Finally Fall

We've been enjoying cooler temperatures already this fall.  Dan and I planned a date to Kings Dominion so we could ride roller coasters; however, my middle-aged body has strict limitations nowadays. I took motion sickness medicine before we got to the park to help prevent nausea, but nothing could prepare me for the "Intimidator 305" ride. You climb 305 feet up a hill, then practically free fall at 90 mph before making a sharp turn with a G-force of 4.5. I have no idea what happens on the ride after that, because I PASSED OUT during the first few seconds. Dan looked over at me and saw that I was out cold, but he couldn't do anything about it since he was strapped in his seat in the middle of a barrel roll. I remember dreaming and then waking up while I was still on the ride. 

Needless to say, this was my last major roller coaster of the day! After Kings Dominion, we watched "Top Gun: Maverick," and I enjoyed watching the pilots deal with G-forces from the comfort of my chair. 

In other big news, Emma got braces in mid-September. She's so cute with her braces smile! She has a cross bite that causes her lower middle teeth to overlap her top teeth. The orthodontist thinks that her bite looks great otherwise, so she should be finished with braces in 4-6 months. She had two days of pretty intense pain after her braces were put on, then they felt better and more "normal" each day.

Emma also had her first UTI in a year. She had one right after school started last year, too, which probably isn't a coincidence.  The beginning of school most likely throws her off her schedule and good habits, making her more susceptible to UTIs. 

I took advantage of "Free Museum Day" tickets so we could visit Cape Henry Lighthouse, the first U.S. lighthouse that was authorized by the government in 1792. 

Since it's located on an active military base, we had to check in at the entrance, give the guards our IDs, and ride a shuttle bus to the lighthouse. We were told (sternly) several times that we would be arrested if we stepped outside the boundaries of the tourist areas. Instead of a warm welcome, we felt like potential criminals as we began our tour. Emma didn't even want to stay, she was so nervous.

Hallie enjoyed the experience, though, and loved climbing up the spiral staircase to the top of the lighthouse!

From the top, we had a beautiful view of the ocean and the 2nd Cape Henry Lighthouse, which was built in 1881.

Since we were so close already, we spent an hour playing at Virginia Beach after we finished the lighthouse tour.

While we were on our way to Cape Henry, we saw the Blue Angels flying overhead!  We had forgotten that they were in town that weekend, but we quickly decided to go the following day after church.

Dan's parents joined us for the Blue Angel's performance

The girls didn't care much for the show, but they did like seeing the planes displayed on the tarmac.

The following week, my company, Epsilon Systems, displayed a booth at a large industry conference. It was a tiring three days for my coworkers and I, standing on our feet and chatting with potential customers and teammates, but it went really well.

The girls had a Friday off from school, so I took them to Sandy Bottom Park and Nature Center.

There was a playground that they played on for 10 minutes, but behind that, someone had built a mini fort in the forest and the girls spent over an hour pretending it was their house.

In the park's nature center, there were turtles, snakes, and insects on display.

One of Dan's former San Diego coworkers, Elizabeth, and her husband, Ron, vacationed near us. We met them for dinner one evening at Texas Roadhouse. After hearing all about their land and animals in Arkansas, Emma and Hallie can't wait to visit them!

Emma's class put on a talent show during chapel at school. Emma displayed some of her best artwork, and she was chosen to share a Bible verse.

All the 4th grade kids did a great job, and the class showed a variety of talents!

Hallie Turns 6!

 We celebrated our beautiful Hallie's 6th birthday over a couple of weekends in September.  The weekend before her birthday, we visited the Portsmouth Children's Museum.

Our angels posing outside the building

We played in the bubble room

And enjoyed the coral reef exhibit

Hallie and Emma got to dress up as manta rays

They found a climbing spot in a mural art area before we left the museum.

The following day, we celebrated Hallie's birthday with the Jester family

She chose a Krispy Kreme doughnut birthday cake

We swam at Dan's parents' pool and partied all afternoon. One of Hallie's favorite parts was having her first pinata full of candy!

She also loved her gifts, of course. She got a Cutie Cuts Scruff-A-Luv from Dan's parents, which she got to shave, groom, and beautify.

