Back to School

September 9, 2013: Today was a monumental day in our house, all three kids went to school!! Last week Casey returned to GA as a first grader. She made the move up to the main campus, got a locker for the first time, and is eating lunch in the cafeteria. Julia started at GA in pre- Kindergarten, known as PC at GA. On the first day she would not let me walk her in, she wanted to be dropped off and ran right into school. They break the little guys in slowly and for the first two weeks they only have half days. All the reports coming from Julia have been positive. She seems to be loving it so far. She is adorable in her uniform. And today Molly went to her first day at Round Hill Nursery School. I wasn't sure what to expect from her, although she seemed excited. My mom wanted to join us for the drop off so we walked her in and she was walking ahead of us, eagerly searching for her class room. We put her bag in her cubby and she met her teachers and sat down to color. We took a few pictures and said goodbye, the teachers did not want us to linger. I couldn't wait to pick her up at lunch time. She cried because she was not allowed to bring her bag home with her (apparently they only bring them home on Friday). She was mad at the teachers because they wouldn't let her do the monkey bars or the wiggly mushroom steps and as she said "I'm a big girl!". But besides those disappointments she gave a good report of playing with dolls, eating crackers for snack and telling the teacher when she had to pee.

Summer Wrap Up

When we got home from our summer trip we had been on the road for about 6 weeks. We were only home for about four days before we headed off to Martha's Vineyard with the Duvals. The kids had an amazing week with cousins. They are getting so much older and more independent, they just bomb all around together in a pack. We spent lots of time swimming off the dock right at the house and going to the beach. After a week in the Vineyard we headed to Scituate for 3 weeks. We had beautiful weather there, spent many days at the beach and the kids have a new love for riding bikes. Our house is at the end of a quiet cul de sac and they rode bikes all day long. Julia learned to ride a two wheeler and she was zooming around at high speed in no time. It was amazing to see her go from wobbling while we had to run right next to her, to doing it in a controlled way in the matter of two days. Molly is on a bike with training wheels and loving it too. It was a big summer for us in terms of milestones too. Molly learned to swim which is so great. We obviously still need to keep a sharp eye on her but she can really get around the pool on her own now. Casey moved to a booster seat which she is very excited about. I still think she has to be soaking wet to weigh in at 40 pounds but she did not want to go to first grade in a car seat. Julia is on her two wheeler, finally learned to do the monkey bars and is wiping her own bum (sorry if that's too much information), all great news in our house.

Homeward Bound

July 18, 2013: we spent two great nights in St Louis visiting with julie and Sid. We revisited Grants Farm again. The kids loved playing with the goats. The goats get pretty aggressive when the milk bottles are out and Molly was nervous so she asked to be put outside of the fence. They could have stayed there brushing and petting them for an hour. They loved the snow cones and we liked the free beer. I forget if I have mentioned that molly has basically learned to swim in the past week. It is amazing. After St Louis we went to Columbus, Indiana to see our friends from Taft, the Orbens. They showed us a great time. We went swimming in another fun pool with fountains and slides and had pizza dinner the first afternoon. The next day we explored Columbus playgrounds and saw some of the famous architecture in the city. We spent the afternoon at their lake house which was great to beat the heat. The next day we headed to Granville Ohio to stay with the Parsleys. I met some of my cousins for the first time!  It was great to see Tara and her kids. She took us for a ride in Bobs 66 mustang convertible to get ice cream. The kids loved that. 

Fun on the Way Home

July 13, 2013: Since leaving Vegas we have been putting in longer hours in the car in order to get home but not without fun stops and places to stay with friends. So far we have stayed in Boulder where we caught e up with old friends from high school and college. It was great to see Heather Frantz and her family. Our girls hit it off right away and had fun swimming and exploring in Boulder. We have visited two very old wooden carousels made in the early 1900s. The detail, wood carving and artwork is incredible. We stopped in Gage Park in Topeka, KS again for a carousel ride, train ride and a few hours at the fun water park. Casey overcame her fear and doubt and tried the water slide that has a high drop off. She was very proud of doing it. Of course Julia was dying to do it but was not tall enough. Now we are off to St Louis for a fun visit with the Holthaus's.  

Vegas Baby

.July 10, 2013: we have spent the last three nights at The Mandalay Bay in Vegas. What a treat after camping for a month. The kids absolutely freaked when they saw the hotel and our room. Their eyes were bulging, they jumped up and down with excitement and they were in awe of every detail. We spent our days in the pool. There is a regular pool, hot tubs, wave pool and a lazy river. James and I enjoyed a few bud light limes poolside and it was a lot of fun. We ate In And Out burger every night. On the last night James felt compelled to match Kevin Walsh's record 5 double doubles. We took the kids to see the Bellagio's fountain show on the last night too which they loved. We had a blast in Vegas and now begins the drive home. 

Zion

July 7, 2013: we got up early after sleeping in the town of Kanab and drove into Zion. This kids loved the mile long tunnel dug through the mountain. We were lucky enough to see a group of big horned sheep by the road which is apparently pretty rare. Our first order of business was to get a camp,site as they fill very quickly in summer time. We got a spot and set up our tent. You cannot drive in Zion in the summer time, so we walked from the campground to the shuttle bus and drove up into the canyon. We set out to do the Riverside Walk, which is the most popular walk in the park. It was so crowded, unlike anything we have seen so far this summer. We were all exhausted and a bit hiked-out so we just found a nice sandy spot near the river and stopped to play. The kids went fully swimming in their undies and we relaxed. Afterwards we rode the bus back to camp for naps. Julia passed out on the shuttle and finished her nap in the shade t our campsite. We took the kids to the park's nature center for a ranger led program about Zion's animals. These programs are so great and the kids loved the nature center. They made headbands with animal ears on them, we read books, they dressed up as rangers, and saw the exhibits about animals and life at Zion. After that we went swimming in the river again but right near our campsite. Julia got bitten by a fire ant and we had to run into town to get her some medicine because it hurt her so much. We had dinner and all went for another swim right before bed to cool down. Temps were just over 100 but it did not ever feel that hot so we were lucky. During dinner a family of deer came right next to our campsite. There were some large groups camping and as it was a holiday weekend we did not eat much sleep with a lot of noise at the campground. We woke up, broke camp, and got back on the hustle. We did a short hike to the Emerald Pools. Afterwards we stopped where a ranger had a telescope set up to see peregrine falcons nesting. We did not see any but heard them and saw the nest. The kids showed the ranger their Zion workbooks and were sworn in a junior park rangers once again. Then we took off for a few days out of the tent in Vegas!