Getting into the Halloween Spirit

We are in Halloween mode at this house.

Halloween shirts

and Halloween crafts

Hannah was creative and made her vines look like hands.

 Grace was Grace and totally went against the mold!

We love Halloween!

Clara is 1!

I cannot believe this baby is a whole year old!  She is such a sweet baby!

I don't know her stats, because we are still trying to get in to see a doctor here in Virginia, but here are some facts about our little miss Clara.

She crawls like a champ and cruises around the furniture, but no walking yet.

She is SUCH an easy baby.  She is so good natured and puts up with so much from her sisters.

She has 9 teeth (the most recent one was a molar and it made her miserable for a few days).

She has never taken a binkie, but loves to suck on the corners of blankets.

She waves, claps, dances, squints her eyes, and blows kisses.

She loves to eat.  She doesn't really like baby food anymore, but loves to pick up food with her cute little fingers.

She has mastered crawling up the stairs, I am not brave enough to let her go down yet.

She is a great sleeper.

She loves her sisters (most of the time).

She is still pretty little (still wears 9month clothes).

She makes us all smile and laugh.

We love having her in our family!

We just had a simple party at home with our little family.

She didn't really understand the whole opening presents thing, but luckily she had two older sisters that were more than happy to help. 

Her cake was a caterpillar made from cupcakes

She REALLY enjoyed it!

Explore More Children's Museum

The local library had a day in conjunction with the Explore More Children's Museum.  You could attend the museum for free and they had all sorts of activities associated with milk. 

Outside of the museum they had a HUGE dairy cow and a cute baby calf.  Also Ronald McDonald!  Hannah kept talking about how he had visited her school in Utah.  I was almost expecting her to ask him if he remembered her!

The fun continued inside!  They had art and science projects using milk.

Chad was in heaven when we entered the Medical Room.  You can see in the pictures below, he was giving Hannah lessons all about the heart and pancreas.  Man, I married a nerd!  Good thing he is so good looking!

The museum was full of awesome things for the girls to do.  Clara loved the shopping area, playing with the food.  Grace loved the LARGE light bright and the Thomas the Train.

Hannah's favorite area was the face-painting area.

It was so great to be able to check out the museum for free!  We loved it so much, the girls may be getting a membership for Christmas.  Shhh!  Don't tell!

Amazing Parks

Virginia has some really amazing parks.  They are not just a little grassy area with swings and a play set.  They are HUGE forest areas with play sets, walking trails, forest areas COVERED in trees, and big rolling hills.  They are seriously awesome.  We have been trying to explore as many of them as we can. 

This time we packed up Hannah's bike and the stroller so we could check out one of the trails.

This was a statue along the trail that someone had carved out of a gigantic tree stump.

p.s. I am aware that Hannah's helmet does not fit we have since rectified that situation!

They also had workout stations spread out on the trail

The two cuties that had the easy ride!

Hannah, of course, had to stop every few feet and collect yet another "valuable" piece of nature.

It was a beautiful evening and a fun walk together.

An Apple a Day

Last month we visited one of the local apple orchards.  It was so fun!  The girls loved being able to pick their own apples.  It was a first for me too!

There was so much to see.  The whole orchard and little shop were so awesome.

There was an old fashioned apple press.  The scenery was amazing!  And of course my girls couldn't resist petting/chasing the dog and cat.

After we picked our apples we enjoyed some delicious apples and apple cider.  Yummy!

Playing Catch Up: August 2012

On to August!

After we packed up everything in Utah, Chad and his brave mom started their week-long drive to Virginia. My kind and brave parents, flew with the girls and I to meet them the next week. Here are a few pictures Chad took on the trip.  If you want to read more about their adventure or more about Chad's experience in PA school, check out his blog onmywaytopa.blogspot.com.  It was a long journey for all of us and we were glad to get to our new home.  It would have been even more enjoyable if all of our stuff would have actually been there also!  The truck with all of stuff didn't arrive until 4 days AFTER it was scheduled.  We had a long four days of sleeping on the floor.  We were so happy once our stuff arrived and we could get settled!

