Mary's Wedding

Our MAAARRRRRYYYY is married!  She was a beautiful bride but she's beautiful even running races (We still laugh about a race we were all in and mary looks model ready running in the race and Sarah and I look like death just trying to make it to the finish! ha!)  

Norah was thrilled to be a flower girl. MaMaMaa made her dress and she loved to try it on and walk around the house all summer before the wedding.  We really enjoyed spending time with family. My Aunt Abbie and Uncle Jerry even came for the wedding and I haven't seen them since I was in college!   I am glad we pulled the kids out of school a few days so we could go up early.  We all stayed in a cabin together and the cousins playing together was priceless.  And I am missing staying up until 2am talking with Angela.  There's a lot more I could say about the wedding but I think I'll just post some of the many many pictures I have.  Enjoy!

Tubing

One of the things Colin couldn't wait to do in Blacksburg was go tubing down the new river.  He's heard me talk about how much fun it was in college and I have been excited to take them.  I wasn't sure about the safety of taking the kids but according to the website it said family friendly and that kids could get out before they went through the rapids.

I was a little nervous but the water was really calm and the kids have been used to riding in tubes at water country.  Each kid was tethered to Brent, Sarah or I so that helped keep track of them.  It was a really nice relaxing ride down the river until we got the the rapids.

It was a lot of fun.  And slightly scary at times. Colin wanted to do all the big rapids and jumps. He was glad Ant Ant was connected to him because she took him places his mother probably wouldn't have!  Joel and I were together and he was a little nervous but wanted to go through the rapids and then got out and did them again and again.  Brent and Norah were going to get out before the rapids but the next thing I knew I saw the going right through them. She loved them!  They said for kids to stay to the right and I think those were the most smooth and the most fun.  Joel and Brent at one time went in the middle and my heart stopped when I saw Joel headed right towards a big rock but the water was so shallow they got stuck going over another rock and that slowed them down so they missed the rock.  Joel and I missed the landing spot and had to make our way to the side of the river.  We were walking towards Brent and the others when Joel stopped because he saw a snake. He said it went away from us but neither of us moved.   He refused to move and I refused to go towards him because of the snake so we stood there a minute until I braved it enough to go get him.

Its fun taking your kids places you loved  - and here are a few pictures from when we went in college. It was always the first weekend after classes started.

Hiking

The kids went to school two days and then we were off to Massanutteun for Marys wedding weekend.  Not a bad way to start the school year -  but this past full week of school has been rough on all of us. 

We were debating on when to go up.  With Colin starting middle school it makes it harder to just pull them out of school.  I didn't want him to feel behind right form the beginning.  He wanted to go to school the first day and let me know if he wanted to get out of school Thursday or just take Friday off.  Well when he got off the bus that first day I'm pretty sure the first thing he told me was "I'm taking Thursday AND  Friday off!"  So that made it easy and thankfully he hasn't had too much make up work to do.  And we wanted to be able to spend as much time with Angela and the boys as we could. 

We got up there in time for a nice hike Thursday afternoon.  It was beautiful weather the entire weekend

Blueberry Picking

We couldn't go a summer without blueberry picking.  I always go by Joels birthday for blueberries and Colin's birthday for strawberries.  Its still one of my favorite memories of taking the boys when Joel was 2 weeks old.  Norah asked what happens around her birthday and she was pleased when we said Easter time is somewhere close. 

We went back in July but I'm just now getting around to putting up pictures.  I took the kids twice. And we've enjoyed blueberry pies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, smoothies ever since. One day we went after swim practice and then the other time we went with Brent early in the morning.  The kids had fun with me.... with Brent I've never heard so much complaining.  It was 7am and Brent wanted to go early before it got too hot and before he left for work.  And the fact that Brent was up early and ready to go meant I didn't argue.  He is NOT a morning person and I think he's actually having a harder time with the back to school routine than the kids. He usually leaves for work around 9 so he would sleep in until 830 as much as possible this summer.  

Colin ate more than he picked and he picked an entire bucket.  Taking them blueberry picking right after a long swim practice might have explained all the blueberries they ate. 

This was clearly the morning blueberry time.  And its not that he isn't a morning person. He's the kid up before the sun almost every day.  He was upset that Pungo Pizza was closed and kept telling Brent that you don't mess with tradition.  Its always tradition to go blueberry picking and then pungo pizza.I didn't take them when we went before because Brent wasn't with us.  Joel just couldnt believe when the whole family is there we wouldn't keep with tradition.  And on and on....

I'm pretty sure Brent wont mess with tradition next year.