WV Fun Part 2

I wanted to put more pictures of our fantastic time we had in West Virginia.

I can see our time getting busier and busier as the days go by and as soon as our home sells I will be swamped with packing and trying to find a new home! :) So.... more West Virginia Fun!

Tygart Lake - Jenny rented a pontoon boat for us all to have fun on the lake with family!

I can't remember which son this is - Justice or Honor? He was so funny to watch up on the rock we started a running commentary of his time on top of the rock - to jump? or not to jump? He did jump but it took him a minute or two! :)

Cousin Mark and PawPaw - trying to look like Santa I think. :)

Baby Grace - such a cutie!

Courage driving the boat! AND what a ham - he loved having his picture taken!

Cousin Mark & his lovely wife; Faith :)

Cousins Calvin & Asher encouraging Patrick to jump... (what's wrong with this picture!?)

My son leaps........ (this is actually his second jump - and I was in the water for his first - very close by..... :)

On the way down..............

Splash! (his cousin Calvin was near by too - at his Aunt Tammy's request)

This is the crew - Aunt Jenny rented the pontoon boat on their free day from working at the camp - so it was the only day we had.... and it was 68 degrees and raining! But we were all going swimming any way right? so what's a bit of rain... - it was fun and my children are still talking about it!

Aunt Jenny rented the pontoon boat and let each child take a turn driving the boat - here's Rachel driving - she loved it and I think drove more than anyone - (she didn't swim in the lake) She learned that there are fish in the lake and decided that she would NOT be swimming with the fishes! :)

It really is a beautiful lake - and if you get the chance you ought to give it a try!

Rachel and her PawPaw - it was a chilly 68 degrees with rain and some wind! :)

This is the lake at the Kern Cabin north of Buchannon, WV - we had a blast and were there for three days! What a place to go and visit and be quiet and just enjoy each other -no TV, no computers - no cell phones. I loved it. Love the porch and rocking chairs - can't believe I didn't get pictures of the 'cabin' itself - I just put my camera down while 'in' the cabin. :) I guess I was just '''soooo''' relaxed. :) haha

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln 'spoke & wrote' West Virginia into statehood by proclamation & signature - June 20, 1863..... Saaaalute!

Rachel - visiting our Baire relatives - this creek - I used to play in as a child, my mother played in as a child and I have to tell you - Rachel was NOT getting in the water but her cousins AJ and Asher loved it and had a blast playing in the creek. My Grandma Baire's house sat just above this creek and we visited her every week when I was little - but every now and then when the rains came - the creek would rise... and sometimes rise right up to her front porch... so the old saying, "Lord willing the creek don't rise" is a very true statement.

A hike in the Kanawha Forest State Park - these trees are so beautiful - children had a wonderful time - I'm the only one that ended up with a tick - thankfully Aunt Jenny was in town so she could help me remove it from - well - that's another story. :)

Rachel met her cousin Chrissy - they had a blast - and want to be sisters. It was so much fun to see them playing badminton, barbies, watching movies, air hockey - they had a blast.

OK - there are a ton more pictures but this is it for today!

First Day of School!

Oh the children are so excited about meeting their teachers and I'm so excited - I hear good things about their teachers. :) It is always nice when other moms come up and tell you about your current teacher!

The children picked out their own clothes for the first day of school - and well - it was something else - I think Patrick grew 2 inches over night!

It's hard to believe that they are in 3rd and 4th grade! Where is time going so fast - last December hubby reminded me that our son was at his half way birthday... I looked at him confused and he said, "He's 9" (!!) WHAT!? I was floored and still am , and I'm also reminded by my cousin's blog that her son is beginning his new journey this week with starting college! My dad used to tease me when Patrick was 1 that "oh my he'd be heading to college soon, getting married next - does he really think that's funny?

But sometimes it seems like it passes in the blink of an eye and like Mary Kathryn - our children are just not the person they are today but they are the infants we held, the toddler we watched learn to walk, learn to ride their bikes and now wanting to walk to school by themselves... but that child we send off to college and into the world. So take that extra moment to hug them, listen to them, play with them when they ask b/c you may laugh but they will be heading off to college soon! (as my dad and in-laws tease me) That's ok - I'll laugh too as we enjoy our children growing up. Have a great week!

