Thanksgiving Day

We started Thanksgiving morning by doing something different than normal. We served at the church with Project 25.  I was amazed and humbled by the number of people showing up to serve.  Kaylea enjoyed bringing the food from the front to the back and I helped pack desserts.  500 meals were prepared for delivery in just over an hour.

We finished cooking and went to the Gallagher's for Thanksgiving.  It was very kind of them to invite us over.  We enjoyed the usual Thanksgiving fixings and tried fried turkey for the first time.

Kaylea ended up spending the night with Alannah so Jordy and I went out shopping alone. We started around 7pm and we were finishing up by 10pm.

When I picked Kaylea up on Friday, we went shopping.  She was excited to participate in her first Black Friday.  We shopped for about 4 hours and she was an awesome shopping partner.  

Gaylord National Harbor Presents ICE

Wednesday, Jordy was out of school and Kaylea got out 2 hours early so we headed to the National Harbor to begin Christmas celebrations.  ICE! is an indoor winter wonderland featuring a walk through holiday attraction (kept at 9 degrees), 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures, 5 ice slides, 7 individual rooms depicting the story of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and the Frostbite Factory (a live carving zone).

Before making it to the hotel for the attraction, we went to the National Harbor and checked out the decorations.  We also visited the Peep Store and picked up a Gingerbread Man.  We had dinner at the Cadillac Ranch.

We were impressed by the ICE! exhibit,but I'm not sure we would visit it every year.  Kaylea's favorite part was sliding down the slides.

School Pictures - First Grade

School - Lorton Station Elementary

First Grade

Teacher - Mrs. Maquera

Alarm Rings - 8:00 AM

Catch the Bus - 9:05 AM

School Starts - 9:20 AM



Lunch - 11:05 AM

Recess - 11:35

School Ends - 4:05 PM

Favorite Class - Reading
Favorite Friends - Alannah, Amerah, Sara

First Day - September 8, 2015

Last Day - June 23, 2016

Field Trip - Gunston Hall

Thursday morning I was able to attend a field trip with Kaylea and her class.  We went to Gunston Hall. Gunston Hall is an 18th century near the Potomac River.  The house was the home of George Mason.  The trip was definitely educational. 

The class was broken into three groups and I was able to tour with one group.  Kaylea had several of her friends in our group, as the teacher allowed them to select the group they wanted to go with.  It was awesome hanging out with Kaylea and I was able to give some love to some of her friends who need it.  It's amazing how loving children can be.

We toured the mansion, the grounds, the school house, the kitchen, and the laundry room.  While it wasn't all that exciting, I think the kids were just happy to be away from the class and I know Kaylea was thrilled I came along.

Veteran's Day

Jordy had Veteran’s Day off for the first time in 10 years.  I usually have the day off alone and it was certainly nice to spend the day together.  We had a very early lunch with Kaylea at school.  They celebrated Thanksgiving early.  She just loves having her family at school with her.  After lunch Jordy and I had massages.  We spent some time at home and got in a quick cat nap. 

Our Weekend

Friday evening Jordy took Kaylea out to see the Goosebumps Movie. It was supposed to be a little scary, so I wasn’t sure if she would make it through the entire movie, but she did and she actually enjoyed it.  While they were out, my mom and I took advantage of some time together and went to play Bingo.  We found Bingo at a firehouse in Springfield.  It was interesting.  They wasted no time in calling numbers.  We definitely had too many Bingo sheets, but it was nice to get out together.

Kaylea asked me last week if we could have a Girl’s Day, so Saturdaythat’s just what we did.  After collecting canned good for a food drive, we headed to get Kaylea a haircut.  Then she got her nails painted and I had a pedicure.  We went to the mall and did just a little bit of shopping. She also stopped in to see Santa and tell him what she wants for Christmas (this time of year there is no line). 

Saturday night we went to a housewarming/birthday party for some new friends in Virginia.  We had a great time.  We snacked on food, enjoyed birthday cake, and sang karaoke.  I’m looking forward to doing this again.

The Peanuts Movie

Friday after work, we all headed to dinner and the Peanuts movie.  We went to the Silver Diner because it was nearby.  It was OK, but I wouldn't go back.  We were able to see the movie at a theater with reclining chairs.  That was pretty cool.  It was good to have my mom out with us.

Happy 7th Birthday Alannah

Saturday afternoon we celebrated Alannah turning 7 with a party at Chuck E Cheese.  Kaylea had fun with her friends from school and we enjoyed talking to some adults and playing games.  Alannah has quickly become one of Kaylea's best friends at school.

Play Date

Kaylea had her friend Alannah over on Monday night.  School was out in Fairfax County for two days.  We had pizza, Jordy took them to Flight Zone, and they played in the basement.  They covered their faces in makeup.  They had a great time.  Kaylea was able to go to Alannah's house on Tuesday afternoon.  They had a great time there, too. 

Mastering the Backbend

Kaylea has been taking gymnastics on and off for the past year.  She is pretty good, but just started practicing more at home since she got an incline mat.  This week she mastered her backbend.  I cannot tell you how proud I was the first time I saw her do this.  The smile on her face showed me how proud she was, too.

Storybook Character

Friday was storybook character day at school.  The children were supposed to dress as their favorite popular storybook character.  Kaylea debated who to be, but ended up going as Pinkalicious.  She said it was a fun day at school.  It probably helped that it was a 2 hour early release day.

Halloween Weekend

Saturday afternoon we went to the Fall Festival at church.  It was really nice.  They had food, tons of games, crafts, pony rides, and a puppet show.  We stayed from 4 - 5:30.  We could have stayed longer, but we had some other plans.

We went to a neighborhood with our neighbor, Laurel Lee.  Kaylea has never last so long trick or treating.  We were out for over 2 hours.  She collected tons of candy.  The decorations were amazing at some of the homes.  One lady answered the door with a parrot on her shoulder.  Another man handed out candy from a casket.  Kaylea ended up with 6 full sized candy bars and one giant Hershey Bar in addition to all of the other treats.

By the end Kaylea said her legs hurt and she was tired, but as it turns out, she was up until midnight, so I'm not sure how that worked.

#cancersucks

Wednesday afternoon I took my mom to the hospital where we were meeting with her doctor to get the results of her most recent scan.  We didn't get good news.  Dr. Gallagher told us that the cancer had progressed.  He said the cancer that was there had a grown a little and a new spot, the size of a pea had formed.  He spun this in a positive way and talked about how her cancer had responded to hormone treatment in the past, which was a good indication that it would respond again.  However, it never takes away the worry and fear of the unknown.   We continue to pray...for healing, for peace, for comfort, and to enjoy the time we have.

George Washington's Mount Vernon

On Sunday we met The VanDyk Family at Mount Vernon.  I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but I'm glad we went when we did.  It was the Fall Festival.  Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington.  It is on the banks of the Potomac River and just 15 minutes from our house.

The Fall Festival was some added fun.  They had several things set up for the kids.  Kaylea was able to roast apples, learn about making horseshoes, explore a corn maze, and make a straw doll.  This was all in addition to seeing the mansion, visiting the farm, seeing Washington's tomb, and the slave burial site.

It was nice hanging out with some other adults, too.  We ended up spending almost four hours before we had to head home for our small group from church.

Girl Scout Hike at Occoquan Park

Last Saturday afternoon Kaylea's new Girl Scout Troop went on a hike at Occoquan Park.  It was a nice day and it was nice to see another part of town.  We walked about a one mile trail around the park, stopping to see a few things and to take a few photos.