Sunday, August 21, 2016

Watagua Lake and 1st Day of School

We live a mere 20 minutes from this beautiful lake. Once again I would like to mention how great it is to live so close to vacation destinations. How Carl can pick up rocks that weigh more than he does is a mystery to me. 


 They had free canoe rides and I couldn't resist. Maybe the kids need to grow a little more to fit into the life preservers. We did review the first rule of canoeing which is "Don't fall in the drink."


 Here is the other half of our crew. Carl's less than happy face is most likely due to the wet britches he had from sitting at the bottom of the canoe. That really is the safest place for a two year old.


I made the girls these summer dresses which they love.


Helen's first day of 3rd Grade!


Jane's first day of 1st Grade!


Sunday, August 14, 2016

Summertime fun

Sometimes I am good at keeping up with pictures and sometimes I am not . . .

Roan Mountain has a Rhododendron Festival in June, and that's where these pictures were taken. We only live about 45 minutes away. We've never lived so close to a vacation destination. :)

You would not believe the crazy faces Ryan was pulling to get this picture.

Carl discovered some pipes Ryan had bought for installing sink in our basement. They turned out to be the best toys ever. In addition to being protective arm-wear, they could be made into all sorts of "instruments."  My favorite was the two 90 degree angles - you would think that singing straight into your own ear would encourage you to lower you volume, but that was not the case. Here he is with the alpine horn version complete with arm protectors.

We got to tour the Bristol Motor Speedway with the summer reading program at Amber's library. The kids had a great time, and I was only slightly nervous (white knuckles gripping handles) when they took the 15 passenger van for a spin on the steeply sloped racetrack.

It is so good to have the summer off.  I think most of our yard's rocks and sticks have traveled over 5 miles and still end up at home.

We have a great train park near our home that we discovered this summer.

Who can deny the fun of cousins and a slip and slide?

Apparently Ryan had this same park growing up and got a little teary eyed when he saw it.

What faces! What a life!