A few weeks ago we had a really bad week. Nik's bike got stolen, Raivis fell down and had to get four stitches on his forehead, and I got stuck in traffic for 3 hours before work.
Seeing as we got all of our bad luck out of the way in one week we have had a great few weeks. After riding Grandma Carol's bike to school everyday for a while, Daddy and I finally got new bikes, traffic hasn't been that bad, and most importantly Raivis is healing up just fine from his stitches.
(Don't let that face fool you, he is up to something)
It seems like time just flies by, I blame Nik's school schedule. There is something about the way that school divides up time that makes it go by quick (by the way we are super proud of Daddy, he has gotten a high pass or honors on all of his tests!). He has a test every two weeks, so our week activities are determined by if it is or isn't a test week. In addition to our normal mayhem, I have been helping out at a skilled nursing facility that is owned by the company that owns the facility that I work at (which means overtime, which is awesome, and an over tired mommy, which isn't so awesome), so we try to make the most of our weekends. Here is a run down of all of our adventures and again I make the resolution to post more frequently.
We got a coupon on the mail for the Chesterfield Berry Farm, it discribed all sorts of wonderful fun activities but what caught my eye was that we could pick our own pumkins there. That is something that I have always wanted to do, so one Saturday while Daddy was studying, Raivis, Grandma Carol and I went in search of the perfect pumpkin for our doorstop.
Raivis was delighted right away, we didn't even get past the gates before we got to check out some sweet pumpkins. There were lots of fun things to do, there was a tractor train ride, a petting zoo, food, fun games, and of course a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. I savored the fact that this is probably the last year of my life that I will get to go to things like this and NOT have to sit at the bouncy house or the kid games or the gross looking dried corn pit.... :)
This is Raivis' face he is now making when he is somewhere that is cool but slightly overwhelming. It was also really hot that day so his little cheeks pinked right up, a trait he unfortunately got from me, it is way cuter on him though.
Raivis liked the sheep and the chickens, which incidentally were in the same pen. I think he could have stood there forever in the shade laughing at the chickens and "baaaing" at the sheep.
I have to say it, my little pumpkin in the pumkin patch. :) We didn't really "pick" our pumpkins, the farm does actually grow them there, but they harvest them before they open it up and then they distribute them into their field, that cracked me up. They had a bunch of really cool pumpkins, bumpy ones, squished looking ones, light orange ones, blue ones, and of course just plain old pumkins. Raivis just wanted to play in the dirt at that point, he was over the pumpkins.
Here we are back on the hey ride with our "harvest". We got a little carried away and ended up with six pumpkins.... it was quite the sight to see Grandma Carol, Raivis and I try to hall those pumkins arounds, we really missed Daddy at that point. :)
Raivis had a blast and was pooped out before we even left the parking lot. It was a lot of fun, hopefully it will be our new fall tradition!
I have been asking pretty much anyone who will listen for recommendation for fun things to do. One of the most popular suggestion was the Carter Mountain Orchard. It is about an hour away from the house on one of those big hills the East coasters call mountains. :) On the next "mountain" over is Montecello, Thomas Jeffereson's house. That is something else that is on my list of fun things to see. This orchard has pick your own apples and peaches every year, fresh pressed apple cider, apple cider donuts, carmel apple cookies, wine, and beautiful views.
I couldn't help but think about how long people have lived in this area, both Native Americans and Europeans as I took in the view. This is the oldest part of our country, the place where our forefathers envisioned a prosperous and free country. It takes my breath away a little bit when I stop to think about it. There has been a farm/orchard on this land since the mid 1700s, how crazy is that?
The mountain that the orchard is on is pretty steep, Raivis had a fun time trying to get around.
That is a "I hear a tractor" face... HA!
Grandma Carol was double fisting the apples, so funny. There were several different varieties grown there and of course they taste the best right off the tree.
Ravis agreed, the last week or so he has decided that he can bite into fruit. He runs to the refridgerator, asks to have it opened, opens the fruit drawer and pulls something out. You have to be quick or all of the fruit ends up with little bite marks.
This is his "Mmmm apple cider and apple cider donuts" face.
Another fun Fall tradition to look forward to.
That's about all the news here. Looking foward to another good week. I am still working at two facilities, we have grocery shopping coming up, Nik is studying a lot, Grandma Carol is taking the dogs to the vet and taking herself to the doctors. This weekend is the Richmond Folk Music Festival and it is supposed to be really fun. I can't wait to check it out. Another busy week ahead but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Raivis like riding the dinos.
We were trying to get Raivis to look at the camera, this little girl kept posing. Unfortunately we didn't quite catch it
Raivis was monkeying around outside before we left, this little girl marched right up, grabbed his cheeks and kissed him scare on the lips. SO FUNNY. Raivis didn't know what to do.
