Six Months in the Life of an Iphone

I love my children.  I love their unbearable, quirky, lovable, mind-numbing, unique ways.  I love to watch them when they are unaware.  I love watching them grow into the person they will become.  So, to gain access into their (my girls) ways, I check their Iphone.  No, they don't really have an Iphone.  They have a hand-me-down phone from a big brother who was ripped off from a "friend", rendering the phone useless to everyone except my daughters.  So, the girls love taking pictures and videos of their life.  This is a small sample of their collection.

That one looks painful.  I wonder what they were thinking as they drew it on the driveway.

I'm so glad my girls have each other.  They are always together.

The Move

My son, Seth, and his wife just moved this weekend.  We were able to help get them settled in.  They've moved into a very neat place that used to be a working mill back in the mid-1800s.  It is very old style, but has so much character.

It is divided into 4 apartments on 100-acre cattle farm.

The View from their office.  See the cattle off in the distance?

Hard at work.

Eventually, they got settled in for some pizza and a card game with the girls.  Mike and Jack are not fans of "old and rustic".  They prefer the clean, newer things in life.  I'm more partial to old with some new.

Speaking of old....

Jack got a new soccer jersey with his favorite player because Jack turned 16 this week.

He also got his driving permit....he doesn't seem old enough.

We then headed to his soccer banquet.  He enjoyed his first season with the travel team; he made 4 goals and some new friends.  I'm glad soccer is over for a while.  Four nights a week as a chauffeur gets tiring.

And, just for fun...the girls.

History

I am so fortunate to live in a state that is full of history.  Sadly, I do not take advantage of it often enough.  I mentioned before that I teach a high school history class at our home school co op.  Last week, a group went to on a field trip to our capital and Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello.

I didn't know before our field trip that Thomas Jefferson designed our state capital building.  He sent the designs to Virginia while he was in France as Ambassador.  He wanted marble columns, but Virginia has no marble.  Those columns are really trees covered in stucco.  And, apparently, the building did not turn out as he expected.  

Thomas Jefferson

Our tour was full of interesting historical facts, and I enjoyed it tremendously.  

 John Smith and Pocohontas  (Not lovers regardless of what Disney says)

 Very dramatic painting of the Battle of Yorktown.  The artist (which I fail to remember) painted all the men with faces of George Washington, while adding his own likeness to one of the men.

 One of the copies of the Declaration of Independence

Old elevator not in use

 George Washington's statue

One interesting fact about this room is the black and white floor.  The black tiles are granite from Vermont.  They show fossils all through them.  Can you guess the creatures?

 Part of our group

We later headed across the street to this beautiful church.  There was some significant detail about this, but I forgot it too.  I was thinking it was where Patrick Henry gave his lively speech, but my friend, Amy, reminded me it was a different church.  Maybe this is where all the governors attended?

An organ player was inside playing magnificently.  I can't imagine working that huge organ.

Next we headed to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 Recognize the picture from the nickel?

I was not allowed to take any inside pictures.  The house was beautiful and quite interesting.  Thomas Jefferson was an extremely intelligent man.  All of this is nothing without a Savior.  He failed to see that truth.

The Rocks

Not the rocks you are probably thinking of....

Our friends from Illinois came for a visit and it rained almost every day.  So, we ended up at a rock wall one afternoon.  The good thing...we are home-schoolers and had the whole place to ourselves.  Nice.  I wasn't sure if Joy would be able to do much climbing with her little hand...but as usual, she proved herself with an inverted wall.

The place was pretty large, and I think the kids had a good time even though their arms and legs were noodles by the time we left.  Eva had a hard time, initially.  She just could not bring herself to let go and repel down the wall.  Instead, she wanted to climb down.  After 30 minutes and a lot of tears, she made it.  After a bit, I took her around the corner and practiced short repels with her.  Eventually, she made it to the top.  She wasn't going to let that wall get the best of her!

Our Gang

I loved this sign at the rock wall.

Onto soccer.  Jack has his last game tomorrow.  Ivy and Eva finished last week.  As much as I love watching my kids play soccer, I am looking forward to the break.  Between, piano, violin, 2 soccer leagues, co-op, schooling, and a traveling husband, I was running out of steam.

Funny picture with Jack in the middle.

Speaking of soccer...my handsome husband was traveling to New York last month.  Upon entering his hotel lobby, he spotted the US Women's soccer team.  He didn't hesitate to have his picture snapped with best and prettiest player, Alex Morgan.

He and his co-worker ended up going to the stadium to watch them play that night...while I was home in Virginia taking my kids to soccer, cooking dinner, washing dishes, washing clothes, cleaning house..............

He met Kirk Cameron on a flight once, but didn't get his picture taken with him.  Just an observation. I probably would have.