Water Bug!

Over the summer, Andrew began swim lessons at Aqua-Tots.  We began to notice great improvements in his progress and comfort level in the water while we were at the lake.  For instance, he finally trusted that he could float in his life vest without either of us holding him, which led to jumping off the dock and swimming to the ladder all by himself, which also led to him going to the slide.  Well his instructors also noticed his progress and in early September, he graduated and moved up to the next level.  And as promised, we celebrated his accomplishment with ice cream sundaes at Friendlys!

 

1st day of.....

Kindergarten and 3rd grade for our boys!  And they are starting off the year at a brand new school.... Cardinal Ridge.  Go Red Wings!

Goodbye to the Summer

Over labor day, we made one last quick trip to Lake Anna.  Of note.... Andrew went down the slide for the first time... and LOVED IT!

And Nathan and Andrew had a blast playing with some new friends!

He's now a Green Belt

For summer camp, Nathan spent several weeks at Topkick.  He really enjoyed learning to use Nunchucks and he earned his green belt!  We are really proud of him and impressed with how much he has learned and improved in just one year!

 

Summer or Fall at Deep Creek Lake?

In mid August, we spent the weekend up at Deep Creek Lake.  The weather was beautiful, but the cooler temperatures continued and felt more like October.  So instead of splashing in the lake, we spent time rowing on the lake and enjoying the activities at Wisp.

This was Andrew's first time on the ropes course.  We were so proud of him!

Wisp also added a new ropes course, which Nathan was eager to try.  He is fearless and did an amazing job!

 

And of course, we had to squeeze in few rides on the Mountain Coaster!

 Oh, and I did the ropes course with Nathan too.  It wasn't too bad, until.......

 we go to this challenge.  But I finally made it across .... with super fast Nathan right on my tail.

 Good time!  Good weekend!

Kings Dominion

Dan played hooky from work on a Monday in August and we drove straight from Lake Anna to Kings Dominion for the day.  Nathan was a dare devil and enjoyed many roller coaster rides.  The rides pictured below were more Andrew's speed. 

 

More Summer Fun at the Lake

Despite the cool summer and cool water, the boys still enjoyed some of their favorite activities at Lake Anna.

 

Emilia's 7th Birthday

In early August, the boys had tons of fun celebrating Emilia's 7th birthday.  The watermelon frozen treats were amazing!

Lake Anna in July

At the end of July, our friends from Arizona joined us at Lake Anna.  The boys loved having some playmates!

A Weekend in Chicago

To celebrate my 40th, Dan planned a fun weekend away for us with our friends, Eric and Erin.  The weather was gorgeous, so we walked and walked and walked some more exploring the city.  It also happened to be the same weekend as the Rock & Roll Half Marathon so we ran the 5K.  It was a good thing we got so much exercise because we ate like kings and queens the whole weekend! It was a super fun getaway.  Thanks to Grammy and Pop Pop for taking care of the boys.