Apple Orchard (Grace)

 On September 16th I had the great fortune to be able to go with Grace on her first field trip.  It was early enough in the school year that it was fairly easy to take a personal day to be with her.

 We got to ride on the school bus to Showalter's Orchard.  Grace was a bit confused because we go to another orchard every year so she was expecting that one, instead of this new orchard that we had never been to.

 We got to see apple trees, pumpkins, and sunflowers.

We went on a wagon ride around the orchard and into their storage, sorting, and cider making buildings.

 We even got to pick our own apple.

 Grace got a good one (but she is afraid to eat it, since the last time she ate a whole apple she lost a tooth.  So I think that she believes that every time she eats an apple she will loose another tooth.)

On the ride back she wanted to take a selfie of her and her teacher.  Thank you Mrs. Blosser for being willing to help her in that way.  What a great day it was!

First Day Of School for Grace

 Grace started Kindergarten on August 25, 2015.  She is in a dual immersion program where half of the day is taught in Spanish and half in English.  She is already coming home singing and talking in Spanish.

 She is loving school and through the communication I have with her teachers it seems that it has been a good and smooth transition.

 I can already see a change in her actions and behavior after only three weeks of school, a classroom structure, and all the expectations of the teacher that have filtered back to home (good ones).

Wow, Kindergarten has started!  Time has flown by!

Watering Plants

Glen has a favorite chore around the house.  It is to water daddy's plants.  And he will do it often, for a long time, and very thoroughly!  He is a big helper.

Dancing In The Rain

 Dancing barefoot in the rain...

A great way to spend a summer day!

Grace: Growing Up

My little girl is growing up and this summer proved it.

 She has found and made some great friends in our neighborhood where she will ask to go to their house, or they will come and knock to see if Grace can come out to play.

It just seems like a big step to send her out to play with the kids.

 She lost her first tooth in July.

 Our neighbor has a fairy garden in her yard.  Grace had the idea to put her tooth in the garden so that the fairy can come and get it.

The "fairy" came, took the tooth and left a quarter and a ladybug.

And now we are getting ready for Kindergarten,

She is getting so big!

Photoshoot

 Every year we try to have a picture taken of all of the Kiser grandkids.  This year we took and evening out of our summer plans and used my neighbor's beautiful backyard as a backdrop to have our yearly photo shoot.

I think it turned out very well!

Lake Sherando

This summer we did not go to the beach or take a big vacation as a family.  But we did make time to do a few short trips to local areas.  One of those was a Sunday trip to Lake Sherando.

 It is a lovely lake with a sandy beach and it is only about 45 minutes away from our houses.

 Grace loved the water and was floating in it almost the whole time.

Glen was content to play in the sand and shoot people who were passing by with the water from the edge of the lake. 

 Amy and I relaxed in the chairs that Matt and Adam built for us.

 Adam made many things in the sand that day.

 After a nice lunch in the grassy area,

We said good bye to the sand and headed home.

Another great trip is in the books.