Love this picture of my parents with the kiddos, what a week of fun they had!
Running camp was a blast for the kids. Games, water fun, races...anything to do with running and they loved it!
One of Michael's hermit crabs. Yes they all have names and are very very loved.
Can you spot the snake? It's head is the stick-looking thing under the window on the right. Jim chased and hacked after that thing to no avail. Snake trap turned up nothing. That was a good 5 foot rat snake that has been scaring us to death going all over our front walk and driveway. It's not poisonous but after a while its just freaky and and wanted to relocate it. I guess we scared it off...
Got a pic from our kayak trip. SUCH fun!
I walked by the playroom one morning and felt very... watched.
We took a last summer trip and went to the mountains! Started with dinner at our fav restaurant up there- Daniel Boone Family Restaurant. Big plates of family style food on a table that rotates in the center. The kids love the table and the food!
Always see lots of deer up there, look at this fawn!
Hiking up to Mile High Swinging Bridge
John has slip on shoes a little too big for him. I did that on purpose because he started preschool and needs to be able to use the restroom by himself and he still insists on taking pants and shoes off to go and he could never put his shoes back on. Well, he can put these on but they often fall off. On our hiking we made guesses about how many times his shoe would come off with a prize for the winner. It was so fun to see everyone laughing and encouraging John to either walk carefully or run faster to lose a shoe. He felt like a million bucks with all the attention!
Diana's sticker was perfect for her. She is totally a force of nature!
There is a zoo on Grandfather mountain- small, but fun to see these animals up close.
Otters
Elk
Bears up close!
The bears were very aware when the keeper was bringing some food to throw in. I'm sure the bear could smell it, it got on hind legs and was sniffing and waiting!
Valle Crucis is a favorite spot of ours to splash around and explore.
Goggles were the best idea ever because the kids could totally see things in the water! One time they saw a snake, that was not helpful. But we told them it went downstream and all was well again.
Nicole caught tiny fish in her hands
Ice cream outside the park listening to a man playing banjo.
Mike was featured on the front page of our school website haha
The day before school started, we made one last zoo trip to give all the wiggles and excitement an outlet!
John was sure he could see better looking through the coin drop hole haha
First day!
And John was so bored he fell asleep without his live entertainment!
Mike wanted a hermit crab birthday!
All he wanted was his buddies from around the corner to come play and we did crab games plus a little porch volleyball.
Diana at art class in school.
John has begun preschool! I absolutely loved seeing his excitement. Different than the girls chatty loud excitement I'm used to, but a smiling, beaming happy boy eager to get out of the van. He was exhausted after the first day! But every other time he's not even needed a nap which has surprised me.
Family night firepit snacks
After a delicious meal of tuna steaks and crabs! This family loves loves loves seafood. Every single one of them.
Here's John ready to get out of the van on the first day of preschool.
After after pickup he was zonked out!
Mike tried out for the middle school soccer team. He's only in 5th grade but they had 3 openings so he and a bunch of other 5th graders went for it! The heat was over 90 and humid, SO hot!
Jacob in art class at school.
Saturdays are filled with soccer games and I love watching the kids work hard!
Hurricane Dorian gave us a little wind and less than 2 inches of rain despite all the worry and destruction it gave other places. We still had 2 days off school and had fun playing volleyball and tennis with cousins!
Nicole and Kaitlin at the net across from each other! They were grinning and doing their best and it was a really good match!
Before every game I tell Diana to Attack. As long as she has that word in her brain she is fearless and really aggressive. I love to see that switch turn on and she goes for it!
John loves running around on the extra fields during games.
Sherbet macarons for a bridal shower came out so pretty!
Walking by the bathroom Sunday, I saw the girls helping each other get lip gloss on. I loved how Diana was showing Katy how to smack her lips to spread it around. So cute to see them play and grow up such great friends.
John is pretty fun to have around. So very easy to just have him home and spend time chilling with him.
Michael loves piano. Just kidding! But...he earns a hermit crab or crab cage accessories from passing songs off, so there is incentive sufficient for him to plod along and keep at it!
Mom took a pic before our trip to Puerto Rico.
Lizard discovery in the back yard
Some pics from while we were in PR. The kids had a wonderful time playing and traveling with their Grandparents.
Not to mention fun cousin time! So very grateful for my parents!!
After another day of blistering hot tryouts, Mike made the team! He was SOOOOO happy! His main role is as goalie and he loves it. He is fearless and focused, and does a great job. This will be a great opportunity for him to grow as a goalie. Of course, now this means our family is on 6 teams. 2 for Mike, 2 for Nicole and one each for Jake and D. Crazy! But the best part is the middle school teams practice at the school and they can just walk home. Looking forward to seeing both my oldest play for their school.
