End of Summer

Summer ends tomorrow!!!!!  I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me as I simply detest the season!  But....we've had a good end to the season!

Dave has taken the older boys out on a couple adventures and left me to have quiet time with the baby.  It is a win for everyone!  The first adventure was going to Pocahontas State Park (30 minutes away) renting a canoe and going out on the lake.  Jeffery even helped paddle.  

The second adventure was a day trip to Roanoke, VA to visit the Norfolk and Western 611 Steam Engine!!!!!  Dave had learned that they would be opening her up to do some scheduled maintenance work on her boiler and thought the boys would get a kick out of seeing her have a "bath"....as Jakob called it!  The first stop was at the traditional Cracker Barrel in Staunton for breakfast and then on to Roanoke.  A GRAND time was had by all!!!!

The third adventure was a night at a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game.  They are the local AA team for the San Francisco Giants.  The boys adore the team and going to games and Dave had been promised a game for Father's Day so he finally "cashed in" the gift and took the boys.  It turns out the game they went to was a double header so everyone was very happy!!!!!

Our Jakob continued on his life long adventure and turned 4 this September!!!!!  How is that possible?!  (On a side but related note, it also means we've been in this home for 4 years!  WOW!)  We had a lovely day with our 4 year old and he is VERY proud of his new age.  

A problem arose in August that left everyone (except Jakob) feeling depressed.  You see, Oma and Papa (my parents) arrived ON Jeffery's birthday this past July.  Now, they were here to help with the boys and be here when the baby arrived and hopefully help out afterwards.....but they arrived on Jeffery's birthday and it was very special to celebrate the day with them.  WELL.......this made Jakob convinced that they would be coming back for HIS birthday!  Think about it from an almost 4 year old's perspective and you'll see why we were depressed!  We knew they were not coming but Jakob would hear nothing to the contrary.  He had absolute faith that they would be here.....and told them so while Skyping with them one day.  All of our faces and hearts just dropped.  Jakob was telling everyone he knew.....and strangers.....that Oma and Papa were coming back for his birthday.  It was too much for my heart!

So.....what does Papa do when his little almost 4 year old grandson has such trust and faith in him and Oma?  He moves mountains and ignores costs and makes it happen!  And so, a couple days after Jakob's birthday, Papa arrived to have a belated celebration with him!!!!!  (Oma is going to come out in November!)  Note to Oma and Papa: We love you but don't come for Jeffery or John's birthday again.....or you'll have to come back for Jakob's!  :)

Now.....celebrating Jakob is all well and good.....but we had 3 more celebrations that weekend that made Papa's trip even more special.  1. John turned 2 months old.  Yay!!!  2. It was the weekend of the Richmond NASCAR races!  And 3. Dave turned 40 years old!!!!!!!!!!  We'll get to #1 in the post below.  And we'll get to #3 later in this post.  For now, we'll focus on the Richmond NASCAR race.

If you see the picture above, you'll see that Jakob got his very own head set from Papa for his birthday!  Such a big boy!!!!  The day that my dad arrived, the 4 older gentlemen (John stayed home with me) went to the X-Finity race.  It was Jakob's first NASCAR race and boy, was he excited!!!!!!!!!  They lasted all 250 laps and did a great job!  

The next day, Dave and Dad went to the Monster Cup race (500 laps) and had a great time!  For a while, we had been afraid that Hurricane Irma would impact the weekend's plans (and there were many plans that weekend) but as it was, we didn't even get a drop of rain from Irma.  And as dad said, you can't live life in fear of the unknown.....because then you're not really living!  True, true!  You just have to be flexible and go with what comes your way!  

As it was, a more beautiful weekend could not have been given to us!!!!  My dad called it "Chamber of Commerce Weather" and it really was!!!!  Brilliantly blue skies, cool nights, cool breezes throughout the day, and high's in the low 70's.  PERFECT!!!!!!!  The weather allowed us to spend a lot of time outside with the boys where Papa helped them get more confident on their bikes and played untold hours of baseball with them.  He's always teaching them....always coaching them....and they just eat it up!!!  :)

Dave turned 40 while my dad was here and, unbeknownst to Dave, I had planned a surprise party for him!  Our friend and former neighbor, Adam, is co-owner of Triple Crossing Brewery!  I approached him back in the spring about the possibility of having a little party for Dave at the brewery and got a night on the books before I had John.  It wasn't anything fancy....just really good pizza (that they make there) and fantastic beer!!!!!  We got a babysitter and my dad came with us......and 23 people from church (including our Pastor) and JRS and Adam and his wife (also our very good friend) came to help us celebrate Dave turning 40!  It was a really special night!!!!  Dave was floored and spent the next couple days processing everything!  Woooo-hoooo!!!!!!!  

I have now spent 17 birthdays with him and I am so happy to celebrate him!!!  And.....I did a quick reflection of past years and in the past 11 years that we've lived in Virginia.....my dad has been here or we've been in Arizona to celebrate Dave's birthday 4 times!!!!  That's pretty cool!!!!!  

Just like summer is coming to a close, my dad's trip came to a close.  But not before countless games of War and Snap were played with Jeffery and Jakob.....and not before Buzz and Ned's was consumed (yum!).....and not before a night of hilarity was had while random youtube watching.

And now....we welcome, very happily, the beginning of autumn!  My sister and brother in law will be welcoming their first child (a little girl) in a matter of weeks!  JRS starts back with rehearsals shortly which makes me supremely happy!  My birthday is fast approaching.  The boys are already excited about Halloween! Oma is coming back in November!  The fall is shaping up to be fantastic!  So.....goodbye summer!!!!!!  You had a good end!!!!!  :)