Six Flags

Every year we go to Six Flags in the fall for Ryan's Freddie Mac work party. The park is only open for Freddie Mac employees and a few friends that have connections. The boys look forward to it every year. This year we weren't so sure if we would actually get to go with the whole government take over. But when it came down to it they ended up rewarding the employees with a fun day at the amusement park. It was a bit rainy at times, but it didn't seem to slow the boy's down.

Matthew was oh so close to being tall enough to ride the Spiderman and Joker coasters the two tallest and biggest coasters at the park. He made sure to wear his Heely's with the wheels in them to make him just a couple of inches taller. But in the end, he was just a tad to short. He still managed to have fun with the traditional coasters, though.

Christopher was tall enough this year to go on a few of the coasters. He loved the water skelton ride, until it broke down on us and we had to sit on it for 45 minutes until we were escorted off.

Joshua and especially Thomas were in their glory with the kiddie rides. It didn't take Thomas long to figure out how fun the rides were. They loved the semi truck ride, Thomas didn't want to get off it.

It was a fun day!

Apple Picking

It's been a tradition in our family to go apple picking. Since living in Virginia our favorite place to go is Rinker's Orchard in Stephen City. Mrs Rinker has setup a portion of the Rinker Orchards for people to come and pick apples. She is a sweet older lady who has taken the time to chat with the boys. The boys love eating the limitless supply of apples while picking. After we finished picking the boys enjoyed their cidercicles.

With four boys we seem to eat the apples, long before the season is over. This year we decided to add an additional 1/2 bushel. The boys have enjoyed taking apples to school for lunches and snacks. I have enjoyed giving some away to neighbors and friends. And we have all enjoyed Ryan's yummy Apple Dumplings.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Me! I must say this year I LOVED being sang to by many people. Each time I heard it, I couldn't help but SMILE. Thanks to all of you, you sounded AMAZING!

I spent the morning teaching Christopher's first grade class. His teacher was in the hall testing the children individually. I had lunch with Christopher and returned later to have lunch with Matthew. I love being involved in the boy's schools.

I spent the afternoon on the phone being sung to and chatting with friends and family. Ryan also workded from home. It was nice to have his company throughout the day.

For dinner we made my new favorite meal Parmensan Chicken with Maggiano Sauce. YUMMY!

In the evening we went to Joshua's T-ball game. It was my first time getting to watch his game. The boys were so cute. They were so small. It was fun to watch them play baseball, when really they weren't so sure what they were suppose to be doing. But everyone did a good job. All of the kids were so proud of themselves when they hit the ball, got on base and then made it to home plate. It was a great way to end my Birthday.

After, the game we came home and ate my delicious cake. Ryan made me Rasberry Lemon this year.

BASEBALL, BASEBALL and More BASEBALL

With three in Baseball this season, it makes for crazy weeknights and busy Saturday's. Pretty much every night we have one practice or game if not two practices or games.

Ryan took on the position of managing Joshua's T-ball team. It keeps him busy during practice trying to teach the game of baseball, and keep the attention of 13 four and five year olds. He is doing a great job and has gotten several compliments from the parents. Joshua's games are so fun to watch. The kids are so small and cute in their baseball uniforms.

Christopher decided this season to play baseball instead of soccer. He flipped back and forth between the two sports all summer. He finally made up his mind and told Ryan and I that he wanted to play baseball. The following day I pulled a not so nice trick on him. I told him I had signed him up to play soccer. He immediately bursted into tears and told me that he wanted to play baseball, not soccer. I know... I am horrible. But it showed that he had indeed chosen the right sport to play. Chris is in Coach pitch and loving every minute of it. He is a sponge soaking in all of the instruction the coach gives. It has been fun to attend his practices and games. For the first time in sports, his entire team is from the same school, Seldens Landing Elementary. It has been fun to get to know other parents from the school during games and practices.






