Final Upward Weekend

What a great way to finish the basketball season! Sarah had more hustle in her today than I have seen all season. Apparently Daddy had a talk with her on the way to the game - whatever he said really motivated her. She took lots of shots, scored a few points, was aggressive on defense, and even got to try her hand at foul shots (the first one ALMOST went in!)! Sarah had a wonderful coach that taught the kids how to be good players and how to play together as a team. Here is a clip...





Abby had a great game too! She definitely has the chops to be a cheerleader! At halftime they got to show their stuff. Here they are with the HELLO cheer and their POM routine! (Abby is on the far right!).

VA Living Museum

When my mom came to visit we took advantage of our reciprocal Science museum pass and tried out the VA Living Museum. I highly recommend it. The kids loved it, and so did my mother and I! Here are some pictures from our visit... They had a new exhibit all on microbes that was fascinating. We loved the outdoor animals - particularly the Bald Eagles (the squirrel picture is an inside joke with Sarah's teacher). We got to see a scuba show while they were cleaning the aquarium - very entertaining! As you will see, their favorite pose was with the empty turtle shell.

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More Beach fun!

Making snow angels (no snow so we have to improvise!)

Good sibling together time!

Happy 40th Stephanie!

This is the BIG year for me and my friends - the BIG 40. My college friend Stephanie was one of the first to hit the big milestone. She has taken it in stride! Mark surprised Stephanie with a party for her birthday. She was definitely surprised, but very mellow about it - in true Steph fashion. It was hard to really get a reaction from her since the back room we were in was visible from the entrance to the restaurant - but we did our best! Lots of friends came to wish Stephanie well, and Stephs sister made it too.Everyone had a good time, and Stephanie and Mark had a good night without the kids!! I am disappointed to report that Stephanie did not get a game of quarters started!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!

Go Upward!

Sarah and Abby had their first games with Upward. Upward, for those of you that may not know, is a Christian based program that teaches sports to the kids along with devotionals. It was a long morning as Abby's game was at 9am and Sarah's game was at 12 noon, but it was well worth it. This week they both have games at 10am - you gotta love that!

This is Abby's first time cheering and she loves it. She especially loves getting to show off how loud her voice can be! The girls will all take turns being 'head cheerleader' and this week was Abby's turn. She did a great job!

At half time the girls got to do a cheer in the middle of the gym for everyone to see! Very cool! (Abby is in the back row, far left)

This is Sarah's first time playing basketball - and she loves it. She had a great steal, and a couple of attempts to score. She will tell you that her team did not win, but she had a great time!




And Drew is not yet old enough to play, but he is okay with that for now. He enjoyed watching, but he enjoys the practices more when he gets to practice his dribbling skills while we watch and wait.

Weekend in Winchester

After celebrating New Year's at home with Steve, the kids and I headed to Winchester to see all the cousins. What fun we had. I think it gets even more fun as the kids get older. It is fun to watch them all interact and have such fun together. It was a great weekend!

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Time with Good Friends

Since the kids had 2 weeks off from school, and Steve had to work long hours, the kids and I decided to take some road trips after Christmas. We seem to do well with last minute plans! Our first destination was back to PA to see some friends. We surprised Auntie E by calling her from the car as we were headed to her house! We were at their house by early afternoon and had lots of fun seeing them. Then we headed to our dear friends house to stay for a few nights (since we will see E and family again in a few days in Winchester). Drew's best buddy Nathaniel and his family kindly agreed to house us - it was a giant slumber party! We had a wonderful time and Drew is already asking when we can go back!

The girls all had fun playing with the American Girl Dolls.

Sarah and Abby also had fun playing with Baby Samuel.

The boys had fun playing Star Wars and Indiana Jones Wii.

We also got to see our good friends the Hinchliffes. We all went to Ringing Rock park where you get to climb all over the rocks and bang them with a hammer. The different sounds are amazing, and the exploring is adventerous. Sarah had a sleepover at their house the second night - very fun!

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We also enjoyed getting to see our neighbors and friends the Smiths. While we were at their house we got to see some snow flurries! Thankfully for us it did not stick too much (as we were heading back home that day) - just enough for the kids to enjoy seeing snow.