Until next time, cheers!
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Fall Family Photos (2018)
We had a marvelous time with Dyan of Dyan Witt Photography. This is the fourth time she has photographed us, and she never disappoints. This time, I couldn't narrow down our session to only 10 photos, so I splurged and got the whole session. I won't bore you with all of the photos, but please enjoy a few shots from our lovely afternoon/evening.
Until next time, cheers!
Until next time, cheers!
Monday, October 22, 2018
Celebrating Fall and a Couple Birthdays
Last week, the kids and I celebrated my birthday on Tuesday evening with a fairly quiet dinner at Chili's after gymnastics and hip hop classes. Three other birthdays were celebrating there, so there was definitely no need to hear the staff sing Happy Birthday again to me.
On Wednesday, the kids and I took Greer and Gavin to Hickory Ridge Farm. Their parents are in the process of moving into a new house, so the boys were grateful to get away from unpacking boxes and I think their parents were grateful to not have complaints about unpacking boxes for a couple hours. The kids completely wore themselves out. We recharged with pumpkin cookies, but my two still slept really well--and I'm guessing the other boys slept well, too.
Jip returned from Maine/New Hampshire suuuuuper late Friday night, but he was able to jump right back into our weekend routine, despite the lack of sleep. After ballet, we ate a little lunch and then headed to Tye Dye It Yourself for Ryleigh's birthday party. What a great time! We ended up with 11 kids, ranging from Kindergarten to 4th grade, and I think they each had a great time. Parents loved meeting one another and gabbing until the very end. The staff at the shop were amazing. It was truly one of the best parties we've had for the kiddos.
This week should be pretty normal, but another busy weekend is ahead with a school dance, Halloween party, PB&J symphony series, and trunk or treat put on by the USO--I'm volunteering for NMCRS at our booth and the kids will get to trick or treat with 998 or so of their closest friends. Add in coding, ballet, and Ninja Zone, and I think we're fully booked.
As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
On Wednesday, the kids and I took Greer and Gavin to Hickory Ridge Farm. Their parents are in the process of moving into a new house, so the boys were grateful to get away from unpacking boxes and I think their parents were grateful to not have complaints about unpacking boxes for a couple hours. The kids completely wore themselves out. We recharged with pumpkin cookies, but my two still slept really well--and I'm guessing the other boys slept well, too.
Jip returned from Maine/New Hampshire suuuuuper late Friday night, but he was able to jump right back into our weekend routine, despite the lack of sleep. After ballet, we ate a little lunch and then headed to Tye Dye It Yourself for Ryleigh's birthday party. What a great time! We ended up with 11 kids, ranging from Kindergarten to 4th grade, and I think they each had a great time. Parents loved meeting one another and gabbing until the very end. The staff at the shop were amazing. It was truly one of the best parties we've had for the kiddos.
This week should be pretty normal, but another busy weekend is ahead with a school dance, Halloween party, PB&J symphony series, and trunk or treat put on by the USO--I'm volunteering for NMCRS at our booth and the kids will get to trick or treat with 998 or so of their closest friends. Add in coding, ballet, and Ninja Zone, and I think we're fully booked.
As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
Happy Birthday, Ryleigh!
The Big 7!
Jip was in New Hampshire/Maine on October 19, but we did our best to celebrate my girl's 7th birthday. When we woke up that morning, Ryleigh announced she was going to open 1 present. One quickly turned into 5.
I joined Ryleigh at school for lunch, taking Luigi's Italian Ices as the class treat. Ryleigh's classroom has a number of kids with various food allergies, but it turns out Italian Ice is perfect--it is dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and nut-free. Lunch was extra eventful thanks to a power outage that affected only the school from 10:45 to 2:30. The back-up generators provided enough power to light the hallways and keep the kitchen running.
After school, Ryleigh opened the rest of her presents. We got to include Jip in round two--via FaceTime while he was at the airport.
Ryleigh's party with her friends was the next day. More on that in the next post.
Happy 7th Birthday, My Best Girl!
Jip was in New Hampshire/Maine on October 19, but we did our best to celebrate my girl's 7th birthday. When we woke up that morning, Ryleigh announced she was going to open 1 present. One quickly turned into 5.
After school, Ryleigh opened the rest of her presents. We got to include Jip in round two--via FaceTime while he was at the airport.
That evening, after a quiet meal at home, RJ and I sang to Ryleigh and we enjoyed Ryleigh's favorite, red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.
Ryleigh's party with her friends was the next day. More on that in the next post.
Happy 7th Birthday, My Best Girl!
Monday, October 15, 2018
Mother Nature Strikes Again
The kids missed another school day, thanks to Mother Nature. Tropical Storm Michael decided to wipe out power to a decent portion of Hampton Roads, so schools in Virginia Beach were closed on Friday since all schools couldn't be open. We did a couple of educational things in the morning, but I'm sorry to say that Minecraft and Roblox still ruled a good portion of the day. Still no word on how or when we are going to make up for another day lost.
