"Swing Surfing"

"Mom, look at me! NO HANDS! It's like surfing."  

Tea Party with Neighbor Kids

Another family on our townhouse street is moving this summer to a single family home. Amber will especially miss playing with Lilly. But they had a special day together last week enjoying  a "British lemonade/tea party."  ;-) 

Amber Loves Dogs!

PA Time, Part 3

Building a circuit with Daddy. 

A picnic on the patio. 

Loving the open space of the country to run. And making their own music around a bonfire. 

Kids in PA, Part 2

Clara really enjoyed that railing. :)

Clara did get sick with a stomach bug the first couple days in PA, but G'pa and G'ma took great care of her and she participated in activities as she was able. Here they made paper puppets I believe. 

Amber the sheep! ;-)

Good reading times together. 

Uncle Trevor and Auntie Katelyn and cousin Evelyn (and their dogs) arrived the day before Lucas and me. The kids enjoyed being with more of the Smith family!

Kids' Time in PA

Cooking with G'ma. 

Tractor rides with G'pa. 

Clara loved singing into the railing/microphone. ;-)

Planting a row of beans, and then taking a tree climbing break. 

Reuniting!

Activities Back at Home

While the kids were still in PA, we went down to the Kennedy Center in DC to hear Stephen Curtis Chapman perform with full orchestra and a symphony in addition. The concert was wonderful, truly heavenly!

I joined Lucas one evening for a "DC SCRUM Users Group" software training in Arlington. I gained a slightly better understanding and a truly deeper appreciation of his role at work as SCRUM Master.

Then I had 2 days of a CC home educators coop conference to attend. It was enlightening and overall encouraging, especially my time in this "newer-to-homeschooling moms" discussion group. The afternoon was a Q&A time to ask things like, "How am I ever going to keep up teaching my teen things like Latin?!" to questions like, "Do I seriously need to hang a whiteboard in my kitchen?" LOL.

Winchester and Harper's Ferry Weekend Away!

We spent a day in downtown Winchester.
Strawberries from the Farmer's Market. (There was a beer festival going on too).

We drove over to Harper's Ferry another day. A very historic, old industrial town!

Where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet. 

Someday Lucas wants to hike the (whole) Appalachian Trail...maybe with Brent. ;-D

A Change Of Pace

The kids were going to G'ma and G'pa's for a week! They were very excited and even calling it "camp" sometimes. Clara packed and wore her Dora backpack the day before we even left...she was raring to go!

We rendezvoused with G'ma in Haggerstown, MD and handed off the kids with lots of kisses and hugs and love (and a big "thank you" to the g'parents for taking our Littles for a whole week)!  

Lucas and I then did some outlet mall shopping just up the road. 

Amber's First Attempt at Selfies!

Lemonade For the School Bus Kids

This was Amber and Brent's idea. They wanted to have free lemonade for the school kids getting off the bus. Amber colored in the sign. She helped set up the station and pour the drinks. So cute! The school kids really appreciated the cool drinks on a hot (80+ degree) day.  But parents and other people walking by just couldn't coming over either I guess...and the kids ended up making money! $10.75 in one hour. They were so excited and now want to do a lemonade stand again. ;-D

Sully Plantation Field Trip with Homeschool Coop

Amber was helping be the fireplace, and the lady was showing how they would hang pots closer to or further away from the fire. 

Their summary pages and using a quill pen and a wax seal.  The last word in Amber's paragraph is supposed to be "pencil." I think that was referring to the quill pen. :)