See Karen Run

End of the Summer . . .

So Baby A and Baby B started 1st grade yesterday. I cannot believe that my babies are now sitting in desks with their pencils in boxes. B was so excited to have a pencil sharpener on the wall . . . it was a big improvement in the classroom for her compared to Kindergarten. Gem was sad for a moment and then realized she had Daddy and me all to herself. She also could play with any of the toys and nobody was going to take it away . . . she was in heaven. And actually still is enjoying the quiet this second morning of school too.

This past weekend, Dh had his company picnic at Stone Mountain Park. It was SO hot but we really did have a good time. Daddy and the big girls competed in the relay races: a tug of war, water balloon toss, potato sack race and the pink flamingo race! Gem and I enjoyed the moon bounce but I thought you all might like to see at least Dh doing the pink flamingo race!! It was worth the heat and dehydration for that pic!!

And since we were at the park, we thought we might take some cute family photos. But the girls were hot and exhausted, as were dh and I, so these are the best 3 of about 40. And you really can't see the Stone Mountain carving either . . . so no Christmas card pic is coming out of this bunch!

This is how the girls really enjoyed their summer . . . riding bikes!

And here was just a pose for the camera day on the deck! There were no good ones of the 3 of them all together, so this Christmas pic might just have to be a collage pic!

And as a last big event of the summer, Kelli and her crew came to visit! We were even doubly blessed when Summer and her crew came up from Southern GA too!! We had SO much fun hanging out with Summer and her hubby . . . seriously, wish they all lived closer!!

(I love this pic . . . it describes now Kelli and felt at the end of each day!)

But the kids had a blast together and even if Kelli and I were exhausted, it was totally worth it!! Although next summer, Kelli and I are hiring a babysitter for a couple days and getting pedicures, manicures and shopping without the crew!!

I promised more!

I meant to add these last week . . . but I just forgot! Here is more from our trip!!

DH in Richmond . . . see where the girls get their eyes from??

Gem, such a sweet face!!

Behind my mom's house is a little wooded area that had not only wild raspberry bushes but a little community of Fairy Doors. The girls went wild!! They picked berries for the fairies and swear they saw them flying around at night pretending to be fireflies. But it was really special when The Fairy from the red door wrote them a note, thanking the girls for the berries. It was wonderful seeing the excitement and the amazement in their faces when they read the note.

While we in Duck, NC we took the girls to see the Dunes at Kitty Hawk. We told them it was the world's largest pile of sand and honestly, that is exactly what it looks like. It wasn't really too hot when we were at the beach, but the dunes had to be another 15 degrees warmer than the beach. The sand was so hot it was burning the girls feet. But they didn't just want to stand there and look at the sand, they wanted to cross it. So, dh took them out on a trek . . . they actually made it further than I expected and then ran back with burning but proud feet.

More to come . . .

For the past two weeks we have been traveling all over the place!! We started out in Richmond VA with DH's family! Then we went to Duck NC with my dad and grandma and then we went on to Purcellville VA to spend some time with my mom!! The trip was a blast and the girls had a ball being spoiled by grandparents!!!

Hilton Head '09

Mom made Gem a Noddy house for her birthday! She loves it! Noddy is one of her favorite characters . . . Noddy and Elmo!

Gem just LOVED the beach. There were the usual great shallow tide pools at Hilton head that she just sat in and splashed around!

And shells . . . of course!

This bird sat there and posed for me, I swear. I talked to him and I took this pic without zooming in!

Where have we been since April??

We have been super busy this spring!! I am hoping for a nice calm summer to make up for a CRAZY Spring. Here are some newish pics for you . . .

A couple of these are from the Mother's Day Tea and the girls school. The rest of them are from Gem's birthday party

just because . . .

This pic is just because I rarely EVER get a pic of the three of them looking; 1. at the camera 2. smiling 3. without something spilled on a shirt!! And they also just looked stinkin' cute, but I am terribly biased!

Some LONG overdue pics!

We really enjoyed our visit with Khara, John and family! Here are a few pics!! We just love visiting with Hokies!! (And I cannot get the underline to turn off here . . .)

My Mom came to watch the girls compete in the Magnolia! Here is the only pic I tookduring her visit. The girls wanted ice cream as a competition treat . . . at Ben and Jerry's!