Trevor has no more "cavity bugs"!

He was a little trooper - two days of drilling and not a tear. He didn't even need blankie for the second visit! Now we have the orthodonist on 10/31 for Heather!

The kiddos are growing up...

End of October will be a busy one. Heather is starting the process of getting BRACES. Yes, she really is 8 going on 16. Trevor will have to get all four of his back molars drilled and fixed - he apparently has pockets in the back that has caused some cavities. Mommy and Daddy are not looking forward to that procedure! Heather's braces will be put on officially on 11/7 - they said she may have them off before her birthday!

A Story from Heather's Teacher.

I got this email the other day after reporting Heather would be in late....

Dear Mrs. Nothdurft,

I just wanted to share a cute story with you. Today we talked about the role of a President, VP, Secretary and Treasurer to prepare to have the students vote for Pine Spring Student Council offiers. Heather proudly shared that her mother worked for the current (or former, she wasn't quite sure) "President of Alaska". I recalled seeing your job title and office on this email, so I knew what she was trying to convey and told her that Senator from Alaska was a very important job. I thought you might get a kick out of hearing your boss described as the Alaskan President! Heather is a delight to have in class. I can tell that it's going to be a challenge for me to keep her challenged! She's a bright one!

Sun We Hit the Petting Zoo

The weather was so nice we just had to get out.

Every Saturday We Now Have Swim Class.

Heather and Trevor are learning how to swim! So....every Saturday Mama gets up at the crack of dawn. Trevor goes at 8:15. Heather goes at 10:00. They are really doing great and now they actually get their faces wet in the bathtub so its a major victory! Trevor's favorite part is finding the rings under water and Heather was very proud because she "got to go in the deep end" last class - 4.5 feet.

Natural Bridge

Papa John's Pizza delivered right to the RV and a movie - nothing could be finer!

Behold....Foamhenge. Eric's secret joy.

Funnel cake fries. YUM!


Marshmallows! Such great fun!

Ice cream. Trevor had approximately 15 different kinds of candy on his.

Izzy and Trevor at the top of the steps - they were so proud!

Outside the caverns - Trevor and Heather were kind enough to tell the twins this was not worth their time of a visit.

OK this was the cutest photo op I was ever able to stage.

The majestic Natural Bridge.

Ice cream social!

These two reminded me of Trevor and Heather.

Heather and Trevor got to witness the giraffes jungle loving.

Heather: Mom, what is that coming out?

Me: Sigh...that's the giraffe's wee wee (as a mother looked disapprovingly at me with her two older kids).

Heather: Oooh...why does he keep chasing the other giraffe with his wee wee and jumping on her back.

Me: they are trying to make babies (another glare from the mother).

Heather: Ohhh...they are MATING. Cool. When will the baby come out.

Trevor: Cool...

Me: how about we give them some privacy kids?! Where's the lorakeets?!

I saw nothing wrong with them petting a giant snake (a burmese python) who happened to be slithering for his daily walk through the grass. Anna was a bit nervous.

This was my favorite safari park pic, the zebras with the llamas in the background.

