Success at Last

 

 

With weeks of practice, an all-day class at REI and some peer pressure from friends, Henry finally learned to ride his bike this weekend.  Along the way, there was plenty of frustration and tears (see the meltdown shots below), but we got there in the end.  Well done, Henry! 

 

 

All Saints Day: Henry as Francis

Henry chose to be St. Francis for this year's All Saints Day parade.  A child's monk costume from Amazon provided the basic look.  As a finishing touch, Elise picked up some clip-on birds and wooden beads from Michael's.  This year we also had to prepare a class report on our saint, and Henry made an impressive poster of scenes from Francis's life, including a detailed rendering of Francis receiving the stigmata.

 

 

Halloween 2014

Scenes from the Halloween season: the St. Anthony's costume parade, the Taylor Run block party, pumpkin picking at Butler's Orchard (very wet this year) and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.  In case you couldn't tell, Vivian was Queen Elsa and Henry was a blue ninja.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Tiger Scouts

Henry joined Cub Scout Pack 301 as a Tiger Scout this summer.  The scouting activities got into full swing this fall with a den visit to the local water treatment plant, placing flags on soldiers' graves for Veterans Day, a hike along the Potomac and making care packages for troops in Afghanistan.  We're fortunate to have a very active pack at St. Mary's, with lots of enthusiastic (and patient) parents willing to invest their time with the boys.

 

 

 

First Grade

After a fun-filled summer at Burgundy Farm and an August vacation to Canada, Henry started First Grade in Ms. Walsh's class at St. Mary's. Here he is (left) on the first day of school with his best buddy Jack.  As you can see, Henry had a few visits from the tooth fairy this summer.  We're still waiting for signs of front teeth! 

Vivian was keen to start Kindergarten this year, but alas, she has one more year in Pre-K before she can join her brother at St. Mary's.

Good luck, Henry and Vivian, in the new school year!

Henry's 7th Birthday

We finally bit the bullet and hosted a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's.  Henry and several friends from school, summer camp and the neighborhood gathered on Saturday morning to celebrate turning seven.  Highlights included finding the 1,000 free tickets voucher in the ticket blaster, playing air guitar and enjoying some special Captain America cake.  Happy birthday, Henry!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virginia Beach

We made our first family trip to Virginia Beach in July.  After enduring some of the worst I-95 traffic we've ever encountered (it took us six hours to drive to the hotel), it was nice to relax for a few days by the beach.  We had mixed feelings about Virginia Beach itself: the boardwalk and pier were nice, but the Atlantic Coast just isn't the same as Gulf Shores.  Still, the kids had a great time playing in the sand and splashing in the (chilly) ocean water.  Below are some photos from our weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Camp at Burgundy Farm

Henry spent his summer vacation at Burgundy Farm, a private school near our home in Alexandria, VA.  From June to August, the school operates a summer camp.  Burgundy Farm has a unique campus, situated in a wooded area with classrooms scattered around the property in cabin-like structures and a small barn with live farm animals.  Once or twice a week, the campers get to feed the animals, including (according to Henry) digging worms for the chickens.  The school also has a small pool, which meant Henry and his fellow campers went swimming everyday (sometimes twice a day). 

Several of Henry's former classmates from St. Anthony's, including his best friend Jack, were at Burgundy Farm this summer, adding to the enjoyment.  We could tell Henry was having a good time because he woke up and got dressed every morning with no complaints.  And after a long day of swimming, playing and, occasionally, drumming(!), he was usually ready for bed right after dinner.  One night, while having popsicles on the stoop, he feel asleep on the sidewalk (see picture below).  We were so pleased Henry enjoyed his first experience at camp.  There's no doubt he'll be going back to Burgundy Farm next year, and Vivian is already asking if she can go too.

  

Getting ready for camp in the morning;

crashing on the sidewalk after a long day of play.

Lion King

We made our first family trip to the theater in June (not counting multiple performances of Sesame Street Live or Disney on Ice) when we attended the matinee performance of Disney's Lion King at the Kennedy Center in Washington.  Even in the nosebleed seats, the show was great!