Summer round-up

Margaret has started gymnastics again and, many thanks to 1st cousin once removed Emily Barker, she's all decked out each week!

So fun to grab pics of Mom and Dad shagging from the Elk River FB page!

Memories of our wedding reception:-)

A boy and his dog...can't do this in the loft bed at home with 

an 11-yr-old pup:-(

This kid NEVER looks small....until plunked down in the middle 

of Grandma's comfy king size bed...

Shucking corn with uncles Steve and Jim.

Apparently the 3rd year of preschool (what?!?) will mean the 3rd year of this fireman's raincoat....

rain or shine, no matter the size or how short the sleeves get.  

 Andrew is so proud of his swim collection (medals and certificates not shown), particularly his "Most Improved Swimmer" award two years in a row.  The kid truly made remarkable strides this year.  He was tickled to learn that his 25-m freestyle has improved from 48 seconds to 16 in his 4 years on the team.  (Just for comparison, Margaret came in at 23 seconds this, her first year----can't wait to see what Matthew might do!)

A stunning wedding I was able to help create...

Movie night at the Heath's annual "Back to School Bonfire"

 And Bubble Up prep begins at Fairview!

The two zipline videos from a Baltimore park are to appease #1 and #2.

And this recitation of Psalm 23 for Sunday School (round two as he memorized it 2 years ago in 1st grade) is for me because I'm still in awe of his perseverance and self-motivation.

Summer Round Up

Even after school started, we remained at the pool daily.  They LOVE being there, it was still in the mid-90's and the winter bubble not up yet, so why not??  One afternoon, Matthew announced to coach PJ, "I'm gonna do butterfwy.  Ok?".  With no encouragement---because it would be ridiculous to do so for a 3-yr-old---he proceeded as we all giggled, "this ought to be good!"  You be the judge.  I say not to be bad for three!!

Part 2: The next day, there was a new lifeguard on duty who did not know our family (always piecing it together after school starts).  Matthew was in his own lane, though somewhat near Margaret.  He started doing "butterfwy" and it appeared no one was paying attention (though I always have my eye on him, JJ and PJ were both on deck, and Margaret has become his Mother Hen.)  The diligent guard blew his whistle and dove in to swim towards Matthew for what he thought was a necessary rescue.  The coaches and I realized what was going on, called off the lifeguard, had a good laugh, and thanked him profusely for doing his job.  For someone that has not witnessed Matthew's progression this summer to water safety, he certainly could not have known.  Now, if Matthew had been doing his freestyle....:-)

Brotherly sound effects

Matthew's head-down dive

There is SOOO, sooo much going on this video and I can't even begin...

Luray Caverns Field Trip

(Click on the post title to open in a browser for viewing videos.)

Luray Caverns has been on my list for years, but it finally happened today and I'm so glad we waited!  Andrew was engaged and intrigued all day long by everything.  Margaret was great and Matthew was into it all enough to make it work.  Toss in some friends and 2.5 hours at the pool through dinner and it was a long, but awesome day. 

 The caverns were discovered in 1878 and are truly stunning.  They cover 64 acres under ground, the tour is 1.25 miles and it takes about 120 years for the formation of about 2".

 

The next three pictures were probably the most fascinating.  The apparent formation from the ground up is actually a reflection from the top.  You truly cannot even see the water it's so perfectly clear, so the reflection is a tough imagine to wrap your mind around.

The organ "played" A Mighty Fortress is our God... fascinating how they achieve the "pipe" sound.

Michael's Health System for the hospital he built in Luray contributed more to the Wishing Well than any other company in recent years.  

 Only a mile away, we had to go see Daddy's hospital!  It's truly a beautiful building and adjacent MOB.  Too bad CEO Travis was out of the office because this crew was ready to meet him. 

 

Daddy can be spotted in one of the ribbon cutting photos in the lobby...

Gorgeous glass photos

  Fun, motivating stairs!

Even a toast to Mommy and her "Frhens":-)

So thankful the ropes course has elements that even Matthew could do----they  absolutely had a blast, once again!

 Happy 4th Birthday fun for Clay!

 Andrew and Margaret briefly sharing a platform before taking off again. 

 They both would have stayed on course all afternoon.  When asked how it compared to MT last summer, they eventually said that if they had a choice, they would go back to MT again, but that they would go to Luray anytime I offered!  It was also a beautiful, mountainous view from the course. 

"Look, Mom---Thomas is dwiving the twain!!!"