday. Her hair grows so fast, so we took a couple inches off for the rest of the summer.

Here's an "after" shot. Notice the faux fur lined boots -- a must in July!

Tricycling on the deck with her new cut.

Weekend

-We ran to the mall on Friday for a couple things and the kids of course rode the carousel. I was really brave and even let them play in the mall play area -- I usually skip it because of my germ issues.

-We also went to the pool and Aubrey & Will loved playing in the sand volleyball court. Since Aubrey was still wet, it looks like she has on sand knee socks.

-Aubrey and I went on a little outing to get our toes done. Aubrey picked purple polish with a butterfly and glitter on her big toe. It was a fun girly time!

-This afternoon while Will was napping, I made Aubrey a batch of "slime" that I used to make for my preschoolers. That occupied her long enough for me to clean the rest of the kitchen.

-I am just really loving watching Aubrey & Will together lately. Yes, they do fight over toys, etc., but overall, they are very affectionate and sweet to each other lately. I keep finding them cuddled up on the couch together or hugging or hearing Will say, "I want my Aubey". I love those two so much and I feel blessed everyday to be their Mommy!

Blueberries

The kids loved the apple/pear picking last fall and the strawberries earlier in the summer, so we thought we'd go to another farm on Saturday and pick some fresh blueberries.
Taking a stroll down to the pond after the picking.

We picked about 2 pounds of berries in about half an hour.

Will holding up a blueberry before popping it into his mouth, they were so good!

Aubrey is holding a tiny orange flower that she found -- she liked that it matched her skirt and Will's shirt. It was really bright so she couldn't keep her eyes open for long, but I liked the picture anyway :)

Robert showing Will to only pick the ripe, blue ones. We just love getting outside, seeing all the beautiful scenery around us and enjoying God's creation!

4th of July

July 4th just about marked our year anniversary for living in Virginia. Crazy. We actually left TX a couple days before, but close enough. I posted about it last year, but I am still so thankful that those two neighbors, Caroline & Kristi, came and knocked on our door and invited us to two parties going on for the 4th. It was such a blessing to meet so many neighbors with kids right after we moved in. I feel like our transition here couldn't have been much smoother. The neighborhood has so many activities, events, concerts, playgroups, cookouts, etc. that it is so easy to be connected with your neighbors. So, it was fun to go back to those parties this year to celebrate Independence Day and a one year here, a really good one. We are thankful. Yes, we still miss Texas (and our family, friends, church) and plan on moving back, but I'm just trying to make the most of the time we live here. I do think I'll miss this weather -- the temps have been in the 80s almost all summer :). Anyway, we also went to a friend's birthday party on the morning of the 4th and watched the Leesburg parade that went by in front of their house-- that's what the camel pic and the Chinese dragon costumes are from. We also went to a neighborhood concert where Aubrey & Will sat on the edge of the stage and danced the whole time. Then, we drove to park and watch the fireworks to finish off the night.

VA Beach

Robert had a meeting close to Virginia Beach last Thursday, so we decided to tag along. It was only one meeting, so we had the rest of the afternoon and the next day to relax on the beach. Both kids loved playing in the sand and building sand castles. Will wasn't so sure about playing in the water, but Aubrey would've jumped in the waves forever. She also liked finding shells, crabs and even a few small jellyfish. We had a great time!

But, our drive down there was another story. We left Wednesday when Robert got off of work, around 6 p.m. It was supposed to be about a 3.5 hour drive, but we drove through tons of heavy rain which made it longer. Will fell asleep around 8:30, but then woke up around 10 -- he was hot and crying and had a horrible bark-like cough. I probably would've been a little more relaxed if we were at home, but since we were hours away and in the middle of nowhere, I panicked. I asked Robert to find the nearest hospital in the GPS. I knew Will was okay, but I wanted to make sure his breathing was fine and I didn't want to be worrying about him all night in the hotel. We made it the the Williamsburg ER around 10:30. The doctor was really nice and gave Will a breathing treatment, brought down his fever, a throat X-ray to rule out something more serious, and then he had to be monitored until 2:30 am. He was doing much better when we left and the barking/croup cough was pretty much gone. We still had 30 minutes to drive to our hotel, so we all crashed a little after three in the morning. Me and the kids slept in on Thursday while Robert went to his meeting. We contemplated just heading back home after Robert's meeting, but decided to just take a long nap and then go to the beach in the late afternoon. I'm glad we went because Will's fever was gone and he really seemed fine. I'm very thankful our first visit to the ER wasn't too bad!

