Andrew is out of the cast!

But now in a splint. Its so much easier than the hard, heavy cast. He finally got a "real" bath and got that arm washed for the first time since May!! He takes it off a few times a day and does his exercises. He needs to build up the flexibility and strength in his wrist. Brian, the physical therapist we're working with, was very impressed with this mobility considering he just got the cast off a half hour before seeing Andrew.

Once again, he was asked to pick colors. The brace doesn't come in the same neon, blinding colors the straps come in but he is still very colorful!

The Girls' Room

We took advantage of the long weekend and my mom staying to visit to paint the girls' room. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. A friend of ours is going to paint flowers on some of the squares to "girly" it up even more! I love being in this room with all the bright colors! Katie says she likes it too and Julia said, "Ohhh! Ahhh!" Sounds like she likes it too!

Julia's bed and the window.


Katie's bed and dresser. All of the pictures are now "off" because we moved everything around.


Above the closet.

July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July! We tried to stick with our new family tradition of celebrating in the community. We started off with a parade. It was delayed almost an hour due to someone passing out in the start area. It was completely understandable since it was so hot in the sun. We went to Sunday Park for a little while after the parade. It was more crowded this year so we didn't stay long. After having lunch at Burger King, we went home and played until dinner. The afternoon brought rain, thunder and lightening! It stopped raining long enough to grill but then started up again, stopping as quickly as it started. After hot dogs and hamburgers, we headed out to Fort Lee to watch the fireworks only to be told when we got to the gate that they had been canceled due to the thunderstorms! We were able to make it back to Swift Creek Reservoir to watch the fireworks there. It was a long hot day and most of the pictures I got were of the kids waiting very patiently for the parade to start.

Random photos of the kids.

Julia wanted to look like her friend Avery. Avery has thick, beautiful hair and always has it in barrettes or pony tails and looks positively adorable. Julia brought me a handful of hair goodies asking to look like Avery! She added the earrings afterward.




Right before she realized I was taking her picture and started to pull everything off.


Andrew's new cast. WARNING: Do NOT look at it in direct sunlight. Will cause blindness!


Katie resting and watching TV after being destructive. The room was clean when the kids walked in there. Never stays that way for long if they're around.


Tommy is absorbed in his TV and snacks. This kid is a couch potato!


Julia showing off her sticker earrings! She was a bit too close to the camera but hamming it up pretty good! Please don't mind the messy face!

The Tooth Fair strikes again!

I mean, visits again. Tommy lost another tooth on Friday, June 27th.



Then on Monday, another one pops out!


For anyone keeping track, that's 7 total! I've been calling him "Toothless Thomas"!

Fancy Day!

Julia was in a fancy mood. She wanted to wear a fancy dress. She put on fancy jewelry and I made her a fancy lunch. (cut up her sandwiches into the usual triangles and arranged them to look fancy.) "Fancy" was the word of the day!



Giving her best fancy smile!

Our Special Visitor

Jim was upstairs with the children one Saturday when he called for me to look out the back window.We were all surprised to see a deer eating the birdseed off the ground. She came back a few days later and I was able to get a few shots of her with the camera. She visited three times that week and we haven't seen her since.







Back into the woods.

The night before

Since Andrew couldn't eat anything after midnight of the day of his procedure, we kept him up late making mini muffins and eating them as they came out of the oven! Andrew loves to cook and this was a nice way to spend some quiet time with just him before the big day. He did great with the surgery and was up and playing indoor basketball with Tommy later that same day.



Jim oversees the filling of the muffin tin.

Julia tries her hand at make-up application.

Julia loves putting on make-up. Every chance she gets, she sneaks off into my room and gets into my make-up. This particular morning, she took advantage of me being in the shower to try putting on more than just "lips". She got into the mascara and eyeshadow as well.

This looks like a mug shot!


She told me she couldn't "paint her eyes."


Andrew getting in on the photo fun. He's finally comfortable with the cast and shows it off a bit. The next cast color he picked was bright orange.

Belmead Plantation

June 1st, we took a trip to Powhatan County to attend a meeting with The Knights of Columbus about helping to restore the buildings at Belmead Plantation, an old historic house and granary. The house is rich in history that dates back to the mid-1800's. The house is lovely and needs work inside and out. The land is peaceful and breathtaking. Currently, the plantation is a popular choice for riders with horse stalls still in use. With 1200 beautiful acres along the James River, there are over 30 miles of trail riding. Belmead Plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Belmead Mansion


I was so busy admiring the house when we were inside that I forgot to take pictures! After our trip around the grounds, we stopped back by the house and I got this shot of the outside. It doesn't do the "castle" justice.

The Granary. Its currently being restored. Its a painstaking process that requires a lot of knowledge, care and patience.




Jim and Julia in the granary. It made me very nervous having the kids in there but they did a great job listening and staying safe.


Jim and Katie looking into the other room.


The view from an upstairs door.


The sisters who live on the property and look after it invited us back anytime. I can't wait to return. Its such a lovely place.

After looking through the buildings, we drove down to the James River. It was also beautiful, calm and quiet, well, until we got there!


Throwing rocks into the water despite Jim and me saying not to.