Fall Fun

Our fall has been full of accomplishments and fun.

Hallie worked hard on her 2nd grade dinosaur project and presentation.

She loves to do crafts, and she formed and painted the clay volcano, cave, nest, and dinosaur figures herself. She also searched for the perfect rocks and grass to decorate her scene.  It looked fantastic, and she got an A+.

Hallie also learned to tie her shoelaces this year. Dan and I haven't taught either of our girls to tie their shoes. We just wait until they figure it out for themselves out of necessity. Follow us for more parenting tips.

Emma's 5th grade class is focused on American history this year. They dressed up as the American founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, and gave speeches about their assigned person. 

After their speeches, they got to sign the document with a quill.

Emma portrayed the very dignified Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, a representative from South Carolina. She and the rest of the girls in 5th grade were NOT excited about dressing like old men.

She did a great job, though, and we were proud of her.

Dan's accomplishment this month was that his ankle healed and his orthopedist cleared him to return to normal activities!  He was really excited to get back to his hockey league!

He also participated in a Trivia Night fundraiser at school, and his team won!  

The weekend before Halloween, I ran the Wicked 5K. The girls came with me to pick up my race packet at the Virginia Beach Convention Center the day before the race.  I had originally signed up for the 10K race, but I decided I should downgrade to the shorter distance. Between my calf injury from our Bermuda accident, and going on vacation in Missouri for a week, I hadn't trained enough to run more than a couple of miles.

The girls enjoyed seeing the Halloween decorations and collecting free goodies from the race sponsors. They were in their bathing suits so they could join Grandpa and Grandma Jester at the beach after we picked up my race packet, while I went back to work for the rest of the day.

I thought this was the funniest photo. Hallie has no idea she's about to become this inflatable cat's snack! Emma's keeping her eye on the situation, though.

Dan dropped me off at the starting line the next morning and rode his bike while I ran.

I found my friend, Kimmie, before the race. We didn't see each other while racing, since she ran the 10K and we didn't follow the same course.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the creative costumes people wore! I have no idea how this couple ran (or even walked) several miles in those inflatable costumes.

The Flintstones

Two masked robbers

Where's Waldo?

This lady was a patient with her doctor. Her open-backed gown cracked me up!

The Super Mario characters

Richard Simmons

Popeye and Olive Oil

My personal favorites, Venus Flytrap and her Fly

There were zombies at the last mile of the race to motivate us to run faster. They were dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

I enjoyed the race and the beautiful morning at Virginia Beach. 

The evening before my race, we celebrated our niece, Naomi's, birthday in Williamsburg. Emma and Hallie got to have a sleepover with Naomi and Miriam that night.

While the girls were eating a pancake breakfast after their sleepover, Hallie lost her second front tooth! Now she has the picture perfect 7-year-old smile!

Dan's sister, Robin, drove Hallie and Emma back to us after the sleepover. We spent a few hours at Hickory Ridge Farm together. 

The girls rode a barrel train ride

And went on a hay ride

That evening, I took Emma and Hallie to a nearby Trunk or Treat event, where they played games and collected a bunch of candy.

The face painters at the Trunk or Treat inspired Emma to "paint" Hallie's face with washable markers, and she did a very nice job!

Instead of carving pumpkins this year, we used paint and sticker kits to create pumpkin bats and cats.

They were adorable!

It's our annual tradition to join the Jester family for trick or treating in their Williamsburg neighborhood. It's fun to go with a big group of kids and adults.

Our nephew, Aaron, dressed as a mannequin and passed out candy at their house this year. He sat very still and managed to scare a few kids as they were grabbing candy from the bowl. 

Our other nephew, Nathan, was pretty flamboyant this year.

Robin and Rob dressed as Ahsoka and Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars television series.

Only a few employees dressed up for Halloween at my office this year, since we didn't have a party.

Dan's parents rented a timeshare on Virginia Beach for three weeks, and we went to the beach to join them a few times. We had a great time swimming at their indoor pool and playing in the sand, although it was too cold to go in the ocean.  

We saw several groups of horseback riders go by on the beach. One group did not have a good experience. Four of the horses got away from them and went galloping back to their corral - and there was one little girl still clinging to her horse's back as they ran!  She was screaming and crying, but she managed to hold on until the horses came to a stop, miles away from their group. The horseless riders had to be carried to the starting point on a 4-wheeler.  I hope they got their money back!

Later, Emma ran to us with wide eyes and said, "I just saw a shark in the water!" It turned out that it was a dolphin fin, and we spent the next 30 minutes watching an entire pod of dolphins swim near the shore. That was so cool!

  Emma's pure delight at seeing the dolphins. She loves all animals.

They inspired us to build a sand dolphin.

Before StoneBridge School's Thanksgiving break, they celebrate Christian Heritage Day. The kids dress as Pilgrims or Native Americans and participate in a variety of educational activities based on that time period.

Hallie was the cutest 2nd grade Native American!

She got to roast apples over a fire pit

Have a sack race

And visit cute animals at the petting zoo

Emma learned about dying fabric with beets, beans, and onions

Practiced archery

And participated in musket drills

  

She loved all the animals, and got great photos with this camera-loving alpaca!

Hallie with her friend, Fiona

Emma and her best friends, Remy and Diana

Dan and I enjoyed watching the girls at their activity stations

Christian Heritage Day is an Elementary School event, so this was an extra special day for Emma and her 5th grade classmates! They allow the high schoolers to assist at the stations, and she's already looking forward to volunteering when she's a high schooler!