Monticello

Living in Virginia we have the joy to be surrounded by our nation's history.  One day in October, Matt had not started his new job yet and I had a day off of work, also the kids were off of school so we decided to explore some of this history.

We drove an hour down the interstates to Charlottesville and went to Monticello which is the home of Thomas Jefferson.  The author of the Declaration of Independence and the President of the United States.

 The tour of the house was amazing and very informative.  Grace loved to compare the tour to the children's tour booklet.  She was very into matching everything in her booklet to the item in the house.

 After the inside of the house we went to look at the kitchens, pantries, and the gardens.

 The house is beautiful and wonderfully kept up.  We learned so much about this amazing man who was knowledgeable about so very many of subjects.

 The gardens were a favorite of all of us because we got to be outside, run around, and learn about all of the plants that were growing on the grounds.

 This is the kids with the man himself!

 But here is the best part of the day.  We went to the Griffin Museum.  This is a please touch me museum that has the kids tryout and participate in the items that Jefferson did.  For instance the blocks below helped demonstrate architecture.

 The cooking pot demonstrated the slave quarters and how they lived.

 Games, sayings, and portraits were everywhere.

 Glen found a cypher that was used to send messages.

 And Grace learned how to weave.

They had so much fun and we were happy to have a day trip as a family.

Grace 2nd Grade

Glen Kindergarten

Pumpkin Patch

 It has become a tradition for our family to find a pumpkin patch in the fall and enjoy what the farm has to offer.  This year once again we went to Back Home On The Farm.  Grace and Glen love it there and actually so do Matt and I.  These pictures are out of order, but it will at least tell the events of the day.  We found the wagon train and Grace and Glen got to go for a nice ride.

 

 But there were so few people at the farm that we got to go again...

 And again.  That is the nice thing about going early in the season (yes, we went in September...I am late on my writing).  So few people means many rides, and no lines!

 No lines for the long, underground slide meant that the kids had ride after ride after ride they slid down, and ran up the hill to do it again.  They were so tired when we got home!

 Glen and I had a rubber ducky race with water pumps.  He won.

Grace and Glen also raced in the "hamster wheels"  When they were racing each other Grace won. 

However, when Grace and Glen worked together they easily beat me. 

 We tried out the corn maze.  I am glad that I thought to have Matt take a picture of the map of the maze before we entered so that we did not get terribly lost at all.

 Grace loved being our leader and holding up our "we need help" flag.

 And as we do every year, we try to get on good picture of the kids in front of a festive scene.

Other activities we did involved watching the pig races, visiting the petting zoo, and many other activities.

I love this tradition and am looking forward to next year.

Second and Kindergarten

 WOW!  Where has the time gone?  These kids can not be this big or old yet!  This year Grace is in Second Grade.  She has Mrs. Lugo and Mrs. Ours.  She is loving school and learning a lot.

 Glen...can you believe it?  He is in Kindergarten!  He has Ms. Sleight and Ms. Diaz.  He loves school and is coming home each day with a new spanish word or song that he learned that day.

To celebrate the first day of school we went out and got some Klines ice cream.  It was a wonderful way to end a great day.  What a good way to start off the school year.  I hope it is a great one!

Rockingham County Fair

 In December 2016 I decided that I wanted to teach Grace how to cross stitch.  I knew it would not be easy but we started.  I also decided that since my mom started me out with my birth flower, I would start Grace out the same way with a poinsettia that only has two colors.  It took till August, but she finally got it done.  See how proud she is.

 In August, the fair came.  So there were lots of activities,

 pictures,

 and rides.  Grace and Glen got to go on four rides this year and they had a blast.  They loved the swings the best.  But you can see the fun on their face from this first ride that they had that night.

So back to the cross stitch.  We decided that since it was finished in time, we would enter that into the county fair.  We also entered one of Grace's pieces of art (a water color painting), and some biscuits that she made.  Glen has been wanting to bake more and more.  I think he wants to enter something next year too.

The biscuits won second place.  Nice work!

 The cross stitch (though it did not have an actual category to be placed in) won first place in the category that fit the best.

 Her sea turtle watercolor painting won first place and also best in show for art ages 8 and under.  I was AMAZED!

She worked so hard.  And it has paid off.

 My two little animals at the fair.

 Glen and Grace wanted to do a mock fireman drill.  They pulled dummys, shot water out of hoses, pulled rope and many other things.  Here is the wonderful fireman helping Glen save the person from a dangerous area.  He did a great job.  (So did Grace, but I did not get a picture)

Here is Grace's loot (minus the winner's check).  Now what shall we do for next year?

Reading Programs at the Library

 Once again we participated in the summer reading program at the local library.  They always have amazing shows.  At the start of the summer we saw Elephant and Piggie, the Musical!  Grace and Glen love Elephant and Piggie so that was a hit.

Then we read the summer away.  We did a few more activities but not too many.  At the end of the summer we went to the Sciencetellers show.  They are scientists that are story tellers.  So they tell a story with experiements scattered within the story.  Grace was called up to do an experiement and she had a blast.  This sciencetellers was about two kids being trapped on a pirate ship.  I love how our library brings reading, science, stories, and learning alive for the kids.

Highland

 Grace went to Highland Retreat Camp this past summer.  She went for three days and two nights.  It was her first time at mini camp and she had a great time.

 She was in Maple Cabin and had such a wonderful time.  She loved making pancakes over the fire.

 She liked sleeping in the cabin.  She began the time on the top bunk of the cabin.  When I went to pick her up, she was on the bottom bunk beside the counselor.  But she slept better there.

 The counselors went on a nature hike with them.  They were looking for animals that talked like Narnia.  That was one of the stories that I heard a lot about.  I think that was a memorable time.

In the picture L to R Emma, Emma Grace, Elena, ?, Grace, Corinna, ?, Amy, Raven, ?

She is already looking forward to camp next year.

 Here Grace is at their final program where each cabin did a skit.  Grace is in the green shirt.

 Grace and Emma, a friend from church.

 Maple cabin.  Her first cabin at Highland.

And here she is with her counselors Elena and Amy.  What a great time!