She was also excited to get a Magic Mixie toy, which creates lights and sweet-smelling smoke before revealing the stuffed animal toy inside

Emma had gotten a Magic Mixie for her birthday, and Hallie was excited to have one, too!

Another favorite gift was this Disney princess toy suitcase set from my parents. She's ready to travel!

The Friday before her birthday, Hallie's class sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She shared homemade chocolate chip cookies with her classmates and handed out party favor bags.

The weekend of her birthday, we flew to Texas for our annual family reunion 

We gather each year with my mom's side of the family at my Uncle Brian and Aunt Margaret's ranch house. It's an amazing place with enough beds for all the adults, and floor space for the kids to sleep on sleeping bags and air mattresses. We spent the weekend visiting, eating good food, playing games of all kinds, and watching the kids play.  It's such a great time and we always love catching up with everyone.

A game of slam ball

Our family loves playing spades tournaments

And we learned a new game called Garbage, which was great for the younger kids.

The girls were happy to be reunited with their cousin, 8-year-old Sadie!  Most of the kids in the family are boys, so these girls are tight.

They had so much fun playing with toys together.

My cousin Emily enjoys decorating the girls' hair and nails. She has two boys and never gets to do girly stuff. Hallie loves all things fancy.

Emma's not normally a fancy girl, but even she couldn't resist getting a blue streak added to her hair.

Emma loved fishing in the ranch house's stocked pond. We didn't get up early enough in the morning to catch anything, but it was fun to try. The kids enjoy swimming in the pond, too. The water level was too low this year for most of the adults to brave it, since we'd have to swim through the plant life around the edges to get to the deeper center of the pond. I'm not okay with anything touching me underwater, so I watched from the sidelines and prayed that no one would need me to dive in and rescue them.

My cousin, Brad, takes the young kids on a joyride each year in one of the golf carts. He drives super-fast and takes them around the edges of the ranch land. They absolutely love it, and we know exactly where they are from their shrieks of terror as they fly by!

On Hallie's birthday morning, Uncle Brian made the best loaded pancakes in the world. Made to order with berries, chocolate chips, sausage, or a mixture of everything!

The girls opted to swim in a kiddie pool instead of the pond in the afternoon. 

After lunch, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Hallie, and she shared cupcakes with everyone. 

We saved a couple of gifts for her to open in Texas. She loved this Rescue Runt puppy from Uncle Steve, Aunt Sheila, Meera, and Rowan! Uncle Steve was able to come to the reunion this year, and we hope that the rest of his family can come next year! We missed them!

She also got to open a beautiful dress, high heel shoes, a headband, and nail decorations. She looked just like a princess!

Her chariot was a golf cart, driven by Emma! Emma did a great job driving around the ranch, with Dan as her instructor.

As the weekend came to an end, we experienced a sudden, severe storm at the ranch. We could see the wind and rain coming across the horizon very quickly, and the guys ran outside to collect anything that might blow away. Most of us sheltered inside, but a few were brave enough to watch the storm roll in.

During our layover on our flight home, the girls each tried a new food and loved it! Hallie has eaten hundreds of chicken nuggets, but that day she ate her first Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich, and almost finished the whole thing. I think she might be in a growth spurt!

Emma's been wanting to try an Annie's pretzel, and she got one for lunch at the airport. It looks like all her dreams came true!

We had the best time celebrating our 6-year-old! She's kind, spunky, creative, and people oriented. She's super fun and enthusiastic, which makes her a joy to be around. She's the only morning person in our family, so we do struggle a little bit with her enthusiasm first thing in the morning. She loves to include everyone in her games and ideas, and likes to be in charge, but will almost always compromise to keep the peace. She's been ready to go places ever since she was born, and one of her favorite questions is "Are we going to go anywhere fun today?" For some reason, she says school doesn't count as "fun." Ha!  She's doing really well in school, though, and has grown tons this year in reading, comprehension, and memorization.  One of the only things she enjoys doing independently is crafts, and you had better not touch her craft if she didn't ask you to help her!! Otherwise, she's always looking for a playmate. She's willing to try new things regularly and doesn't worry if things don't turn out perfectly. Her go-with-the-flow attitude and versatility will serve her well in life. We love you so much, Hallie, and we pray that the Lord will guide you as you grow and learn this year.