Homecoming 2023

Columbus Day weekend was a busy one in our house.  It was Homecoming week, so leading up to the weekend, the girls were busy with activities at school for spirit week, the Homecoming football game was Friday night, Nina had to take the SAT test on Saturday morning, Lyla’s team was in a soccer tournamet, and of course there was the Homecoming dance.  

It’s hard to believe this is the last Homecoming for Nina.  Sadly, because of Covid, she didn’t have a Homecoming her freshman year (they were in virtual school), but it has been great to see her enjoy so much of Independence these past three years.  She’s a part of SCA, so in the days around big events at school, she’s always extra busy with planning, decorating, set up/take down, running events during spirit week, etc.  So, after a busy week at school, getting up for the SAT test early Saturday morning wasn’t ideal, but after the test she enjoyed meeting up with her good friend, Anika, for pictures, and then their group went out to dinner, the dance, and some festivies afterwards.  She still had to get up early the next morning to head back to the school for cleanup, so needless to say, she was glad to have the holiday Monday off to just relax.

Lyla’s soccer team was playing in a Columbus Day tournament with all three days of games being at a complext that was about 1:30-1:45 minutes away.  Due to the late scheduled game on Saturday, she missed her soccer game due to Homecoming, but she was glad to have the day to do her thing and get ready for the evening.  She and Bobby also enjoyed pictures, dinner out, the dance, and then hanging out afterwards.

 

It ended up being a sunny, but windy and chilly, afternoon. We had the pressure on to get pictures done in a flash as we arrived at Oatlands (for pictures) only to find out an outdoor wedding was about to begin there and the wedding coordinator was very hard pressed to shoo us out nearly as soon as we got there.  However, the most important part was that they all had a great night and enjoyed themselves and their friends.

 

Labor Day Hike

On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we went hiking in Shenandoah National Park.  Unfortuately, Nina wasn’t with us as it was her last weekend of work, and she was working double shifts all weekend.  However, it was a beautiful day and since we had been wanting to head out to a few hikes in that area, we decided to take the drive and hike Hawksbill Mountain first, then finish up at Stony Man for the sunset.

 

Hawksbill Mountain is the highest elevation in the park, and we had a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

 

After finishing up at the Hawksbill hike, we ate our packed dinner outside of the Skyland area, then we headed over to the base of the Stony Man hike.  It’s a short hike (only about .8 miles to the top), so we arrived with plenty of time to grab a good spot on the rocks and watch the sun start to set.

It was beautiful and well worth the experience!

It was dark by the time we headed off the summit, but thankfully we had our flashlights to get us back to the car safely.  Even though it’s a bit of a drive to get out there and back in a day, we’ll definitely be back again this year.  It really is a beautiful area, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of our pass this year and check out some new and different hikes in the park on our next visit.

 

Girls Trip

 

Late in the summer, Lyla got the opportunity to head to the beach with the Williams family for the week, so I took a couple days off and Nina, her friend, and I left on a mini girls trip.  We drove down to Hartfield first, arriving in time to spend a nice afternoon/evening enjoying the river.  Then we left early the next morning for Virginia Beach.

It was a little cloudy as we first arrived at the beach, so after heading down to the beach for a bit, a quick rain storm blew through, but thankfully the rain coincided with a good time to get lunch, so we grabbed some lunch, settled into our hotel, then we were ready to spend the rest of the day on the beach.

We caught sight of a rainbow from our balcony right as the rain ended, then as we headed back out to the beach, we discovered that a few streets down on the beach was the National Lifeguard Championship games, so we were entertained for awhile watching lifeguards from all over the country compete in various challenges and races.  

Later that evening, after showers and dinner, we headed out to the boardwalk for walking, ice cream, and some pretty skies.

       

  

 

The next day was all sunshine and the girls enjoyed the time at the beach and in the waves.  

 

Before we left, we made a stop off at a cute shop for acai bowls (which ended up being more cute than super tasty), but I did appreciate their mural. :)

After our two days in Virginia Beach, we headed back to Hartfield then Nina and Anika went to Water Country, USA for the day.  I killed the time hanging in historic Yorktown while they were at Water Country, then we returned that evening to Hartfield in time to catch another beautiful sunset out on the kayak/paddleboards.

We packed up to head home the next day and got back just a little before Lyla got home as well.  I was glad that both girls had a last bit of fun before the summer was over, and I really enjoyed getting to do a fun girls trip with Nina and her friend.  

 

Random Summer Happenings

Since the last day of our vacation was July 2, we stopped by Hartfield on our way home.  The Williams were there, so we dropped Ryleigh off to them, and then we stayed for the 4th and headed home the next day.  

 

 

 

 

July 4th is Cayenne’s birthday, and this was a big one.  She turned 10 years old!  It’s hard to believe!!

  

A few days after getting home, Nina had an appointment to get her wisdom teeth out.  The first bit was pretty rough, but after about a week the swelling was gone and she was feeling a lot better.  While this wasn’t what anyone “wants” to do, she is so glad she got it done and that it’s behind her now!

   

Somewhere along these days, Mark and I snuck out for a fun date night.  We were commenting that we really do need to do this more often now that we don’ t need babysitters and our children actually are quite content if we go out for the evening without them!  

 

 

On another beautiful day, Lyla and I took a trip over to Oatlands while Nina was working to explore around. It’s a lovely place just to walk around.

 

  

     

 

We also managed a quick cousin trip to Busch Gardens.  Shen and I took the girls down to Hartfield, spent the night, then headed out for a mega-day of Busch Gardens followed by the Barbie movie that night.  Much fun was had, but we were officially wiped by the end of the day.  That’s what summer is for though!