Yorktown Beach Trip

Today we took a trip to Yorktown beach. It was a short drive and lots of fun. Elise said, "This was the bestest day of my life!" I think she enjoyed it so much because there were lots of big rocks to climb on. She was in heaven! We let her climb for a while, but when she got to about 10ft up, we said it was time to stop. She was pretty upset! Anabelle's favorite thing was doing belly flops from the beach & I think Sadie enjoyed her Ben & Jerry's ice cream the most. When her cup was gone, she cried :0).

Danny & the girls had fun searching for critters and found a few crabs, a hermit crab, & a snail. I enjoyed the big boat that passed by (which is why I took a picture) and wanted to stop by the museum, but we had been in the sun a bit too long & it was time to head home.

Can we go to the pool?

I hear this EVERY morning as soon as the kids wake up. They LOVE the pool! I've been willing to go almost every day this year because it's so much easier. Cranky babies & fast toddlers don't make pool time very enjoyable for mommies! This year, we're able to spend a few hours or more and the kids can pretty much entertain themselves. I need to be in the water with Sadie, of course, but it's fun to play! Just the other day, Sadie swam 5 ft by herself! I usually put her floaties on, but sometimes we take them off and have a little swim lesson. She's getting better & better every time we swim.

Since we've been spending so much of our time here this summer, I thought I'd post some pictures.

Here's Sadie with her good buddy, Nate.

Our trip to Lake Anna

Yesterday we took a trip up to Lake Anna to visit Great Paw Paw & family. The girls got to go on two boat rides with their cousin Marena & lots of paddle boat rides! They swam in the lake & loved it when the boats made huges waves for them to jump over. The girls also fished for the first time! Fishing is a great way to teach your children about patience. At first the girls didn't catch anything & gave up after 10 minutes. Later on, however, Sadie was back at it & caught her first little fishy!! She was so proud of herself. Nanna tried to get her to give the fish a kiss, but she was too smart to fall for that!

Happy 4th!!!

We had a great 4th of July! We attended our annual neighborhood parade (where the kids loaded up candy) & ended the day w/ fireworks. We were planning on treking down Hull Street to find a spot to view Brandermill's fireworks, but we heard there was going to be a display right down the path from our house. So...at around 9:30 we loaded the kids in the wagon & walked two minutes to an awesome light show!! We were so close that I was a little nervous one was going to go shooting by our heads, but thankfully, that didn't happen. The best part of the night was avoiding the mad dash to the car to avoid the traffic. We sure live in an amazing neighborhood. Two pools, friends galore, a lake, and our own fireworks display. It doesn't get much better than that :0).

A Tea Party

The girls attended their last day of camp where they learned about Felicity who lived in the late 1700s.

They learned that girls at that time were expected to become "gentlewomen." Mrs. Shockley taught them all about proper table manners. It was fun to see them take her instructions so seriously. Backs straight, elbows off the table, and pinkies out!

Buxton Turns 10!!!

Today was Buxton's birthday and we had a little party for him. He got a huge bone, some treats, & a delicious bowl of Frosty Paws. He also got an extra scoop of food & lots of frisbee throws. I can't believe he's ten! Buxton is such an awesome dog and we all really love him. Happy Birthday B!!

American Girl Doll Camp

This week, some friends & I decided to create our own American Girl Doll camp. On Monday, the girls learned about Julie from the 70s & had a blast making tie dyes & eating fondue! On Tuesday, they learned about Kirsten from the pioneer days & made yarn dolls. Yesterday, we took the girls to see Kit Kittredge at the movies and today the girls came to our house to learn about Addy. We talked about the Civil War, slavery, and about a few of the Addy books. The girls made 'Courageous & Strong' bookmarks, spool puppets, homemade ice cream, and played hot & cold as well as ribbon's end. My favorite part was teaching them about life during that period. It made me miss my teaching days! I took my mom's advice and got out my fife to play for them which they thought was pretty cool! I think the girls' favorite activity was making homemade ice cream. It was SUPER yummy!! To end our morning, the girls got to take home a dress for their American Girl doll made by Nanna. They were so excited to open them up!

Here are a few pictures of our morning together.