Matthew is in his second season playing kid pitch. He has started to get the hang of the hitting at this level. It is harder to hit the ball since the pitches are all over the place (there are a lot of walks). He is getting some great hits, though. As for pitching, Matthew has been working hard on increasing his arm strength and has started pitching in some games. I am so proud of him. As most of you know, the pitcher controls the game. All eyes are on the pitcher and the pressure is on. I am impressed at the great job he does. I am not so sure I could handle all of the pressure. Matthew also has two friends on his team that he went to school with at Balls Bluff.






Thomas is a good sport in being dragged to all of the games and practices. They last anywhere from one and a half to two and half hours. He is very comfortable at the fields and loves to wander everywhere. I have to keep a constant eye on him.

1st Day of Preschool

Preschool finally started last Tuesday for Joshua. He was so EXCITED! On Tuesday he kept asking, "When does preschool start?" I kept saying, "After lunch you will go to school." He was so excited that at 10:30 he said he was starving, so I made an early lunch for him. Well, for the next hour and half I listened to him say that it was past time to go to school.

He wanted to be dropped off for school via the carpool lane, which I was all for since it was down pouring. However, I vetoed that since I wanted to get a picture of him on his 1st day. He walked into the school and stopped for a quick picture, gave me a BIG hug. He then went with his teacher to put his backpack away and find his lucky duck name to put it in the pond. He never looked back.

Joshy had a great first week of school. He made stars and learned that each star is different and so is every child. He got to paint with water colors and see his name magically appear. He also got to make a name puzzle and draw a self portrait.

Hurricane Hannah

On Saturday we received the remnants of Hurricane Hannah. There were sheets of rain coming down causing small streams to run down the street. We could not resist putting on our puddle boots and rain jackets, to head outside to splash in the puddles. The boys were delighted with the water, especially Thomas. The boys had fun sending a a toy sailboat down the gutters, stopping it just before the drain. I also let them ride their bikes. We all had a BLAST!

12th Wedding Anniversary

Ryan and I celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary on Friday.



Ryan surprised me with having a dozen roses delivered.



In the evening we celebrated by going to dinner at Maggiano's in Tysons. The food was delicious! After we went to Wolf Trap and saw the Broadway production of Les Miserables. The play was FANTASTIC! We have lived here for 8 years and we have never gone to Wolf Trap except for the children's summer theatre program. The facility is amazing and it is practically in our backyard.

I can't believe it has been twelve years since Ryan and I were married in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. Where has the time gone? Four children later and countless memories. I truly have been blessed! I am married to the BEST husband! Ryan is so calm, patient and loving. He makes a great Husband and Father. I look forward to the many years ahead of us.

Boys on the Bus

I was able to talk the boys into riding the bus home from school yesterday. The ride went so well, they will now be riding the bus home everyday. Seldens buses all of the children to and from school including the children who live right across the street. Silly if you ask me. My boys will be riding the bus for one half of a block. I think their bus ride is about a minute long.

Meet the Teacher

Today Joshua went to Hope Preschool to meet his teachers, Mrs. Bower and Mrs. Hugler. He has been looking very forward to this day. He packed his backpack this morning with all of his supplies and carried it around until he was in the classroom this afternoon. He has the same teachers as Christopher had, so he is very familiar with the teachers and classroom. I think that will be a good thing for Joshua. While I visited with Mrs. Bower, Joshua made a crayon with his picture in the middle of it, wrote his name and cut some paper. He had a good time exploring the classroom. He is very excited for his big school to begin. He even told me that he doesn't think that this school will make him cry.

First Day of School 2008-2009

School started yesterday for Matthew and Christopher. They are attending Seldens Landing Elementary. Matthew is in 4th grade, his teacher is Mrs. Oynes. Christopher is in 1st grade with Mrs. Furtek.

I wasn't sure what to expect Monday night and yesterday morning from the boys. We haven't really talked about school starting. We have thoroughly enjoyed our summer together and it seems like the new school year crept up on us. To my surprise it was the boys who started picking out their clothes Monday night and packing up their backpacks with all of their supplies.

