Santa or Jesus??

The other day we were riding down the glass elevator at the mall in an effort to catch a glimpse of Santa at a safe distance (Virginia is rather terrified of the man in the red suit.) I heard Aubrey say, "Cheeesuz!" Aubrey's vocabulary has been a bit slow at the uptake, so half the time we're still trying to figure out what he is so adamantly trying to tell us. The thought went through my head, "does he think Santa is Jesus?" Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed the other day. As we were pulling out of my sister-in-law's driveway, we all looked over at the neighbor's large blow-up Santa yard decoration, and Aubrey yells out....very clearly this time...."Jesus!" Oh dear. Well, I suppose it's better than him seeing the manger scene and yelling out, "Santa!"

Sunsets and smiles

We spent most of yesterday outside. The weather was warm, the fall leaves were sharing the love, and the children were happy. To cap off a lovely day, we were blessed with a beautiful sunset. I couldn't resist capturing Nia and Aubrey's game of "my ball" on camera.

A conversation between siblings

I just overheard the following conversation in the other room:

Nia: "Aubrey do you love me?"
Aubrey replies, "yes."
Nia: "and you'll never, ever be mad at me?"
Aubrey: "yes."
Nia: "ever?"
Aubrey: "yes."

Sweet words......we'll see how long it lasts! :)

New skirts for Nia

I whipped up a couple of new skirts for Virginia on the sewing machine this afternoon. They were quite easy to make and so cute! I got the idea from the blog, http://soulemama.typepad.com/.....don't quite remember how I came upon this blog but it was through a friend. :) Soule mama had a link to the free pattern for these skirts...http://www.oliverands.com/blog/2008/08/lazy-days-skirt-free-pattern.html. I was immediately inspired.

Jesus is my friend

The Patience of Baz Dog

As I was cooking dinner the other night, I had to sternly tell Aubrey, "Aubrey, don't drive over the dog (with your scooter)!" Poor, patient Bazarov. She has been the receiver of much Aubrey love over the past year. I began thinking back on other "do not's" that have surfaced between Aubrey and the Baz Dog.

"Aubrey, don't sit on the dog!"
"Aubrey, don't pull Bozzie's tail!"
"Aubrey, don't eat Bozzie's food - your dinner is coming!"
"Aubrey, please don't lick the dog's tongue!"
"Aubrey, be GENTLE! Don't hit the dog! The dog is not a drum!"
"Aubrey, Bazarov does NOT need to eat play dough, nor do you!"
"Dude, Bozzie's back is not a train track!"
"Be careful! the dog is not a bridge for you to crawl under!"

Aubrey's response: "hah, hah, huh, hah. DOOOH, dah, DOOOH dah!"

Bazarov just gives me that look that says, "Save me!"

Cousins

Virginia's Pizza Prayer

"Dear God, thank you for this wonderful day! Thank you for this delicious food! Amen."

P.S. - As I was crawling into bed last night I thought of one more "money well spent" item....my contour memory foam pillow.

Money Well Spent

My sister-in-law, Andrea, called me this afternoon inquiring about where to purchase a travel sound machine similar to the Marsona one we own. I told her it was definitely worth every penny. We are a family who loves to travel and this small piece of electronic equipment goes with us wherever we go......along with the ear plugs and Tylenol PM.

As I was spending yet another afternoon painting in the apartment building that we now own (and are working to get fixed up and rented as quickly as possible), I began to ponder on other household items that I have deemed as money well spent.

Here goes:

1. The i-phone. I could go on and on. Here are some of my favorite highlights:
- Movie entertainment for squirrelly children on long flights.
- Ordering take out at home and while traveling....finding not only the website and phone number online, but also the fact that it pulls up a map of the location simultaneously.
- Weather forecasts
- Maps and routes
- Checking and deleting lots of junk mail so you don't have to when you get home.

2. My serrated tomato slicer knife. Also works great on soft fruits like strawberries and peaches.

3. The Keurig Coffee maker. Yes, you have to invest a little more money into the coffee K-cups, but talk about convenience! Plus, it also makes hot tea and cocoa!

4. My Shark 14.4 volt hand vacuum.....perfect for cleaning up left over crumbs and dirt on the floor, the high chair, the rug, or my kids. (Note: the higher voltage is key here.....none of this 7 volt rubbish.)

5. Lastly, the digital SLR camera. I used to get so frustrated when I would miss "the perfect moment" with our previous camera. No more! I love this camera.

A Day in Luray

Today's forecast called for beautiful weather. I decided to load up the kids and drive to Luray. We enjoyed a nice walk along the Hawksbill River followed by swimming at Lake Arrowhead. It couldn't have been nicer!

My Little Gardener

Colorado Vacation

While Dan was out Aslan Adventuring for two weeks, Nia, Aubrey and I flew out to Colorado to visit the fam. We had a wonderful time in Manitou Springs with Mom and John. We then hopped in the car and drove what is one of my all time favorite drives from the Springs to Crested Butte. I bought a Peter Himmelman children's cd in CO Springs so we had some good tunes to listen to on the drive. We weren't but ten miles outside Manitou Springs when I spilled an entire cup of coffee over myself and the borrowed car as we were dancing along to the "feet" song (a very fun song that I recommend to those with children - just be careful with your coffee.)

Crested Butte was a blast. Virginia had more fun dancing at the two outdoor concerts we attended. Aubrey felt the dance vibe a bit, too.

From Colorado we flew to Michigan for Amy Velker's wedding. Dan drove up from Virginia and met us at the airport.....we had enjoyed a fun vacation, but it was definitely nice to see Dan/Papa again! We had a great time catching up with the Velker family and frolicking in Portage Lake. After a quick weekend reunion, we were back in the car heading back to the promised land. A small tornado had torn through Elkton two days before we got home, so we arrived home only to be greeted by large, downed tree branches strewn about the yard. We were very thankful there was no damage to the house.

Here are some highlight pictures from the last two weeks:

Plastic Thunder Big Wheel Rally 2008

June 2008

The month of June was a bit of a whirlwind by my standards. We kicked off the month with a last minute weekend trip to the beach/river. Our friends have a house in Sandy Point, VA located at the mouth of the Potomac River. Aubrey and Nia enjoyed playing in the sand....the non-sticky variety, which is quite nice.

Mom and John came out from Colorado for a visit in mid-June. Thankfully they brought much cooler, pleasant weather along with them. We explored the Garden Maze in Luray, took an adventurous jaunt down the Shenandoah, celebrated Mark's birthday, and checked out the new Cross Keys Winery for Father's Day.

The next weekend we drove to a town near Fork Union, VA for the Summer Land Rover Rally. Despite Dan's Rover acting up a bit, we still had a good time, albeit rather HOT good times. Thankfully we were camped at a property along the James River so we really enjoyed cooling off in the water.

Virginia enjoyed attending VBS at our church the following week. One of the mornings while she was at Bible School, I played tennis with a good friend of mine. I hadn't played in probably ten years, but if felt great to get back out on the court! I'll close this post with a couple of cute pictures of Nia and Aubrey playing at home.

Plastic Thunder Big Wheel Rally

Following the recital on Sunday, Memorial Day marked the first official Big Wheel "Plastic Thunder" Race, an event that was thought up by Dan and hosted at our friend's home in Cross Roads Farm/Harrisonburg. It was a huge hit!

Nia's Dance Recital

There was all sorts of excitement this past weekend. On Sunday, Virginia performed in her first dance recital along with cousins Miriam and Emma. They were adorable!