Labor Day = visit to Natural Bridge...our new tradition. This was our second year doing this. We had the Ismail family join us this year in their swank RV. We packed the van to the gills and headed on over to the KOA campgrounds. We arrived at our cabin to find out we got one of the only ones without cable (we could survive, no biggie....still breathing just fine at this news) and GASP....NO AIR CONDITIONING. Are they kidding?! We decided we could make it through. We unpacked the van and sweat and sweat and sweat. It was about 90 degrees plus high humidity. I offered to ask if we could move but Eric said we could manage. After about 2 hours of managing I realized we were gonna leave the next day - screw the entire weekend. I decided to go to the office and ask to be put on the wait list for an upgrade. Then the kids and I hit the arcade. Trevor won a few toys in the crane drop. Heather played air hockey and enjoyed that immensely. Then we decided to hit the pitstop before trudging back to the cabin (the cabins have no bathrooms, just electricity). As we pass by the office, we find Eric who is asking us what the heck we did....he had been summoned to report to the office immediately. Once we assured him we did no damage, I realized "OOOH I put us on a wait list!!!" We went eagerly to the front desk - to find YES a new cabin is available. A two room cabin. Which meant the kiddos had their own room with double bunkbeds. With cable. With A/C. Closer to the bathroom. In a location that was not as mosquito riden as where we were...for....$40-50 more for the entire weekend. We snatched it. We were told we couldn't move till the next day but we were OK with that! We slept in the heat with the windows open. I cuddled with a water bottle from the cooler. Eric thought this was pretty funny - KD did not. I started getting chills later that evening as I slept and needed a blanket. I decided it was from heat stroke. The next morning we peeled out of Cabin 18 - leaving our new neighbors in the dust who couldn't understand why we were moving (the next day we found them at a different cabin - they decided we were right). We moved into the new place and dubbed it Shangrila. We were closer to the Ismails as well so there was an additional bonus! After getting settled in, we hit the Safari Park. The kids had great fun. I almost got eaten by a camel. Eric thought this was pretty funny. The van got covered in animal pellets. Trevor's not a great thrower unless he's throwing it directly on Eric. Heather dumped a whole bucket in the back (which reminds me to pull the vacuum out). The Ismails opted to go without feed and follow behind us and observe the Nothdurfts in all their chaotic glory. We fed the lorikeets and giraffes as well. I think we hit the park 5-6 times this weekend (our Reston Zoo passes get us in for free). Sunday was a visit to the Natural Bridge. It was really pretty and the kids also enjoyed the butterfly garden. The wax museum creeped them out. The toy museum was just to taunt them. The big hit of natural bridge, however, is a special item on their menu - FUNNEL CAKE FRIES. For those that have not had this, I highly recommend you get in your car and speed to Natural Bridge promptly. Throughout all of the touring, we swam in the pool at the campgrounds, hit the arcade, played ping pong, played on the playground, went on a flashlight candy hunt, went on a glowy wagon ride, had pizza delivered to the Ismails RV and watched a movie, made marshmellows on the fire (Ismails grandma's first one EVER! Two thumbs up for marshmellows), made pizza pockets on the fire. We really had a good time - so good that we already booked Shangrila for next year. I think the Ismails are gonna join us again next year - our goal is to try and stay up past 9:30 p.m. We shall see!!

Hurricane Irene - Chaos Style.

On Thursday I started to hear more and more about the impending hurricane. I realized some of our friends lived by waters and made the offer to be their emergency shelter. After I picked Eric off the floor when he got the news we got the house ready for the possibility of company. Friday afternoon we got the call. They were on their way. The kids were excited. Slumber party! We had a delicious dinner of most of their supplies out of their freezer and settled in the the first night - cocktails were a flowing. Kids were upstairs, Danielle and Brian got the playroom. Saturday was without a hitch. We took Logan with us to a birthday party in Ashburn which was at a moonbounce park so they got Chaos to themselves and were able to monitor their local media as much as they could for updates on Kent Island - which isn't much. Media apparently doesn't understand that they exist. After we got back the kiddos had dinner, played video games, watched TV and all was well. The winds started to pick up. We locked down the upstairs and huddled downstairs. Kiddos and I and our dog in one room. Danielle, Brian, Logan & Arden in the playroom - tight quarters for all but the important thing was safety! It got louder and louder and I got to admit - I don't think any of the adults slept very well that night. Around 2:30 a.m. the power went out. Eric kindly informed me that our heads were right by a window and that we could be killed any moment from flying debris. He turned and slept the other way on the room. I was already giving half of my space to the petrified dog so I decided to just risk it. Sunday morning, still no power but all were safe, no damage to house, a few branches down but no big deal! We got power back around 10:45 a.m. The kids were overjoyed and the TV got turned on immediately. The adults were overjoyed because the kids could quit asking to do every single thing that demanded power. The Hollands got the great news that power was restored to their place and it was safe - the winds had shifted from the storm to north so there was no storm surge and it kept the water from swamping their island. Victory to all! I'm glad they came to stay with us. I'm sure they don't believe me, but it was a great diversion from the impanding storm, the kids were entertained and we truly enjoyed their company!