Friday Night Movie Treat

University of Richmond sponsored a Kid's Club Movie Night on the football field last night.  Despite the chance of showers, we decided to take the kids to UR to watch Lorax.  We lucked out because it didn't rain except for a few sprinkles.  The girls loved seeing Spidey dance around the field and thought it was so fun watching the movie on the big football screen.  Ellie's favorite part was running around the field and Madelyn loved watching the movie and eating yummy popcorn. It was a fun Friday night activity for our family!

Enjoying the Last Weeks of Summer Vacation

Despite being stuck inside a good bit of last week because Ellie had a nasty cold virus, we did manage to squeeze in some outside time and enjoy one of the last weeks of our summer vacation!  We had an extra special week with 2 visits from the Richter family as they were driving down to SC to drop off Uncle Mark at his new job at USC.  Madelyn and Ellie were so excited to spend time with their cousins, Jack and Sarah.  Bill and I also love hanging out with Kristen and Mark and always have a great time catching up with them.  Here are some photos on what we have been doing the past week:

Lunch at our favorite summer spot!

Madelyn getting to paddle the boat at her swim lesson at Aqua Tots.  Last week, she was promoted to the next level (5) and we are very proud of her!

Ellie getting some cuddle time with Daddy!

Ellie loves to pull Joshua around in the pool. Unfortunately, I think Ellie was sharing her cold with Joshua in this photo.  He came down with a fever and cold this evening:(

Madelyn and Ellie at the Paul Ryan Rally last Friday.  The girls did great but Madelyn told us she had ZERO favorite parts of the rally.  They were sports sitting through all the speeches and I loved the whole event!

We had a pretty good view of Paul Ryan

Madelyn spent the day with the Nolans when Miss Ellie was home sick with a fever.  The girls were so excited that they were wearing the same dresses!

Madelyn was in heaven spending the day with Cora, Joshua and Aunt Amy!

Madelyn and Ellie were so excited to see Jack and Sarah.  It only took them 5 seconds to open the dress up bin!

Sarah and Ellie are too cute together and shared really well!

Pizza Dinner at the pool with Jack and Sarah!

Happy 80th Birthday Meme and Aunt Gerry!

Today we celebrated the 80th birthday of my grandmother Meme and Great Aunt Gerry.  For those of you who don't know, they are twins and best friends.   The party was held at a super cute restaurant (Carrot Tree Kitchen) in Yorktown where we had a delicious lunch, cake, and fun with family.  We were able to reserve a private room which was perfect for both sides of the family to mingle and catch up.  Aunt Gerry and her family are from the Norfolk area so Yorktown was the perfect place to meet in the middle.  I think the twins had a great day and were all smiles!  I'm so glad we were able to pull together this special party for them and that they were able to celebrate together with their families.  It was a very memorable day!

Aunt Gerry and Meme with Uncle Lloyd and Uncle Charlie

The twins back in the day!  Meme on the left and Gerry on the right.

Ellie is ready for her lunch and munching on a lemon as appetizer!

Ellie refusing to smile for a picture with Daddy!

Ellie was very excited to celebrate with Meme!

The Carrot Cake was absolutely delicious!

Madelyn and Cora eyeing the cake!

Love these photos of Meme and Aunt Gerry

They kept hugging and kissing when we were singing.  They were so happy!

Another cute photo of the happy twins!

Blowing out the candles!

Too cute!

Meme and Gerry gave each other the same card and thought it was so funny!

Madelyn's favorite part was helping Meme and Aunt Gerry open gifts!

Amy and I with the birthday girls!

Butterflies Live!

Last Friday, we went to Lewis Ginter with our neighbors to see the butterflies and play in the Children's Garden.  Cora joined us for the day because Aunt Amy was at work.  All of the kids, except for Ellie, loved seeing all the butterflies.  They loved looking at all the different types and colors and tried to match them to their information sheet.  Ellie wasn't a big fan of the room because it was hot and she didn't like the butterflies near her head.   After the butterflies, we headed to the Children's Garden to cool off in the water and eat some lunch.  It was a very fun day!  Afterwards, Cora came back to our house to watch movies and and then we went to the pool for swimming and dinner.  Needless to say, I had some exhausted little girls by the end of our day!

This could have been a cute photo but the sun was in their face!

Ellie flying like a butterfly before going inside!

Cora ready to see the butterflies!

Madelyn loved the exhibit!

Ellie not a big fan!

I love this photo of Madelyn looking at the butterfly!

Trying to stay cool in the fountains!



Madelyn had a blast!

More smiles from Madelyn!

These girls could have stayed in the water play area all day.  Ellie and Ana chose to eat snacks in the shade!

Ended our morning making puppets!

This photo was taken at the beginning of the week.  Cute photo of the girls with their friends at the pool.  I think I counted 13 kids in our group that morning.  It was a crazy pool day!

Exploring Belle Isle

Last week, Bill's cousin and his girls visited us from CT.  It was a fun surprise to hear that they were going to be passing through town.  During their visit, we decided to head downtown to Belle Isle.  I had never taken the girls there and figured this was the perfect day to explore since Brian and his crew like the outdoors and I would have lots of hands to help.  It was a lot of fun walking around the island and the kids loved playing on the rocks.  Ellie was a little scared at first (she takes a while to warm up to new things) but enjoyed the rocks once she figured out I wasn't putting her in the water.  After Belle Isle, I took our guests on a little tour of downtown Richmond and we ended the morning meeting Bill for lunch at Bottoms Up.  We really enjoyed seeing Brian, Chloe and Taylor and hope that they come back again next year on their East Coast Summer Tour!

Madelyn loved walking on the bridge to Belle Isle!

Taking a break on Cousin Brian's shoulders!

None of them look too happy about me taking a picture!

My girls on a little hike!



Grilled Cheese at Bottoms Up Pizza?  Only my picky girls would turn down Bottoms Up Pizza!