December Highlights (so far)

After returning home from Hartfield for Thanksgiving, it’s a tradition that we always get our Christmas tree as soon as we’re back.  This year was no different.  I always enjoy having our tree up.  With the lights and ornaments on, it always gives more brightness to the cold and dark winter evenings.  Each year the girls take turn putting the angel on the tree, and our tree is never decorated "for style” but it has lots of ornaments with memories attached to them that we love pulling out and hanging every year.

   

Our neighborhood also got into the holiday spirit with a Winter Wonderland event at the town center that cooincided with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art library in our town center.  The girls absolutely loved the library.  It’s spacious and open with big windows and lots of areas for meeting up, doing homework with friends, reading, working on projects, etc.  

   

The very next day, Lyla fell out of a tree and landed pretty hard on her arm.  Her wrist was what she was complaining about mostly, so we put some ice on it and hoped it would feel better.  By the next morning it was bruised across the top of her wrist, and she complained of having a hard time sleeping unless her arm was laying flat on a pillow.  It was also still very sore the morning after the fall, so we decided to take her in to get it x-rayed.  Initially, we got good news that she didn’t break the radial bone, but the doctor at the hospital center was concerned about her growth plates being damaged, so he put her in a temporary cast that was hard on the bottom and soft on the top, and told us to see an orthopedic.

We had an appointment with the orthopedic this week and found out that she did damage the growth plates on either side of her wrist.  The good news is that the bones all still lined up straight, but in order to make sure it stays that way while the growth plates heal, she’ll have to be in a hard cast for the next four weeks.  While it’s a bummer to have this happen, we are glad that she won’t be slowed down too much while it heals.  She’s a lefty, so it’s good that the injured arm is her right, plus she’ll still be able to play soccer and be active with the cast on as it will obviously protect her from any further injury. It’s waterproof, so she can play in snow if we get it also.  :) She got it signed by all her friends the next day at school which was fun, and while this isn’t what we like to have happen, we’re thankful that it wasn’t much worse!

 

This is also a very busy season for Nina.  After two years of doing cheer, she switched gears this year and tried something completely different. She knew she loved to dance, so we signed her up for a once-a-week hip hop class. Them she also decided to give track a try.  We really didn’t know what to expect as she has never had any experience with track or any running programs before, but she started in September just taking some pre-season workout sessions.  She really liked it, so she did the same for the month of October.  When sign-ups for the indoor track season came around for November, she really wanted to keep going with it, so we signed her up with Ashburn Elite Track (which is where she had been doing the pre-season workouts).  She started in at the club level team and just before Thanksgiving she was offered to move up to the higher level team (the Intermediates).  She’s been doing a great job, having lots of fun, and it’s been keeping her really busy.  She’s running short distance, learning high jump, and learning hurdles.  

 

At practice last night she found out she was selected to attend the AAU Mid-Season Championship track meet at the NY Armory on January 6.  She’s super excited and we’re very proud of her for all the work she’s put in.  We didn’t know how it would go switching sports at 12 years old, but we’re just happy that she’s loving what she’s doing, enjoying her team, and this new challenge. It definitely seems like she’s hit her stride with track (cheesy pun, sorry!).  

Thanksgiving 2018

We had another wonderful Thanksgiving at Hartfield this year.  It’s been the family tradition now for about 15 years to spend Thanksgiving at Hartfield, and we’ve changed it up a little through the years, but the mainstays have been a traditional and delicious Thanksgiving meal, oysters, a golf game (for the guys) on Friday, and plenty of family time.  A few things have been added in the recent years - a turkey trot, a girls’ visit to Urbanna for pizza lunch (while the guys golf on Friday), a meal on Friday that rivals Thursday’s meal, and dogs - first there was Cayenne, then came along Maggie, now we’ve added Cleo.  So, the house is maxxing out with 13 people and 3 dogs, but somehow we all manage to still fit.

We’ve been fairly lucky in the recent years to have decent weather while we’re there.  Everyone can deal with some cold, but as long as it’s not raining, the girls love to be outside and down at the dock - catching minnows, fishing, and just making their own fun.  We’re so fortunate that all the girls get along so well - they always love time to spend with their cousins!  Thankfully, also, the three dogs get along great also!  They each have their roles that they play, and they have their own quirks, but they really do get along really well together.  They do so much playing and running and even some swimming this time of year.

 

This year, they Turkey Trot kicked it up a notch with the girls making personalized shirts.  They spent time on Wednesday evening making their shirts, and by Thursday morning, they were ready to go.  So, we had a couple turkeys and even a black panther this year!  :)

 

It was a brisk morning, but everyone (with exception of me - still was healing from tearing my calf muscle) took part in the 2 mile trot.

 

 

After the Turkey Trot, the boys got busy shucking the oysters, and Uncle Bo arrived.  We had a fabulous Thanksgiving meal complete with a smoked turkey, oysters, brisket, and all the sides and desserts we could want.  We ate our fill, watched some football, and took a walk, but basically spent the rest of the day relaxing.

