My Family

Just some fun pictures. I hadn't picked up my camera in months until Carmen was about to go to school. So, I've been snapping away the last week taking some fun pictures and enjoying quiet time while Carmen is at school and Charlotte is napping, to play with the pictures. 

A cute kind of cookie monster!

Aliza - 3 1/2

She is enjoying being the oldest at home these days. She takes good care of her little sister. She will do just about anything for a "twootsie roll". She is very sensitive, yet Aliza has the most contagious smile and laugh! She really knows how to light up a room.

My Charlotte - 17 months old

She is so ready for nursery, loving quiet time at home now that school has started, and loves to play doggie with her sisters. She is so sweet and I especially love how she runs for the door when daddy gets home from work. She is always super excited to see him! 

Carmen - 5 1/2

She is so energetic, compassionate and inquisitive about life. She's smarter than I give her credit for, and often surprises me with how much she knows! She absolutely loves her dad and has a hard time when David has to leave for work or other responsibilities. 

I wish I had a better picture of David, but I can still tell you how wonderful he is. He rarely sits still. He always has to be doing something, generally serving those around him. He is about the friendliest, most cheerful person you will ever meet. He is always able to see the good in everything and everybody, a true Christlike attribute! He loves his girls and we love him!

First Day of School, First Day of School (say it in the Nemo voice)

I can't believe the day finally came. Carmen started Kindergarten! I have never seen her wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush her hair, put shoes on and run out the door faster in her entire life. She was very excited to finally be going to school.

She seriously walked faster than I could keep up with on the way to the bus stop. 

Once the time came to finally get on the bus, she seemed a little apprehensive, but got on with no issues! PHEW! I had been so worried about this exact moment for weeks before. Needless to say, I was a wreck. I tried to hold it together, but couldn't! The bus driver reassured me that she would be fine! 

Coming home!

Aliza made her a welcome home picture. She didn't say it, but I think Aliza really missed Carmen. 

And I don't think Carmen would admit it, but I think she was relieved to see us all at the end of the day. And she already seemed more mature to me....

Kindergarten Preparations

I have had all sorts of emotions about Carmen starting school. I know Carmen is nervous. We have talked a lot about how the day will go, how everyone is just as nervous as she is, that she'd make tons of new friends and that her teacher is very nice.  I've been a wreck worrying about having all day kindergarten (7:55-2:25) I worry about putting her on the bus. Will she know where to go when she gets off? Will she know how to get home? Will she be able to open her food at lunch? Will she ask for help if she needs it? I worry if I've prepared her enough for this; the real world. With out mom and dad, will she be able to problem solve, to be a leader, to make wise choices, be polite and to befriend those in need. This girl is truly amazing and I know I don't need to worry - or at least as much. 

Here are a few pictures of the "back to school" preparations we've made. We went to open house where she got to meet her teacher, Mr. Bernhardt, and tour around the school. We bought new clothes and shoes and of course the backpack choice is such a paramount decision! I was surprised she went with Hello Kitty, but I let her choose whatever she wanted. I wish her nothing but success and fun times this year! The house is going to be so quiet with out her around. 

Back to School Night - she wasn't very willing to take pictures

New Shoes

New Backpack and Lunch Box 

Bus Stop Preview

Today was the first day of school, but Carmen doesn't start until tomorrow. Kindergartners do a staggered entry to ease them in a little bit. But we decided to get up early and go check out the bus stop.  There were a lot of kids there. I didn't even know that many kids lived in this neighborhood!! I've never seen any of them. Carmen only cared about the black cat hanging out waiting for the bus. I hope that doesn't mean BAD LUCK for the whole year! The bus came and went and I was a wreck, and she didn't even get on today! What will it be like tomorrow?

The Outer Banks - Part 2

After day one, everyone was worn out! I think Charlotte took a five hour nap that day! And I think David wanted to join her. 

Saturday morning we were up early enough to visit the fish house. We got there just as the fishermen were unloading their boats from being out all night. My girls were truly disgusted by the whole thing! These fish are sold in grocery stores all up the east coast, as far as New York! 

David's boss has a friend who owns this fishing boat. He brought us some fresh crabs this morning. Later that night we cooked them and dug right in. (OK, I think any type of seafood is absolutely GROSS! And especially since I saw them crawling around in the bucket all day, and then put in the pot, and watched their slow death....I wasn't about to touch them with a ten foot pole!) I was forced into trying the tiniest piece of crab meat. I tried it... that was all I was going to do. 

