An equestrian

A butterfly 

And Mary Poppins

The weather was rainy all day, but for two hours the rain stopped and these girls trick or treated with the neighborhood kids and had a great time.

They all came up with their own costume ideas this year!  Pretty proud of them for not only coming up with their own ideas, but sticking with their original idea.  Happy Halloween!

What Fall Festival to visit this October was the Saturday night question?  After scouring the internet for our options, we decided this was the year to head back to Cox’s Farm, after having last visited when Harper was two-months old.  It was a pricey admission fee at $20 per person so we were planning on spending much of the day there.

As we got closer to the farm via the one-way road, the traffic was at a standstill and it appeared as though we would be waiting an hour to at least just to get in the farm.  We made a U-turn and quickly came up with a new plan, which was to go to another nearby farm, Tichondria Farms, which I had also seen in my Saturday night research.  It wasn’t nearly as grandiose as Cox’s Farm, but it was close in proximity and sufficient, and not in high demand.  I attribute the low demand due to the sky-high prices (nearly the same as Cox’s).  Honestly it was ridiculously overpriced, but being so, small crowds and no lines.

We started out riding these tractors as a family.  Holy leg workout!  They were so fun to ride and I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time I was riding.

The pony ride was next.  Oh wait we skipped that….that was an extra $5 a ride…it wasn’t included in the $17.95 admission price.  On the way to the pony ride, we walked by a firepit for roasting marshmallows and making smores, also not included in the admission price!  The seesaw…that was included in the price and next!  Again, no lines…it was great and we had a fun time taking turns.

The jumping pillow was a welcome surprise.  The girls loved the jumping pillow from Great County Farms last year and were thrilled to see one at this farm.  Unlike Great Country Farms, adults were allowed on this pillow!

A walk through the Bamboo Maze.

Taking turns going down the slides.

We walked on the rope suspension bridge.  Followed by yoga on the hill.

With a view of goats.

Taking turns on the rope swing.

Waiting for the cow train ride.

The kids go on the cow train..

Meanwhile Justin and I had a few minutes together.

And last but not least, a hayride, which was 15 minutes and 15 minutes too long for the girls.  It was a nice touch but they were not terribly impressed. 

High prices = low crowds and a good time.

Happy happy heart!!!!

Routine.  When the girls were younger, we established routine with everything…all with the goal of creating good behaviors. Those routines become habits, which overall have served us well…i.e…limiting screen time and eating healthy.

Last night before bed, I was doing some planning for Saturday, which included needing to eat a very early lunch for us to accommodate back to back soccer games for which we needed to leave the house at noon.   With an early lunch, the last thing I wanted was to be in kitchen all morning making breakfast, then cleaning it up, only to repeat less than two hours later.   Justin was going to get the oil changed early in one of the cars in the morning….so Dunkin Donuts (being near the gas station) for breakfast seemed like the perfect idea

Harper was the first to see the donuts when she woke up and her excitement alone made it worth it.

Eight years later and our first Dunkin Donut morning!  I told that to the girls and then they reminded me while this was our first donut morning at home, they had for sure eaten their fair share of donuts at school, swim team, and with our au pairs.

Harper, are you sure about that?

As she was getting ready for school this Friday morning, Harper asked both Justin and I if we were working from home that day or in the office.  Both of us replied working from home.  After taking them to the bus stop, Justin and I both entered our offices to begin our workday.  She had left each of us one of these on our desks.

My Harper….my heart:)

Reflection. Life.  Reflecting on life…I find myself doing that as I have a few more days before I turn 40. 40!  40!  How can that be?  The days of traveling softball, doing gymnastics at The Community Center, swimming in the pool during the summers while mom was working, playing at Elisha’s house, changing for gym class at Kilmer while keeping a low profile during gym, roaming the halls of Madison between classes; all seems like yesterday.  A lot has certainly happened since that time. I graduated high school, graduated college, got my first job, got my second job (going on 16 years there) and worked my way up the ranks there. During this time, I also fell in love, got married, had three beautiful girls, bought a condo, sold a condo, bought a house.

Justin and I have been together nearly half our lives.  I was 20 when we started dating.  Two decades! We have traveled together….California, New York, South Carolina, West Virginia, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, North Carolina Mexico, Nevis, Dominican Republic, Greece, Turks and Caicos, Sweden. I’ve traveled to Spain with my mom and Israel and London by myself as well during this time.

Our early 20’s were busy with getting jobs and putting our best foot forward each day.  Evenings were spent at the gym or at happy hours. A few years after being in the work force, we, like many of our friends, purchased our first home.  Bars and night clubs were already behind us (yet they were truly never a thing) and spending times letting loose on the weekend with friends occurred more frequently at our homes.  We were busy…weekend mornings we slept in…a must when not going to bed until way after midnight.  Going to the gym mid-day on weekends was the norm and our day would start after a late lunch.  Not sure what we did each weekend, but I can tell you that even in my 20’s responsibility filled a lot of our to-do list on the weekends (grocery shopping in person at Giant, my Sunday cleaning “ritual”, and a monthly deep clean of our condo. We had fun though and we were lazy. Turning on the T.V. daily was a norm – eating dinner in front of the T.V at the coffee table also a fairly regular occurrence.

Life was good in our 20’s. After being a couple for close to 8 years, Justin and I got married when I was 29 and he was 28.  The years surrounding our sacrament of marriage were filled with attending many weddings.  Then I turned 30 along with Justin and most all our friends!

