The Kids March 1, 2021

Well, it has been a very unusual year for sure.  Grace has joined a school club (even though all of school has been virtual).  So her club is also virtual.  She chose to join the chess club.  She is learning a lot and enjoying it greatly.  She loves to play against her teacher, even though he always wins.

 Glen has decided that he needs to have his hair a little bit longer than I would usually desire.  The reason he wants this is so that he can use my hair gel and spike his hair to make it look like Calvin's hair from Calvin and Hobbes.  I think he is cute with his hair spiked....Well I think that Glen is always cute!

Friends February 21, 2021

 Grace with two great friends (and wonderful neighbors) Riley and Samantha.

Natural Chimneys January 10, 2021

To continue our hiking adventures, we decided to go to Natural Chimneys.  It is a fairly close structure that has a fairly easy hike and some wonderful views.

At the top we saw a great view of the mountains and the many other natural chimneys that stand near the one that the hike took us to the top of.

A great place at the top of the chimney for a snack and a break before we head back down to the bottom.

 

Cute December 30, 2020

 Just a cute picture of our cats.  Emmett (Left) and Penny (Right)

Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail December 23, 2020

Knowing that we are going to go to Glacier National Park in Montana this summer I want the kids to get used to hiking.  So my goal is to have one hike per month till our trip.

Our first hike that we did was the Blue Ridge Tunnel Trail.  This trail was built so that the Blue Ridge Railroad could get through the mountains and reach the Shenandoah Valley.  The construction was completed in 1858 and it is almost a mile long.

It is very dark in the tunnel (but you can always see the light at the end of the tunnel!)  So we took flashlights and were able to see the brick structure around us, the water that is coming down the walls.  The waterfall at the end of the tunnel was a nice surprise.  It was a great, flat, first hike to do with the kids as we prepare for this summer.
 

Birthday Party December 19-20, 2020

With social distancing happening.  With covid still being the major fear for many.  We are blessed that our kids have such great friends, so near by.  And we have felt comfortable to be with those friends during these uncertain times.  So when birthdays came around I asked if we could have those friends over to have a sleepover.

To prepare for the party, Grace and Samantha made the birthday cakes.  They did a very good job.  I just sat back and watched and of course took pictures.

After the cakes were done I iced the cakes with chocolate icing.  then part of what the kids chose to do at their party was to decorate the cakes with their friends.  So I provided jelly beans and sprinkles and let them have fun.

The boys were very generous with the jelly beans and sprinkles.  

The girls were a bit more careful with their decorations and went somewhat minimal.

These are the finished cakes.  Grace, Samantha, and Riley did the top one.  Glen, Kyle, and Keegan did the bottom one.

After decorating cakes, making pizza, eating pizza, and eating cake the kids decided to play tag outside in the snow with glow sticks.  They were out there for close to a half an hour which amazed me considering it was dark and cold.  But they had a great time with it.

We must have worn out these party animals.

As one of her presents, Grace got a mermaid blanket.  She wanted a picture of it.

After the glow in the dark tag the kids gathered down stairs to watch a movie with pop corn, then try to get at least a little sleep during the night.

It was the first sleep over my kids had ever had.  I think everyone had a great time.

 

Favorite Place December 18, 2020

Just a picture of our two very cute kittens on yet another favorite place in the house...

On Top Of The Refrigerator!

 

Cute Kids December 17, 2020

I am not sure when both of these pictures were taken.  I really doubt that they were taken on the same day!

But here are two very cute kids.  And when you have pictures of cute kids...you must post them!

 

Ice Skating December 6, 2020

I love living in a place where we have a chance to go ice skating for free.  

When I knew that we moved here we would try to take advantage of all of the extras that this town provides (free movies, free putt putt, free ice skating among many other things).  So when ice skating started I made sure to sign up my kids for ice skating lessons so that the kids would learn how to fall safely and also learn basics.