After the fish house, we went to visit the light house. We were excited to climb to the top, but there was a height requirement, so we were unable to go. The really neat thing about this light house was it was moved several years ago. The beach was eroding and the light house was in danger. So, in order to preserve it, they built a special train track and moved it 2200 ft. back from it's original spot. AmAZinG! It only moved a couple of feet a day over a period of a couple of months. It is still used by seamen to this day. 

I always thought these kind of pictures were so cute. Somehow mine didn't have the same affect. But fun, nonetheless. 

David and the girls spent a good part of the afternoon looking for more shells, and sand fleas. (YUCKO!) I could have gone without ever knowing those things existed. 

Later in the day, we decided to visit the sound. We were on a tiny peninsula that was no more than a mile wide. One side had the rough waves like you would expect at the beach and the other side had calm, shallow water. The water was very warm and you could go out really far and it never got deeper than your waist. The girls enjoyed the water more on this side. We spent most our time here skipping rocks, or rather sea shells. 

David and Aliza after a fun weekend at the beach! I love how happy she is in this picture. As the middle child she often gets over looked. But thankfully, she has a super happy personality and I love that I captured this moment of her with her dad!

The Outer Banks - Part 1

This past weekend, as one last hurrah before school starts, we went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  David's boss owns a beach house down there and invited us to come for a couple of days. The drive was horrendous, but once there, I realized that it was worth it. Growing up, I didn't go to the beach but a few times. They were always super crowded and lined with hotels. Basically, they were tourist traps! But this place was different. It was secluded and quiet and clean! We have taken the girls to the beach before in California. Although quiet, secluded and clean they were, they were also freezing! This was a wonderful escape from normal. 

Aliza seems quit the natural on the beach! She pretended to surf and she loved the sand. Her most favorite part was collecting sea shells. If we had let her, she would have brought home every shell she found. 

These two pictures are proof that I was indeed there! I am going to try to get better at including myself in the pictures. No one loves the way they look in a picture, but I know I'll be happy I included myself. 

Carmen also loved the beach. The water was her friend! She had so much fun chasing the waves and being chased by the waves. She wouldn't go in very far, but she had fun splashing around. She mostly pretended she was a dog the whole time... she enjoyed the sea shells as well. 

Some of the many shells we found. I hope to find a nice jar to put the best ones in as a reminder of our trip. I've never been to a beach that even had shells on it. So this was fun for me as well!

We had to keep moving our stuff because a rather large tide pool kept forming right where we had made camp. Turns out, the girls loved this part! It was only a few inches deep, but just right for splashing around and they felt safer without the waves crashing into them. 

Charlotte apparently thought this was some other kind of beach!

We managed to keep her swimsuit on the majority of the time though. She wasn't such a fan of the water or the sand. She mostly just wanted to stay on the blanket and eat. Or she preferred to be back at the beach house playing with her stroller and baby doll. 

I, on the other hand, could have sat there all day with my toes in the sand. If I could have been left unbothered and didn't have to keep a constant watch over my children, I would have really enjoyed myself more. But it was relaxing and so enjoyable to watch my family having fun together. 

Summer Round Up

None of these pictures are all that exciting or very good, but they sum up what we've been doing the last few weeks. 

The girls took swim lessons and loved them! I loved them too because I got to meet so many wonderful moms and their kids. They both really improved on their swimming and can't wait for any chance to jump in a pool now. 

One night for dinner we made tin foil dinners in our backyard. It was really a lot of fun and the dinners were oh-so-yummy! 

One particular day I was having a very hard time. I had had enough of the girls and had enough of Virginia. I was really hating life. What makes a girls happy when she's stressed? SHOPPING! David came home early from work and we packed our bags and when up north to Potomac Mills for back to school shopping. He's so sweet! We shopped and shopped for two days! The girls each got new pjs. And loved sleeping at the hotel. They didn't love the shopping part so much, except the LEGO store. 

This is a horrible picture, but for those of you who have never seen Aliza in a pair of pants, here she is! And quit adorable I might add!

We shopped till we dropped! This was minutes after getting into the car. She didn't even finish her toostie pop before she passed out! 

Here Carmen is showing off one of her new outfits for school! 

Poppy brought over a playhouse for the girls to have. They have loved it! I guess it was bedtime in this picture. 

Overall, we've kept ourselves busy this summer. I have one more big post of our beach trip to get done and then I think I'll be done with summer. We are ready for school to start and to get into a better routine. 

Stay tuned for 1st day of school pictures!!