{iPhone Rewind} :: September

Narnia is getting interesting...

We made a Roman lunch to go with our history lesson

Time for science!

Haha- Aiden is SO expressive :)

We had a church picnic, which featured games, bounce houses, snow cones, and Dunk-a-Pastor! :) Mike was a good sport, even when a bunch of teens ran out to fill the tank with buckets full of ice. And even when his daughter dunked him on her first throw!

We're working through a manners book this year, and right now we are talking about communication. So this lesson was all about posture haha. I couldn't help but add a little fun and have them try balancing books on their heads ;)

We are super thankful that the temperatures are starting to cool off, and we have been enjoying the the beautiful weather as much as we can. For the boys, that means digging in the dirt!

Riding bikes and a Skype call with Grandma!

A rousing game of checkers ;)

It has been really fun to see their friendship grow

Maddie and I went to the consignment sale and had a Sam's order to pick up, so we hopped inside to grab a soft pretzel :)

Sicilian moustaches haha

When you read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you have to try a little Turkish Delight! The boys LOVED it, and Maddie was not a fan :)

Volcano!! Earth science included a little chemistry and theories on what happened to the dinosaurs :)

We got to have our friend A over for a night of games and make-your-own pizza, cookies, and movies!

Girlie friends :)

We got to visit Great Falls Park!

Math work!

Highland Retreat Getaway

This past week, we got away as a family for a little mini retreat. We made our way to the Shenandoah Valley, where we stayed at Highland Retreat, a Christian camp that graciously offers personal retreats to pastors and their families. It is an incredible gift that they provide, and we were so blessed by it!

It was a bit of a rainy week, so we had to adjust our plans a bit, but we still had fun. We brought plenty of games, and the kids thought being in the cabin was the best thing ever! There were several rounds of Sorry!, Uno, and Happy Salmon :)

There were enough breaks in the rain that allowed us to get out and explore the camp grounds. There were several trails, and we even found a couple of playgrounds. The kids enjoy hiking and exploring, so it was fun to venture out and see the trails. The leaves are just starting to change, though it's still pretty early in the season.

On Tuesday, we headed to Endless Caverns. We will be studying caves/caverns in science in a few weeks, so this was a little early preview on our school lesson {travel schooling, anyone?} These caverns were smaller than the ones Mike and I toured a couple of years ago, but we got our own personal tour! We literally were the only ones in the caverns, along with our tour guide, which was so cool. It was perfect for the kids.

On Wednesday, we had plans to go into the Shenandoah National Park, but plans changed when we started experiencing car trouble. Thankfully, we were able to pull over safely before the car died. We were able to pull off into a large driveway of a kind elderly couple, and we were not too far from the camp. One of the camp staff was kind enough to come pick us up and offer recommendations on a local towing company and garage for repairs {thank you, Kent!} Not our original plan, but so thankful for how the Lord kept us safe and provided so many kind people to help us along the way. We spent the rest of the day playing games and taking a longer hike around the property.

I think they did just fine with the change of plan :)

The car was able to be repaired the following day, which allowed us to leave as scheduled! Shoutout to Mountain View Garage in Broadway, Virginia for replacing our alternator so we could get home, and for your kindness in offering a ride to Mike so that we could get our car picked up.

While the week had its fair share of surprises and changes of plans, we are thankful for how the Lord cared for us, and that we were able to enjoy time away as a family. The kids still had a blast and enjoyed their time in the cabin, wishing "we could live there forever" haha. We are thankful for the kindness of the camp staff and for the donors who provide the pastoral care program.