Summer break ended and StoneBridge invited the students to back-to-school events.
Emma loved reuniting with her best friends, Diana (left) and Remy (right) at the middle school kick off party.
Hallie met her teacher, Mrs. Damron at her back-to-school day. It looks like Hallie is adult-sized in this photo, but Mrs. Damron is less than 5 feet tall.
Emma started 7th grade this year.
Hallie started 4th grade
And Dan went back to middle school to teach Pre-Algebra and Algebra classes, as well as a Senior-level Personal Finance class.
About a week after school started, Dan developed an infected spot on his chin that increased to the size of a dime. He tried all kinds of over-the-counter treatments before he gave in and went to the doctor, who prescribed a double dose of oral and topical antibiotics. I'll spare you from seeing a picture, but he had to cover his chin with a Band-Aid every day until it healed, or his students wouldn't have heard a word he said in class!
Speaking of antibiotics, the girls and I have a "Mommy and Me Day" at the end of every summer. We planned it the Saturday before class started, but unfortunately both girls didn't feel great by that weekend. Hallie came down with a nasty cold and Emma had a painful UTI. We started the morning with a scavenger hunt around the house for surprises, but ended up going to urgent care in the afternoon to get Emma started on antibiotics because she was so miserable.
One of the day's treasures was a Magic Water Elf kit, which contains animal shaped molds that you pour magical goo into. When you place the molds into water, the goo solidifies so you can play with your animal squishy toys.
The girls each received dragon wall decals to decorate their bedroom with. It now looks like they're under attack while they're sleeping.
They also received a make-your-own chocolate frog kit, based on the Harry Potter candy.
The frogs looked perfect, and they came with little boxes and collectible cards, just like in the movies.
Who knew frogs could be so delicious!
The next day when Emma was feeling a little better, we had Part 2 of our "Mommy and Me" day. We shopped for toys at Barnes & Noble and had treats at Dunkin Donuts.
Emma and Hallie both love the Wings of Fire books (hence the dragon-themed bedroom).
They each chose Wings of Fire plush dragons.
We got to host our nephew, Nathan's, birthday celebration at our house. We normally congregate in Williamsburg where the rest of the family lives, but Nathan attends Regent University, which is just around the corner from us.
We took our long-awaited annual trip to Texas over Labor Day weekend for my mom's family reunion. My parents, Emma, Hallie, and I flew there on Friday. Dan isn't allowed to take the school day off before a holiday weekend, so he joined us in Texas the following day.
Hallie chose this shifty-eyed racoon cake pop for her airport treat. Our 3-day weekend at my uncle and aunt's ranch house was packed with family, food, and fun, as always!
Emma practiced her driving skills on the ranch house golf cart. She's a great driver ... except for that time she hit the side of the barn ... and the back of a parked car ... and bounced Hallie right out of the cart onto the driveway. It's all a part of learning, right?
While the kids are out playing (and possibly injuring themselves), the adults are serious about keeping card games going all day.
This beautiful baby who is obsessing over Hallie's hair is our new baby cousin, Claire. She's the sweetest little thing at the ranch!
The sassiest little thing at the ranch is 5-year-old Shiloh, who was Hallie's biggest admirer all weekend.
They did lots of fishing for lake plants
Emma was a little more patient, but the fish just weren't biting for us.
The kids grabbed flashlights and spent hours frog hunting one evening. Hallie would only touch the tiny, cute ones.
Emma had no qualms about holding onto this big guy, even after he peed all over the place when she caught him.
More Baby Claire play time
More card games
More golf cart practice. Hallie's a more cautious driver than Emma, at least this year.
Long chats on the porch
Emma rebuilt the bone pile in the woods.
And introduced us to Jeffrey (*shudder*)
More baby Claire time
The four girl cousins, Sadie, Emma, Hallie, and Shiloh, loved exploring together around the acres of ranch land.
It was such a fun weekend, and we love spending time with our Texas family every year!
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