Soccer

Meg and Nate’s second soccer season is off to a good start. They both won their first game (they didn’t win any  games last year.) It’s also fun to see how their skills have improved over last season.

 

Tippy Canoe

Over Labor Day weekend we borrowed the Lamos’s canoe to paddle around the lake at Stone Mountain. All six of us fit in at once. It was fun even though we spent the whole time telling the kids not to lean over or turn around or put their hands in the water for fear we would flip right over. Surprisingly, we never did.

 

The kids had even more fun scrubbing the canoe in the rain a few days later.

Kate’s Project

 

August 12–First Day of School

 

Third Grader!

 

Second Grader!

 

Kindergartener!

 

A few more fun ones:

 

Meanwhile…

 

We’re off to a good start!

Tea Parties

Anytime we host a party or event Meg and Kate enjoy helping and often have ideas of their own to contribute. Usually I dismiss their suggestions (gently, I hope?), because I want things to be done my way—even at the girls’ own birthday parties. (Ugghh, this sounds much worse as I type it here than it does when I explain it to them at the time. Hmmm…)  Well, I thought one solution would be to let them throw a party of their own just for the fun of it. So, at the beginning of the summer I told them they could each have a tea party and choose the menu, decorations, dishes, etc. themselves. Suddenly the end of summer was around the corner, so we found a day to squeeze in both parties simultaneously—one in the dining room, one in the living room.

Meg chose the milk glass luncheon set with various serving pieces. She prepared peanut butter sandwiches, carrots and tomatoes with dip, fruit salad, peach cobbler, brownies, and a fig cake (she and Maggie made it with figs from Maggie’s back yard and Meg froze the leftovers for this occasion.) Oh, and milk and pink lemonade to drink.

Meg wore her formal red gown with a hot pink scarf and presided over a lovely, albeit somewhat silly, table of friends.

 

Kate was adamant about using her miniature metal tea set. After much research online to determine that it was indeed food safe, I consented. We used doilies as mats to give each place setting more presence at the table.

Her menu included mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, and strawberries with more strawberries, carrot cake, and cookies for dessert. Since she is not as independent of a baker as Meg I suggested we make one dessert together and purchase the other. She really wanted to make the carrot cake (and really wanted a frosting carrot on top) so we did that and I bought some yummy chocolate-topped shortbread at Trader Joes, which she garnished with sprinkles.

Her pink seersucker sundress and the red, yellow and blue star necklace she got from the treasure chest at the dentist last spring hung on her door knob for days before the big occasion. She daydreamed about serving milk and “fizzy” lemonade from her little tea pot and (very) reluctantly let her guests take a turn. After all, what fun is a tea party if you don’t get to pour?

 

A good time was had by all. Maybe a new summer tradition.

Summer Vacation–Part 1

It’s been while since we’ve taken a family road trip. This summer we went to Virginia by way of Ohio. The kids were especially entertained by several tunnels on our route. Each time, Erik would hold his breath until we got to the other side, which tickled the kids. Of course they tried also, and I think I noticed a couple of them with tight lips and puffed out cheeks breathing away through their noses.

Caleb’s chief pass time was cutting paper. It was great!Literally hours of quite, concentrated, happy snipping.

We spent an afternoon visiting Grampy and Grammy Dear, and Nate had a fly fishing lesson in the driveway.

Great-grandparents

 

We also enjoyed spending a little time with Erik’s Uncle Ted and Aunt Maggie who graciously hosted us in their lovely home, fed us two delicious meals, and  (Maggie) shared homeschooling ideas, books and encouragement. A quick visit, but well worth the drive.

 

Saturday afternoon we arrived in Virginia to join Paul and Darian, the Forstroms and the Johnsons. We attended church with the Veerman and Velker cousins on Sunday (and later that week they had us all over for dinner.)

 

Finally, that afternoon the vacation really started when we hit the pool. Caleb loved the freedom of his water wings.

 

Uncle Nate was such a good sport.

Summer Vacation-Part 2

Sunday night we watched a great lightening show while waiting for fireworks to begin outside the condo.

On Monday we took a Fourth of July field trip to Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson’s personal retreat. It was SO HOT! But there were interesting demonstrations and presentations:

 

blacksmith

 

weapons

 

quill pens

 

Native American games

 

pump drill

 

presentation of colors (and the reading of the Declaration of Independence)

 

lace making

 

hackling flax

 

Before any of us had a heatstroke we left, picked up milkshakes, and took the scenic route (Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive) back to the condo.

Summer Vacation–Part 3

snowless tubing

ropes course

a favorite vacation privilege for our kids: eating in front of the tv (actually, not eating, just watching tv as though in a trance)

The activity we had all been waiting for: the water park. Just as much fun as we had hoped.

Luray Caverns

picnic lunch and family photo

fishing

‘Bye family. See you at Thanksgiving.