This made my day

I was walking through the aisles of the grocery store yesterday when I spotted this bottle. You don't know how happy I was to see some BBQ sauce made in my beloved Austin, Texas. Yeah, I know I was a vegetarian for most of my life, but I developed a love for red meat over the past several years (Sorry, Joy). The BBQ, Rudy's especially, is one of the main foods I miss from TX. All they have out here is pork BBQ with this vinegary sauce that just doesn't do it for me. As soon as I saw the Stubb's sauce, I knew I'd be cooking brisket for dinner tonight. Beef. It's what's for dinner.

Lately

I'm loving these collages -- way easier to post several pics than individually... Anyway, here's what are days have been filled with lately: We've still been spending lots of time at our neighborhood pool. Yesterday, we checked out a new little water park in Leesburg. Aubrey went to a neighbor's birthday party at Curiosity Zone, where they wore little lab coats and made cyclones, geysers, volcanoes, etc. -- Aubrey triple loved it! And during our play time at home, Will is perfecting his light saber skills so he can one day be a Jedi master. Seriously, the kids is obsessed and he's never even seen any Star Wars. He likes to make a serious face while holding the light saber and say, "I'm Will Skywalker!" Aubrey also had her first summer gymnastics class today and did a great job. We're having a nice, lazy summer so far and looking forward to lots of fun activities this weekend for the 4th!

National Air & Space Museum

Last Saturday was another rainy day, so we went into D.C. to see another one of the Smithsonians that we hadn't been to. There's another Air & Space museum by the Dulles airport close to our house, but we hadn't been to the big one in D.C . This one had lots more hands on exhibits for the kids.

Pilot Aubrey

Aubrey & I in front of the Wright brother's exhibit. Will got cut out because his finger was in his nose, lovely!

Another one, with Will in the pic! We also went to the planetarium and saw a movie about black holes. Will was a little bored, but the rest of us thought it was really interesting. After a year of living here, we still feel like tourists -- there's still so much we haven't seen.

Father's Day

We had a lovely, relaxing Father's Day. We started off the day by cooking a big breakfast, went to church, took naps and then just played out back and grilled. Here's Rob with the kids after dinner and before dessert -- banana pudding, one of his favorites.

Will enjoying some corn-on-the-cob-off-the-grill.

We busted out the new Slip'n'Slide for some backyard fun. This is Rob & Aubrey sliding together.

Will wasn't so sure about it, but Aubrey had a great time!

Happy Father's Day, Robert! Thanks for being such a great Dad!

Summertime

I guess it will officially be summer in a few days and for the first time in my life, it still feels like spring time in mid June! All my life in TX summer weather starts in March, April or at least by May. So, I have really been enjoying these lovely days in the 60s,70s or 80s. It will get hot here, but the heat just doesn't last as long. We've had a couple isolated days in the 90s, but not many. We've also had a lot of rain, but when it is not raining, we've been spending as much time as we can outside...
Hanging out at the pool.

Swimming.

Biking.

Will in "the chariot".

Walking to the Town Center and splashing in the fountains.

Swinging in the back yard.

Will likes to be "like Daddy" and help with the yard work.

Here's Aubrey with some neighbors playing in the basement on a rainy day.

Dressing up. Aubrey's a "Ballerina-Princess-Butterfly-Flower-Fairy"

Storytime at the library.

We went to paint Robert some plates with the kid's hand prints for Father's Day. Aubrey said she wouldn't say a word to Robert so it would be a surprise. The second we got home, she ran into Robert's office and said, " I painted you something, but it's a surprise and it won't be ready for a week!" Then later at dinner she said, "Fine Daddy, it's a plate" -- she just couldn't contain the surprise. It was really cute and he'll be excited to see the finished product on Sunday anyway!

We've been trying to grill and eat outside a lot. I especially enjoy not having to clean up so much in the kitchen after dinner :) We're just now kind of getting into a summer groove now that we don't have our weekly routine of preschool, ballet, Bible study, etc. The first couple weeks, I wasn't feeling very productive with our schedule wide open, but I've gotten better about planning our days/weeks. Aubrey starts a summer session of gymnastics next week, she'll have a week of VBS in July and we'll hopefully take some little day trips here and there. We're also still planning on spending a couple weeks in TX in August, making the rounds in Dallas, Austin and Houston. We hope we get to see everybody then!