James lately (and first day of Young 5's- whoop whoop!)

I'm doing an entire post about James Thomas because we have spent a LOT of time together. Adelyn started school August 4th and James didn't start until September 6th. With all of his friends starting Kindergarten, it's been a weird month. 

An older friend goes to a private school that didn't start until a little later, so Charlie came to play one morning

His buddy Dean is also doing Young 5's so he came to play a couple times. They love to be race car drivers!

We all went swimming and had fun riding to the pool in the convertible

James did a karate work out while I did my BeachBody/21 Day Fix videos (which I have loved, by the way!)

James had Open House 2 weeks before school started. Mrs. Rachael is going to make it an AWESOME year! She's all about good behavior, kids doing things for themselves, and sight words. Woo hoo!

James and Myles playing in the the driveway

We FINALLY got around to building a wooden set he got for Christmas. You can make all kinds of things. He chose a house coin bank that he painted after we built it.

Just before school started, we went to LegoLand. SO, SO fun! This is Atlanta, in Legos. Hi, Fox Theater!!

There was a Lego 4D movie

James built his own race car

... and his own boat. This area was his favorite. Using the larger legos, kids could build boats and float/race them over the water.

I am a complete sucker. He needs no more legos, but I let him pick a small set to take home. He just LOVES legos and is really good at building them!

School FINALLY started after a fun Labor Day weekend! It was a super 4 day week! Be on the lookout for a Baptist Dojo in the near future!

James had his first friend spend the night! Donovan (a friend from his preK class) and his parents came for dinner. Donovan stayed the night. He's had sleepovers with his cousin and Myles stayed with his mom one night but this was "official". The woke up at 3 a.m ready for the day. Agh! It took them until 4:30 to go back to sleep. BUT....they had a great time! :)

I pick James up at 12:30 and then we have lunch together. He wanted a picnic and a "dipping" lunch (dip everything into sauces.... chips and avocado, carrots and hummus, spreadable cheese and crackers, and nutella and popcorn) on this day

James started Fall Baseball! He has been SO very excited to start baseball. We love his team and coach!

He had his first game on 9/13. It's coach pitch (2 times, and then they bring out the tee). At the scrimmage the week before, he didn't hit the ball at all and said he "wasn't very good at batting". He was SO surprised when he hit that coach-pitched ball at his first game, he FROZE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iFDmKFiqBk&feature=em-upload_owner

Ok, enough James Thomas. It's been a very bitter sweet month but I wouldn't take back the time with him.

VIR August 25-27

Seth had a race at VIR. Seth and his dad found a plantation (Berry Hill) last year and wanted to take the kids back. Adelyn learned about Appomattox last year, so we decided to pull her from school for one day to get a little history lesson. 

This is Berry Hill. There is a hotel to the back right side. We stayed on the second floor of the house! It was SO COOL!!

This is the driveway leading up to the plantation. I did get to sneak in a run one morning and enjoyed this scenery!

This is the room we stayed in. There ended up being a booking mix up, so we only got this suite for one night. 

A huge bathroom with an old fashioned tub separated the 2 bedrooms. 

The kids had this room. I ended up moving couches and chairs beside the bed because it was so high up!

We couldn't wait to walk around and explore the grounds. This tree was pretty crazy!

The Bruce Family was buried in the family cemetery 

The plantation has 2 restaurants, a spa, and this pool. It was SUPER hot in VA that weekend and the pool felt like a sauna. Seth's mom and I sweated it out and let the kids swim for a while. 

After that, we ordered dinner and had it delivered to our suite. Seth's parents had the smaller suite (which was still huge) and this dining area was another room upstairs that we were free to use. 

I ordered etouffe (shrimp, sausage, and alligator!)

 This is the gorgeous stairway at entrance 

 Welcome to our new home! :)

 We spent Friday morning at Appomatox. This is the Peers House, where the last shots of the Civil War were fired. 

 This is the McLean House, where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses E. Grant met and Lee surrendered. 

Here's the living room that they sat in (while the McLean family was upstairs waiting)

 Adelyn became a Junior Ranger 

 Yay!

 After that, we headed to the track for a pig roast. They had bbq, beans, coleslaw, and homemade banana pudding. 

 My parents came in town just in time for the dinner!

 Saturday was the race. It was blazing hot! 

 Adelyn found some cheerleaders at the fan walk

The race was crazy- at the start, it started POURING down rain and thundering! We spent the race at the rig but did make it to the pits to watch the driver change/tire change/car get fueled in a matter of seconds. 

Seth and Dan ended 9th, so that was pretty good! And we all learned so much from our visit back in time at the plantation and Appomattox!

Mom's birthday weekend

Seth was coaching in California for just shy of a week recently and my mom's birthday was in that time frame (8/22), so the kids and I made a trip home to SC. 

We live very close to Adelyn's school and we always thought it would be so neat to walk. This particular Friday, we tried it! The kids ate a banana on the way (hence James's banana-phone). I knew going into it, it wasn't going to be the easiest walk and I was proven correct. There is a triplex of schools (elementary, middle, and high all beside each other), so lots of folks are on the road. Additionally, there is NO sidewalk! We probably won't do this again, and that makes me super sad!

Adelyn rides the bus home but on this day, I endured the carpool line and we left for SC from there. We got to my parents' house in time for dinner. 

On Saturday, we rode the Lynx (public train in Charlotte) downtown and hit The Discovery Place. As we walked there, there is a building that has handprints. When you line your hand up, the colored bars light up the side of the building. The kids loved it!

Adelyn is pressing a button that makes nails raise up on this bed. It's showing how equal weight distribution won't impact you. 

Adelyn is working those muscles on the pulley machine!

I sure wish James would clean up like this at home! Granddaddy and Uncle Joe are helping him pick up the newspaper scraps and throw them up this blower....only to repeat the process again and again again!

We saw a show about reptiles

They have a mini aquarium and we were all awed by the jellyfish

This room has lots of animals, microscopes, and life cycles. The kids are seeing life through a bug's eye.

There was a display all about rubix cubes. This an entire wall filled with them.

This machine could solve the cube in seconds. It was pretty cool!

We saw IMAX National Parks Adventure. Oh my gosh....I want to see every National Park in the US! The kids were excited that they had been to Glacier and Yellowstone. Great film (narrated by Robert Redford)

Adelyn looks so grown up here! Girl in the city, waiting on her train

James fell asleep on my mom on the ride home.

We spent Saturday evening eating at Local Dish to celebrate my mom's birthday. This is a new to me restaurant in Fort Mill. Main Street in Fort Mill has really changed, and for the better. There were cute shops and restaurants and I hope to spend more time next trip checking them out. On Sunday, my brother came home and we enjoyed a family breakfast before the kids and I headed back home. It was a great weekend with my family! :) Happy birthday to my sweet mom!