nintendo

Who knew that Nintendo has a World Tour?! The mall was hosting this giant marketing scheme and these guys were pumped!  They tried out some DS games they'd never tried before.

tidbits

We closed out the summer with the doggy paddle at the pool.  The pumpkin stuff was already everywhere by the middle of August. This guy still enjoys a trip to Build a Bear to get Pokemon gear. Having Aiden's old drama teacher as a babysitter is a really special treat for these giddy guys. We saw a movie about the Improv world called Don't Think Twice which we both enjoyed.

Bowling with friends nearly every other week was definitely a nice way to break up those hot days. We went to the mall a bunch in many attempts to get my iPhone repaired - they gave me a new one!  Friends with giant collections of windup toys rock ;) It was so hot for a while that it even drove us to Chuckie Cheese with our buddies one afternoon.

wedding

A good friend I originally met when we were living in Tucson, moved here to NOVA within a few weeks of our move a couple years back. She got married recently out towards the Shenandoah Mountains at a beautiful farm. I took photos for her (http://lbphotography17.pixieset.com/stephanieandgreg/) while the boys played with all her thoughtful gifts.  The wedding was casual and the after party was essentially a pool party. It was a really beautiful day in the middle of tropical storms.

lake

A visit to the Lake with our friends still living over there...  Such big fish!

icebergs

We made some fast friends out at Wisp Mountain earlier this summer, and we met up with them at the summer installation at the building museum, Icebergs. They have two boys that match in age almost exactly.  The boys ran up the scaffolding and took the very fast slides over and over and chilled on the iceberg bean bags. We also made it up to the Play Work Build zone to do just that ;)

interview with KC

This guy loves what he calls "field trips" and August was full of adventures.  He ate very well on many of these, but here's a hungry guy being interviewed:

One word to describe you would be: 

Hungry

Why do you like being a kid? 

Because you get to eat

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? 

A chicken, because you can eat chickens

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

When I eat food that is gross

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Eat, because it's makes the hunger higher, no lower, no higher?

What do you love most about your brother? 

That he gives me food sometimes

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

Put a plate out, and put the food on it

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? 

Eating

What is the grossest thing you can think of? 

Eating gross foods

What is your happiest memory?

Eating peanut butter sandwiches 

one second summer

One Second Summer 2016 from LB on Vimeo.

back to school

And just like that we have a third grader and a kindergartener...We joked that with all the school supplies packed to the brim, it was possible K was hiding another kindergartener in his giant bag.  Keaton in his true determined style hopped right on the bus he's been dying to ride for two years and didn't look back.  When the bus pulled up many loooong hours later, I could see Keaton waving through those tinted windows.  He ran out of his seat and almost left his bag behind, but he was happy to see us and especially to see his brother.  It's possible that they missed each other the most. Aiden came off with a huge smile and excitement for his new assignment book.  Keaton was excited to show me the photo treat from his first day.  They both made new friends and caught up with familiar friends.

parade

The Last Stop Willoughby parade has become an August tradition for us.  One year we even cruised into town right as the parade kicked off and caught up with Liz and Cam in the parade!  This year they had a huge amount of really good candy - no more rejected tootsie rolls at the end ;)   All the boys were pumped!

falls

We had a chance to check out Brandywine Falls out by my sister's new house.  After a quick walk down a path filled with pokestops, you got to watch the big waterfall.  Pretty cool spot!

market

Can't beat the treats at this Farmer's Market on a sunny day!  This cute trailer had baked goods out of this world - including what she called a Rosie Rivet, which was like a cinnamon bomb.  Keaton loved his watermelon lime pop too!  Yum!

historic

While we were in Ohio, the historical society was hosting a corn festival where I devoured all the corn we ordered for the not so hungry boys.  Then I watched my boys pull out the same expressions I had when touring old historic homes as a kid - curiosity mixed with boredom, is that possible?  Aiden said that this closet of creepy dolls made the hair stand up on the back of his neck - ha!

great

Chilling on the Wald-a-mere - visiting the great uncle Billy and great aunt Pam ;) - checking out their new kitchen ;)

rides

The fair rides!  The biggest cousin went on the big kid rides with his dad including that crazy spinning one.

fair

The Lake County Fair where we met up with my folks who were volunteering - many prizes in the awards tent, farm bureau setup, etc

cousin buddies

So many cute snaps of these cousin buddies especially that littlest cheeky guy:::

racers

When the sun was back up, we used our game pass for some bumper boats - J was an easy target in the slow boat.  But he was not slow in the go carts!  It was fun to see Aiden drive on his own for the first time - after a few over steering jerks he was on track!

games

We had one bit of rain in the afternoon at the lake so we snuck inside to bowl, play laser tag, and other games.  First time I won laser tag, thanks to my long hair covering my vest sensors.  This crew was pumped!

nature center

We love to explore a good nature center especially when they have plenty of stuff to touch.  Bring in a table full of animal bones and skulls and these guys are doggone giddy. They were feeding the owls and eagles when we visited the aviary and thankfully some of them are shy while they eat. The center had a beautiful view for the insect hotel. The boys picked up their souvenir stuffies - an otter and a wolf.

gems

These guys have a pretty big collection of  gem stones that they were happy to add to up on the mountain. This semi touristy business is one of their favorites, and this one has a ton of good gems!  They both slept with their bags of gems that night - comfy, ha?!

bday treats

My birthday treat was a fun getaway. This sorta combined a treat for J, who was really looking forward to the mountain coaster, with a stop at Wisp Mountain half way to Ohio.  We'll definitely be back to Deep Creek someday.

My birthday included as many pictures as I'd like and many treats.  Then perfect bday menu started with a batch of made to order donuts, creme brûlée french toast, crab cake sandwich (all crab!), and a pesto asiago flatbread, topped off with a peanut butter pie. Woah, I'm drooling just thinking about it!

spider monkey

Aiden was the first of the family to brave the Spider Monkey course. He was a rockstar scurrying across and stretching his arms between the big obstacles. This course was really high up with a few tricky parts.  The funniest was that the end was a giant zip line where occasionally the rollers on your line would get stuck and you'd stop about half way and they'd have to come rescue you with a tow line. Just hanging there looking around may have been the most nerve-wrecking part.  The only part not pictured below was a snowboard mounted on wheels that you had to tow close to your platform, carefully step on to as it zipped across the line, and balance as you pull yourself the rest of the way....tricky if you didn't get to the middle of the board you'd fall off the back of the board.  I lost track of how many times we all went across (minus Keaton who would've if he was tall enough).