Summertime...Summertime...gone to the breeze of autumn's whisper

I really do hate it when I let months go by without posts.  I so enjoy writing.  And this blog is one outlet for me.  But this summer has been CRAZY!!!!!    It is all a big blur.  But I wanted to fill you in on a few highlights to catch us up to date.

JUNE:  MOVING, UNPACKING and more unpacking

We moved into our new house on June 1st.  We love our community here in Purcellville, Virginia.  It has been fun exploring new roads, towns, playgrounds, and shops.  It has also been fun getting to know the neighbors.  All in all we are so blessed to be living int he home we have in the community we are in.

 Kate and Nathan at town hall.

 Nathan had to visit the local fire department!  They have free ice-scream sundaes every month throughout the summer.  It is a very big hit with my kids!

Hamilton Park has also become a favorite spot for my kids.

 

Papa Dan took the kids to Leesburg Animal Park one afternoon.  That was a lot of fun!

 

And Kate lost her first tooth in June with the second tooth falling out soon after.

JULY:  ROAD TRIP - Ann was spending some time in Washington state with her daughters and other grandchildren.  Then she was tasked with driving their car back to Virginia.   Ann made a few stops to visit family in Oregon and Idaho.  Then I met up with her in Utah to finish the drive.  We spent a few extra days in Moab, Utah, exploring Capital Reef National Park (my favorite), Arches National Park, and Canyonlands.  Amazing country- like nothing I have ever seen before.   I loved being there.

 

 Nathan and Kate tracked our progress across the country on a big map that Papa Dan set up for them.  Each night they would mark our route after I called in to say goodnight. 

 We were blessed to see an amazing sunset as we drove across Kansas.  Beautiful.

 The history teacher in my loved the historic monuments.  I was very excited to see the Mississippi River too.  Our country is so big and so diverse - I hope I get to see a lot more of it years to come. It was a fun trip for me, but it was also the longest I've been away from my kids.  I was ready to get home.

AUGUST: Fair and birthdays!

I made sure I was home from my trip in time for two occassions:  the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair and Kate's 6th birthday.  It's a tradition now that we go to the fair on her actual birthday.  Both kids were so excited and looking forward to it, so Josh and I decided we would drive back to Maryland so they could go to the fair again.  Plus, Kate's pre-school teacher, Mrs. Russo, has lambs and pigs in the fair.  She was willing to give the kids a behind the scenes look at the animals.  Can't resist that, now could we?  :)

 Keeping with the animal theme, we had a pony birthday party.  Kate has been very interested in horses this summer.  She was able to visit a friend's horse in July and something clicked with her.  I definetely see horseback riding lessons in Kate's future.  Good thing we live in horse country now.


Kate leading Harper down a path.  Big horse.  Little Kate.  Nervous Mommy.  But they did great together!  At Kate's party we had a pony that gave each of the kids rides.  And another minature horse that the kids could pet, and groom and "decorate".  It was a lot of fun.

August also brought us a new family member, Salem the kitten.  He is the most tolerant cat I have ever met.  Kate adores him! She had been asking for a kitten for 2 years now.  So thought her birthday would be a good occasion to grant her wish. Salem is technically Kate's cat, but we all love him.  We adopted him from the animal shelter at 4 months of age.  He is the perfect blend of tolerant and playful.

It's been a good summer.   A busy one, but one full of laughter, blessing, and family. 

Firefighter Nathan Turns 3

These pictures are LONG overdue...it's kind of been a busy month at our place.  But we just got back from a friend's birthday today, and we were fondly recalling Nathan's birthday a few weeks ago.  It was such a fun morning.

Nathan celebrated his 3rd birthday at the Laytonsville Fire Department.  Boy! Did they do an outstanding job coordinating the party and creating fun activities for the kids.  Honestly, all I had to do was bring the cake!!  (Which was incredible thanks to Classic Bakery in Gaithersburg!!)

Here are some highlights:

When we first arrived Firefighter Greg greeted the kids and gave them awesome tattoos.  While Volunteer Linda welcomed parents and made our little guy, Chief Nathan, complete with a white fire hat and a LDVFD tee-shirt!

 Even Daddy got a tattoo - it was a purple salamander...not the manliest of choices.  Nathan stuck with a classic fire truck!

The kids got to see a bunch of different equipment, including an ambulance and a few engines.  Nathan could tell you the difference between each engine. And sitting up in that driver's seat was a highlight for him.  He was so proud of himself!

 

  

The kids got a tour of the entire station including the living quarters - very cool for them to see real firefighters eating their lunch.  Firefighter Greg did an excellent job talking about fire safety and the importance of trusting a fireman during a firefighter.  No need to be scared of the guys in the funny looking masks!

Then it was time for the kids to become firefighters and practice their skills.  Nathan was given (on loan) his own uniform as he lead his company of friends in some important exercises.  The most memorable one being using a fire hose to put out pretend flames in a play house.  Every kid got a turn with the hose.  It was so much fun!!

 

 

 

The kids had a lot of fun playing games too.  They had a relay race to see which team could transport more water to a "fire" like they used to in the old days of firefighting.   Team Nathan won - of course.  But both teams got prized because they did such a good job following directions and putting out the "fire".

 I must say the favorite game had to have been firetruck-firetruck...kind like our version of duck-duck-goose.  The kids ran and squealed and had a great time!

 

 

 

 Even fireman Greg got to play too!

Thank you Mrs. Linda and Firefighter Greg for an awesome birthday party that Nathan will never forget!

April = Birthday Celebrations!

April seemed to fly buy.  It was full of happiness and celebrations.  Josh and Kim celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary on April 1st.   We went to the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia for the second year in a row.  Paris in April is magnificent.  ;)

Nathan turned two in early April.  He LOVED every minute of attention poured out on him. We had a fish themed birthday party, fish being one of Nathan's first words.  He received some pet fish and we created a fishing game out in the back yard with fishing poles.  (Somehow I missed getting pictures of the game.  Hopefully Aunt Debbie got some!)  I can't believe my little guy is 2 already!

In the final days of March, Papa Dan arrived for a long visit.  He was able to be here to celebrate Nathan's birthday and his own.  Dan turned a young "72" and for his birthday we were able to take him out to a nice dinner sans kids.  Instead of birthday cake, we splurged on some Cakebread wine.  Papa Dan slept really well that night. (wink...wink...)

Collin rounded out the month with a pizza party for his 4th birthday.  The kids became little chefs at California Pizza Kitchen.  They each got aprons and were able to make their own pizza.  Then they received a tour of the kitchen - pretty special they were.  Nathan loved being one of the big kids.

Nathan also LOVED the HUGE ice-cream sundae that came after the pizza!