Tuesday morning both boys woke up very excited to get the day going. This year we are trying something new. The boys have two chores that they are responsible for on a daily bases. (It was three but they negotiated it down to two.) Since our evenings are so hectic, they have to do their chores before school. So each boy, after they were ready for school, quickly got there chores done.

For breakfast, we made Matthew's favorite breakfast which is Belgium Waffles 'n' Strawberries 'n' Whip Cream. I think it might be our families new favorite breakfast. They were so yummy! This morning we were suppose to have Christopher's favorite breakfast which is Crepes, but we voted last night to do Waffles again this morning.

After, breakfast we all put on our walking shoes and headed off to school.

This year Matthew was thinking he was to old to have his mother walk him to his class room. Christopher last year wouldn't even hug or kiss me anywhere near the school. So he of course has been telling me, "No hugs or Kisses" when I drop him off.

I have been teasing Christopher and telling him I was going to wear bright red lip stick and give him a great BIG kiss on the cheek.

As for Matthew, I told him the same thing but also added the idea of maybe wearing a t-shirt that says, I am Matthew's Mom and I LOVE him. Or maybe I would come into Matthew's classroom singing a song, telling everyone I was his mom and that I love him and I was going to miss him while he was at school.

Well, the boys thought all the ideas were hilarious. But in the end when I told Matthew that his cousin who is in 5th grade got walked to her class on the first day and that he might as well face it. I've got this year and next to walk him to his class, he softened up on the idea. Both boys played it cool when we got into the school. Christopher gave his dad a Hi Five and I actually managed a half hug once he was settled in at his desk. As for Matthew we said, goodbye at the door and he quickly went in.

The boys ended up having a great day at school. Both boys liked their teachers. They were very eager to tell me all about there day. I think Matthew is going to love having his little brother at the school with him all day. They actually saw each other a couple of times through out the day. They both had PE yesterday and thought it was pretty cool that they both learn the same drills. As for lunch, Christopher was very proud that he got Chocolate Milk instead of regular milk. At dinner time, when I was pouring his milk he asked me, "How do you make chocolate milk?" It was pretty cute!


The day actually went by fast for me. I was worried that I would miss the boys and wouldn't know what to do with myself. They are both such great helpers. I was pleasantly suprised at how quickly the day past. Joshua and Thomas enjoyed riding their bikes and playing together. Joshua and I did a little school work, while Thomas took his nap.

Virginia Beach 2008

Every summer for the past three years we have taken the boys to Virginia Beach. We just got back from this years trip and the boys had a BLAST! I think it was our first year where the boys jumped in with no fear of the waves or creatures that might be in the water. It was fun for Ryan and I to sit back and watch the boys be dazzled by the water and sand.

We enjoyed body surfing, boogie boarding, playing in the sand, being barried in the sand, building sandcastles, discovering sea creatures, having running races, and tossing a frisbee and football around. We also built Thomas his very own swimming pool in the sand, complete with an umbrella for shade. Oh, and I can't forget the good laughs we had with flying a kite. The kite wasn't flying, it would dive into the sand. Instead of giving up, Daddy thought of tieing my swim shorts to the tail of the kite. The kite flew high in the air along with my swim shorts. It was Hilarious! We laughed so hard!

Our hotel was right on the boardwalk, so we were nice and close to the beach. When we weren't at the beach, we enjoyed swimming in one of the three hotel swimming pools. Our favorite was the lazy river.

We also enjoyed letting the boys ride their scooters and going for walks on the boardwalk. The boardwalk at VB is really family freindly. There are no stores directly on it, just a few icecream shops and all the hotels. We of course stopped for Banana Cream Pie Blizzards, ice cream cones and Banana splits at least once a day.

We had a great time together! I always tell Ryan that I could live by the beach! I love the peace and serentity the ocean brings. It has a way of being very calming and relaxing. It was a great way to end our busy fun filled summer. Renewed and Refresh to begin another school year.

I can't wait until next year when we go again.