October 2010

Peyton playing with Mark's old teeny tiny legos

Liam in his preschool class

Liam sporting Mark's sunglasses

Things have been hectic, to put it lightly. Adjusting to the new schedule has been tough. I think we are all getting there, but slowly. I am thrilled that fall is here. We went pumpkin picking this past weekend and were planning to take the hayride to get our pumpkins, but there were so many people there we decided to get already picked pumpkins. The kids didn't care at all. They enjoyed eating a picnic and choosing their pumpkins. We are going to a fall festival this weekend and are hoping to check out our local farmer's market.

It is raining today and chilly so it finally feels like fall. It has been pretty hot for October and I'm ready for cooler weather!

Celebrating Liam and Peyton

He looks like such a little boy now, not a baby. He frequently reminds me that he is a big boy.

Peyton had her hair bobbed before school started. She looks so grown up to me.

I have been sorely neglecting this space lately. We have recently moved from our home of 17 years back to where I grew up and it's been crazy! I wanted to post a few pictures of Liam's 4 year old birthday celebration and of Peyton's first day of school.

We took the kids to Baltimore for their birthdays so we just did simple cakes at home on the actual birth date. Liam chose a gingerbread man shaped cake and then he and Peyton did all the decorations (after I iced it). They loved decorating their cakes this year.

Peyton's first day of 1st grade went well. She was so nervous, but when we picked her up she said, "I had a great day!" Things have been going well for her. She likes her teacher and has been making friends. I'm just concerned that she's going to be bored. The vocabulary and spelling words that are coming home are so easy. She is reading on a 2nd grade level and the words are more like kindergarten words. We keep thinking these first few weeks will be review and then they'll move on to harder things. If not, Mark and I are going to talk to her teacher about sending home harder words and more challenging things to read. She balks at doing her homework because she says it is boring. They have a spelling/ vocab test this week and a math readiness quiz. Hopefully that will help her teacher to challenge her.

Peyton watching the dolphins
Awesome Jellyfish

Calypso, the sea turtle, has a missing flipper
Mixing up a brew at Port Discover, Baltimore Children's Museum
Peyton inside a giant bubble

We celebrated Peyton's 6th and Liam's 4th birthdays with a trip to Baltimore. It was Liam's first time staying in a hotel and both kids thought it was cool. Mark and I slept on a horribly uncomfortable sofa bed so that our kids could sleep in the queen bed. The hotel was about two blocks from the inner harbor so we were able to go back and forth fairly quickly. We spent a day at the National Aquarium and then visited Port Discovery on our last day in the city. The aquarium was nice, but the children's museum was the best part of the trip, at least for me. The aquarium was crowded and pricey for what was there. The one in VA Beach is probably a better deal, but it was fun to get out of our town and spend time with our kids in a different place. I think if we get back to Baltimore in the future, we'll plan a trip to the science museum. So many people have told us how awesome it is, so maybe when the children are a bit older.

North Bend State Park, West Virginia

It's a little tight for both kids in the pull trailer. We think we'll try a tag-a-long soon!

The first trail we did had 3 tunnels on it. We rode through them yelling and hearing the echoes.

Eating s'mores cooked over a charcoal grill

This tunnel had several openings for people who needed to a safe place to get off the tracks if a train was coming.

We saw hundreds of these butterflies on the bike trail

Mark's parents invited us to come spend a few days with them in West Virginia. North Bend State Park is gorgeous. There are loads of trees, a huge lake, hiking trails, and a rails to trails bike trail. We did two bike rides, had a picnic, fished from a canoe on the lake (Peyton and Liam did this), and spend some quality time with family. It was such a peaceful trip and we loved staying in a cabin versus tent camping, especially because it rained quite a bit!

Celebrating Peyton - 6 years old!

Peyton turned 6 this week. It is hard to believe she has been here 6 years! I am constantly amazed at her, how sweet and considerate she is and how much she is learning. We celebrated her birthday with a trip to the Route 11 chip factory. We ate chips and had a picnic with some sweet friends from church. Peyton chose her cake design from a book that we have at home. We made the cake from scratch together and then decorated it with lots of frosting and sprinkles. We are going to celebrate both children's birthdays with a special outing, but we did have a few gifts for her, a new nightgown and a custom made dress (thanks, April!) She didn't want to wear it to church today because the lady who made it was going to be out of town.

Happy birthday Peyton!

Sandbridge, VA

Seeing the ocean for the first time this year

Peyton demonstrating the back stroke. She does much better on her back.

We went to Sandbridge last week and had a wonderful time at the beach. It was blazing hot each day and there were a few incredible storms, but for the most part, the weather was perfect for sitting on the beach and by the pool. Liam was swimming without floaties by the end of the week and was so proud! Peyton's swimming improved too. Spending several hours in the pool each day helped a lot. Peyton wasn't scared of the ocean and went out with Mark, but Liam stayed on the shore. He was content to stay out of the waves. It was so nice to be away from home, but great to be back. Only 4 weeks until school starts, yikes! I feel like the summer has gone way too fast.

Rain day Fun

Peyton and Liam were so excited to play in the rain this week. After about 2 weeks of dry weather, we had two days of rain. They ran outside and played in it for about 15 minutes. I stayed dry in the garage with my camera! Our brown grass has greened back up a bit and our garden seems to be doing fine. We have only picked one large tomato and about 6 grape tomatoes so far, but we are hoping for a big crop of tomatoes!