September

We had so much fun at Great County Farms last month that we took dad back for our very, very, very last day of Summer vacation. 

and we picked apples and made an apple pie for our back-to-school dinner

Dad worked all weekend and put together our awesome reading nook! The kids and I LOVE it! 

We also put a stage down by the dress up clothes so that Jayda can practice Irish Dance and Lilly and Macey can put own dress up shows. 

With the start of a new school year it was time for a new chore chart. J and L are no where as near as excited as I am about this new addition to our house. 

Lilly received her "starting school gift" from dad and mom. It's now become a tradition to get the girls a locket with pictures of their sisters and mom and dad for them to wear one their first day of kindergarten. She's so excited for her big day tomorrow! 

The girls also received their "back to school" blessings from dad tonight. It was so sweet to hear what the Lord wants for each of them. Bailey really wanted in on the action too. 

jaydas darling  manicure 

Lilly's kindergarten locket 

lilly's sweet little painted nails 

Lilly got to ride the bus for the very first time! Sine there are no crossing guards at school in the middle of the day the county has the 1/2 day kindergartners ride home on the bus. She was so excited. I was a bit nervous so I introduced myself to the bus driver and then took his picture. He thought I was a weirdo and it embarrassed Russ, but I needed the photo to have my friend do a background check on the driver so it was a necessity. People think I'm crazy, but my 5 year old is on a bus with a man I've never met and no other adults so pictures and background checks just made sense! 

As you can see by the pics - she liked riding the bus and had a great first day of Kindergarten! 

And how sweet is this?! Jayda and Lilly were so excited to see each other after their first day. Jayda was worried about Lilly all day and couldn't wait to get to her to see how her day went. Love the relationship these two have. 

Macey didn't know what to do with herself once her sisters were gone all day. 

First double piggies! 

One of the reasons we wanted to move to Loudoun County was because they have half day kindergarten. Which means my Lilly gets dropped off from the bus at 11am!! I get her for lunch and the rest of the day to play and snuggle!  

aren't these the cutest little lunch dates you've ever seen! 

Very first homework assignment of her little life!

laundry day! keep it real.

another weekend - another feis. 

I love this picture because it shows that Jayda was one of the only ones out of the 25+ competitors that wasn't wearing a thousand dollar solo dress. She's just wearing her simple school leotard....

...and she placed top 3!! Get it girl!!  

It's our 11 year anniversary! So what did we do to celebrate? We went to Home Depot! So fancy! 

Scripture study with daddy!

Grammy was unwrapping my new blender. She was ripping open the large yellow sign that said "CAUTION SHARP KNIFE" when she cut her finger. #ironic

Selfies with mom. Because mom is taking lots of pictures with her girls because she's feeling a little weepy because she's leaving them for a week - to go to Paris!! 

and we're off!....

..,nevermind..our flight is delayed by 3 hours

WE MADE IT!! We're in Paris and its glorious! 

Hooray for Russ' work trip +  airline miles = nearly free trip for me! 

While Russ was at his meetings I slept till 1 pm and then walked for 4 hours throughout the streets of Paris. It may have been one of my favorite days of my life! I stopped and sat in the shade of the Eiffel Tower while enjoying a Parisian pastry. Such a great day! 

We traveled to Monet's house and gardens. Simpy stunning. We toured the grounds and ate at a cute little outdoor shop. 

We spent an entire day in Versailles. We toured the castle and gardens and rode all around the grounds. We saw Marie Antoinette's residence and rode around the  lake. It was such a romantic day. 

We left the Paris region and traveled to Bayeux for 2 days. We saw the original Notre Dame that the famous Notre Dame was fashioned after. We walked around the quaint little town. Saw the longest tapestry in the world - which was AMAZING - and enjoyed a slice of pizza outside the chapel. 

These pictures aren't great, but the hotel we stayed at was unbelievably beautiful and so fascinating. It was so old and the floor would creek with each step you took. They used old fashioned gold keys to open the doors. The breakfast room was stunning and the outdoor garden was one of the prettiest I'd ever seen. 

More ancient streets in the little town of Bayeux. 

Our final stop on our trip was to Normandy, France. Russ, being the history buff that he is, chose to spend his actual birthday touring the beaches of Normandy. It was haunting and beautiful at the same time. It makes you sick to your stomach to think of what our troops went though to, but weepy with pride to realize they did it to save the world from such evil. I truly believe the saying that claims that was the greatest generation. 

Hooray! We had a great trip and loved France! Now we're on our way to home to see our babies!!

....after our 3 hour delayed flight. :(

When we got home, Joe and Heather had filled Russ' car with tons of popcorn for his birthday! It must have taken them days to pop all that! but being the true friends they are - they didn't just throw it in the car - they actually left it in bags for easy clean up. Too funny!