30’s were the decades of babies!!  And we had our share…3 of them in the course of two years!  The baby phase was amazing.  Conversations with friends paused for quite a few years truthfully but I was so present when the girls were babies and toddlers.  Busy, yes of course, but present!  During the girls’ early years, we moved out of our condo, moved in with my parents, bought a house in a wonderful neighborhood, and welcomed four au pairs into our family.

Then with a blink of the eye, we no longer had an au pair, we had two 8 year-olds, a 6 year-old, and I was turning 40!  Life!  I’m in my 40’s!  Truthfully, I think a lot of that disbelief is because I feel great and don’t look terribly different than I did at 16…yes, older…some wrinkles, but not a ton.  And I am in great shape!!  While I have categorized my life as busy at every stage of my life, in large due to my Type A personality, I am grateful for this next chapter.  Grateful to be turning 40.  Grateful to be the one to get my girls ready for school and be there when they get home in the afternoon.  Grateful to have saved enough money to finally embark on our home renovation. Grateful for a job that allows me to work largely at home. Grateful for kids who despite fighting truly love each other.  Grateful for a supportive and loving husband. Grateful for a life partner to dream with and turn our dreams into reality.  Truly grateful.

It’s been a long while since I have talked about Avery’s vision on this blog.  Avery’s low vision is a part of her daily life, our daily life, and it is simply our norm.  At eight years old, she’s proven that her low vision is not going to hold her back in life. Will there be challenges in life? Yes, of course.  But everyone has challenges in life, low vision or not and what matters is how a person perseveres in the face of obstacles.

When Avery was a baby and first diagnosed with cataracts, nystagumus, microthalmia, low vision….Justin and I had the conversation of our future home.  Did we need to purchase a one-level home so Avery could better navigate? There was so much we didn’t know!

Today we took the girls on their first legit hike.  We went on the Appalachian Trail in Bluemont, VA.  It was rocky, very rocky and steep in some sections.  We were two minutes into the hike when she face planted hard….she didn’t see a branch to the side of the trail; her foot hit it at and she totally face planted.  She bounced right up, brushing herself off, and crying, but she was okay.  The hike was hard for her.  But she was brave.  With the help of Justin and I, she hiked holding Justin’s hand or my hand on much of the non-level terrain.  She identified sections that were harder for her, sometimes due to the light and how it was shining on the rocks through the trees.  Her sisters were always ahead of her on their own.  Yet Avery never lets that bother her.  Low vision is her norm.

That one level house…she told us!  She continues to show us her abilities.  She teaches herself, she teaches others, she teaches us.  

She perseveres.

Schools in session, which means obligatory first day school photos!  Not sure what Emerson is doing with her foot here!

So typical of Avery!  Always trying to be funny and do her own thing…always trying to test boundaries….oh how it drives me crazy and makes me proud at the same time.

We managed to get a normal one too.

Avery has a male teacher this year….one of the two in school. She seems pretty excited about it. She said her teacher is nice and funny.

Emerson…SO grown up.  Both her and Avery, but Emerson especially…just look at her!

I could stare at this next picture all day.  There is just something about it that speaks to me…the way they have their arms around one another, the way they are looking into the camera but not smiling…I can see through their bodies and into their souls.  They fight often and more often than not don’t like being a twin, but there are moments like these when they connect and their love for one another is so present.

My little Harper has no front teeth!  She was definitely a little nervous…Avery and Emerson were big helpers though and dropped her off at her class and agreed to sit next to her on the bus.

Justin was taking pictures with his big camera and here I was getting in the way trying to get some on my phone!

Harper asked to see her picture.  I LOVE this picture.  I yell at them more than I like…it’s not a lot, but I do yell some and that is too frequent.  It’s not the type of mom I want to be.  I want to enjoy every second with them.  THIS.  We are only in week one of the school year of not having an au pair.  I know it is going to be challenging but the timing feels so right.  In eight years, I have never been the one who has regularly taken them to preschool or to elementary school.  I have no regrets that I haven’t done it to date, but now…I am so excited and ready for it.

Four years…this is the forth year in a row of taking first day pictures attending Oakton Elementary.  And it seems like Avery and Emerson going into kindergarten and me sobbing was just the other day. Time is passing by quickly!  I want to spend time with them getting ready in the mornings, helping them with their schoolwork, schlepping them to and from their activities, making their school lunches.  YES, it will drive me crazy sometimes, probably a lot truthfully, but it is a privilege being their mom and I want to “mom” for awhile.

I love this next picture too.  Don’t mind my broken nail…not enough time to get to the nail salon these days “momming” more often!

Giving Harper some 1st grade inspiration!

A pic with my girls.

A pic with Daddy.  Avery is always trying to be funny for the camera.  The girls with their handsome daddy!

The bus stop crew is definitely smaller this year!  We lost a few neighbors to moves and some to new schools.  Somehow the third graders are the oldest of the bunch.  Four 3rd graders, 5 first graders, 1 kindergartener, and 2 younger siblings who will join the OES crew in a few years.

I teared up a little as the bus pulled away.  Justin called me out on it at dinner and the girls started laughing.  I told them in all seriousness, I did tear up…I told them the first day represents a clean slate, a fresh start, new opportunities – it’s the promise and potential of great things in the year to come!

The Sunday before school started we went raspberry picking. Truth be told we also went blackberry picking, sunflower picking, fresh flower picking, and herb picking.  The raspberry picking, where we started, was my absolute favorite. The weather was perfect, the clouds were amazing, and serenity embodied our entire family.