shootin' turkeys

No, we didn't shoot our own turkeys for Thanksgiving but we could have.  Any visit to Grandpa Joe's these days is all about the main event for the boys - shooting guns.  See, Grandpa has a whole safe full of weaponry and we have absolutely none at our house.  Last summer, Grandpa gave the boys a lesson in Gun Safety 101.

I don't know how two boys born of my gun-hating flesh and blood can love guns so much, but at least if they are going to love them, let them learn safety from someone who is practically an expert.

We pulled up last Wednesday around lunch time and I don't think I had the car in park before the boys were already in the backyard checking out the pellet gun shooting range Grandpa had set up.

 

He had all sorts of containers filled with water, and as the boys shot and made contact, they shouted with excitement.  Dylan is actually a very good shot.  He and Andrew went with Grandpa and Uncle Chris to the real shooting range on Saturday to shoot real guns.  I stayed behind, but I heard he had a lot of fun.

 

 

My Dad had driven to Ohio and picked up Grandma Williams from her assisted living facility so she could spend the holiday with all of us.  I think it really did her well to be around all the great grandkids, although I'm sure she turned down her hearing aid more than once.

 

 

My Dad and Josh carved up one of the turkeys.

 

 

While Uncle Chris made his famous cranberry orange relish.

 

 

I whipped up my sweet potato souffle.

 

 

Grandma Bobbie sat down once the entire time we were there, I think. She has endless energy!

 

 

Another favorite for the boys each trip is helping Grandpa make chocolate chip pancakes.

 

 

 

Friday was a beautiful day, and I got Grandma Williams to sit outside with me for a bit.

 

 

And it must have worked up her appetite because later she had two pieces of pie!

 

 

Josh and Logan colored.

 

 

And we all did what we're so lucky to do ... spend time together, drinking a lot, laughing a lot and making memories.

 

 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving too!

 

 

 

 

Air and Space Museum

We're so lucky to live 15 minutes from one of the absolute best museums ever - the Udvar Hazy Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  We've been there many times through the years, but each time we see something new.  And as the boys get older, they appreciate it more as well. 

This past Sunday we needed to get out of the house for a few hours, and it was too chilly to be outside for long.  So we headed to Udvar and with great timing, stumbled upon a free guided tour with the most amazing tour guide.  I don't remember his last name, but Steve was his first name and he was so full of information and fascinating stories, he held our attention for almost two full hours. Great guy!  The museum has tons of docents who volunteer their time touring people around, many of them are veterans and have served in the military themselves.

We  hadn't seen the Space Shuttle Discovery since it arrived on top of an airplane this past spring.  Logan and I were lucky that day in April to be driving near the museum and saw the amazing sight of Discovery attached to the top of an airplane as it was flown into the Udvar Hazy museum for retirement.  You just can't believe how massive it is in person, and its just amazing it was attached to top of an airplane...how heavy that must have been!  You can see how they attached it here.

 

 

We brought along Midnight, the 1st grade mascot from Logan's class.  Logan kept a journal all weekend to share with his class about all the adventures we had with Midnight last weekend.

 

 

 

These are so big, I bet an Andrew and a half could stand up inside them.

 

 

 

Udvar Hazy also houses the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber used to drop the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

 

 

Also, since the museum sits adjacent to Dulles Airport, you can ride the elevator up and get a 360 degree view of the planes taking off and landing.  Midnight thought it was cool too.

 

 

Logan - Star of the Week

We finished off this busy week with another special occasion at school.  Each first grader is assigned a special week where they are Star of the Week.  It so happened this was Logan's week.  We spent last weekend making a special poster that showed all of Logan's favorites, and photos of his family and interests, and he got to take that to school this past Monday to hang up front of his class all week.

Today, we were invited to come and help Logan present his poster, read a story to his class, and help him present three clues to his classmates for his mystery item (his teddy bear).  Then Mom and I stayed to have lunch in the (extremely loud!!) cafeteria!

 

Its been a fun, crazy busy week and boy, am I looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday next week. Five days to sleep in!  We'll be heading to Grandma Bobbies and Grandpa Joes for part of the break and meeting up with Uncle Chris, Aunt Jessica and Josh and Maya.

The Virginia Fair

In 4th grade, much of the curriculum focuses on the state of Virginia.  Dylan has been learning the regions of Virginia, the history of Colonial VA, and famous people from Virginia. About a month ago, he selected a topic to research and focus on, knowing he'd have to do some projects surrounding his topic.  He chose Thomas Jefferson.

