Fun at the Fair

Catching up...

We took two British girls for a fun country experience at our county fair! The rain threatened all night and eventually made us leave when it poured, but we had a great time. Here we are with Terrie-Lea, our nanny and adopted family member this summer.

Riding the roller coaster was fun, but Brinley kept banging her head on the back of the seat

Brayden riding the teacups

Amy, me, Brayden, Terrie-Lea and Brinley

The alligator show was really neat and the kids enjoyed it

Today

Brinley had a few cavities that needed to be filled and opening her mouth in the dentist's office wasn't going so well. Our pediatric dentist does sedated dental work as outpatient surgery at our local hospital, so that is where we headed today. We checked in and were given crayons and coloring pages so we had fun in the lobby while we waited:

 Then we went back to get ready and that's when she realized what was going on. She didn't like the color of the "dress," and only wanted to sit with me. They gave her two pink stuffed animals and we had brought Baby Dear from home. Still not happy. Enter nurses to take her away to the OR. She's crying and screaming "Mommy!!!" Ripping my heart out.

 Two hours later, we were in recovery and she was asking for a cherry popsicle. She was soooo sleepy and sweet.

 She wasn't allowed to eat anything this morning, so we stopped at Sheetz at 1:15 for a donut and slushy. She was fine this afternoon, and we snuggled together on the couch and watched a lot of tv- a rare treat!

Virginia Living Photo Contest

Check out the "Vote for me!" area on the top right of the blog. Please visit Virginia Living Magazine and vote for this photo of Brinley in the Insanely Cute Preschooler photo contest! Voting ends September 21.

Mother/Daughter Date Night

Chick-Fil-A also recently had a Mother/Daughter Date Night. We enjoyed our meal, made our own ice cream sundaes (the best part, according to Brinley!), tried different lotions, took funny photos in the photo booth and made a beaded bracelet. What a fun night together!

 Our goodie bag had a manicure set, gift card and chocolate

 The cow was nice to look at from a distance, but she didn't like it to get too close!

 Photography by Brinley

 <3

We Remember

I remember being in a 7th grade English class during college and the principal pulling us out into the hallway to tell us that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. All afternoon I sat on my couch watching the footage and crying, worrying about family in NY and friends in DC and all of those people whose lives had changed so drastically so suddenly. All of these years later, the memories are still very vivid. I'm sure I will never forget that day. Today we remember all of those that died while sitting at their desks working away, while flying on an airplane, while trying to save others. We remember.

Daddy/Daughter Date Night

Kenny & Brinley went to Chick-Fil-A for Daddy/Daughter Date Night this summer and had a great time. They went all out- decorations, chocolate fountain, limo rides, roses, table service. We'll definitely be repeating this when it comes around again!

 First limo ride!

Sibling Love

Lately, it seems like all I hear from these two are squabbles, so I'm putting up a few sweet pictures of them together from this summer. Let the good times roll!

North Fork Valley Canopy Tour

I have done the Via Ferrata at Nelson Rocks Outdoor Center twice and I was excited to chaperone a trip back there to do the North Fork Valley Canopy Tour this summer! It took several hours, was not physically challenging, and was a lot of fun!

Getting ready for our gear

The guides do all of the hooking and unhooking. You do the braking with your hands, which was a little tricky to master. They provide gloves, helmet, harness and lanyard (the yellow thing that hooks you in and out to each station).

There are a series of ziplines and sky bridges and each "stop" has a platform like this where you get unhooked from the wire and hooked into the tree while you wait for the rest of your party.

The view of one of the ziplines

Here we are all hooked into the tree and waiting for the rest of the group

This is one of the sky bridges

  A little blurry, but coming in for a landing

A better view of the platform at each station

At the end you rappel down

It was a really fun experience and I look forward to returning sometime soon. Check out www.nelsonrocksoutdoorcenter.com for more details!

Fun at the Lake

All the girls

 Bristol snuggling with Mama

 Why HELLO there!

 Daddy & daughter <3

 Checking out the new paddle boats

Summer Fun

As usual, our summer was non-stop. We packed Brayden up for camp and he said he wasn't going to stay in the cabin. Then he spent one night and declared that he loved it and was going to stay there all summer! When he was home, the 5 of us shared a room, which made for a cozy family summer.  We are glad that camp has ended and we can get back to a more normal routine. Lots of long days and lots of fun as well!

Our 2nd generation camper ready to go!