We are surrounded by the Shenandoah National Forest.  One day we headed up to check out the beautiful area.  We stopped at the ranger station and enjoyed some fun activities there.  We can't wait to go again when all the trees are in the beautiful fall colors.

The day before school started for Hannah we went to a park that EVERYONE was telling us we HAD to see.  It definitely lived up to the hype!  It was an awesome park with lots of fun things to play.  We have visited this park several times and I think it has become a favorite!

Hannah's first day of 2nd grade!  She was equal parts excited and nervous.  She cried and cried when I left her and it made my heart go out to her.  She loves school now and has made lots of friends and is doing awesome!

One of my favorite parts of our new home is a backyard!  The girls love to play outside.  We purchased a hose and sprinkler.  They had hours of fun and it was a great investment!

I took Hannah to school on the first day so the second day of school was her first time riding the bus.  The bus stop is just a little ways from our front door.

I love that she rides the bus!  It is so nice for me.

Our yearly tradition of Back-to-School Banana Splits

Chad's school James Madison University and their mascot the Duke Dog

We also attended the fair.  It was definitely a small town fair, but we rode a ride, played a game, saw some animals, and ate some yummy food.  What more do you really need?!?!

Playing Catch Up: July 2012

One more week of updates and then we will be all caught up!  Thanks for sticking with me!

I don't have very many pictures of July.  I think it is because we were so busy with Chad stressing to finish his last classes, packing and planning for a cross-country move, and cramming in as much fun and family as possible!

We were in Idaho for the 4th of July.  My sister, Mandy, and her family were there also.  We watched the parade with the Wade cousins...always a favorite!

Fireworks that night at the fairgrounds.  We also did some little ones at Grandma's house.

After the 4th of July my mom came to Utah and watched the girls for a few days while Chad and I flew out to Virginia to find a place to live.  It was really nice to be out with just the two of us!  I was also glad that we were able to find a great place!  Thanks, mom!

Another thing that I can't forget to mention was my 24th of July tradition with my other sister, Angie.  I don't have any pictures, but we spent a few days with them.  We went to the pancake breakfast and parade.  It is a really fun annual tradition I am going to miss!  Also my sister was so awesome and kept my two older girls at her house for a few days so that I could get some much needed packing done.  It was so nice of her and I honestly don't know how I would have been able to pack everything with the kids around!  Thanks, Ang!

Next up is August, which is full of exciting and big changes!

Playing Catch Up: June 2012

June...in no particular order!

Riding horses on yet another trip to Idaho

The whole family got together in Manti, Utah.  We played at a lake, saw the Manti Pagent, enjoyed the last time we would all be together for a long time, and celebrated my dad's b-day.  Here is a picture of him with all of grandkids (minus one because Clara was sleeping).

The girls playing dress up.

A visit from Grandma Hurd

Grace in a Big Girl Bed!

Ran in Hannah's fun run at school.  Chad and Hannah ran ahead and left me and the younger girls in the dust!

Grace took a gymnastics class and LOVED it!  She was so cute and crazy!

A trip to Bear World while in Idaho.

While we were at Grandma's house Hannah lost her first AND second tooth!  The tooth fairy even found us at Grandma's house!

We can't take a summer trip to Idaho without going to the splash park and riding the carousel.

Just to end with a picture of this cutie!  She used to love to sleep in her swing.  Also notice her sucking on the blanket...she has never taken a binkie (believe me I tried!!), but she loves to suck on the corner of a blanket.  She still does it even now! Silly girl.

Playing Catch up: May 2012

Hannah turned 7 on May 17th!  I really cannot believe that she is that old!  She asked for a Cuddleuppet.  It's a blanket and a puppet!  She is AS SEEN ON TV junkie!  She is weird, I know!  She also wanted a cupcake birthday cake, so I made a gigantic cupcake.

She had a cupcake decorating party.  They each designed an apron, played pin the candle on the cupcake, and decorated their own cupcakes.  It was a fun and cute party. 

Another hike in the beautiful Utah mountains!

This one learned how to sit up on her own.  Finally!  She still looks a little unsure.

More recaps next week!