Time with Friends and Family

Willow was invited to a graduation party for one of her friends from Burton:

Nana and Grandpa took the kids to Massanutten and Sight and Sound to see Noah. They always have a great time and I'm happy to catch glimpses when Willow sends me pictures. 

While the kids were gone, I hung out with a friend who paddleboards regularly. We enjoyed a 2-mile paddle and I learned about my new favorite cheesesteak sub restaurant!

Willow met a couple friends to roller skate. She'd been with friends after the mission trip, so she met these girls just after that while her "skills" were still fresh. She hadn't ever been interested when friends would have parties there in elementary school. She did great getting off the wall!

While Willow was in the DR, we joined Hannah and Hunter at an ice skating rink. Owen had been on a PE field trip and fell in love with ice skating with a walker. They had a great time, then we went to a Kitty Cafe!

Owen met a friend to go ziplining and then out to lunch. 

While the kids are gone, Chris is all ears for whatever I want to do or talk about. HA!

We went peach picking at a festival about an hour away. It was literally in the middle of nowhere (GPS couldn't help us get back for a while. Gasp!). The peaches were AMAZING though! We'll be back...if we can find it! ;)

Willow hung out with a couple friends at Starbucks...like grown ladies! I'm not sure how I feel about her drinking coffee at 15!

The activity that brings Willow and Owen together the most: playing in the rain. And I'm so thankful for it!

The Youth Group kicked off their back to school time with a Slip and Slide. I loved catching Willow in a few of the pictures!

We went to a local minor league baseball team's game and had great seats!

Free ice cream for everyone in our section!! Winner winner!!

Willow said, "I would be okay dating a baseball player." Haha

Willow loves hanging out at Sheetz after Youth Group on Sunday nights!

Sleepover with a couple friends:

Checking on their baking project:

Owen's friend Rhys got baptized by his dad and invited us to join! Such a sweet moment to be part of!

The memory care facility where Gramps lives has lots of family events that we enjoy attending! 

Willow joined a couple friends from a rival team for a football game in THEIR student section. Gasp!!

Willow's performing arts group at practice!

Another great family event with Gramps!

Willow made homemade chicken fried rice for her Spanish class. It made soooooo much. She sent me this picture of her friends all eating it the next day in History class. 

Owen went on a trip to DC for a karate seminar. He had a great time hanging out with his karate buddy, Chris. 

Summer Fun (karate, baking day, playing in the rain, nerf armor, pool date, kitty cafe, ziplining)

Willow loves getting together with her friend Helena to have baking days. I love that they've kept in touch although Helena goes to a different school now. They always come up with some amazing products!

Willow played on a travel (local) basketball team over the summer. The coach really pushed them physically, which was good for her. The girls on the team really got along well so it was great to see her relaxed and enjoying her teammates. 

Learning how to make pancakes from the resident griddle-master!Owen helped weed in the backyard. Check out the before and after! (the vines on the tree trunks died a few days later)

The only cookies that Owen makes so far are from his Atlas Crate box (cookies from Australia) but we're happy when he makes them!

Check out who is writing about the Bills for Sports Illustrated!!We've been grateful to have Gramps and Gramma in Virginia for the past few years. We knew that Gramps would need more memory care over time, and that time came. Thankfully there was a great care facility that we all felt great about, and Gramps transitioned amazingly well! He's still come to church with us as well as coming over on Saturdays for a movie or college football. We like to call it the "resort" that he lives at now since they make all of his meals, wash his clothes, have "excursions" around town, etc. This is the display outside of his room:

Willow and I helped with VBS at church. Willow loves all the little kids!!Owen has started attending the kids AND adult classes at karate. About half of the adult class are black belts so it's good for him to see the best of the best. They get matched up randomly each time, so he's worked with each of them one-on-one at this point. The classes are definitely more serious, more physical, and a longer time frame...all good things for him!

He does still enjoy doing stuff like this in the kids class:

I was thankful to be at the CVS parking lot when our 2017 Pilot hit 100,000!

When they get along best:

I'm so thankful for my friend, Linda! She is always so easy to talk to, very welcoming, and shares her pool with us in exchange for cookies ;) She's an incredible gardener and even shared some perennials with me. Here's hoping they come back!!

A rare opportunity for her to practice diving head first!

Our trash (recycling) is his treasure (armor)!

Locked, loaded, and ready for battle!

A cat cafe opened up recently! You have to have reservations to go since they limit how many people can be in there at once, but we've been twice now, and it's so fun! There are soooo many cats! They just keep coming out of cabinets, around corners, down from towers, etc. They've already adopted out 100 cats!