Happy Birthday, Mom!

We didn't get to do a whole lot for Mom's birthday because it seemed like everyone was working and it always falls at the beginning of school, but we did get to go to Outback for dinner.  I gave Mom a new bird feeder to hang up in the winter, not now!  They had a close encounter with a black bear that wanted some bird seed just a few weeks ago!

Here are some pictures that my parents were able to get!  Mom Someone clearly didn't get the message and put the same bird feeder back up;)

I think I found some food!

Yes, yes I did

Thanks, guys!

See ya!

And for good measure, a few of the many deer in their backyard 

Happy 44th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I couldn't ask for better parents!  44 years is a long time:)

First Day of 2nd and 3rd Grade

Today was the first day of school for all of us!  Emily started 3rd grade at her new school, Wilson Elementary.  Hailey started 2nd grade at Berkeley Glenn.  They were both very excited about going back to school and meeting their teachers.  Jeff and I met Emily at her mom's house to see her off.  She was more than ready to get on the school bus.

Both girls really like their teachers and a great first day!  My first day was pretty much like all of the rest of my "first days"...easy day that goes by pretty fast.  It is always nice to be in the classroom and not in meetings anymore.

Waiting for the bus

Hailey and Alex

Hailey in the outfit that Grandma bought her

Kings Dominion

Jeff and Emily had their annual father/daughter day at Kings Dominion!  I was a teeny bit jealous that they were out having fun while I was back to school for teacher workdays.  Booo.  I wasn't jealous of the heat or long day out in the sun, but it sounds like they had a blast!  Emily loves rides and has no fear of anything! 

They made it! 

Charlie and Emily

No fear

More Charlie Brown characters

:)

Love these two

Lake Moomaw

Even though we didn't get in as much fishing as I thought we would this summer, we did make it to Lake Moomaw which was on our list of things to do.  The lake was gorgeous, and the weather was perfect.  We ended up going on a Sunday because of Jeff's schedule, but the lake wasn't too crowded. I much prefer this kind of lake over Lake Anna.  You can't beat the scenery; trees, rocks, clear water.

We didn't have much luck fishing at first, but once we made it around to the dam we saw bait fish jumping and knew that they were being chased.  At that point, all you had to do was be ready for them to move and cast in that direction.  I had a hard time learning to use some new to me lures, including trying to walk-the-dog, but I still managed to catch one.  I'm not used to fishing top water, but it was a lot of fun to see them jumping.  

The plan is to make it back to Moomaw in the fall and enjoy the views.  I can only imagine how beautiful the lake will be once the leaves change colors. 

Coming off the boat ramp

Pretty island

Our first casts

Riding around

My captain

Water was so clear

Catching some rays, but no fish yet

Love the reflection

Lots of rocks

First small mouth

My first small mouth

Large mouth

Another shot

The dam

My First Rifle

Jeff bought me a Ruger American Predator Series 308 rifle for hunting.  This is the first rifle I've had and I'm super excited about hunting season now.  We went to the sportsman's club to shoot it and I couldn't be more comfortable.  I had issues using the scope (the same one on this gun) on Jeff's rifle last year, but it is not a problem on mine.  I can't wait to get back out and shoot it some more so that I'll be ready to shoot my first deer. 

Not long after getting the rifle, the Glock 43 9mm that we ordered came in as well!  I haven't been out to shoot it yet, but hopefully sometime soon!

Side note: when we were packing up to leave, we noticed the brown lizard in Jeff's bag! I've never seen anything like this guy in the wild.  Strange!

Beauty

Other side

Crazy lizard

Summer Reading

Hailey has always loved to read, but this summer Emily also really started to get excited about reading.  Nothing makes me happier than to see them laid out on the floor or on the screened in porch with dogs reading away.  

In the spirit of keeping them excited, I encouraged them complete the Barnes and Noble summer reading log so they could go pick out a free book.  There were no arguments about this and I believe they filled in their eight books in just a day or two.  Then we took a trip to Harrisonburg to pick out their free book.  They loved finding something that interested them and I ended up using some of my gift cards to get them additional books to share.  

As soon as we left they started reading in the car, and continued to read even when we were furniture shopping.  They just plopped themselves down on one of the chairs and read until we were done.  I am very proud of both of them for continuing to read every day!

Hailey's book list

Emily's book list

New books on the way home...

The girls absolutely love eating on the screened in porch.  It's so nice to have it cleaned and painted so we can enjoy it.  Along with enough chairs, thanks to mom and dad. :)

Their favorite place to eat dinner now. 

We also took the girls to the Crozet Sportsman Club for the Snead's annual reunion.  Emily certainly enjoyed seeing MeeMee and PaPa, as well as the rest of the family.  I enjoyed meeting some of Jeff's family for the first time since Christmas didn't work out last year because Debbie was sick.  We had some good food and went home with full bellies.

Emily, MeeMee, and Hailey

A little hot at the lake

 And one other fun picture of the girls after swimming one day.  We went to Mi Rancho for our Taco Tuesday.  Of course Hailey made her usual "recipe" of chips and salsa with her chicken quesadilla.  She's been making that for years now!

Pool time!

We didn't spend too many days at the pool, but we did get in a little time this summer.  The girls had a blast every single time.  Their swimming improved greatly even after just a few times.  Emily has mastered diving into the deep end, and Hailey almost got the hang of it.  They would both stay in the water forever if you let them!   Their highlight was being thrown across the pool by Jeff.

Side note:  No back flips for Emily.  She thought she could do one off the side and almost hit the edge... fearless girl, but gave us a heart attack.

Goofy :)

Hailey at lift off

Catching air

Excited

Woah!

More air

Can you hear the scream? 

Incoming

Selfies

Love Hailey's scrunched up nose

Jumping before diving

Hold her nose is the greatest issue with diving

The diver

And into the water