The fun goes on and on

This is really turning out to be a great summer. And we still have more fun things ahead of us. Even with starting a  company and a few PTA committee meetings cropping up we are fitting in lots of fun. 

Cousin camp aka Milla and Poppy camp was a great hit for Zaven. He loved being with Blaise and Berk and getting to see all the Chattanooga Burbanks. He also loved getting to be with Grammy, Ella and Soencer. There was a touch of home sickness but mostly fun! 

Milla and Poppy were so nice to meet us in Roanoke to pick Zaven up. We had a fun time staying over at a hotel and swimming, getting dinner and playing in a playground. While Zaven was a away Nell had her first sleepover at Kate's house! She had a great time and boy was she worn out when she got back. The O'Neill house was still standing so I think it was a success. We had lots of pool time too. Then Friday Milla and Poppy brought Zaven home and we had a great weekend of visiting with them. The kids participated in the VPSU Champs meet. Zaven qualified in three events, the free relay, the IM and 50meter Butterfly. He did really well and was pleased with his performance. It was a neat meet and it was cool to be a part of it. Nell qualified in backstroke and ended up with a 6th place overall finish. Knocking 3 seconds of her time! It was such an exciting thing. She got a medal Dan to stand on a "podium". A great finish to a fun summer swim league. We love our Kingspoint swim team and pool! 

I have been really enjoying my summer tennis league though sadly I suffered my first defeat after a marathon three set match. It was disappointing. I think I will meet the girl in the finals of the season and I hope to have a different outcome!  The match was 6-7, 6-4, 6-7. So we are pretty evenly matched. 

Now Nell is off to Chattanooga with M & P and is looking forward to time with Grammy, Ella, Spencer, Brice Christie and Bea!

Chris is getting lots of good rides in and loving being able to use the trainer for days that he can't go outside. Work is keeping him busy and I know he is looking forward to our upcoming vacation. 

Esme continues to love the pool. She gets her suit on first thing and is ready anytime the pool comes up! She loves the water. She is talking a lot more now. Learning more people's names. Saying lots if funny things. And asserting herself more. She is a very sweet baby with just enough of a funny/ naughty streak that we know she is ours!

Wrapped is going well. Things are clicking along. The Orientation Vendor Fair at William and Mary is keeping a fire under us to get things done especially with me planning to be away!  But we feel very positive about the fronts we are moving forward on. 

Enjoy the pics 

Loving every minute of it!

We are having a great summer. 

Swim team continues to go well. Zaven qualified for the Champs Meet on Tuesday night. He will be in the IM and Butterfly. Nell is qualified for backstroke. 

Esmé loves being at the pool and talks about it all the time. We still read "the Very Hungry Caterpillar" every day at nap and bedtime. 

The kids have all done the summer reading program at the library. They have done well. Every week we go and share titles with volunteers and the kids earn a  prize. Zaven has earned his Golden Library Card. He and I have been reading books recommended on the NPR Backseat Book Club. We have had good luck and it has been fun reading the same books so we can talk about them. 

We found out from school that we are getting a new principal for this year. We will have a chance to meet her next week    

I am working hard not to get to far ahead of myself and let these last weeks of summer pass us by. We still have a lot of fun ahead of us. 

We had a great time last weekend up at Ware's Wharf with Isabel. The kids loved a lot of time in the water. Time with Isabel and her sweet pups. Zaven did a lot of fishing. He caught two small fish. Isabel pulled us all on the tube. Even esme tok a turn!  Zaven tried water skiing and got right up no think he liked it. We are wonderful food and had a day with the Driscoll's. it was a really fun mini vacation. 

Church was nice on Sunday. After the kids and I walked around Merchant's Square and they got their free candy from the summer reading program. 

Wednesday we drove to Roanoke and met Milla and Poppy. Zaven headed home with them for Milla and Poppy camp with Blaise and Berkeley. He is excited. They stopped at Benton Bacon on the way home and I think Zaven was thrilled. Poppy said that as they entered the store Zaven just shouted "BACON!"