A few weeks ago we had a really bad week. Nik's bike got stolen, Raivis fell down and had to get four stitches on his forehead, and I got stuck in traffic for 3 hours before work.
Seeing as we got all of our bad luck out of the way in one week we have had a great few weeks. After riding Grandma Carol's bike to school everyday for a while, Daddy and I finally got new bikes, traffic hasn't been that bad, and most importantly Raivis is healing up just fine from his stitches.
(Don't let that face fool you, he is up to something)
We got a coupon on the mail for the Chesterfield Berry Farm, it discribed all sorts of wonderful fun activities but what caught my eye was that we could pick our own pumkins there. That is something that I have always wanted to do, so one Saturday while Daddy was studying, Raivis, Grandma Carol and I went in search of the perfect pumpkin for our doorstop. 
Raivis was delighted right away, we didn't even get past the gates before we got to check out some sweet pumpkins. There were lots of fun things to do, there was a tractor train ride, a petting zoo, food, fun games, and of course a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. I savored the fact that this is probably the last year of my life that I will get to go to things like this and NOT have to sit at the bouncy house or the kid games or the gross looking dried corn pit.... :)
This is Raivis' face he is now making when he is somewhere that is cool but slightly overwhelming. It was also really hot that day so his little cheeks pinked right up, a trait he unfortunately got from me, it is way cuter on him though. 
I have to say it, my little pumpkin in the pumkin patch. :) We didn't really "pick" our pumpkins, the farm does actually grow them there, but they harvest them before they open it up and then they distribute them into their field, that cracked me up. They had a bunch of really cool pumpkins, bumpy ones, squished looking ones, light orange ones, blue ones, and of course just plain old pumkins. Raivis just wanted to play in the dirt at that point, he was over the pumpkins.
Here we are back on the hey ride with our "harvest". We got a little carried away and ended up with six pumpkins.... it was quite the sight to see Grandma Carol, Raivis and I try to hall those pumkins arounds, we really missed Daddy at that point. :)
Raivis had a blast and was pooped out before we even left the parking lot. It was a lot of fun, hopefully it will be our new fall tradition!
I have been asking pretty much anyone who will listen for recommendation for fun things to do. One of the most popular suggestion was the Carter Mountain Orchard. It is about an hour away from the house on one of those big hills the East coasters call mountains. :) On the next "mountain" over is Montecello, Thomas Jeffereson's house. That is something else that is on my list of fun things to see. This orchard has pick your own apples and peaches every year, fresh pressed apple cider, apple cider donuts, carmel apple cookies, wine, and beautiful views. 
I couldn't help but think about how long people have lived in this area, both Native Americans and Europeans as I took in the view. This is the oldest part of our country, the place where our forefathers envisioned a prosperous and free country. It takes my breath away a little bit when I stop to think about it. There has been a farm/orchard on this land since the mid 1700s, how crazy is that?
The mountain that the orchard is on is pretty steep, Raivis had a fun time trying to get around.
That is a "I hear a tractor" face... HA!
Grandma Carol was double fisting the apples, so funny. There were several different varieties grown there and of course they taste the best right off the tree. 
Ravis agreed, the last week or so he has decided that he can bite into fruit. He runs to the refridgerator, asks to have it opened, opens the fruit drawer and pulls something out. You have to be quick or all of the fruit ends up with little bite marks. 
This is his "Mmmm apple cider and apple cider donuts" face. 
The rapids on the James River, really cool, the rocks that were behind me were full of swimmers/sunbathers
My little explorer
The shell of the old iron foundry that was built on the island immediately after it was used as a prisoner of war camp during the civil war
We got a little hot towards the end, so raivis got to wade a little in the James
The view of the city from the suspension bridge that you use to get to and from the island
My little guy, ready for game day! He loves his BSU beads, wears them all the time, we must be doing something right if he always wants to represent the boys in blue :)
We tried to get a good family game day picture but an airplane flew by, Raivis always has to find the airplanes
It had been a long time since I had been to a live BSU game, so much fun! I missed our stadium though, it is hard for me to watch a game without the blue turf in the background :)
Victory pic! I had way to much to drink, hence me wearing a baseball hat backwords
Raivis had his pointing finger out the whole time
By the end, he was so tired, he just couldn't sit up anymore!
Our door is the 2nd one
When you walk in the kitchen is on the left and you see this
Raivis' stash of toys
The living room
I LOVE the floor to ceiling windows
The kitchen
Looking down from upstairs, yes the bulldog is usually right where he is
The stairwell
The little guys room
Our room
