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!

Trip to Oregon {part 2}

The second part of our trip to Oregon was spent mostly in Redmond where both Nana and my aunt's family live.  Nana had a delicious lunch waiting for us when we pulled up and unloaded.  Aunt Karen, Uncle David, and my cousin, Kaylene, were also there waiting for us!

Then it was off to the third COUSIN CAMP!!  This was Bridgette's first year to be old enough to go.  The kids were super excited!  Kaye K and Big Daddy took the kids to a house they'd rented for four days of games, swimming, devotionals, treats,  singing, crafting, and fun!

The Cousin Camp theme this year was Kindness

While the kids were away, I got to hang back and stay in Nana's lovely home with my sister (and our matching water bottles) and nephew

Aunt Karen took us on a short hike down to a beautiful waterfall!  

Leo experienced his first American county fair, and Aubyn and I were, um . . . stunned . . . as we watched our first rodeo - oh my!

Is there an age limit to sisters wearing matching outfits?!  This is what happens when Aunt Karen and Nana watch Leo and we get to shop at Target together =)

The Cousin Camp Crew! 

Homemade ice cream at Nana's! 

Lovely Nana with six of her nine great-grandchildren.  She hosted Aubyn and I with all these kiddos for the night!

After Redmond, we had a few more days in Portland before returning home.

Kaye K took us to the zoo!  We saw many animals up and moving around, and the place was basically empty of visitors. 

Then we met up with Big Daddy for some yummy New York style pizza! 

And a famous Salt-N-Straw ice cream experience - delicious!!

The kids and I took one more trip to the coast

We decided to build in the sand, using our watermelon tupperware and an empty coffee cup for tower shaping.

We saw Konnor, Tana, and the boys on our last night in town.  Rooke and Finnick had fun playing pokemon toys together.

One last goodnight story time with Big Daddy 

Our trip back home was almost identical to the trip out in reverse, but this time our five-hour layover plus the one-hour delay was spent in a lounge we weren't expecting to experience.  After hearing an announcement on the loud speaker, the kids and I went searching for the USO lounge and were greeted with a quiet, comfortable space to relax during our layover - hooray!  Thank you, USO!  And thank you to our favorite military member who serves and was waiting for us on the other end of the flight home =)