Mommy's point of view

August has gone by in a whirlwind.  The kids started counting down the days left until school, and I think this Mommy was more excited than the kids for that day to come!  Things that were next to impossible with 4 could now start happening again like errands and doctor's appointments, and a Mommy Day Out :).

Josie was finally able to have her 18 month appointment which resulted in a shot.  A ring pop stopped the tears but here she is clutching that ring pop ready for an early nap I guess?  That shot wore her out!

I was very nervous for Jesse on Anna and Asher's first day of school. He doesn't start preschool until Sept. 10 and I feared lots of tears and tantrums as he watched them go off.  I plan to have something special for him every day, you know Mommy and Jesse time.  However, our 1st special day ended up like this when a fever popped up and the "throw ups".

After a few days though we were able to enjoy some of our special outings like to a animal park and carousel ride :).

Anna and Asher on their 1st day of 1st and 3rd grade.  So far they are LOVING it!  It is hard to get much info out of Asher but Anna sings me every song she learns in music, acts out the gym games, writes down the names of every friend she makes, and redoes her reactions to everything.  I am very excited about the teachers they each got...I think they are good fits and each will prosper in their respective classes.  We are extremely happy with the school system here! 3rd grade seems like a bit of a change, the homework load has increased and testing now occurs.  I am a bit nervous, we seem to be learning expectations right along with Asher but pray together with us, he will flourish.

 A true Mommy's day out!  That is me above in the orange jacket.  I got hooked up with some old sailing friends here and was able to crew on a 36 foot sailboat in a race on the Chesapeake. According to the skipper, I am welcome anytime now and hope to have more days like this! It was a wonderful day and I felt all the Mommy stresses melt away as we sailed out of the harbor.  I can't even put into words how wonderful this day was. It is so great to have sailing back in my life again! We came in 5th out of 32 boots so I think we did pretty amazing!

 My 1st time at the helm of a 36-footer.  I could barely see over the wheel!

Reuniting with my past sailing buddies and Wet Hens from Hawaii Sherrill and Donna.  Donna was our hook up for this amazing sailing adventure.

So much to say...

Every year I feel July is the month where I get backed up with adventures and pictures to share.  I guess it makes since with birthdays and anniversaries and vacations.  I sat here wondering how to share all that has happened and just decided to do a quick run down with pictures and short explanations....not really how I like to do things (short) but it is better than getting further behind!  So here it goes.

11 years and counting!  Joel's Aunt and Uncle took the kids for a night and we got to have a wonderful time out.  We went to a local winery for a tour, dinner, and tasting.  We loved the place!   For anyone in the area, Paradise Springs Winery is a must!

 We also got another round of visitors...Uncle Caleb and Auntie Amanda from Australia.  After looking through our pictures it doesn't seem we were very good at capturing them in many pictures.  However, we did plenty of sight seeing which I have lots of photos of!  This is a picnic at "Gravely Park" where we got to watch planes take off right over us - it was awesome.  The plane looks way too far away in this picture.  Trust me, it was great!

 We were very thankful for these sprinklers after a hot day of sight seeing in DC!

I love hippos :).  We are at the Museum of Natural History.

 We realized that the Red Skins training camp is in the same town we live in.  Once that was discovered, Joel, Uncle Caleb, and the kids were out the door in record time.  Jesse used his sweet smile and puppy dog eyes to score some autographs.

One of my favorite days was our chill day at the pool.  Despite our lack of pictures with Caleb and Amanda, our kids adore them and Josie was all over Uncle Caleb's beard.  The day they left the kids kept saying how much they missed them.  Amanda is a wonderful and talented photographer and we are overjoyed at some shots she took for us.  We can't wait to share the final products, including some with the girls in my wedding dress!