Fall Sports...

We had a very busy season with Fall Sports.  Rita played soccer, Grace played volleyball (she is in the pink knee pads) and Sam played tee ball.

 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Vol 39)

"Excuse me ma'am"

Me:  Yes?

"Your baby has a sucker in her hair"

Me:  Yes, I know.  I am waiting until I get home to get it out.

 

September 2013

Kids back at school and I am home with Clara and Ellen during the days.

They love to play in our front yard any chance we get.

 Typical scene in my kitchen

 On her new Chatterbox phone with her NEW outfit from Mrs. Hall!

 In September, my college roommate came to town overnight.  I loved getting to see her for a bit.  Christy and I have some great, great memories and history together.  She is such a caring, interested and fun friend. 

Skins V Lions!

We have some new neighbors (with children!!) that are great.  I am so thankful for them in our neighborhood.  They are super thoughtful and generous and they asked Nate to come to a Redskins game with Matt!  It wasn't just a Skins game, it was a Skins versus Lions game!!  They are from Michigan like Nate so they all routed for the Lions.  Nate took a lot of photos of everything that their suite had from food to the amazing view!

 

Food everywhere!

Great seats!

If you read my blog and you are local, you will probably crack up at this like I did.  Nate took a photo of the Merrifield Garden Center suite.  That is hilarious that they have a suite in the stadium!

Redskins plates (I really, really appreciated these photos and details!)

Back to School Time

Open House to meet our teachers!

 

Grace in 4th grade

Rita in 2nd Grade

 

Sam in Kindergarten

 

Clara in the Sonogram Office with mommy

 

1st Day BACK to SCHOOL!

 

The girls love to dress up Clara. 

Who says a baby can't wear a uniform too?

Cape Cod Summers

Our family is making some wonderful memories in Cape Cod each summer.  My children are growing up loving the beautiful town that my mom grew up in. 

There isn't a price tag attached to that!  Here are a few photos to just capture a little bit of heaven on earth.  Thank you Nana and Pop!

12 grandkids and one more to come!

Busy Busy Baby

He BEGS us for a dog all the time.

Afternoon kite flying!  My brother also had a hilarious flying shark that looked like a blimp that the kids ran away from in a homemade video.  

After Grandpa died this past year, Grandma moved into a beautiful facility.  She is doing excellent and loves her new home.  They have activities, outings and wonderful food.  We met her in the "country kitchen" for lunch one day.  She wasn't overwhelmed at all.  That's my Gram - she had five children herself, worked part time, and maintained a social life!

Clara on a ride. 

A new tradition this year that we started was to have family story time.  Starting a month before our trip, we began asking the kids what stories they wanted to hear.  We compiled a Google document of all the stories.  Top of the list was Papa falling off of the Navy ship into the shark infested waters in 1970 and my brother Donnie getting mugged in Brazil on the beach in high school.  Here he is, telling the kids about the knife that got held up to his throat.  The kids LOVED this time and really got into it.  We were very intentional about doing this.

Always a highlight of the trip is the Falmouth Road Race.  These were the 2013 runners from our family.  Of course, many of our cousins and aunts and uncles ran also.  We have a large extended family party after the race to hand out awards to the runners.  

Cousins

This year, more than ever, the cousins really began developing friendships and memories.  Here are a few shots that I captured when I had the camera!