Before and After

When we moved into our house in 2008 we knew one of the first things we really wanted to do was take down the UGLY wrought iron that was on the front porch. Other projects had priority, but we finally got around to making the change this summer. My Dad and Jason worked hard to put up the beautiful Trex decking for our new front porch. They also built some flower beds in front of the house and we will be repainting the shutters and trim at some point in the near future. The new porch makes a world of a difference.
Before:

After:

D.C. Day 1 - American Girl Store

As a treat for finishing 3rd grade we decided to take Cloey to the new American Girl Store that opened up in Washington D.C. We planned on making a weekend out of it with Mom and Dad to take in some sights as well. Our first day of the trip was to the American Girl Store. Lets just start of by saying that place makes a killing. Since it was a special treat Cloey got to have her dolls hair done, ears pierced, and then get a few new items(glasses, outfits, and tennis shoes) for her doll. After shopping Cloey, Autumn, and I dined in the American Girl Bistro as a special treat. After our time at the store we headed into D.C. to stop at the Jefferson and Roosevelt Monuments. We then were all beat and headed to the hotel for the night so we could gear up for the next day of sight seeing. Although it was a pricey treat to take Cloey to the AG Store we were thankful that we were able to do so and that she had so much fun going.
Cloey, Autumn, and I at the American Girl Bistro enjoying our diner.

Autumn getting her hair done(you don't want to know what we paid for it to be done) after she got her ears pierced(again you don't want to know the cost). Cloey picked the double decker ponytail for Autumn.

Cloey with Autumn after she got her new glasses, hair done, and ears pierced(remember I am talking about the doll getting all of that done not Cloey).

Emma LOVES baby dolls these days. She can always be seen carrying one around the house or when we are out and about. She was in heaven in the American Girl Store and was excited to grab any she could get her hands on.

It was hard to not buy her one when you look at those puppy dog eyes.

One happy soon to be 3rd grader.

4th of July

*Sunday - July 3rd - We head to the VMI Parade grounds to attend the balloon festival that was taking place with our friends and their kids. For me it was a big change growing up around balloons and different balloon events to only see 12 balloons at this event. The kids played in the bounce houses and took in a free craft activity. The weather wasn't looking very promising so we stopped for a shaved ice and then headed home to have dinner and hang out.
Emma and Mommy

Jason has his picture with Cloey in this jumper when he had to return to Iraq after his leave when she was almost a year old.

*Monday - July 4th - We had a pretty laid back day. We started the day at the bike parade in town and it just wasn't the same without Cloey there this year. After the parade we came home and had a cookout with friends and their kids. We then took an afternoon nap and later that evening our friends came back after they had all napped as well to hang out. We ended the evening with fireworks in the front yard with the neighbors.
Ready to Roll!!!

Emma's 1st Bike Parade

Enjoying a slice of watermelon after the parade.

D-Day Memorial

We have talked for years about how we would love to make a trip to the D-Day Memorial because it is less than a hour away from our house. Every summer Jason has been busy with classes and school work, but this summer is different. We were able to make a trip to Bedford on Monday. We loaded the girls up and made our way to the memorial. We had a tour guide who took us around and told us lots of interesting information. It was a neat memorial and Jason really enjoyed himself.
After our tour it was lunch time and Cloey picked Pizza Hut for lunch. We got our pizza and enjoyed a yummy lunch together. On the way back home we passed a sign for an orchard with peaches and decided to check it out. It was a real cute little place and we got lots of yummy peaches, corn, tomatoes, Cherry Apple Cider Jelly(supper yummy), and some salad dressing. It was a wonderful and unexcpected end to our day trip. Once home we all relaxed and finished the night of with some ice-cream from Dairy Queen.
The National D-Day Memorial

Daddy and his girls.

Daddy and Cloey taking it in.

Jason's unit from when he was in the Army.

Cloey taking a break in Emma's stroller. Emma was on the move and running all over the place.

A picture of me with the girls just to prove I went on the trip with them - haha - Moms are always not in pictures.

Mostly Pictures

Emma's favorite place to be outside and on the steps.

Cloey in her firefly catching gear - glow in the dark Alaska Firefly shirt and hat along with the glowing Mickey ears we found while cleaning. She thinks the flashing Mickeys will draw the fireflies to her.

Me and Birdie

We had a Spa Night and all of us girls painted our toe nails to match. Emma was very impressed with the polish.

Daddy and his girls on Father's Day.

They are just too cute in their matching outfits. We really need to work on Emma posing for the camera before we leave for Disney in July.

Emma loves crayons and sidewalk chalk. We may have a lefty on our hands.

They love to play outside, well Cloey only likes to when it is not too hot - haha.

Cloey on her 1st day of camp. She is has attended a Nature Detective Camp this week from 8:30-12:30 and loves it. She is sad that tomorrow is the last day of camp.

Oh Dear!

Well somehow I managed to let almost a month pass in between blog posts. I promise I will be better about it now that I am on summer vacation. There were many times I thought about blogging or when I even logged on to blog. Those times I was either too tired to blog or Blogger was acting up. Regardless of the excuses I am back in action and ready to get back into the swing of things. I will give a quick update of each of us to catch you up to speed in the last month.
*Jason - Sadly the job prospects in the area of teaching aren't looking promising. School systems are making budget cuts and there aren't many people being hired. Jason continues to be on the hunt, but a different career path may have to be traveled this Fall. He is enjoying the fact that he doesn't have to worry about classes and homework this Summer and can be carefree. It is nice to be able to have him around more this Summer.
*Me - I finished up another school year and am excited to enjoy my summer off. We have some vacations planned and it is always exciting. I had some issues with my gallbladder this week and thought I was going to have it removed. Luckily I get to keep it for now unless I have another attack like this past week.
*Cloey - We are excited to have her here for the Summer. She came last Saturday and somehow a week of her time has already flown by. She offically finished second grade and we now have a third grader on our hands and it is hard to believe. She heads off to her first summer camp tomorrow. It is called Nature Detectives and runs this Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 12:30. She is excited and we can't wait to hear about her adventures.
*Emma - It is too hard to start with Little Miss Thing. She is all over the place walking, climbing, and into everything. She keeps us on our toes and we are receiving paybacks from when we were kids. Each time we watch her do something daring we think of what a blessing it is to have her with us. She is currently getting 4 teeth and they are giving her a fit.
Well I will try and post some pictures tomorrow, but that is something I have been slacking on lately as well. I need to make sure to get out my camera more often.

A new favorite

Little moments like this can't exactly be expressed by a picture. Cloey and Emma were laying on the couch the other day just talking and snuggling with each other. I snapped a picture because it was just perfect to see them spending such quality time together. Emma loves her big sissy so much and misses her while she is gone and moments like these are so special to us. Hoping to get some great pictures of them this weekend.

This is one of my new favorite pictures of Miss Emma. She is so happy and has that loving smile on her face that melts our hearts. People comment that she looks like Jason, my brother, me, and I swear she looks A LOT like my Aunt Sandy. While everyone thinks she looks like someone else I am glad to see she has a little bit of everyone in her looks and personality