Earth, Wind, and Fire

Mother Nature has definitely shown her forces this week. On Tuesday, a 5.8 magnitude EARTHquake hit VA (epicenter near Richmond) and was felt along the east coast. I "missed" it because I was driving. Now we are in the midst of Hurricane Irene whose strong WINDs and rains have caused some damage in the area. My only hope it that the rains from Irene will finally put out the smoke coming from the wildFIREs in the Great Dismal Swamp. The smoke has been horrible on and off throughout the summer, causing air quality to be deemed unhealthy.

Summer break has ended much too quickly. Last month we enjoyed seeing some horseraces at Colonial Downs, located outside of Williamsburg. It is a fairly new racing facility that seemed to have brought in crowds of the old and young alike. Most of the races are on turf (grass) vs. dirt. The racing season started in mid-June and ended at the end of July. I believe some of the horses then go up to Saratoga Springs for the racing season up north.



Horseracing at Colonial Downs.

August has been busy with visitors from upstate NY. We had the pleasure of seeing friends who were visiting the area. It's always fun to host a dinner or perhaps have some fun at Busch Gardens. The kids always enjoy seeing friends that they haven't seen in a while.


Enjoyed having the Van Pattens over for dinner.



The Van Horn and The Van Patten kids are soaked after a wet ride on the Roman Rapids in Busch Gardens.



Dinner at a Chinese Buffet with the Wilsons.



The Wilsons come over for a visit/dinner.



Alex is still on summer break. He starts school the day after Labor Day. He will be attending Hampton High School. He had 4 days of orientation a couple of weeks ago. A bus picked him up and brought him to school for 4 hours each day. He got to meet some kids in his homeroom, some of his teachers, and some of the faculty and staff. He also sat in a couple of his classes and already started a little bit of classwork. Ted attended a parent orientation last week and found it to be very informative. We are hoping that Alex will adjust well to a much bigger school and different environment.

Sophia and Matt have had their first full week of school....so far, so good. Sophia is in the 7th grade and Matt is in the 3rd. I'm still working at the school as the Before School Provider, so I'm back to getting up at the sound of a 5:30 a.m. alarm clock.



Sophia and Matt's first day of school.

Sophia decided to give up swimming for the fall and joined the school's Cross Country team. I think it will still help her stay in shape and conditioned for when she starts back up with swimming in January. Both Alex and Matthew have started soccer practices. It is amazing how fast the calendar books up between the kids' sports schedules and other extracurricular activities!! Oh, how I miss my summer schedule!!