Summer's Almost Gone?

I have just realized that I have not posted anything since March! I missed quite literally a whole season of blogging! ;) So I thought I would take a moment to catch up before I completely miss summer, too. 

In March of this year Joe and I took the family to the nation's capitol. It was a fun trip for us all. I was a little under the weather so I got worn down about two-thirds of the way through our days. For me it was nice to go back since I was 13 years old for my only other visit to DC. The kids loved the Metro! We also did some trolley rides which the loved, too. They were amazed at how big the statue of Lincoln really is, got to see the White House (from behind the fence), and got to visit the Smithsonian Museum. Also on the way up we stopped by Monticello. I enjoyed seeing that and Otter did as well. She saw pictures of Monticello in Art class after that and got so excited saying, "I've been there! That is Monticello!"  

Virginia Welcome Center

The White House

That was our big trip this year though we did take a quick trip to South Carolina for the family reunion. Most of the summer was spent relaxing and spending time together. I will have to say it was one of the easier summers at home in a while. The kids got along really well most of the time and did not wear out each other's nerves (or mine!). We did a few things closer to home while Joe had a few days off. 

 World's Fair Park splash pad

Fort Kid

Celebrating a birthday for Jo's little girl

 We also went to the Knoxville Zoo

We got to see the black bears out playing

Now school is back in session for the boys and for Otter. I am still teaching Otter at home. She loves being able to stay with us while she does her school. The boys are geared up with marching band again. Butch has also joined a newly formed Jazz Band at the high school.

Warmer Weather and Max Patch

Saturday was a beautiful day so we decided to head up to Max Patch in North Carolina. We stopped and bought kites for the kids and Joe said he just hoped there was enough wind. When we get there we had no problem with a lack of wind. Fairly strong winds blew the whole time we were there and the kites worked well (except Otter's Birds of Prey Eagle kite). The day was very different for our family, too. We had split into two groups when we started to hike. Bubba, Butch and Fox (Bubba was carrying him in the backpack) were one group and Joe, Otter, Bear and I were the second group. 

 

Looking down towards the parking area

The older boys had taken the longer route, took a wrong turn, then tried to correct by going through a field that later had a brier patch. Sandles, shorts and even jeans were no match! Brier Patch 1 The Boys 0. 

Bear's plane kite and the moon to the left of it

So meanwhile Joe, Otter, Bear and I had made it to the top going the steeper direct path and we were working on getting all the kites put together. Joe got Bear's plane together first. It was a great kite and flew well the whole time. I was holding it most of the time since Bear only held it for a couple of minutes before he went to 'help' Daddy. Next Joe worked on Otter's. After getting it together and several attempts to get it in the air failed he moved on to the boys' kite. It was the nicest of the three and had no assembly. It also had no problems flying.   

Getting the boy's kite out

When the boys finally arrived they were scratched up and Butch was cold. They decided to go get a blanket from the van. Poor them! They seemed to be gone for quite a while and we started to wonder if they just decided to stay at the van. We decided we had been there long enough and when they got back we were packing to head out. We ended the trip with a good dinner at Cracker Barrel. Chicken and Dumplins make it all better! ;)

 

Fox played with his cutie rather than eating it

 The younglings all piled on Daddy

Catching Up

So much has happened recently and I guess I need to update on what is going on in our family. Fox is now over a year old! He had his first haircut before he turned one. He was getting kind of shaggy again so I finally gave him the second haircut. He also started walking and very quickly has progressed with trying to run away from us or chase after the older siblings. He started climbing up onto the couch this past week.

First haircut in Nov

Second haircut in Feb

Joe grew a beard and did not trim it for over a month! For those of you who know me, I love beards and this thrilled me to no end! This was when he took all the boys out for breakfast.

We had a snow over the last couple of weeks and Fox, Bear, Otter, Bubba and Joe all went out sledding on our road. Fox was not happy sledding with Joe. The others all loved it, though!