Summer is Here!

Catching Up with Mobile Uploads

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated the blog and awhile since I’ve had my “real” camera with me, so I have a bunch of pictures from my camera to get caught up with.

The last week of school for both girls was so busy.  There were presentations, performances, parties, and fun days.  I helped with the 3rd grade party this year and was in charge of the ‘dance party’ room.  It was quite the experience!  Nina loved her class this year and loved her teacher.  She had an awesome 3rd grade year. 

I was teaching when Lyla’s class had her party, but I heard it was also a lot of fun.  After a start with lots of transition for Lyla’s class (her teacher quit within the first nine weeks then there were long term subs until January), they kept their momentum and everything ended well for the second half of the school year.

Speaking of my teaching classes, one of the classes I teach is a yoga style class which requires me to do mat work.  When I have to practice at home, Cayenne is always very close by…often sitting partially on my mat while I try to practice.

Anytime I have to come on my back for a pose, this is the view I have – her face 2” from my face.  I kept my phone close by on this occasion so I could get a picture of her.  I literally put my phone on my face and took the picture – so that’s the view I get on a regular basis! 

  

Just before school let out, Lyla got to go to a party for a friend at Sweet and Sassy.  I’d say she left looking quite sassy.  She wanted to keep her hair this way for a wedding we were going to the next day, but unfortunately it didn’t last that well through the night (yes, she actually wanted to sleep with her hair like this).

  

The next evening we were at a wedding for our neighbor’s son.  We had a great time, and the girls also had a great time attending their first wedding.  Some friends from the neighborhood were there, so that made it fun for them.  We especially loved the beautiful and very tasty cake!!

 

The school year finished on a Tuesday (June 16), and that evening we had a block party with neighbors to celebrate the end of the school year.  The kids had a great time, stayed up late playing with friends, and we enjoyed hanging out with our neighbors.

So, summer has officially been in swing for a week now.  The kids seem to love not having to get up and head out early for school.  Nina has already read three big books, we’ve enjoyed going to the pool, have met up with some friends, and Cayenne is getting fed with a spoon (thinking we need to reel that behavior in a bit!!) and is very happy to have her people around all day.

We spend time outside, feed the turtles, and we got to celebrate two awesome report cards with a special ice cream treat.  So far this summer is shaping up to be pretty good. 

Harpers Ferry

Today was an absolutely beautiful day to be outside, so after church we packed up and headed to Harpers Ferry for the day.  We had planned to hike a 5+ mile loop on the Maryland side of the river, however when we got to Harpers Ferry, the parking lots were already full, so we had to park about 2 miles away from the town, hike to town, then opt for a much shorter hike once we got there, but we still got in tons of walking, saw some cool sights, and enjoyed the beautiful day to be around the water.  On our walk to town, we saw some interesting wildlife.

When we got to the town we were all ready for some big ice cream cones.  Even Cayenne got in on the ice cream treat!  We had an absolutely beautiful day to be outside hiking.  Surprisingly for June, it wasn’t humid and sunny but not too hot – definitely a great day to spend outdoors!

Nina’s Party, Last Soccer Game, and Ear Piercing

Thankfully it appears that my blog issues are fixed.  I found out that it wasn’t just my issue – actually everyone that uses Windows Live Writer in conjunction with Blogger had the same strange issues.  Anyway, thankfully, all appears to be fixed.

Last weekend we had Nina’s birthday celebration with friends.  This year, she chose to invite some of her girlfriends to the pool for a cookout pool party.  They had a great time!!

The Blazing Badgers had their last game of the spring season on Saturday morning.  It was a great game with both teams evenly matched, but the Badgers pulled out the win to complete their season of mostly wins with one loss and one tie.  They’re hoping to keep their team (or most of it) together for the fall season, so Lyla is looking forward to playing with her friends another season.

During the soccer season, Lyla asked us if she could get her ears pierced.  Honestly, I was very surprised she had any interest in it.  It just didn’t seem like something that she would be into for awhile, but she really wanted to get it done.  So, we told her after soccer season was over, she could get her ears pierced, so yesterday we went to Sweet and Sassy and she picked out her earrings and got her ears pierced.  The class pet, Andy, who we are in charge of for a couple days, came with her to get her ears pierced.  Of course, we’ll document this in Andy’s adventures!

Nina Turns 9 and Memorial Day Weekend 2015

Since Nina’s birthday this year fell on Memorial Day weekend, we decided to take an extended weekend away at Hartfield and visit Busch Gardens and Water Country while we were down there.  We got to Hartfield on Thursday night then woke up early on Friday to start getting ready for our day at Busch Gardens.  The weather was beautiful – a perfect day to be at an amusement park.  While both girls enjoy the rides and the roller coasters, Nina is nuts about them.  Now that she’s over 52”, she can ride any of the rides in the park, and that’s exactly what she did.

Her two favorites were Apollo’s Chariot (which she rode 5 times) and the Griffon (which she got to ride two or three times).  I was actually pretty shocked that she wanted to ride the Griffon, and and was the smallest person in line by far, but she loved every second of it.

  

She’s definitely fearless when it comes to rollercoasters.  When I’m riding with her, I’m hanging on and screaming, telling her to hang on also.  Meanwhile, she’s riding with both hands in the air, having a blast.  The apple doesn’t fall far from her father’s tree on that one. 

After a long day at Busch Gardens, we rode everything at least once, and we were all completely wiped, but we had a really fun day.  Cayenne, who spent the day at a doggie day car near the river house, was also exhausted from the day.  I guess it’s quite stressful to spend your first day at day care – even if you’re a dog!

   

Saturday was Nina’s birthday, and the Williams family arrived to help us celebrate. 

  

It was another beautiful day to be on the river.  The sun was shining, the water was calm, and everyone seemed to enjoy the nice ride on the boat.  Lyla reminds me so much of myself when I was her age.  I loved to drive my grandfather’s boat – it was absolute favorite thing to do when we were on the water. 

 

We dropped off the boys back at the house so they could go play nine holes of golf, and we girls took the boat back out for some more fun.  Even though the water was cold, all the girls (including Mousey) got in the river to swim.   They laughed, jumped off the boat, danced to music, and generally had a lot of girl fun.

   

They were cold when they got out, but that didn’t seem to last for long.  It definitely was a fun girls’ outing!

By Saturday evening, we were ready to celebrate Nina’s birthday, so she got to open her gifts and have her birthday cake.  Nina is a frog lover, hence the cake theme for this year. 

On Sunday, we headed out for Water Country USA – a huge water park that is a partner park to Busch Gardens.  We rode water rides for the day on Sunday, then again, made our way back to the house pretty wiped out.  Sunday was our last full day in Hartfield, so after a good night’s sleep, we packed up on Monday morning and headed back home. 

We made it home with plenty on Monday left, so we unpacked out stuff and spent a few hours at our neighborhood pool.  I’d say it was quite a full weekend, but it was a lot of fun, and a it was a great way to celebrate Nina’s birthday and enjoy a holiday weekend with family.