Farmer's Almanac has this winter being cold for us. Whether it is snowy, too, remains to be seen. But, hey--at least Michael brought a cool front. The a/c got shut off on Friday and didn't get turned back on until Monday evening. I'm hopeful that it can be turned back off Tuesday morning for at least another few days. Yay!
I don't have much in the way of pictures, but I can share RJ's school picture. Why I only have RJ's and not Ryleigh's is beyond me. Maybe they are helping me have a picture for next week's blog post? Anyway, here's RJ. He's not into smiling for pictures right now.
This week is birthday week. Ryleigh is celebrating with her gymnastics teammates on Thursday, with her class on Friday, and with some friends at a tie dye party on Saturday. Somewhere in there I need to make a red velvet cake. Thankfully, our grocery store bakery is going to take care of the other treats.
As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
Farmer's Almanac has this winter being cold for us. Whether it is snowy, too, remains to be seen. But, hey--at least Michael brought a cool front. The a/c got shut off on Friday and didn't get turned back on until Monday evening. I'm hopeful that it can be turned back off Tuesday morning for at least another few days. Yay!
I don't have much in the way of pictures, but I can share RJ's school picture. Why I only have RJ's and not Ryleigh's is beyond me. Maybe they are helping me have a picture for next week's blog post? Anyway, here's RJ. He's not into smiling for pictures right now.
This week is birthday week. Ryleigh is celebrating with her gymnastics teammates on Thursday, with her class on Friday, and with some friends at a tie dye party on Saturday. Somewhere in there I need to make a red velvet cake. Thankfully, our grocery store bakery is going to take care of the other treats.
As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
Monday, October 8, 2018
Busy, Busy
It was a busy week!
Ryleigh had her first ever field trip on Tuesday. The trip was to a local "farm" that is more tourism than farm, but they make it work. I'm guessing they receive an educational grant or two from the state, and the state sends some cooperative extension folks to help talk to the kids about the animals. Volunteer farmers, dairy farmers, foresters, and gardeners help the kids learn a little bit about everything and even do a couple of crafts. The kids all come away with a small pumpkin, a honey bear full of soybeans, corn, and wheat, a bookmark, and a straw filled with local honey. We also had a hayride, which probably made all the hot sun and listening to the adults talk on and on worth it for the kids.
On Wednesday, RJ receive the Special ME award for his classroom. Special ME is given to a student in each classroom each month to recognize their contributions to the classroom through responsible and kind actions and hard work on their schoolwork. The kids get a donut, a water bottle filled with coupons for free stuff from local restaurants, and a spirit stick for their backpacks. Way to go, kiddo! School pictures were also on Wednesday, so I was able to get RJ not to wear a dinosaur t-shirt for the presentation--instead he wore a dinosaur button-down.
On Friday Ryleigh had open gym to make up for a gymnastics class she missed. We get home from open gym around 9:15, which makes Saturday morning a little more painful than usual. But, we were still up and at 'em, as RJ had coding at 9:30, Ryleigh had ballet at 11:00, and RJ had a birthday party at 11:00. Jip had to go to a retirement ceremony that morning, so Ryleigh went with me to coding and knocked out a couple tasks from her homework matrix. I then dropped her off at ballet, entrusting her to another parent there. I ran RJ across town to the birthday party. I then went back to ballet and hung out while Ryleigh did her thing. Jip picked up RJ at the party and we met at a restaurant for lunch. Then we all headed out to find Jip some steel-toed shoes he can wear with khakis. We didn't find what Jip needed in the store, but the kids got new shoes out of it. We then did a little clothes shopping for Jip to make sure he has clothes to go with those steel-toed shoes that are arriving from Amazon later this week. When we pulled back into the neighborhood, the annual neighborhood party was in full force. I didn't RSVP, as I was thinking we may miss it (and maybe didn't feel like going ;) ). But, the kids were welcomed onto the climbing wall and the bouncy square and at the Hawaiian ice food truck. So, Jip and I hung out in our cul-de-sac (oh yeah--Jip also climbed the wall once) and let the kids wear themselves out.
Sunday allowed us to divide and conquer the morning. I took RJ to Ninja Zone and Jip took Ryleigh back to Hunt Club Farm for a birthday party. Ryleigh was so excited to get to hold the chickens and feed the goats since they didn't get to do that on the field trip.
