House projects.

Can you believe that we have lived in this house for 10+ years. We are having the outside painted and it seems to be taking forever. I can tell you I would not want to be on the roof trying to balance and paint. So thankful these guys are doing the job.

Friends in the forest.

girls on a mission

making mud pies

Drew Pic.....

Toooo cool in our shades....

Me an my girl

Drew's 2nd day of school.

VES Tour Guides

Check out Drew in the top left hand corner.

MY first day of the new school year.

Self picture.

Celebrating friends!

Host and Doug

Birthday Girl

Cuteness

Smiles

Sunday visit to see Drew.

Celebrating Julia....

Fun-Fun-Fun

Ready for the party...

Mariah had gym today and after gym she was excited to go to Julia's birthday party. I took a few pics  before we left home and got one at he restaurant where I dropped her off. I must confess it is so quite in our house.

Happy Birthday Douglas!!

Making a WISH!!

They wanted him to dance. Mariah wanted to watch. Fun at the Japanese restaurant.

Wishing you a wonderful day today and always. Hugs and Kisses!

I'm ALIVE!!!

This is the text I received from Drew on his was back to campus. Drew was clearly out of his comfort zone and has lots of experiences to tells us about but we are thankful he had this opportunity to grow and develop as a young adult. Below you will see bits of what his leader sent to the parents. Well done Drew.

Dear Student Council Parents,

Hello from VES! I hope you are all having a wonderful evening and have heard from your students that we returned safely to campus after an incredible camping adventure at Lake Moomaw. As the Student Council Advisor I just wanted to say thank you for giving your child up a few days early and allowing them to join us on the Student Leadership Retreat! 

It was great to spend some quality-unplugged time with each of your children and to get to focus in on some important aspects of leadership within the VES community.  Through a series of chores, group discussions and personal introspection each council member ventured outside of his/her comfort zone in an effort to further enhance his/her effectiveness as a leader. 

During our final group discussion session each member was asked to describe an event during the retreat where he/she learned something about his/herself and to identify what kind of leader he/she aspires to be during the coming year. I could not be more proud of the thought each of them put into this task and of their receptiveness to feedback.

Drew confronted his discomfort with public speaking and realized his effectiveness in engaging his peers in one on one conversation. Feedback from his fellow council members showed that even though he might not be the most vocal he has a positive influence on those around him and inspires his peers on a regular basis. 

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this group throughout the year and look forward to the ways each of them will impact the community. It was awesome to see them come together and realize what they each have to offer. 

Best,

Great 1st day of school!!!

More pictures from the first day.

A quick picture with Mr.Harrison Mariah's 5th grade teacher.

Ms.Thom's Mariah's new EC teacher.

Her science teacher.

Searching for a book to read.

First day of 6th grade.

Do you remember your first day of middle school. I have some memories of middle school and they all seem to be positive but that first day does not come to mind. Maybe it was like any other day and having no memory is not important but I can remember Drews first day of middle school and now I have a new middle schooler. It went very smooth in terms of Mariah, yes she very nervous but that is to be expected. I will be interested to hear how the day goes. Here are a few pictures she allowed me to take. Oh, she even wanted me to walk her into school.

Out of touch.

As I sit here this afternoon I am missing Drew and Doug. We dropped Drew off at school yesterday and he left for a leadership retreat in the middle of the woods somewhere in Virginia. I know that he was required to disconnect all technology and that we would not be in contact until tomorrow afternoon when the group returns to campus. This is hard for me. I have all kinds of things running through my mind and would just love one of his famous texts that just says "hey". This trip was a big stretch for Drew and he is stepping or should I say leaping out of his comfort zone to hike the 3 miles into the forest to his camp site and discover his roots living on the land. I know he is fine I just miss hearing his voice.
Doug is away and I know very busy, the home front is so quite.
Mariah starts school tomorrow and I believe we are ready or should I say she.
Omar is relaxing before he heads back to school on Thursday. He is moving into a new apartment and his Mom is flying in to help him get it all set up. The kids are growing up. I love each one of them so much and I am so very proud of them.

A sneak peek of 6th grade.

The school was kind enough to allow Mariah and I a visit before school starts tomorrow so me were excited to meet her teacher and take a look around. She is not ready for school to start and does not want to wake up early but we were thankful for the visit.

Moving on Up...Let the Senior Year Begin..

Add caption

Super Silly Boy

Its that time of year. His final year of High School.

Melting Pot Feast

Can't wait to dig in

Smoke filled picture.

Yummy

Stirring

Greensboro Competition

Busy working/judging