Apple Festival

We went to the Apple Festival at Historic Bethabara Park. It was a fun day, but very crowded. I wish Emmett could have seen a few more things up close. But the apple cider was delicious, and we tried a cider slush that was WONDERFUL. Susie really enjoyed it. They did have some neat demonstrations and a fun pig race and duck race!

Washington D.C. Day 3

On our last day we had the privilege of being part of Cam's friend's promotion ceremony in the Navy. He decided to have the ceremony at the Jefferson Memorial. It was so great to watch these three friends catch up all weekend and then participate in this.

Cute family photo:

Emmett loved hanging out with his friend Bella.

Then we went to the Archives to see the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. No pictures inside, but I loved this quote on the outside of the building. The buildings in D.C. are so massive and impressive.

It was a quick weekend, but so much fun. On the way out of town, the whole crew stopped at Cafe Rio for lunch. Perfect way to end the trip!

Washington D.C. Day 2

On Day 2, we hit up the Jefferson Memorial, the Air & Space Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Once again, the kids did a great job of hanging in there as we walked and walked.

We started at the Jefferson Memorial, which is one of my favorites. It's a beautiful structure with a beautiful view, and it's never as crowded as the other ones. Here's a cute pic of Susie's sweet smile:

Emmett loved all the steps.

This picture cracks me up - he was amazed at the "HUGE STATUE!"

Then we headed to the Mall to hit up the museums.

"It's a NU-seum like on Monkey George!"

I love that he's old enough to enjoy the exhibits.

They had some bugs out, and he almost got close enough to touch them.

In between museums, we had our first gourmet food truck experience. We got some cheese steak sandwiches that were pretty good.

The Air & Space museum was pretty neat -Everything we saw, Emmett would say "I want to ride that!"
Here is a Space Mo-bot (Robot).

 
and when we went in we met a really nice worker who gave Emmett a special pin.

We loved all the hands-on exhibits.

Eventually, we got past nap time and had to wrap up our afternoon.

Washington D.C. Day 1

We had the chance to meet up with some of Cam's best friends from high school in Washington D.C. over Labor Day weekend. One lives there, and the other is nearby for a few weeks.We had SO much fun. It was a busy weekend, but the kids did great with the crazy schedule, hot weather, and walking.

The first day, we went to the National Zoo. We decided to ride the Metro to give Emmett the experience of riding the train. He LOVED it!

On a hot day, the splash area was the place to be

When did Susie get so big?

 E had so much fun with our friends exploring the zoo.

That night, we found a restaurant that Cam has been talking about for years. He first ate at it in England before we were married. We had a bit of a rough experience there, but the food was good and it ended up well. It's called Nando's Peri Peri

Cookies

This may be my new favorite picture from Maw Maw's house - sitting on the kitchen floor eating cookies! These kids LOVE going to visit her. Emmett even recognizes the turns we take to get there!

End of Summer/Back to School

It's that bittersweet time again - summer is over and I'm headed back to work. This is a struggle. I love being a teacher. But I also love being a mom. And unfortunately, those two roles often battle it out for my time during the school year. This moment was just a few days before I went back:

Emmett was playing with his train. Susie had just woken up. He saw her and said "Hellooooo Susie! Welcome to the train station!" And she ran over, sat in the train bucket, and they played so nicely.

Was my whole summer like this? Definitely not. Everyone is right - the three's are worse than the two's. They both struggle to share. They wrestled. A lot. But this moment was sooooo perfect. It made me not want to work.

This is the day before I went back. I totally didn't mean to dress them alike. I swear. But look how sweet. 

Look at how she is looking at him in this one:

They crack each other up. All the time!

But for now, it's back to school. I'm so, so, SO blessed to have such a wonderful friend who watches my babies and loves them like her own. So this is the scene when I dropped them off Monday morning:

Emmett was so happy that Gigi had his milk ready. And Jackson had to love on Susie right away. No tears, no sad goodbyes. And I'm focused on getting this year off to a great start.

Moments

Cam teases me about taking pictures, but this is why I do it. This moment touched me when I saw it, and I'm so glad I captured it. Father and son, roasting hot dogs over a campfire and talking about life.