Route 12 meets the sea~

Hatteras is so close to our hearts & it hurts to see the damage it suffered. In some parts of the island, the sound (which is like the bay) has connected over the road to the ocean and is impassable. As we were leaving the island Thursday, I felt like I needed to take a photo to remember that special road before the hurricane came through. For almost 20 years, Danny and I have been visiting Hatteras. Every year as soon as we'd hit Bonner Bridge & Route 12 we'd turn on the same Jerry Garcia Band tunes and listen & watch the road as our stresses would begin to melt away. They say the vacation season down there is over for now. Although our vacation was cut short, we are so lucky to have gone when we did. I hope they can repair the damage on 12 & I hope Hatteras will be around for many years to come.

Hatteras, an Earthquake, and a Hurricane

It started out great! Quick drive, sun in the sky, and smiling faces.

There was sand castle making, boogie boarding, kayaking, reading, lounging, swimming, crab eating, sunset gazing, beach combing, island hopping, and then...what? An earthquake back home?!?! After a few calls, we were relieved to hear everything was okay.

Then by Day 4, Irene was on it's way to Hatteras.

Seriously?!?! We could be evacuated? And the answer was yes...we were, but not without one last morning on the beach. We had it all to ourselves. By 3:00 on Thursday, we were on our way home. It was eerie...houses were boarded up and businesses closed. After a 6 hour drive, a speeding ticket, and a stop in pouring rain to save my camera (which happened to be tied to the top of the car) we arrived home.

And then Irene arrived. We finished out the last three days of our vacation folding mounds of laundry, stocking up at the grocery store, and entertaining (& refereeing) three bored little girls while sitting in the house without power for 10 hours. Not exactly how we pictured our last few days off. Ah well...our house is intact, the power is back on, we're all safe, and the sun is out! Time to get the girls outside!!!!!!!!!

Pony Pasture

Enjoying the James River~

Danny was off on Monday, so we took the girls & Calvin to Pony Pasture. The kids had the best time riding the little rapids.

Calvin pretty much stayed put on the rocks. He's much more timid around water than Buxton was. I guess that's not a bad thing when you have three kids to watch! Here's Elise lovin' on him.

Oh no! Get that shoe!

Rock jumping...lots of giggles & even a picnic! It was a great afternoon. The only downside was bits of trash others left behind. It wasn't as bad as Belle Isle, but enough to distract me. Next year we'll be trash bashers before we hop in :0).

Friends

I started to post all of these great pics of the girls with their friends this summer & I thought maybe their parent's wouldn't be too happy with that :0). Instead, I'll just say that summer just wouldn't be the same without them and that we're so blessed to have such great friends~ Thanks to all of you guys who hung out with the Dow girls this summer!

Here are the girls at Pocahontas State Park & Maymont...both places we enjoyed with good buddies :0).

"Harry Pawta" and "Hawgwahts"

My girls are hooked! Hooked on Harry Potter that is. Uncle Doug & Aunt Jodi got them the first three books in the series and we just finished the second one. Despite the fact that most of Anabelle & Elise's friends have seen all of the movies (alarming for 8 & 9 years olds I think), I told them that they could only watch them if we read the books first. I'm trying to teach them that books are always better than the movies!! So we started the series in March. Here & there throughout the week I'll read a chapter to the older two while Danny reads to Sadie. Some nights she'll listen, but most of the time she's not interested (which is a good thing because they're pretty scary at times). Just the other day we watched the second movie and they LOVED it! Sadie even watched the "happy parts." As I was making dinner last night she said, "Mom...I want to go to Hawgwhats like Harry Pawta" with an adorable English accent. She's even thinking of being Hermione for Halloween :0)

My Little Planner

Anabelle has developed into quite the little planner. Everyday she comes up with an idea she wants to execute. I told her she should become an event planner when she grows up! Some days it's hard to explain to her why she can't do something, like the time she wanted to go door to door to do stranger's chores for money. Or when she made God's Eyes (a yarn craft) and wanted to sell them to the neighbors. Or when she wanted to video tape her and her sisters doing a play and invite families over to watch it and charge them $3. It makes me so proud that most times she wants to donate the money to charity, but we need to work on the ways that it's appropriate to do that. Thankfully, we have some nice neighbors that have bought her lemonade 3 days in a row :0). I couldn't possibly send her over to their house on day 4 expecting them to buy a few popsicle sticks wrapped in yarn!

The other day, Anabelle was throwing out ideas and I carefully steered her in a more realistic direction...like making brownies for the fire fighters. She didn't like the idea at first and wanted to bring them lunch including subs, chips, drinks, and dessert. After some convincing, she agreed on brownies & cards if she could call the fire station to ask when we could stop by. She prepared a script and called them herself to set up a day. We were all impressed! So...last Wednesday, the girls & I made brownies & cards and delivered them to the Clover Hill station. Anabelle said she was going to ask for a tour, but I explained to her that it would be rude to do that. Thankfully, they asked us on their own and Anabelle was SUPER excited. They took us throughout the entire building & even let the kids climb inside the enormous fire truck. I tried taking pictures, but they turned out really dark.

Here are the girls and my little planner with the nice fire fighters.

Taking Flight~

My baby will be starting school in a few weeks & I'm growing more sad & anxious about letting her go. I can't even think about it without welling up.

I saw this today & thought it was fitting~

A Shopping & Splashing Spree

Every summer for the past six years, we take a trip out to Stony Point Mall to enjoy the fountains. I was wondering if Anabelle was too old to enjoy it, but she was all smiles. Heck...I would have gotten wet too if I had a bathing suit! I have a feeling that shopping at Justice helped her mood a little. As you know, I'm a super thrifty shopper and I never just take the girls into a store to shop. It's always go to the clearance rack or hunt for name brands at Goodwill. Well, this summer, I decided to let Anabelle & Elise find an outfit for the first day that didn't have a red tag :0). I did have a 40% off coupon though! It's a good thing to because one shirt was marked $34!!!!!! That's how much I spend at a thrift store when getting 15+ items! Ridiculous~ Anyway...I made it clear that this was a one time deal. After our shopping spree, I convinced myself it was okay to splurge a little while the kids frolicked in the fountains.

Puppy Love

There's no doubt about it...Calvin is loved. I've never seen a lab who enjoys being held like a baby. My only concern is what will happen when he's 70 lbs!! Will he still want to climb into our laps & snuggle?