More Summer Fun

I have not been blogging, but not for lack of things to tell or record.
We are having a great summer.
Our schedule is working out really well, a good balance of things.
We go to swim practice each weekday morning and then stay at the pool playing, come home, have lunch, Esmé naps, and we do some reading and quiet time for the big kids and I work or tidy up. In the afternoon we might go to the library or back to the pool, Mondays are swim meets etc.

Swim team has been really fun this year. The new coach has worked at team building and the kids have swim buddies that they cheer for and trade small gifts. Zaven has been swimming the IM, breast stroke, butterfly and doing a leg in the 200 Freestyle relay. His relay team often wins, which is fun. He has gotten 1st in butterfly and is doing great in the others with several 2nd place finishes. Nell continues to be a backstroke powerhouse. She has gotten several 1st place finishes and has "champs time" by more than 5seconds (a qualifying time for the champs meet, what was the city meet when I was a kid) it is hard to believe that there is just one more meet.

Esmé loves the pool and the baby pool. She would love to be able to swim. She will happily jump in from the side to me and paddle around, floating proves a challenge, but she loves to out on her suit at home and talk about going to the pool and. " baby pool" which she says so cute with the emphasis on ool in pool. However when we get to the pool she wants to just wealthy swim diaper, she objects to her bathing suits being wet, or "bet" as she says.

We did celebrate Esmé turning two. We had a little party here at the house with the O'Neills and the Brewers. We were out in the back yard until the rain came and we had to cut the cake inside. Dinner was a taco bar. And the cake had balloons on it. Esmé loves balloons, but her favorite thing todo is to pop balloons. Nell helped me decorate, we made a bunting banner with patterned paper and pictures of Esmé, we found some flowers and hung those around, we had balloons and pool noodles to play with. All in all I think it was a nice celebration for a sweet girl.

We also took a trip to Charleston to visit the Webbs. We were so happy to meet Beckett, he is adorable. Quinn is as cute and fun as ever. She and Esmé had a good time playing. Nell and Zaven loved holding Beckett. I loved seeing everyone together and getting to sit on the back patio and chat with lex. I love that we are close enough to get to see each other a couple of times a year. We got to see Kendall and the adorable newborn Annie.

Wrapped is coming along. We have almost finished initial sourcing for the Realtor market and are hoping to get our baskets together and set up some meetings. We are also moving forward with our plans for the college market. It has been a little slow with summer and kids but we are inching forward, so that is something.

Here are pictures.

Summer!

The kids finished up the school year.

Zaven had a school performance, where he sang in a trio, "who killed the robin",

he also had a piano recital duet. His class took a field trip to Monticello

Nell had a class picnic, a field trip to the Waterman's museum. Milla and Poppy were her and Milla went with Nell on her field trip!

Which is a good segue into saying Mom and Dad were here for Auntie Bob's funeral. It was fun to go to Urbana and hear mom and dad's memories of being there. Laurie and Jim came for dinner and it was fun to have them here.

We had a great visit with Pat Kiley. We did some sewing projects and some crafting it was fun to catch up with her.

We also went to Busch Gardens with the Brewers, that was fun.

Now we are onto summer.
Zaven is off at camp Chanco. We dropped him off on Sunday. He was excited. William Morris, Jack and Will Snead were all in the same campsite, so that seemed to have him at ease.

Last night we had the first swimmer. Nell did a great job getting 2nd in freestyle and backstroke.
I volunteered. To be ribbon writer for the second half, well let me tell you that was a mistake. The ,set was really long and Nell and I did not leave the pool until after 11pm! Luckily Chris had picked Esmé up at 7:30 and taken her home. I think I will work on the first half !


Ellen Morris and Evers were in town after having dropped William at camp, so on Monday we had a great tie visiting with them at Jan's house. jan has 9new chickens and the girls enjoyed feeding, petting etc her.