Good Times

 

 After GiGi bathed the girls, she gave them some new stuffed animals and read bed time stories.

 They loved snuggling!

Before Grandpa left, he fixed a few things around the yard for me! 

My mailbox door is back on, we have house numbers on our house, and my jogging stroller now folds up like it should. Thanks so much!!

Maddie had fun "helping" Grandpa find the right tools.

DC with Grandpa and GiGi

 Grandpa gave the girls a little education on the diggers we found in DC...funny, no one else stopped at this landmark to observe like we did! The girls loved each explanation!

 Grandpa pushed the stroller the whole walk...he's so kind!

 As we walked up to the WWI Memorial, we heard a trumpet playing Taps. We were also surprised to find the fountains and reflecting pool filled with water! (This is the first time we've seen it with water since we moved here).

 Grandpa and GiGi on a perfect day in DC.

 Me and my cuties!

The girls had a great time walking along the wall with Grandpa coming by to tease them!

October is definitely the time of year to visit DC- beautiful cool days with the leaves changing colors. 

Grandpa and GiGi

We're so happy to have Grandpa and Gigi here for a visit!

 We had a lovely Sunday afternoon walk together! The fall weather has been such a treat.

 GiGi and Maddie had fun walking the balance beam.

 Here we are at Green Springs Park.

 We had some races in the park.

 Maddie asked, "Can we all fit on this bench?" The answer is nope!

More photos from our time together to come!

Gak Time

Recently, Maddie made Gak with a friend of mine. This is a great science experiment or just a fun project to play with. Maddie even asked to sleep with it, that's how much she liked it!!

Materials

• Elmer’s Glue® (8 oz bottle of Elmer’s Glue-All)
• Borax (a powdered soap found in the grocery store)
• Large mixing bowl
• Plastic cup (8 oz size works well)
• Spoon
• Measuring cup
• Food coloring (the spice of life)
• Water
• Paper towel (hey, you’ve got to clean up!)
• Zipper-lock bag (don’t you want to keep it when you’re done?)
• Water

Directions are here.

A Little Get Away...

 After church Sunday, the four of us hopped in our car and drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

 We pulled out at one stop and did a little hike.

 Savannah liked being carried most of the way.

 Maddie had been singing this song all morning..."We're going hiking, we're going hiking!" She was pretty happy!

 The girls were thrilled to be staying at a hotel. In the morning, Maddie said, "I wish if we could stay here for a whole week!"

 We went all out for breakfast...Duncan Donuts :)

 The pictures don't quite do it justice!

 On the way home, we drove through West Virginia and Maryland.

We loved listening to Page CXVI Hymns as we drove through this beauty. 

I'm so thankful for our 24-hour get away!

Cox Farms

The other day we had a MOPS outing to Cox Farms. What a fun day!

 These little piggies were pretty fun to watch. 

 It was a chilly morning! Here's the girls and their friend Abi watching the cow get milked.

 Elyssa and Brooke.

 Brooke and Savannah watching the baby cow eat.

Here's the girls feeding the cow.

  

We went on a hayride!

 The yellow brick road!

 Savannah was so tickled by the goats.

 I was amazed at all the slides here...fun for little ones and adults!

 The the three of us went down together.

 My big girl.

 My lil girlie pretending to pray at the table (with her boots off).

Can you see the leaves changing?!

I have to say this is the best fall pumpkin patch/festival that I've ever been to! 

Neighborhood Crab Feast

We had no idea what a great neighborhood we were moving into when we bought our house here in Virginia. Not only do we live 3 minutes from our church, but we also live at the end of a cul-de-sac with about 25 kids that live on this street! Every Friday night through the summer we had dinner in the sac with our neighbors. Dinners ranged from every one's leftovers to gourmet meals. Now that the weather is cooler, we culminated our outside dinners with a crab feast! One of the neighbors picked up Maryland crabs from the DC fish market.

 Here's Jesse opening oysters!

 Here we are starting in on the crabs. I wish I got a picture when we finished...the table was piled high!

I had no idea what work went into eating a crab :)

Some of the kids even got in on the fun!!

Our kids stuck with hot dogs :)

Roosevelt Island

On Saturday we had a family outing to Roosevelt Island.  

Since Roosevelt was known for starting the National Parks, it stands to reason that his memorial is full of beautiful walking paths.

We skipped along...

We had a great view of Georgetown and its bridges. I'm so thankful it's feeling like fall here. We're enjoying the lower temperatures and absence of humidity :)