Oh the girls!

If I had known a painting project would entertain the girls for days, we would have a whole kingdom by now. 

The other morning, Lucy asked DaddyO for orange juice. He asked her what the magic word was, and she replied: Bippity Boppity Boo!

Season of Change

After a few years of a lawn-care service, it was time to man-up and do the maintenance ourselves. The boys took their new toy out for a spin this morning. Can't tell who was more excited about this.

As always, Cameron dressed up for the occasion.

Latest and greatest

Lucy is such a ham these days, it was nice to get a cute pic of her.

 The superhero of the Marriott Courtyard. Don't mess with Captain Underpants!

Lucy's First Day of School

Even though Lucy's a 'medium sized girl' now that she's four, her backpack still overwhelms her!

Princess Lucy's Birthday Party

Lucy has known for MONTHS she wanted a princess pool party for her birthday. Yesterday was her real birthday, but she wasn't convinced she was 4 until today- the day of her party.

 We delayed our school a wee bit this morning and instead chose to make Lucy's cake. Thanks to Deane's tenacious Ariel hunt, our cake was decorated with all of The Little Mermaid's friends.

 Our main peeps joined us for pizza and festivities at the pool, engulfed in a pink princess theme.

 Despite her extreme tiredness, Lucy managed to try on her plethora of princess dresses

 and the girls were happy to dress her up in a fashion show. Happy Birthday, Lucy Lu!

First Day of School

It's that time of year already! School started on Monday. After months of curricula development and lesson planning, Amy & I were happy to see our hard work come to fruition. And the kids sure missed each other!

 

The Perfect S'More

One of my favorite things on Drummond Island was the nightly S'More ritual. After dinner, Grandpa would get the fire started and the kids would follow behind, like puppies. We would go through at least 2 chocolate bars, half a box of graham crackers and half a bag of marshmallows each night. 

 Jackie loved roasting marshmallows for any willing eater. The smoke bothered her a bit, but she came up with a great solution!

Water Works: Drummond Island Style

After many hours of traveling, we finally made it to Drummond Island in northern Michigan. The kids couldn't wait to get in the water, despite the chilly temperatures for us Southern folks.

 Week by week, Lucy is getting more comfortable in the water. By the time she's 12, she may actually go under!

 The jet ski was a huge hit for Jackie and Cameron. Jackie is all about speed- just like her daddy!

The littles were content torturing Louie with the squirt guns. It was hours of fun for them all.

Lucy and Cameron were hiding from Louie. They blended right in!

Henning/Tewes Wye River Family Reunion

August marked the beginning of our family tour. We started in MD at the Wye River to visit the Tewes and Henning families (Deane's side of the family).

  They were all so happy to reunite with Mike and Ang's kids, Owen & Alena.

 Hot weather made the pool & swing and swing a welcome respite for the kids.

 Little Miss Lucy Lu is becoming quite comfortable in the water!

 Uncle Patrick was ever so happy to entertain the kids fishing.

A World of Their Own

Lucy’s princess phase has been elevated to a whole new world…I mean level... with Polly Pockets Princesses. This is Rapunzel when her hair is, shall we say, let down. I nicknamed her Ratty, for obvious reasons. Lucy gave Ratty a much-needed hair cut this week, and trimmed her own while she had the scissors out, thereby completing every little girl’s rite of passage with scissors. Thankfully, it wasn’t too bad. And she has yet to discover tape. 

Cameron's summer reading program has introduced him to a new favorite reading spot. It doesn't look particularly comfortable but I don't care b/c HE'S READING!

Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Trail

On our first morning, we headed to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a 4 hour hike along the Daniel Ridge Loop. 

 It was a beautiful day for a hike together.

 We passed a few other hikers on their way to swimming holes. The mountain water was chilly, but felt wonderful after a long hike. Our total elevation this hike was 4000 feet. It's no Utah, but it's a lot for us flat-landers.

 We decided to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway up to Roanoke. While it was awesomely scenic, we quickly realized it doubled the length of our trip. So we jumped on the highway and headed out for another great dinner.

We found a wonderful hike along the Appalachian Trail and I WISH I had my camera for the top of that mountain. Our get-away was filled was quality outdoor time together, amazing food and an appreciation for the support we had back home to get out! Definitely need to do this more often!

Alone, together!

This weekend Dave and I finally got away together without the kiddos….4 years later!

Deane has been encouraging us for as long as I can remember (4 yrs apparently) to get away and she’ll take care of our babes while we escape. Go figure that by the time we coordinated a workable date, Deane was on vacation herself (long overdue, btw). So Grandad and Grandma Holly stepped up and offered to take the reigns. While we’re confident things are going well back at home, we’re hoping Ken and Holly will still talk to us when we return later next month. Yesterday, we hiked along the Blue Ridge Mtns for a few hours and today we’re off for another long hike in Asheville. Then we travel to Roanoke. Thank you Grandad and Grandma Holly!

Not to worry, Deane, we’ll take you up on your offer this fall!  He he  Thank you for lighting the fire under us!

Gardening: A Mixed Blessing

We’ve had mixed success this year with the garden. While the lettuce and spices grew like weeds, we had loads of trouble with the cucumbers and tomatoes. The cucumbers got “downy mildew” and we had to pull them all. I must have thrown away nearly 30 squishy cucumbers. Unfortunately, that planter is unplantable for a few more months, until we are sure the mildew is gone. 

 The aphids are unstoppable! We’ve tried marigolds, spray soap, organic wax, neem oil, and SEVIN. The only thing we haven’t tried is butterflies, but that’s a whole to-do with keeping the butterflies in my garden. The aphids are systematically killing my tomato plants. So those too, are getting pulled out and re-planted.

 Thankfully, I have plenty of peppers, watermelon, jalapenos, and eggplant! Now I just need recipes for eggplant.

Happy Birthday, Cameron!

Cameron dressed up to frost his own birthday cupcakes. These are the gluten-free (not to mention dairy-, egg-, nut-, taste-free) cupcakes. We also had regular cupcakes for the masses.

 Cameron's party was at the trampoline place, Defy Gravity. Despite our many friends' trips to the beach (Messick's, Donahue's, Young's AND Rosenburg's!) we still had plenty of peeps to fill up a party.

Miss Karen and Lucy needed a little rest.

 Jackie was Caleb's junior babysitter, much to his delight.

 Grandad and Grandma Holly preferred the sidelines to the sweat-infested craziness of the trampolines. (Not pictured are the brave dads in the dodge ball arena and the foam pit b/c they were dripping with sweat. And now they are nursing their sore backs).

 Happy Birthday, Cameron! Six already!