Labor Day Weekend in the Country

For labor day weekend we headed to Southwest Virginia. The first stop was to see Uncle Mike... ... and Aunt Ieda. We went with them to Macado's for lunch. I remember eating at the old location when I was in high school and then the current location when I was an undergraduate student at Tech and then later when Chris and I first started dating. Now I see it as a great place to take little kids.
We spent the weekend at my parent's house.
Wesley and Lydia were excited to go on a walk soon after we got there.

They like running around in the big fields.

Time for a quick rest break.

Here is Wesley with my mom.

My aunt Estelle.

I had Josiah wrapped up with a blanket because it was a little chilly there.

This is what I ate for breakfast on Sunday. I didn't eat the whole thing but I had a huge a piece of ice cream cake. We went to brunch at Chateau Morrisette which was a buffet full of yummy food. That evening my mom and I walked up and down her driveway five times. I hope that three mile walk helped burn off some of those calories.

The kids also cake for breakfast and then at lunch time they had waffles with whipped cream and syrup at the winery. They thought it was a great day.

Before going to brunch, we went to Mabry Mill.

My uncle Kenneth (who was also celebrating his birthday), Estelle, Mom, and Dad.

It was a great weekend. Here is a short video of Wesley practicing hula hooping.

Gelling In the New School Year

Last week Lydia returned to preschool. She loved it.

She has grown a lot in the past year. This is a picture from the start of preschool last year.

Here is Lydia with her assistant teacher (who doesn't look very happy in this photo but she is usually happy and cheerful). After the first day, she told me, "Lydia has such a great imagination."

I was a little freaked out the first day because her teachers were squirting the kids' hands with sanitizing gel as soon as they walked in the door. Lydia told me they only do it first thing in the morning and I hope she is right. I really hope they aren't constantly squirting their hands with that gel. I think it is sufficient to just have the kids wash their hands after they go to the potty.

Here is Lydia and her teacher.
Wesley has also grown a lot in the past year.

Full day kindergarten is wearing him out which I knew it would. He went to bed at 7:00 on Thursday night and when I woke him up at 7:00 AM he said, "I should have gone to bed at 5:00." Friday night he went to bed at 6:40. I know he will soon get used to the longer day.

Wesley loves kindergarten. On Friday I asked him, "What was your favorite thing today?" He replied, "It is all my favorite. I like everything." They haven't started any real work yet so we will see how long this feeling lasts. He loves learning and has been happy to share some of the things he has learned at school.

Name That Instrument

Here is a video featuring Josiah.

First Day of Kindergarten

Last night I felt nervous about Wesley's first day of kindergarten and about the Hokies. Thankfully his day went much better than the game last night. I knew Wesley would love school but I still had some butterflies.

Here he is in his "chapel uniform". He loves the tie. He said to me, "Remember when I wore a tie on the cruise ship?" Posing with Lydia.

I am so thrilled that one of his friends is in his class.

I got a little teary-eyed as we walked into the school and to his classroom. I thought I was going to lose all control but thankfully I was able to regain my composure.

Lydia walked over to Wesley's desk to give him a goodbye hug and kiss.

You can see the excitement on his face.

As soon as all the kids were seated, one little girl asked, "Are we going to recess now?" The parents all laughed about that!

The parents were invited to attend the chapel service. The Pastor talked about Psalm 1:1-5. Verse one says, Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
He explained the first verse to the children and told them that mockers make fun of other people. He said at their school no one should be made of fun. That they should love and care for everyone.

I was so happy to hear him explain the verse in simple terms and tell the children what the expectations were for their behavior. Of course I know that just listening to the pastor will prevent or stop mocking but I am pleased that the school focuses on loving others. We are all sinners who need God's forgiveness and His help with loving others.

Lydia took this picture. She never has a very flattering angle.

By the end of the chapel service, Wesley had his shirt un-tucked. He said he tucked in his shirt a couple of times during the day but it didn't stay. This is his after school picture.

I asked him, "What was your favorite thing about school?" He responded, "Everything!" He later told Chris, "I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow!" When it was time for him to put the clean silverware away he said, "Now that I am in kindergarten I am not going to grumble and complain about doing the silverware." Ahh, the euphoria of being in kindergarten.

Wesley enjoyed one of the chocolate cookies that Lydia and I made while he was in school.

I am so thankful he had a wonderful day!

A Banjo and A New Playground

Today is the last day of summer vacation. (Well, there is this weekend and Labor Day but this is the last non-holiday, non-weekend day of summer vacation.) I wanted to take the kids somewhere today since it was the last day of the just the kids and me before school starts. I decided to try Jammin Java for the first time. The Bango Man plays every Friday at 10:30. So, for $5 a person the kids got a little taste of some of the music I heard when I was a kid. I remember my grandmother singing part of this song.

Lydia got upset because she couldn't hold hands with Wesley for Ring Around the Roses because at first he was holding hands with Jonathan and Alexandra.
So, Wesley just found another cute little red head to dance with him.

Vi held Josiah most of the concert. The Bango Man just put him to sleep. Alexandra held him briefly.
At the end Lydia did get up dance with a streamer.

The Banjo Man let all the kids get a closer look at the banjo.
Lydia had a turn also.
Lydia and Wesley with The Banjo Man.
Vi asked me if I knew of any playgrounds nearby. I used my phone to find a great one less than a mile away.
I was surprised to see Lydia pumping on the swing.

The kids didn't spend a lot of time on the smaller set of equipment but it was nice.

Again, Vi held Josiah. I keep telling her she needs to come over and hold him while I cook dinner. She actually made us dinner twice during the first three weeks after he was born.

The kids liked pretending to drive. They also ran around like crazy for about an hour and a half.

This playground has great equipment, nice shade, and clean bathrooms. It is also very pretty.

It was a great morning and Wesley and Lydia took long naps after having a bath once we got home.

End of Summer Party

On Tuesday night, our neighborhood had an End of Summer Party. This party was mainly held because we could not have a National Night Out party this year. Why not? Because the management company for our home owners association would not send out any notifications for the party. Bizarre, I know. The board did some arm twisting and got a couple of emails sent out for the End of Summer Party.

Of course, the kids loved the moonbounce.
The local fire department came.
They brought two fire trucks and one ambulance.

I think the kids and the adults enjoyed seeing the trucks and talking with the fire fighters.

Here is Wesley in the ambulance.

Wesley asked a lot of questions.

He loved getting his picture taken while sitting in the trucks.

I think Lydia was having fun playing in the moonbounce or on the playground at this point. Josiah was just sleeping in his stroller.

We had hotdogs and hamburgers and then the ice cream truck came. There were a lot of families with young children at the party. I was pleased to see couples without kids there also.

Wesley and Lydia both wanted snow cones.

Here is a picture of the ice cream truck once the line had diminished.

While Chris was taking some pictures Wesley decided to try Daddy's treat. He convinced Daddy to switch with him.

It was a fun night. I think these community parties add to the quality of life in our neighborhood. It is always good to catch up with neighbors we haven't seen for a while and meet new neighbors. Or just eat ice cream with your next door neighbors.