It all came to a crescendo this week during American Education Week, as the kids finished their projects for display and participated in the Virginia Fair.  The VA Fair at our school is both an exhibit and a show. And in Dylan's case, he made a video with the iPad as well.

Last night was the big show, and he dressed as Thomas Jefferson, tooted his recorder, danced some Colonial dances and sang songs with all of the 4th grade.  He's been very excited, and it went off without a hitch.  Great job, 4th grade.  Way to go Dylan!

One of the projects was to make a collage in the shape of Virginia with all things Thomas Jefferson. Dylan's teacher liked his so much she's keeping it for a sample for next years' 4th graders.

 



 

Grandma is checking out his movie..

Dylan and his teacher, Miss Dardine

 



 

 

 

 

 

green belt!

Wow, what a busy week!  Tuesday night, Logan graduated to a green belt (intermediate) at taekwondo.  He was so proud!

 

 

Logan and Master Choi

AEW in 1st grade!

This week is American Education Week and most schools all over have lots and lots of stuff going on.  Our school is no different, they really whoop it up and everyday a different grade is featured, inviting parents to come in the fun. They also have a book fair all week long, for parents to do some early holiday shopping.  Every day the kids are supposed to wear a different school color as well, so today was 'red' day.

Today we got to go and enjoy seeing Logan in his class.  We spent an hour making Thanksgiving arts and crafts, then watched a slideshow and then we surprised him by bring Subway to eat with him in the cafeteria. We finished off the special day with a walk thru the book fair where he picked a couple new books out.

Dylan's big day for AEW is Thursday. The 4th grade has been preparing all year for the Virginia Fair where all the kids dress in Colonial costumes and give a performace.  His character is Thomas Jefferson, so we made a TJ collage in the shape of the state of VA, and he made a TJ movie on the iPad at school we'll get to see Thursday.  We'll also get to stay and have lunch with him that day, and he's requested we bring Thai food.

Finally on Friday, we're invited to school one more time to be in Logan's class since he is also Star of the Week.  We made a big poster this weekend about his life and all his favorites.  Friday we'll get to read a story to his class, and he'll get to present his poster and have his classmates guess what his "mystery item" is (which we still haven't chosen at home...gotta get on that).

Busy week, but so great to see how much the kids are learning at school and see them in action!  I truly love our school.  Its such a friendly, warm, inviting place to be.

 

 

 

 

Three fall hikes...

The past few weeks have been a blur of School Board meetings (our area is undergoing a re-zoning process and we're fighting to stay at our elementary school), car break downs (me), illness (me and Dylan), behavior issues at school (Logan), job craziness (Andrew) and school projects (both boys)?  

This week was my 41st birthday, and this weekend was simply gorgeous outside.  We worked in three day hikes this week and it was just so nice to take a break from being in front of the computer and spending time together.  I have been to Great  Falls many times, but the other two destinations were new to us.  I know every state has its benefits, but there are truly so many beautiful spots in Virginia. We are never at a shortage of places to just get away from it all, even if just for a few hours.

The first hike was on my actual birthday (Tuesday, election day).  I took the boys to a park along the Potomac  River called  Elizabeth Mills.  Beautiful, as it backs up to a picturesque golf course.  Dylan led the way and we spent hours roaming the woods.

 

 

The second hike was a family day at Great Falls, Virginia.  It was crowded, with many people taking advantage of an upper-60 degree, sunny day after a damp, cold fall so far.  I've always loved Great Falls...from the high school years when we would skip school (sorry, Mom), and sunbathe on the giant rocks on the Maryland side.  It was the site of the second date Andrew and I had back in 1998. Its a lovely spot with incredible views, and it you take Georgetown Pike to get there, you can gawk at all the ridiculous $3 million dollar mansions along the way.

 

 

I mean, where else in Virginia can you get this view?

 

 

 

My history lover.

 

 

Today, we headed to a nature preserve on a back country road near Leesburg called Banshee Reeks.  Its 725 preserved acres of trails, ponds, bogs, and forest, with tons and tons of trails.  We got a little turned around and ended up taking a super long hike on hilly terrain, but it was great exercise. Anything that gets my boys away from the video games and us away from our laptops is a such a nice treat.  Goose Creek cuts thru part of the park, and the boys got a little muddy exploring it.  Logan had to ride home wearing only his undies.  The sign of a day well spent.

 

 

Can you guess which one got more muddy?