Monday, October 29, 2012

Frankenstorm

Day 1: Monday, October 29, 2012

Here we are on the first day of Hurricane Sandy. Because it is hitting the Eastern Seaboard so close to Halloween, it has lovingly been nicknamed the "Frankenstorm".

School was cancelled last night, as a precaution for the storm. So far lots and lots of rain, but we haven't seen any of the high winds yet. That is supposed to start tonight. We have lots of milk, toilet paper and a case of water per person. We even have a big pot of chili and home-made rolls!

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Day 2: Tuesday, October 30, 2012

I guess that's all. We thought we would be in for more wind and rain today, but yesterday was actually worse. I think we are very blessed here in Northern VA. The track of the storm was originally forcasted to hit land close to Washington DC, but it veered north and hit land in New Jersey. I think New York City and New Jersey are getting pounded.

We are also blessed to have underground power. The lights flickered a few times, but we never lost power. The kids were out of school again today, but will return tomorrow on a 2-hour delay. I think some of the roads in rural VA may still have lots of sitting water.

The Birthday Boy

Yesterday was Logan's 11th birthday. He wanted to get everyone up at 6 am to open his gifts, but his mean mom nixed that idea. He ended up waiting "patiently" (ahem) until 1 pm when everyone was home at the same time. He got an RGIII football jersey, a National League bedspread to replace his little boy race car bedspread. His siblings gave him some Nike Elite sox, Reese's PB cups, and cash.

At 6 pm he had his friends come over for a little party. First, we went to Ci-Ci's Pizza in Leesburg to enjoy an all-you-can-eat Pizza feast. Then Dan took the boys to Temple Hall Farm Corn Maze. It was after dark and the boys had flashlights, but claimed that it wasn't spooky. Dan decided to spice it up for them and took a detour. When the boys started asking, "Logan! Where's your dad?", Dan came crashing through the corn straight at them. He reported that some of the ensuing screams sounded like they came from little girls and not this group of not-scared-at-all "manly" boys.

After the maze, they came back to our house for cake and ice cream.

                                                 Logan opens his gifts from his friends.
                                               Here's his big, huge, 4-layer chocolate cake!

Logan attempts to blow all the candles out.

                                                   Jordan Adams and Mason Covington
                                                    Tyler Hamm and Carson Trent

Robert Candland and Logan....plus lots of talk about meeting a group of girls and texting them on Carson's phone.

Fall Festival

Last Saturday Ethan's preschool hosted a fall festival. We had a full day of t-ball, volleyball and baseball, but after the games we headed to the school to join in the fun.

                    Ethan was happy to see his friend, Thad. They enjoyed a few slides together!
                                                               Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
                                                             Come on slow poke!

                                                          Ethan loved the football toss!
                                                             Sydney bares her fangs!
                                              Who can resist a bit of blue and red hair spray?
                                                         Just clownin' around.........
                                                                  Up she goes--

                                                           and then comes down!
                                                           Ethan takes a healthy bounce!
                                                         Bake sale treats--YUM!
                                                               We love our lil' E.
                                                                      Say cheese!
                                                    Running through the leaves......
                                Ahhhhhhhh....one of those moments that moms love to cherish.

                                                   Syd and E on the teeter-totter

                      They loved this old-fashioned police car with a dressed up "jail-bird" in the back.

Spike it!

Sydney tried volleyball for the first time this fall. The format was mainly learning the skills of bumping, spiking, serving and setting. For the last session they had a mini-tournament. Syd served it over the net and scored several points for her team. Everyone was awarded a medal at the end. You'd have thought Syd just won Olympic Gold--she was so very happy!











A Hey Day

We have been blessed with some beautiful, Indian summer days this October. Wednesday was warm and sunny and the perfect day to go to a pumpkin patch. Remi and I loaded the kids up in our cars after school and drove through the winding, country roads to Cox Farm. The kids had a blast on the rope swing, the spooky corn maze, the hey ride and the burlap sack slides. We stayed until they kicked us out and all the way home Syd and E kept asking, "When can we go back there again?"










































               The whole gang: Craig, Sophie, Ethan, Ella, Sydney, Logan, Brooke and Robert.