Happy 3rd Birthday, Hallie!

Our sweet Hallie turned 3 years old this month!  We had so much fun celebrating her! 

 

A tradition I started a couple of years ago - Hallie got a #2 pancake right before she turned 3.

The weekend before her birthday, we got together and partied with the extended family. 

Hallie and Emma got to play for a little while with their cousins, Naomi and Miriam, before Hallie's birthday party. It was the day their family was leaving Virginia to start driving to their new home and Rob's job in Montana, so we were thankful to have a little bit of time together that morning.

We sent Rob, Robin, and the girls off with lots of hugs and kisses and love (and some tears, too!)

Then the rest of the cousins arrived for lunch

 

and presents

(Emma was in charge of reading the cards, mainly to keep her hands off Hallie's toys. Heh!)

and cupcakes!!

 

Hallie's birthday fell on a Wednesday. Her grandparents and I took her on a special outing to Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach.

 

 

She is so loved!

She got to feed goats

Meet chickens

Chat with a bunny and some very tiny 3-day-old baby bunnies

And feed beautiful birds! We all got in on the fun!

 

 

 

The highlight for Hallie was getting a pony ride! She had been asking to do that for a month!

There was a short, brown Shetland pony and a tall beautiful white horse to choose for her pony ride. She insisted she needed to ride the big horse because she's a big girl now.

  

 

After the farm, we picked Dan up for lunch at Chick-Fil-A - and another cupcake for dessert for Hallie

She had lots of presents to open, and lots of offers of assistance from her big sister.

She loved the cake and tea party set from Uncle Steve, Aunt Sheila, Meera and Rowan!

She really wanted a princess cake she saw at the store for $25. I said no (mainly because the cake wasn't chocolate, so what's the point?), but made a (chocolate) Princess/My Little Pony cake for her at home instead.

3-year-old silly smiles!

 

Hallie also had a celebration at school with cupcakes to share with her classmates. 

 

 

Hallie, you are sweet, funny, adventurous, and kind.  We love how excited you are to go places and try new things. We pray that God will guide you all your life and that you'll find your greatest hope, love, and peace in Him through Jesus Christ our Savior. You bring so much joy and laughter to our family - we can't imagine life without you!  We love you, sweet girl!

 

Summer in a Nutshell

After our trip to Wildwood, NJ with my parents and brother, Steve's family, we stayed local and had a laid-back summer.  Dan was busy at school with facilities and grounds projects during the week, but he got Fridays off for a couple of months. Yay for extra family days!  I worked 3 days a week in the office, and Hallie went to her babysitter's house. Childcare for Emma 3 days a week was a team effort between my parents, Dan's parents, and Dan's coworker, Helen, who each offered to babysit her one day. We are so grateful for their help, and Emma had the most fun summer ever! On my days off from work, I tried to take the girls somewhere special.We visited several local parks, museums, libraries, and malls to participate in their summertime children's activities.

  

Blue Bird Gap Farm

Chrysler Museum of Art (Eric Carle exhibit)

 

Windsor Castle natural playscape. Pretending to be bears, hiking through the forest, and going down the giant slide!

 

Special activities and the summer reading program at the public library

 

Evenings at the beach and a brief (rained-out) day at Water Country with Emma's friend, Elisha!

 



And of course lots of days at home playing. Emma is pretending to be Belle with her book and baguettes in a basket and Hallie is pretending to be Aurora with Prince Charming. 

 

We had friends visiting our area on their summer vacations, too!  Our good friends from Denver, Mike, Kate, and Courtney, came to our house for dinner one night. 

 

 The kids hit it off right away and played all night together!

 

 One of my best friends from Tennessee, Michelle, brought her family to Washington DC for a week, so we drove there to spend a day with them.

National Museum of Natural History.

 

Smithsonian Institution Building "The Castle"

 

We attended our friend, Dave's, Navy retirement party, and got to see a few San Diego friends there.

 

Dave at the podium thanking everyone for coming, and a picture of me, Cynthia (Dave's wife), and Jenn. We attended church together in San Diego, and now none of us lives there anymore.

 

I flew on my own to Texas for 2 days to attend a wedding reception for my cousin, Russell, and his bride, Tara.

 

My brother, Steve, flew from Boston, and we met at the airport in Dallas, rented a car, and drove together to the reception. We packed a lot of family, food, games, and fun into a short trip! We would've loved to bring our families, but the flights were expensive for such a quick turnaround.

 

The most wonderful thing about living in Virginia is that we can spend time with our families often!

We took the girls to a butterfly pavilion at the Williamsburg Botanical Gardens. Dan's parents joined us to see all the butterflies! Grandpa even caught one on his nose!

The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins this summer! We met several times to swim in Dan's parents' backyard pool together.

We made a point to have Jester family photos made, since Dan's sister, Robin, and her family were moving to Montana at the end of the summer.

 Our family photo, and I caught the girls laying on the rug together afterwards.

 

Dan and I squeezed in a couple of date days, thanks to our parents who were willing to babysit for us!

Left: Busch Gardens, Right: Hiking through James River Park in Richmond, VA

 

 

After a summer of swimming instead of bathing (that counts, right?), Emma's hair was in desperate need of a trim to remove all the dry, tangled ends. I ended up cutting off at least 6 inches, and it's so much easier to brush now!

 

Emma's first haircut!

 

 Before we knew it, the school year was upon us! We attended orientation day to drop off school supplies, see classrooms, and meet teachers.

 

Emma is in 1st grade with Mrs. Dietz. Hallie is in 3-year-old preschool with Mrs. Riddick (left) and her assistant, Mrs. Bennett.  Their teachers could not be sweeter!

 First day of school!  We are praying they have a wonderful year of learning, growth, and trusting our Lord Jesus more each day.