Ukranian Festival

One of my favorite things about the area where we live is that it is so culturally diverse, which brings interesting architecture, cultural activities, different types of people, etc.  Right across the street from our neighborhood is this Ukranian Orthodox Church

 

In September they held their annual Ukranian Festival, which was open to the community. 

They had lots of different musicians and dancers perform traditional dances from Ukraine and other European countries. 

Mike served his mission in Russia, so he was excited to eat some food since Ukraine and Russia share similar dishes.  He couldn't pick one, so we all split some Borscht, Perogies, and Cabbage Rolls

and cotton candy, apparently

The cotton candy was Isaac's favorite!

This little man still wasn't walking (at 16 months) but he could stand up on his own!

One of the priests gave the kids around the grounds in a tractor ride

Behind the church was this huge expanse of land that the church owns, which I had no idea was here.  I drive by the church every day, and didn't realize there was so much land behind it.  That's one of the things I love about here - finding these beautiful landscapes, even among the densely packed city suburbs.

Chesapeake Bay

We went out to Chesapeake Bay during labor day weekend, but when we got there we realized that most of the shops and tourist stops were closed for the long weekend.  Easton - the town I really wanted to explore - was basically shut down for the long weekend, so we head over to St. Michaels.   It was still fun to walk around and explore what was open, but I'm excited to go back and see some more on another trip!

Eating Ice Cream in St. Michaels

historic homes in St. Michaels

Girls being silly.  This one actually turned out pretty funny

Hooper Straight Lighthouse

 

Beautiful historic homes.  I think I remember reading that these dated back to the Civil War times

The Main street in St. Michaels

An old church

New Routines

It seems that once we get one routine down, it's time to change things up again just so we can figure out a new routine.  With Erin in kindergarten and Elaina in second grade, it is just me and Isaac at home.  

School here starts at 9:10, but they catch the bus about a block from our house at 8:40.  In Texas, Elaina started at 7:45, and while it's nice to not have to drag them out of bed and race to get out the door at the crack of dawn, it seems that the morning rush just drags out an hour longer (plus, I miss having them home for that extra hour at the end of the day). 

Walking to the school bus in the morning

Ok, usually it's not quite so calm - usually we're running to the bus stop - Isaac in one arm, Millie (the dog) tangling me up in her leash as she runs circles around me and tries to bark at squirrels, kids, and dogs, the girls racing to the bus stop to see their friends that they've only been away from overnight, and me yelling at them to watch for cars and look both ways.  Oh, how I wish it were picture perfect like this every day! :)

At the bus stop, they catch up with their friends from our street and decide who is going to sit with whom.  I catch up with my Bolivian Grandma friend, my Italian Grandma friend, and my El Salvadorian Mom friend.  Usually it's a lot of sign language, but I really enjoy saying hi and trying to talk to these ladies each morning.

The girls get on the bus, say hi to Mr. Ben (the bus driver) and off they go.  For some reason I love the fact that our bus driver's name is Mr. Ben. 

At home, it's just me and Isaac for the day!  I just joined a gym, so we usually do that each day, and then we run errands, clean the house, and get projects done.  I've also been trying to get as much dinner preparation done during the day so that I don't have to do it during the after-school chaos.

I figured life would get really easy and I would have no idea what to do with myself.  Not quite!  Isaac keeps me busy, and I feel like I spend half the day recovering from the previous night's chaos, and the other half of the day preparing for that night's chaos.  And Isaac is not the greatest helper - as you can tell from my Mr. Trouble post a few days ago, he wants to make sure I don't get bored with just one child at home! :)

Actually, I really enjoy the time with just Isaac.  I realized that the girls both had older kids to play with when they were 18 months (I was babysitting 2 little boys when Elaina was this age, and Erin had Elaina to play with).  So I guess pulling out pots and pans and dumping cereal all over the floor is to make up for the fact that he doesn't have a playmate!

In the afternoon, Isaac takes a nap and just after he wakes up we go get the girls from the bus stop.  The day seems to fly by, and even with one child at home I still feel like there's not enough time in the day to get all the things done that I need to.  C'est la vie, I suppose.  The girls are home by 3:40, and Isaac gets really excited to meet them.  When he hears me say "bus" he starts bouncing up and down, racing and pointing toward the door.  He's so excited to see the girls at the end of the day!

It's fun to see them at the end of the day!

