Gram makes a visit

Time for more visitors! Yeah! My mom came out to visit us for a few days last month. She was able to spend a week and see us in our "daily" routine. The boys did a few days of school while she was here. We didn't want to get too much behind.

Mom was our 3rd family visitor.

We spent a day downtown visiting the Capitol building and the Library of Congress. It was a miserably cold, wet day outside but we enjoyed our time indoors. We all agreed we can't wait until Spring when we can explore more, in a more desirable temperature. You know, we're still thin-blooded.

The gang at the Library of Congress. What a day we had.....we were all tired by this point.

Lilymei and Gram riding the metro. Lily loves to ride the train.

Is Nate trying to look taller than Gram? It looks like Drew is catching up too! At least Lily is still under 3 feet ~ not for long though.

Fall foliage we haven't seen in a LONG time. The wind was blowing pretty good so I was able to get a nice shot of the American flag unfurled.

I really like the pink and yellow leaves popping out in the middle of all the lush green. It's amazing how different the trees in the back yard are compared to the front yard.

I have lots of updates to be posted so check back soon. Happy Fall!

17 years

This year Scott and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. We were married on a gorgeous fall day ~ October 10, 1992. Every year Scott does an awesome job thinking up creative ways to celebrate. On the Thursday before our anniversary Scott brought home a yummy cake (I am addicted to cake in a bad way). Don't I look happy holding that cake?



Later that evening we started our celebration with a Ruth's Chris dinner. It was delicious! We were so excited to find that they carried our favorite white wine, Conundrum. We haven't had it in years! Our next dinner was at Trummer's on Main on Saturday, our actual anniversary day. The meal was great! Again we were pleasantly surprised to find Conundrum on the wine list. I think I'm starting to like Virgina a little bit...

Scott surprised me with a beautiful necklace and charm of a family of five. I knew Scott would be thrilled with the Keurig coffee pot I snuck in the house for him.

Thanks for 17 happy years honey! Here's to many more!

September brings Family

September was a busy month. Scott and I, along with the kids, were so excited to have guests visit us in our new home. Even though the house wasn't perfect we were happy to entertain. Our first family guests were my brother Mark, sister-in-law Amy, and their 2 sons. We are so glad they made time to stop by on their way home from a trip to Virginia Beach.

Lily felt right at home with them. This photo shows them as they were getting ready to go home. I think Lily wore her cousins out; poor Owen and Will look wiped out! My brother told Lily she could come home with them and she cried when she didn't get to get INTO the car with them to leave. She had her purse and 2 library books with her. What else did she need?

The little ones are looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed. Lily swiped Will's dalmation puppy. Will was a good sport though, as long as she gave it back before bedtime.

Lily, Owen, Drew, Will, and Nate at the park in downtown Clifton. What a great day! I think all the kids liked climbing around on the trains.

My brother was only here for one day but our next family guests arrived within hours of my brother's departure. Here are Scott's parents, Sam and Gayle, along with our niece and nephew, Hailey and Brayden.

Another nice day! I'm missing that nice weather right now....

Lily was so excited to have cousin Hailey sleep in her room. Lily and Hailey "camped" in their sleeping bags all week.

Reminds me of the verizon wireless coverage bars, don't ya think? Lily's not too happy she's the lowest "bar".

Time to say goodbye..... Thanks for visiting everyone! We can't wait for more family members and friends to stop on by.

First Day of School

Our first day of school was August 31, 2009. Nate started 8th grade using the Abeka Academy videostreaming program (love it so far!) and Drew began 5th grade, doing the same 'ole thing we've always done. Lilymei got into the spirit and wore one of Nate's homeschool t-shirts. She grabbed her colored pencils and notebook and was ready to begin as well.

A happy bunch in the kitchen.

In the family room, with the kitchen in the background.

View of the family room. Notice the futon we purchased since we were tired of sitting on the floor and our couches hadn't arrived yet.

Kids in the front living room. I think they all look pretty happy for the first day of school.

Sitting on the front step. Lily's colored pencils go wherever she goes....

School is going well. We are in the 4th week now and I believe we have a pretty good routine down. Lily has done extremely well in keeping pretty quiet while the boys are working. Nate started off the school year using the living room tv for his lessons but he has moved into his newly remodeled bedroom and is now using Scott's laptop for his lessons. This has allowed Lily access to the tv to watch her favorite tv shows: Dora the Explorer, Ni Hao Kai-Lan, and Little Bear. Drew has been working at the kitchen table for most of his lessons but he also escapes to his room to do his reading.

Let's hope that the rest of the school year goes as well as the first 4 weeks. Time will tell....