The kids excelled at the lessons and do really well with skating.  They love to get on the ice and I love that we have that option.
 

Decorations November 29, 2020

 

Cats November 22, 2020

 All of the cats in the house love the new cat tree that we got from Mike and Amy.  Grace even has her cat ears on so that she join the other cats on the tree.

Beginning to Look Like Christmas November 21, 2020

While getting ready to go ice skating at the Bridgewater ice rink, we decided to take a detour.

Right outside of the ice rink is the town's Christmas tree.  This tree is HUGE and beautiful!

So while I am getting the kids ready to ice skate, Grace is taking Glen's picture and Glen is taking Grace's picture.  I think that they both did a great job.

However, I think that this picture is my favorite because you can see a close up of my beautiful children and also you can see how very, very tall this tree really is.

Cats November 11, 2020

 Emmett and Penny in one of their favorite places in the house.

School at Mamaw's November 10, 2020

 How strange that this is how a "normal" school day looks for Grace during her fifth grade year.

Halloween October 31, 2020

Halloween looked a little different this year since, with Covid 19 around, no one wanted to trick or treat door to door.

So Bridgewater had their town soccer field set up with people at tables  to get candy from organizations who wanted to set up at the soccer field.  That way the individuals could keep a decent distance, still trick or treat, and have fun.  They also had an activity at the pavilion where the kids could decorate a pumpkin with face stickers.  It was a really fun activity.  I hope that they continue to do this even after Covid is gone.

Glen wanted to be a cat this year.  So he dressed in all black, I made him a tail, and I also made him furry ears.  He made sure his favorite stuffed cat made it into the picture too.  So here is cat Glen, and cat Grissom.

Grace also wanted to be a cat this year.  So she dressed in gray and black.  I made her a tail, I also made her furry ears.  Here she is posing with our many jack-o-lanterns.
 

Crazy Kids in Nature October 25, 2020

I believe that these are also pictures that are from the Fire Tower hike from the day before.  However, I think that these are pictures that Matt took and shared with me later.

These crazy kids found so many places and things to pose with for pictures along the way of our hike.

I love to see them having fun with nature.

 

Seven Bends Fire Tower Hike October 24, 2020

A great fall day to get out and see the beautiful leaves changing.  Nature is gorgeous!

We hiked up the Fire Tower in Woodstock and got to see the seven bends of the Shenandoah river.

The tower was a bit sketchy at times and I was not sure we should be up there, but man it was worth the view.  How beautiful it was!

I am glad that we are getting more hikes in, since we are stuck at home so much.

 

Self Portrait October 7, 2020

For art class, Grace had to draw a self portrait.  I think that she did a pretty good job considering she had to do it in her room, alone, with no additional suggestions or help from the teacher. 

 

Glen and Penny September 22, 2020

 

Family Trip to a Cabin September 19-20, 2020

Since I am on the board of Highland Retreat Campgrounds I get the chance to go to one of the cabins free of charge for one weekend a year.  So this weekend we decided to rent Dogwood cabin and get away from city life for awhile.

Most of our time we spent it around the campfire.  It was beautiful weather, but it was so nice to snuggle around the fire and cook around the fire.

The camp loaned us a ball for the ga-ga court and also some corn hole games.  The kids loved playing both of those games while Matt and I usually watched while warming up around the fire.

We did do some hiking during this time though.  We hiked the perimeter trail at camp that went by the lake and on the mountain ridge.

Silliness by the fire.  Those two are not going to be able to share a chair for much longer.

Even though the water was a little cold the kids made their way into the creek and caught some minnows and other creatures.

On another hike that we did, we got to the tree house.  The kids had never seen it before and were very surprised that there was an actual tree growing up through the middle of the house.

Here is a picture of Grace at the ramp up to the tree house.  I think that she was a bit excited that we had gotten to our destination.

This was a fantastic quick weekend away.  I hope that we can do it again in the future.