 

The guys played golf on Friday, the girls went out for pizza and a little shopping in Urbanna, and then we finished off the day with another amazing meal on Friday.  In a season that celebrates being thankful or grateful, I can say that we truely have a lot to be thankful for.  We are all in good health, we have a great time as a family, we have all that we need and more, and we have peace and assurance to know that all the good things we have and enjoy come from God.  I hope we have many more years just like this!

First Snow

In the middle of November, we had a surprising first snowfall.  We got enough snow to cancel school for the day and delay opening the next day.  The snow was relatively wet, so it wasn’t good to play in for very long after it fell, but Nina, Lyla, and Cayenne managed to have some fun in it while it lasted.  The girls rolled snowballs for making snowmen, and Cayenne was satisfied at first to hang around, sniffing and observing.  It didn’t take long though before she figured out how to really get the girls’ attention.  She started digging the snowballs and snowmen that they were creating.  Just like a little human saying “pay attention to me,” she ended up getting herself put inside the house for being too much of a pest! She is nothing if not full of personality!

   

   

 

 

Fall Soccer

Lyla played soccer again this fall.  She played again for the ’08 Girls Black Loudoun Soccer team that she’s played on for the past two years.  This year was a change in quite a few ways from the seasons in the past.  For the first time playing travel, she had a new coach.  Her former coach who she loved moved to the west coast.  Additionally, there were quite a few new players on her team.  Her new coach (who is also very nice and who Lyla likes) asked her to try playing a new position.  He wanted her to get more experience playing in the center of the midfield whereas Lyla has always played out wide (either as a midfielder or defender).  

 

She’s had to work out of her “comfort zone” playing in the center, and while she hasn’t loved playing that position this season, we’re encouraging her that there is benefit from learning how to play quickly and in tight spaces, and we’re proud of her willingness to play where her coach wants her to without putting up a fuss.  She’ll have some limited training this winter and a handfull of futsal games, but there will be a lot of downtime, then the team will resume outdoor play again in March for the spring season.  We’re happy that Lyla continues to enjoy soccer.  It’s been a great way for her to be active (she loves to run), make great friendships, and develop the attributes of confidence and teamwork that comes with sports.  

  

 

  

 

 

Halloween 2018

I’m behind again in my posts.  Most of my free time on the computer has been spent studying for a test that I have to take before the end of the year, so I’ve put a couple things on the back burner until I get more prepared for my test.  However, I realized how far I was getting behind, so I thought I’d try to do a little catch up.  

Sadly, the night of the Halloween party at Mouse and Pops’s house, I had my camera on the wrong setting so many of my pictures didn’t turn out the best. It was also a bit sad that the word through the grapevine is that this year was the last year for the Halloween Party.  There was something about maybe the kids getting too old, but I certainly didn’t see any of that this year (wink, wink!!).

 

We ended up with a beautiful evening for the party.  It was warm enough and it wasn’t raining, so it was a perfect evening for everyone to be outside.

Nina brought three friends from school, and along with the cousins, the Rumples, and the neighbors, there was a great group of kids.

Mouse and Pops work so hard every year to make the party a blast.  The kids always look forward to it, and every party is a hit!  We so appreciate all the hard work that goes into the party.  We know it’s a labor of love every year, but it has been something the kids have genuinely loved.  At the campfire, we counted back the years of the party, and they’ve been doing it for eight straight years.  We’ll certainly miss Madame Vanish and her trusty sidekick, Lucius.

The first activity was a bit HIT this year (no pun intended).  There was a rowdy and fun game of dodgeball that got things started with the adult men (including Jonathan) versus the women and children.  :)  No one took it easy on anyone - young or old!

 

 

 

 

They had more activities until it got dark, then they took a dinner break before heading out for more.  I had snapped a picture of the girls before Layne got over in the group, so I think I’m getting a littly pay back here on that!  :)

 

  

By the end of the evening, it was time for the haunted walk through the forest and the concluding bonfire.  As always, the haunted walk got plenty of screams, and again this year the kids wanted to put on their own haunted walk for the adults to walk through afterwards.  We had another great party, and it was awesome to have the Rumples there again as they’ve made it to every Halloween party since it started!  I’ll miss this fun night in the future, but maybe we’ll just have to find a way to carry on the tradition of getting together just in another way.

 

Halloween followed about 1 1/2 weeks after the Halloween Party, and it was another beautiful evening!  Halloween was on a school day, and the kids weren’t allowed to wear costumes to school, but Lyla had the coolest dress to wear to school on Halloween.  I loved it!  Her costume that year was a 7’3” tall inflatable dinosaur.  My mom had bought it for the Halloween party, and Lyla loved it so much that she was allowed to borrow it for Halloween.  She got so many compliments and comments on it everywhere she went.  While it wasn’t the easiest costume to navigate steps, tree branches, etc with, it was worth it to have such a memorable costume.  She even met a mini-dino on her way around that evening.  

Nina was a panda and Grace was a zombie softball player.  Nina wasn’t supposed to be a zombie panda, but I guess her make-up artist, a.k.a. Mom, kind of made her look that way.  All three girls had a great time, got loads of candy, and enjoyed another awesome neighborhood Halloween.