Let the Countdown Begin

It’s been a long time in the making.  For Nina, it’s been years in the making! Nina loved dogs as a TODDLER, but I think the first time I posted seriously about it was HERE when Nina was getting ready to turn four.  Then there was a VERDICT of No on the dog.  Then she waited another year, had a DOG THEMED PARTY and still no dog.  Then she resorted to TREATING LYLA LIKE A DOG.  By the following summer, she was still dog obsessed and had taken to WEARING DOG EARS from morning to night as a sign of her desire to have a dog.  She even made it in THE LOCAL PAPER with her dog ears on.  I have so many pictures of her with the ears on – she wore them for months.  These are just a few.

     

We finally told the girls on Nina’s 7th birthday that we were getting a puppy.  The puppy isn’t for Nina solely, it will be a family pet.  Lyla is thrilled about getting a puppy, so we’re all excited for the pup to be here.  As I posted before, we got a Vizsla puppy, and she’s turning 8 weeks old on Thursday of this week.  We named her Cayenne, and she’s flying on a plane on Thursday morning from her current home at Countryside Kennel Resort to our home, so the countdown is on.  Her flight comes in just before noon on Thursday, so we’re well within 48 hours of her arrival.  Of course I’ll post pictures when she arrives, but we’re very excited here.  It’s going to be a long day of waiting tomorrow!!!

A Visit Downtown

Yesterday, Shen and I took the girls downtown to visit the Natural History Museum and picnic on the Mall.  Like I said in my previous post, I’m going to miss these days of just “doing whatever” without the school schedule to factor in!

The girls really enjoyed the museum.  Nina, Lyla, and I visited here last summer, but it was still fun for my girls to visit again – especially with their cousins this time.  Here they are in the jaws of a Great White Shark!

The dinosaur and fossil exhibits are always a lot of fun. 

  

We had Ryleigh take this picture by the big bird skeleton because when she was three or four, she was pecked on the shoulder by an emu at a little animal park down at Hartfield.  The story has gone on to be highly dramatized between the cousins with everyone now very wary and concerned over emus. 

We also visited the butterfly exhibit again this year.  While I thought the variety of exotic looking butterflies was a little less impressive than last year when we went, we still saw some beautiful butterflies and moths, and it was always exciting when a butterfly would briefly land on one of the girls.

 

 

This guy, hanging on the bottom of a leaf, was one of my favorites!

We weren’t supposed to touch the butterflies on purpose, but if one landed on us, we didn’t have to remove it.  Nina was so excited when this one walked on her hand.  It just so happened that Nina’s hand was sitting flat on the wall where the butterfly was crawling along.  She was thrilled that it crawled on her hand and she got to hold it there for a bit.

After a full visit at the museum, we did some snacking and people watching on the mall and then ventured back home before the five little cousins turned into five little monsters!

Family Hikes

With August being unseasonably comfortable (for weather in Northern Virginia), we’ve tried to make the most of some exploring/hiking opportunities.  Last weekend we spent the afternoon at Red Rocks.  We did some hiking, Mark did some fishing, and Nina and Lyla enjoyed exploring along the river.

 

This week we went to Burke Lake to do some more hiking around and exploring.  After hiking around the lake for awhile, we found a good picnic spot for dinner, and enjoyed the sights.  It’s hard to believe the summer is already winding down.  We’ve really enjoyed the free time that summer days bring.  It’s going to be a big adjustment for all of us when the structure of school days start in just over a week!

  

A Visit to PB

Last week, all of us girls took a trip to Maryland to visit PB.  We got to visit, have lunch, see some of his pictures, and of course, we all got our picture taken.  While PB was in between shots (taking pictures with his own camera), I snuck in a few with my camera as it’s a rarity to get any of the girls to sit for a picture of their own.  Looking back on them later is such a good reminder of how much they grow and change in such a short period of time!  We really enjoyed our visit with PB, and I’m sure we’ll be back again before too long.

 

Ahhh, Sisterhood

Sisterhood – summed up in a note.  I’ll re-transcribe the note below (from Nina to Lyla):

Dear Lyla,

I love you so much but you are a little bit pesty.  Pleace (please) be a little bit no pests allowed.  Ok? Sign  NO  OK  (Lyla was supposed to pick NO or OK to the request to be less pesty)  I love you so so so so so so so much.  I love you.  You are so so so so so nice.  Love you! (Perhaps she’s trying to take the sting out of the “pesty” part of the letter?)

Write me back 

Love Nina

I read the note to Lyla, and she got a pencil and wrote her answer and gave the letter back to Nina.  NO.   Yea, I think that about sums up sisterhood.  Lots of love, lots of pesting, and one can never quite get the other to agree with her all the time!

Hershey Park

Last weekend we took the kids to Hershey Park with our friends, the Rumples.  I think this has wound out the trifecta of amusement parks for Nina this summer.  She and Mark went to King’s Dominion for her birthday at the end of May, we were at Disney two weeks ago, and then Hershey Park last Friday.  Perhaps that’s all the “amusement” one needs for the year.  I didn’t bring my camera with me, so I snapped a few pictures with my phone.

Even though Lyla and Kate are only five, they’re brave enough to ride the roller coaster together!

Some “sweet” characters from the park

 

Nina, Jonathan, and Lyla talked each other into going up to the fence of a big water ride’s observation area.  When the boat started coming down the hill, Jonathan and Nina turned and ran, but Lyla stayed at the fence and got soaked! 

The kids all loved this old ride called The Whip It (or something like that).  They rode it over and over again, squealing and laughing every time!

 

Catching a ride on the Ferris Wheel…

The girls rode all the roller coasters they were tall enough to ride, and we stayed at the park until night time, so I’d say we had a very full day at Hershey Park.  The only thing we didn’t do was the Chocolate Factory as we ran out of time for that, but we can always save that for another visit in the future.