October in Review

The girls played on the same soccer team this fall.  It was Bridgette's first time to play and she did great!

We enjoyed an evening with Uncle Tim while he was in town!

Making music together 

 A joint effort in learning my recipe for chocolate chip cookies

We had an unusually warm day.  Our girls and their neighbor friends decided it was the perfect opportunity to set up their first lemonade stand. 

Cheers!  A complete success for these sweet friends. 

A field trip to the Museum of the American Indian to learn more about the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

A highlight of the month was a special surprise from G-Daddy and Grammy Deb!  The kids had no idea they were coming!  We were grateful they made us their final stop in a New England tour.

Trying out a new frisbee game with G-Daddy

Happy Birthday Ryan!! 

 A fun Sunday afternoon outing to an apple orchard with friends from our church small group

She was committed to getting the good apples way up high!

Ryan came up with creative way to rig the ladder so I could paint the stairwell!

We hosted friends for Halloween, joining for dinner and then sending the kids out to trick-or-treat with the dads while the moms passed out candy.  Bridgette as "Dorothy" with her friend, "Toto". =)

Dorothy, Wendy (from the fast food restaurant!), and Boba Fett

Gretchen was a bit disgruntled that everyone thought she was also dressed up as Dorothy, but the mounds of candy made up for the initial disappointment!

The aftermath of candy trading in our living room!

September

September started out with a return to Family Camp!  The weekend provided a great time for playing as a family and with lots of friends at a beautiful Young Life facility just over the border in New York.  

These father/son football teams are a good match!

Rooke took one (or more!) pie-in-the-face for the team.  Meaning, he loves me so much he let the kids pie him instead of me =)

Our last summer fun adventure was to the Natural History Museum on a day when admission to the butterfly room is free.  It was amazing to walk among hundreds of butterflies!

My cutie helper while running errands

The girls all set for their first soccer game

I made a special dinner and dessert for our back-to-school family dinner.  I'm grateful to still be homeschooling, and this year with the support of a new co-op that we are enjoying.

This is more normal for us . . .

First day of school!  Our co-op meets two days a week and requires that the kids wear a uniform.

First grade cutie

Third grade beauty

Fifth grade stud

Grateful for a friend who doesn't balk at the idea of Starbucks being the first stop on a field trip with our collective seven children!

A trip to the C&O Canal was interesting while learning about the Erie Canal in our history reading.  We packed a picnic dinner to enjoy afterwards, and then went to opening night (pay what you can!) of a musical performance of Blueberries for Sal.  Not my favorite stage adaptation of a book, but a fun way to experience the theater with the kids.

Lots of rain resulted in a raging Potomac River

Another field trip to the Maryland Science Center

The month ended with an amazing date scavenger hunt that Jessie made for us, which included frisbee golf, a walk through some cool sites on UMD campus, and a fun game cafe - so fun!

August was Fun!

One of the perks of living in lots of places is making lots of friends!  And one of the perks of living near a destination city is seeing said friends who make DC a vacation spot!  We met the Selley family at church in England.  Jo and I became dear friends through our weekly Bible study group.  I was so grateful they agreed to spend one of their vacation evenings in our home!

We were blessed to spend another birthday with Gramma!  In keeping with tradition, we met Steve and Vallerie at McDonald's for a hamburger birthday party - her favorite =)

 The girls and some friends worked on a "tree fort" near our house

Unlike our previous rental house, we now live near some flat sidewalk space and the girls have enjoyed riding their bikes more.

We love getting letters from our Compassion sponsor kids!! 

Doing a little work together at our new (from Craigslist) picnic table! 

A kind friend dropped of a tablecloth for our new picnic table just in time for our picnic lunch.

The kids and I rode the metro to meet Ryan for a dinner picnic on the Potomac before cashing in our free Nationals tickets from the library.  The weather was perfect for a late night of baseball. 

A new piece of furniture brought this creative girl a couple hours of imaginative play

Rooke and I scored the game Master Mind (which I played as a kid!) at the thrift store and we all have been playing it multiple times a day since.  It does involve a bit of luck and on this rare occasion, Rooke literally guessed the code on his first turn!  

It's rare to find any of my kids sitting.  Alone.  Quietly.  =)

Ryan had the opportunity to preach at a small church, which was near an area known for good Chinese food.  We picked a place for lunch that did not disappoint in the dumpling and traditional Chinese food department - yum!