Monday was a virtual learning day. Thanks to Hurricane Florence closing school for four days, we have to make up some time missed. So, we have virtual learning days, where the kids stay home from school, but complete assignments. The middle school kids and high school kids get to take home their Chromebooks and just do regular schoolwork. Elementary school is a little more challenging and the teachers had to get creative. Ryleigh did something on Citizenship. She make a list of the ways she was a good citizen on Sunday. Then she drew some pictures and we made a poster presentation with the pictures form the birthday party to show being fair and diligent and trustworthy. RJ's assignment was about matter, so he had to go somewhere and pick up track and complete a matrix about the properties of the matter. RJ also did a poster presentation with photos of the trash he took and some facts about glass, metal, and other types of trash he picked up in our local park. Both kids did a nice job. It was a little tough convincing RJ that he needed to do more than the minimum (completing the matrix), but he felt accomplished when it was done and we think he learned a little something.
We were so busy this week, RJ asked me if we could have a normal week this week. It will be nearly normal, but we are throwing in family photos with our favorite local photographer on Saturday. And Jip leaves for Maine/New Hampshire on Sunday for his week of observation of a shipyard inspection. But, hopefully we can find some time in there just to chill and do our normal, everyday things, like reading for 20 minutes or playing with Legos. As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
Ryleigh had her first ever field trip on Tuesday. The trip was to a local "farm" that is more tourism than farm, but they make it work. I'm guessing they receive an educational grant or two from the state, and the state sends some cooperative extension folks to help talk to the kids about the animals. Volunteer farmers, dairy farmers, foresters, and gardeners help the kids learn a little bit about everything and even do a couple of crafts. The kids all come away with a small pumpkin, a honey bear full of soybeans, corn, and wheat, a bookmark, and a straw filled with local honey. We also had a hayride, which probably made all the hot sun and listening to the adults talk on and on worth it for the kids.
On Wednesday, RJ receive the Special ME award for his classroom. Special ME is given to a student in each classroom each month to recognize their contributions to the classroom through responsible and kind actions and hard work on their schoolwork. The kids get a donut, a water bottle filled with coupons for free stuff from local restaurants, and a spirit stick for their backpacks. Way to go, kiddo! School pictures were also on Wednesday, so I was able to get RJ not to wear a dinosaur t-shirt for the presentation--instead he wore a dinosaur button-down.
On Friday Ryleigh had open gym to make up for a gymnastics class she missed. We get home from open gym around 9:15, which makes Saturday morning a little more painful than usual. But, we were still up and at 'em, as RJ had coding at 9:30, Ryleigh had ballet at 11:00, and RJ had a birthday party at 11:00. Jip had to go to a retirement ceremony that morning, so Ryleigh went with me to coding and knocked out a couple tasks from her homework matrix. I then dropped her off at ballet, entrusting her to another parent there. I ran RJ across town to the birthday party. I then went back to ballet and hung out while Ryleigh did her thing. Jip picked up RJ at the party and we met at a restaurant for lunch. Then we all headed out to find Jip some steel-toed shoes he can wear with khakis. We didn't find what Jip needed in the store, but the kids got new shoes out of it. We then did a little clothes shopping for Jip to make sure he has clothes to go with those steel-toed shoes that are arriving from Amazon later this week. When we pulled back into the neighborhood, the annual neighborhood party was in full force. I didn't RSVP, as I was thinking we may miss it (and maybe didn't feel like going ;) ). But, the kids were welcomed onto the climbing wall and the bouncy square and at the Hawaiian ice food truck. So, Jip and I hung out in our cul-de-sac (oh yeah--Jip also climbed the wall once) and let the kids wear themselves out.
Sunday allowed us to divide and conquer the morning. I took RJ to Ninja Zone and Jip took Ryleigh back to Hunt Club Farm for a birthday party. Ryleigh was so excited to get to hold the chickens and feed the goats since they didn't get to do that on the field trip.
Monday was a virtual learning day. Thanks to Hurricane Florence closing school for four days, we have to make up some time missed. So, we have virtual learning days, where the kids stay home from school, but complete assignments. The middle school kids and high school kids get to take home their Chromebooks and just do regular schoolwork. Elementary school is a little more challenging and the teachers had to get creative. Ryleigh did something on Citizenship. She make a list of the ways she was a good citizen on Sunday. Then she drew some pictures and we made a poster presentation with the pictures form the birthday party to show being fair and diligent and trustworthy. RJ's assignment was about matter, so he had to go somewhere and pick up track and complete a matrix about the properties of the matter. RJ also did a poster presentation with photos of the trash he took and some facts about glass, metal, and other types of trash he picked up in our local park. Both kids did a nice job. It was a little tough convincing RJ that he needed to do more than the minimum (completing the matrix), but he felt accomplished when it was done and we think he learned a little something.
We were so busy this week, RJ asked me if we could have a normal week this week. It will be nearly normal, but we are throwing in family photos with our favorite local photographer on Saturday. And Jip leaves for Maine/New Hampshire on Sunday for his week of observation of a shipyard inspection. But, hopefully we can find some time in there just to chill and do our normal, everyday things, like reading for 20 minutes or playing with Legos. As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
