Family time

We loved getting to spend time with the whole family this weekend. We got lots of snuggling in with Baby Elliott and RJ had fun trying to keep up with the big kids.

Carter Mountain with the fam

After a boyscout fun day, we headed to Charlottesville for the weekend to visit. We had a very special new family member to meet! Elliott our new cousin/nephew. He slept through his first visit to Carter mountain. Next year, he'll be eating apples off the trees like the rest of us!

Cub Scouts

Sean came home from school one day asking if he could join the boy scouts/cub scouts. Dan and him went to the informational meeting and decided to go for it. He looks so handsome in his uniform. He goes to the local meeting every Thurs evening.

Ridge kids!

I am very close with several of my co-workers. Around the same time there were alot of babies born at Ridge. We had a mommy happy hour on Friday after work. The kids played and the mommies hung out! It was a lot of fun!

More Bike Ridin'

The kids have really enjoyed riding their bikes lately. Sean learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels! GO SEANIE! Now, he realizes how much fun bike riding can be. We went outside to ride bikes almost everyday after school this week. Carter is doing so well on her balance bike. We tried to put her on a pedal bike with no training wheels but she just isn't quite ready for that. She can balance for a long time without putting her feet down. We've enjoyed the nice weather that we've been having in the afternoons. Didn't you know that a nice black dress is the appropriate attire for some bike riding?!?!

Rollerskates

The kids came home from Nama and Poppy's house with new rollerskates. We headed outside to try them out. Sean was super wobbly! Carter did some bike riding and some time on the rollerskates. Since hers go onto top of her shoes they are easier to manauver. Sean needs some practice!

The Fairy Bday Party

Carter decided that she wanted a "very" Birthday party, which meant a Fairy Birthday party. It ended up being really fun and the girls all had a great time! It was another successful bday!

Lots of fairy decorations and a fairy wand decorating station! The girls loved making their own wands!

 They had a great time playing in the backyard chasing each other around!

 Time for cupcakes!

Time for presents! She is a loved little Fairy! She got so many cool toys and lots of clothes!

Carter turns 3!

After sharing cupcakes with her friends at school she came home to finish opening the rest of her presents (she opened a few before school), eat dinner and then eat more cupcakes! It was a good day!

The first day of school

Yep, it is true. Th first day of school was finally upon. Everyone was ready for their first day of school. Sean started first grade, Carter in the 3 year old preschool class, Mommy to her 11th year of school and Daddy to his 12th year of school.

Carter did ok at school. She doesn't love being away from home and away from her mommy! We had so much fun this summer that it was hard for her to transition. She did have fun and enjoy the day but she was so happy to see me when I picked her up that afternoon!

Labor day Camping at VB

Nama and Poppy invited us to the beach for labor day weekend. The only catch was: we had to go camping! I am not the "camping" type but even so, I knew it would be fun and I'd get to go the beach either way! Since the kids were already with Nama and Poppy during teacher work week, they headed down Thurs evening to get a start on their vacation. After a few minor tent issues (in that they didn't bring the overhead tarp and slept "under the stars" that night waking up at dawn when the sun came up!) they had a great night. Dan and I headed down as soon as we could after work on Friday. We were able to get our tent set up and relax around the bonfire. Some old JMU freinds were even able to visit that night at the campground. We had a great spot right next to the bathrooms so that was great.

On Saturday morning we hit the beach for the day. The water was so warm and Sean had a great time wave surfing. We again met up with Jeno and Allan and their kids. The kids stayed in the water the whole time surfing down the beach.

 After the beach we decided to hit up the campground pool for a while. There was a cool water slide and the kids had a blast playing with Nama and Poppy. Plus at least it de-sanded us before heading back to our site.

 We ordered pizza for a local pizza place that got great reviews online. Even though we lived a mere 1 mile from our camp site we had never eaten at this pizza place. The pizza was delicious and even worth the wait! After pizza, we made mountain pies. If you have never had one, you need to try this! As you can see from the picture it: english muffin, peanutbutter, extra large marshmellow and chocolate. Put it in the fire for a couple minutes and then you eat pure deliciousness!! YUM!

 On Sunday, mom and dad decided to get a head start back home and we decided to hit up the beach for one more day. We had a great day soaking up our last day of summer at the beach before school started on Tuesday. None of us wanted to leave to drive back to Richmond.

Camping was a success! The only glitch we had was a leaky air mattress but if we got that straight next time, I'll would give it another go! The kids had a blast and we made some wonderful memories. It was a great way to celebrate one last final weekend of summer!

Goodbye Summer! Hello Reality!