Raider on the New, 9/29/12

We arrived Friday afternoon and canoed 14 miles down the New River in Virginia.  It was so beautiful.  The leaves were just starting to change and the scenery amazing!

 Saturday morning the day started at 5:30.  This Raider comp was extremely difficult.   Rock wall, 1 mile individual run, 12 more miles with stops evaluating PT and Orientary, 1 1/2 miles canoeing and then a rope bridge.  WHEW!!

 Alexis was exhausted!!! 

 The all girls team took first place and the mixed team also took first place!!  Great job Harrisonburg.

Homecoming Game, Color Guard

Alexis is the Honor Guard Commander in JROTC this year.  Out of 140 Cadets, she and Maxi, Cecilia, Fernanda, and Maggie were chosen as the "top 5".  She's one busy girl.  After school every day until 4:30 and sometimes 5, getting ready for competitions and other things.   Not to mention all the fundraisers being done on Saturdays.  She holds the Virginia State flag while they present the Colors before the football games.
Getting ready to do the Homecoming Court for HHS.  HHS had their first ever drill meet.  So while she helped grade other schools and helped to distribute the trophies, I helped with food concessions.  Up at 5:30 a.m., but at least there wasn't a three-hour ride home from this competition.  Instead of going to the Homecoming dance, Alexis invited a few of her friends over to play games and watch movies.  So our house was full of laughter from teenagers. 

 

 

Bivouac

Trying to stay warm by the fire. 

It was once again time for Bivouac.  And once again it was freezing cold, literally the coldest night of the year so far, 30 degrees, BRRRR!  Well, at least it didn't snow this year.  I was also prepared this time around.  I brought every blanket I had.  I did not want to be cold!  Hope Tower-Smith and I spent the evening all warm and cozy in my car watching movies.  The kids, however, were so cold!  They played capture the flag, watched a scary movie, had smores, midnight hike.  Everyone was exhausted in the morning.  Spending the night "camping" with 67 teenagers, now that's an adventure!

Halloween fun at Sleepy Hollow, NY

We spent the weekend in NY with Kimberly at Tiffany and Josh's, enjoying the whole "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" experience.  We went on a tour of Washington Irving's home.  Such a beautiful area right along the Hudson River. 

They had black and white cookies all dressed up for Halloween!

 Toured the Sleepy Hollow Cemetary!

 Went to the Horseman's Hollow, I'm still not sure how Kimberly and Tiffany were able to convince me to do this!  My face was buried in Tiffany's back almost the entire time!  But Kimberly and Tiffany said it was very well done.  Walking back to our car, there was a headless horseman in the trees.  That was awesome to see.

 We also heard a storyteller tell the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the Old Dutch Church.   It was amazing!

The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze.  This was completely incredible.  There were over 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins.  Anything and everything you could imagine.  Including jack-in-the-boxes, intricately carved pumpkins, and Big Ben, with an actual working pendulum -- a pumpkin, of course.   All these fun activites that Kimberly and Tiffany and Josh planned, having amazing food, and spending time with CC and Bella, so adorable.  By far the best Halloween experience ever!!! 

Mom and Jane visit DC May, 2012

My mom's first trip to DC. This is her first ride on the metro. I picked Jane and Mom up from the airport shortly after 11 p.m. I asked my mom if she was tired and wanted to go back to the hotel or if she wanted to go on a midnight tour of the monuments. She was so excited to be in DC that we drove by the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, and the White House, which you couldn't see since the lights were turned off. As soon as she got off the plane she exclaimed, "I'm in DC!"

Seneca Rocks, WV part 1

Spectacular view! Apparently there is at least one rock climbing fatality a year that occurs here.

Alexis, Michael, and Maxi. We had a good day hiking in WV, beautiful mountains! There are several more trails that we'll have to do another time.

Seneca Rocks, WV

The observation tower at Seneca Rocks. Great view!

Being silly, hiking on some very large rocks.

Seneca Creek Trail, This hike was absolutely beautiful, alongside a creek, and the weather was amazing!

Alexis giving me a piggy-back ride.

Easter

You're never too old for an Easter basket!

The Brie and crackers, and garlic stuffed olives were a big hit!

For breakfast we had orange cinnamon popovers. Very fitting for Easter, since they're hallow inside. After church we went to a friend of mine's for Easter dinner. I made lemon curd tarts and strawberry tarts. We had a very enjoyable Easter!

King's Dominion

We spent the day at a really fun amusement park near Richmond, VA.

This roller coaster has a 300-foot descend at an 85-degree angle, along with speeds in excess of 90 miles an hour. Can you say FUN!

Alexis and Valerie.

This is the longest floorless coaster in the world. Speeds up to 67 miles an hour.

Stand-up roller coaster.

We had a really fun time. It was a little bit colder than expected so thanks to Starbucks hot chocolate we were able to warm ourselves up a little bit.

Cherry Blossoms 2011

Maxi, Alexis, and Leah drinking hot choclate to warm themselves up. It was a beautiful but cold and windy day.

Beautiful blossoms!

Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Washington Monument.

Who says teenages don't like their pictures with characters.

Iwo Jima.

Amoo's Kabob, they have the best lamb ever, so we couldn't resist stopping there for dinner again. It's also conference weekend, so chocolate chip scones and German apple pancakes as we watch conference and laze around in our PJ's. Great weekend!

Lemon Meringue Pie

This ended up being day-and-a-half project. So wishing I had a kitchen aid, it would have made whipping the meringue a whole lot easier. I actually burnt the meringue the first time and with the missionaries on their way over for dinner there was no time to make more meringue, so I just peeled off the burnt meringe, put it back under the broiler, and there you go.
The weather out here has been AMAZING! I went on my first bike ride this year. The blossoms are on all the trees and tulips are starting to bloom. Spring in the East is my favorite time of year. We also saw Beauty and the Beast at Thomas Harrison Middle School. One of Alexis' friends was Belle. She did an amazing job and we had a lot of fun watching it.

St. Patrick's Day

Pistachio pudding with whipped cream for dessert. Alexis and Michael being silly.

Corned beef with roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and cabbage.

Irish Soda bread and Irish Butter.

Thanks to Kimberly for introducing us to this meal last year, I'm no longer a St. Patrick's Day scrooge. I actually look forward to this holiday -- well, actually the food. Irish Butter is so delicious. I even made shortbread cookies with the leftover butter and I'll be making corned beef hash with the rest of the corned beef! A few of Alexis' friends joined us for dinner Katy, Michael, and Maggie. I even wore a green shirt, there's hope for me yet!