Birthdays, Camping, and more October fun

October brings beautiful weather to enjoy the outdoors, and fun times celebrating Ryan's birthday!  We combined both for the birthday boy this year.  We were hoping to go camping for the weekend, but some rain deterred our plans.  So we settled for a nice hike and then one night of camping at Cunningham Falls State Park.  

Happy Birthday breakfast and gifts!

Birthday cupcakes and coffee in the woods =)

We realized friends had planned to camp at the same place, so we enjoyed sharing s'mores and morning hot chocolate! 

Uncle Tim came to compete in an Iron Man event.  The kids had a great evening with their silly great uncles!  And heard plenty of crazy stories about their Big Daddy =)

I'm nowhere close to being an Iron Man competitor, but I did have fun doing an All Terrain Mud Race with friends from my workout class.  There wasn't as much mud as I thought, which was totally fine with me, and running through the course as a group of six made some of the ridiculous obstacles fun and even doable

Uncle Ryan made a quick trip down to Oklahoma to meet Cora and hug on our nieces!   

Ryan and I played a small part in our friends' wedding, which was an honor and a fun evening spent together

Babysitting for friends . . . the extra girls are just the right ages to complete our step-down: 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1!  Chocolate chip cookies for the win!

Sharing our love of Chinese hamburgers and the arboretum with friends on a gorgeous fall Friday

Bridgette wanted to take some photos and I found this one on my phone . . . it was my perch while the kids were running around making "potions" and climbing up and down the hill . . .

All Three in School

This is our third year to homeschool, and my first year to officially teach all three kids with Rooke in fourth grade, Gretchen in second, and Bridgette jumping in to kindergarten.  My days are full, and I am grateful for the support and encouragement from the community we are a part of here.  

We do a lot of piano practicing!  My favorite is when they play together on their own =)

Every now and then we find ways to all work together, in the same room, at the same table, without bothering one another!  Snacks help =)

We do a LOT of reading . . .

Sometimes we take our work to the park . . .

And we love field trips!!  What a treat to learn about the Declaration of Independence, and then put our eyes on the actual document!  Ryan was able to join us for this particular field trip, which always makes our time more fun =)

Our most recent field trip was with friends to Historic St. Mary's: Maryland's first capital and the fourth permanent English settlement in North America. 

 

An afternoon tea party while learning about the Boston Tea Party

Abstract art with Daddy

Gretchen played soccer this Fall and Aunt Vallerie got to join us for a couple of the games!

Costco lunch is always a good way to break up the day

Afternoon imaginary play with special friends

We work through plenty of conflict every day, but I love seeing their friendships grow