I have the girls come home and do their homework before they can play with friends, but they spend those few minutes walking toward home making all sorts of big plans for when their homework is finished.

 

Some routines never change - Erin still checks the mailbox on her way to and from school! :)

First Day of School

Erin was so excited for her first day of kindergarten!  She's been waiting to go to kindergarten for so long!  She's watched Elaina go off to school for two years now, she's attended lunch and classroom activities with Elaina, and now it's finally her turn!  

Elaina on her first day of second grade.

I was really anxious about sending Elaina off since it was a new school.  She wasn't really worried about it until we actually got to the school.  When I dropped her off I could see the look on her face when she realized that the other kids knew each other already, and she didn't know anyone.  It was one of the hardest moments I've had as a Mom - to turn around and leave her all alone like that.

At the end of the day, she came home with a smile on her face, and said she had a great day!  I was anxious to hear what she did at recess.  She said she walked up to a supervisor and said, "I'm new here and I don't know anybody so I don't have anyone to play with."  I was so proud of her that she had the courage to do that!

New lunch boxes!

Lining up with the rest of the kindergarteners

I couldn't wait to see them get off the bus at the end of the day.  Every year it's exciting to hear about their first day, but I was particularly anxious since it was a brand new school for Elaina, and the first day ever for Erin.  Both had a great day!

Isaac and Nana

These two don't get enough attention in recent pictures - my Mom because she's always the one behind the camera, and Isaac because he was usually just content to sight see from the stroller (or taking naps in the stroller). 

Here they are cuddling and reading stories at bedtime

She's such a big help when she comes to visit - she actually likes changing diapers...well, grandkid diapers at least. :)

Lunch Guest

After going to Bull Run Battlefield, and on our way to Harper's Ferry, we stopped for lunch in West Virginia.  Erin felt something rub her leg and jumped up.  We looked under the table and found this guy...

A groundhog!

He was fearless!  I can't believe he came up to our table and just started eating scraps from under the table.  We didn't know what it was at first, but we all jumped up on the tables.  I had no idea that groundhogs are so big!  Everyone inside the restaurant came out to see the groundhog.  He hung out there for a long time, and was still there, attracting a crowd of spectators, until after we left.

Thanks to Isaac dropping his food on the ground, he found a treasure trove of food scraps under Isaac's highchair - Isaac is so good at sharing food with animals!

We spent the rest of our lunchtime hanging out on top of the tables

Do you like how I'm protecting myself by crawling on top of the table, but leave my son right there, with his feet dangling just inches from groundhog's face?  What a great Mom I am! :)

What cute kids! 

Harper's Ferry

We've heard a lot of people talk about Harper's Ferry since we got here, so after we went to Manassas Battlefield we came to check it out.  It's actually in West Virginia, and in the mountains, so there's a lot of outdoors fun to be had here.  We'll have to come back and bring our tents and bikes next summer.  This time, we walked through the town and saw some of the historical landmarks.

Harper's Ferry is historically significant because just before the Civil War broke out, John Brown (an abolitionist) led a raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry.  It was unsuccessful, but was the catalyst that fueled the fire for both sides of the abolitionist movement, and eventually led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

It is also significant because Lewis & Clark bought supplies from this town before their expedition to the west.

Old buildings in downtown Harper's Ferry

The girls in an old covered wagon

Harper's Ferry is located where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers meet, and also right near where West Virginia, Virgina, and Maryland meet.  Having lived in Texas, it's so weird to think that we drove in and out of 3 states that day, and weren't even in the car very much!

Erin and my Dad

Isaac doesn't get enough attention in this blog when I write about our outings, but he's always there!  He does great on sight seeing excursions - we load up on lots of treats and books, and he's a happy camper!

We walked across this footbridge over the Potomac River.  This is actually a section of the Appalachian Trail.

My Mom has started buying children's books when she travels.  This is an ABC book she bought with the girls at Harper's Ferry

Mike and the kids are standing on Jefferson Rock.  Thomas Jefferson stood on this rock and wrote about the beautiful landscape that can be seen from here.  He described it as, "perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature."  He went on to write that, "this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic."  It really was beautiful.

Mike and Isaac at Jefferson Rock

Me at Jefferson Rock

View from Jefferson Rock at Harper's Ferry

My Dad and the girls

Erin loves to read maps!

Mike and I at an old wagon, with the railroad behind us