Lauren Starts Kindergarten!!

August 29, 2016, was Lauren's first day of Kindergarten and I can't believe the day has finally come.  She is officially off to big girl school, and she was so excited.

We prepared for the big day by getting a much needed haircut and seeing her teacher/classroom in a meet & greet session the week before school started.  She found her seat and got to go off to ride a school bus with the rest of her classmates.  Chad and I stayed behind to hear about what the school year and a typical school day will contain.  Everyone was pretty excited to see what this year brings!

           

On Monday, August 29th, we woke up and got Lauren dressed for her first day of school.  Then she came downstairs and found her Kinder Cone waiting on the kitchen island.  We decided she could open it at dinner that night, and since she was the big school girl, she got to pick where we had dinner.

                     

But back to the morning,  After eating breakfast, we headed outside to take some photos and then walked down the street to the bus stop.  It is a quick walk, and Lauren was getting more and more excited the closer we got to the stop.

       

Soon, the bus came and it was time to say goodbye to Lauren.  She gave each of us a big hug and kiss, after giving Clark Bear a hug and kiss first or course!!  Then she quickly got in line, hopped up on the bus, and barely looked back.  I was able to see her sitting just inside the door, with the other Kindergarteners, and did manage to get a little wave and smile before they were off!  

It was definitely bittersweet to watch Lauren drive off on the bus, but Chad and I are so excited to see all of the ways that Lauren is going to grow this year.  I have a feeling she is going to soar!!

That night we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, in Haymarket, and Lauren finally opened her Kinder Cone.  There was a lot of fun stuff inside and she was a very happy girl.  We heard all about her first day and she was already looking forward to going back to school.  I hope that feeling continues for the rest of the year!!

At the beginning of the school year, we ordered a sign to celebrate Kindergarten.  I plan to do one at the beginning of the school year and then again at the end, for both kids.  It will be fun to see how they have changed and grown through the years!  Here was Lauren's first sign...

2016 Deep Creek Lake Trip!

This summer, during the last weekend of August, we were lucky enough to be invited back to the Blough's cabin at Deep Creek Lake.  This is one of our favorite vacations of the year, and we were thrilled!

We had to cu the trip a little short, because Jack Blough came down with a nasty virus and we wanted to make sure he was feeling better before we all hung out for the weekend.  So instead of going up Friday afternoon, we waited until Saturday morning.

We unpacked, the kids immediately ran down to the water, and we settled in for the weekend.  Unfortunately, Jack's dad, Adam, came down with the virus once we arrived.  He holed himself up in one of the bedrooms, and we did not see him again until the next day.

The rest of us enjoyed spending time down by the water, and even got in a boat ride over to the Honi-Honi.  Rick drove the boat over, the kids played at the cool playground, and the grownups enjoyed some beverages while trying to stay cool.  It was a pretty warm day!

                               

                     

       

That evening, we grilled some food and put all of the kids to bed in the same room.  This was the first time they had a sleepover, and it took a while to get all of them to fall asleep.  I think Charlie kept most of them awake with his babbling.  But once they fell asleep, they were out!  

After the kids fell asleep, it wasn't long before we began losing the grownups.  Everyone was pretty tired, and although we tried to rally by sitting outside, we were all in bed fairly early.  The grownups even got to have our own slumber party out in the living room, which is equipped with 3 pull out sofas.  With the cool breeze coming through the windows, we all slept really well!

           

The next morning, we had a nice breakfast and spent more time down by the water.  We attempted to take the boat out one more time, now that Blough was feeling better, but the boat was not working properly, so we packed up our stuff and everyone hit the road home.

It was a short trip, but it is always nice to spend a day or two unwinding up at the lake.  The cabin is a great place to check out from our every day lives and just enjoy the lake and each other's company.   Once again, this year did not disappoint!!  And we are already looking forward to next year's visit (hopefully)!!

Side Note:  Shortly after this trip, our entire family came down with the same nasty virus that hit Jack Blough and his dad.  It quickly spread through our family and was pretty nasty.  But despite the sickness, we would not have missed the lake trip for anything!!  =)

Last Beach Trip Of 2016!

Towards the end of August, we managed to get in one last family trip to the beach.  Grammy, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Kevin, Quinnie, Mee-Maw, Grandpa, Lauren, Charlie, and I all headed to Assateaque National Park, for the day.  We set up a nice spot, and enjoyed a day full of sun, sand castle building, playing in the cold water, a picnic lunch, and pony spotting!

                     

                               

           

                               

After the beach, we decided to head to West Ocean City so Lauren and Charlie could play at the Go Kart park.  There was an epic race between Team Lauren (Lauren/Uncle Kevin) and Team Charlie (Charlie/Aunt Sarah).  It was close, but Charlie's team managed to pull ahead and won.  Lauren had a blast and Charlie spent the race sinking further down into his seat!  ha ha ha

We also had fun riding on the bumper boats, the kid's rollercoaster, and watching Lauren drive the Jr. Go Karts.

It was the perfect way to end the summer season.  School is about to start and we will be heading into fall and colder weather before we know it.  I am just glad that we are able to visit so close to the beach and create these memories with the family!!  Can't wait to do it again next year!