2 Weeks in West Virginia... = F-U-N (Part 1)

We had so much fun getting together with family and friends. The family picnic was a blast - we realize later maybe we open it up to all Robinson's but this year - our first year we just had my dad and his sisters and our first cousins - and their children. The picnic was out at Kanawha State Forest and it's beautiful - the trees are so amazingly tall - and

green. So a couple of snapshots of the picnic are attached.

Quiet moments with my aunts and uncles and the laughter with my cousins was just what my heart needed. Patrick and Rachel loved their time with family and new friends that they will now have fond memories forever.

West Virginia offers so much - it's hard to believe it's not overwhelmed with tourism - it's not glitzy - or commercialized but it's a beautiful and I'm glad some of the places I've been going all my life are still there so I could share them with my children.

Hawks Nest - my parents started taking me here when I was a child.

New River Gorge Bridge - so beautiful.

Babcock State Park - the children loved- loved climbing on those big rocks!

(** when I was taking this picture - I heard my name and turned around and saw my friend Melissa from FRISCO, TEXAS - exactly! What are the odds!? ) It was a funny moment!

Tygart Lake State Park - my sister Jenny rented a pontoon boat for all of us - Cousin Mark and his lovely wife Faith joined us with their six children! What a day - it was so cold and rainy but we were going to be wet any way... right? Check out my nine year old leaping off that big rock! He is still talking about it!

Oh my! We visited my cousin Max and his wonderful family - the farm was so much fun - my children didn't know what to do but quickly joined in with Max's children and Mark's six that were fortunately 'stuck' there with van issues! So.... ELEVEN children running around the outside the house(make that 10 - Baby Grace is still attached to her momma's hip) - laughing, squealing :) Cousin Anne -was amazing with the cooking for 16 mouths - and it was wonderful - we mostly ate in shifts but there was nary a complaint - everyone just ate and kept running! We are so glad they were able to let us visit in their busy blueberry schedule. I remember visiting this farm when they were 'thinking' about buying it - so it was exciting to see how their hands have transformed it to an amazing home and farm.

The cabin - ah - the cabin is hidden away and belongs to the Kern Family - talk about a cool place - the children swam in the lake, there's a stocked trout stream just feet away from the front door and the trees were - yes - amazing - some days you don't see the sun unless it was just right... and it had to be directly over head! Neither child wanted to leave the cabin.

Let's see - what else? Oh - on the way home we were able to stop and spend some time with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Fred - the children loved their time there and with Leah. Lucy was being being a social butterfly. When we left there - we stopped by President Lincoln's boyhood home and birth place - it's a national park so we've begun something new to do! National Parks! The children enjoyed that - and are still talking about it too. Then a quick night with Grammy and home again, home again jiggity jig.... :)

The reason of part I and II - is pictures - I'm having trouble loading them up and moving them around -so - easier to just put it in two blogs! :) Hope your summer was as grand as ours!

Blue Grass Parkway and Capital today :)

Those who know the area will be proud - I drove all the way down to ...hmmm can't remember the name of the bridge - went over the bridge and back up to University of Charleston and took this picture from the river side of the college to get the capital in the background - then found my way back to the other side of the river :) Kids were impressed when we were on the Kanawha Blvd and looked back at the college and realized where they had just been. :) (make sense?)

check out this action shot! He was bounding away from the crazy lady in the van... following him... :)
Can't get away from me and my camera............

Patrick and Rachel loved this shot!


She's till there - let's quietly walk away maybe she will forget we are here..

Why did you choose this part of the highway to stop and eat - the human is 'watching' us....

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Canyon Texas 2009

We had such a nice time - and come to believe it's only 6+ hours from our home! It was beautiful.

The children had a really good time although the horse back riding the the big hit of the day.

The sky was amazing - the scenery beautiful and the show was super!

Rachel had to go around and get autographs from all the actors - she fell asleep before we made it back to the hotel - 15 minutes away! :)

If you ever get a chance to see the show it's worth it! The amphitheatre is IN the canyon - the canyon as a backdrop and when the fireworks go off at the end they reverberate through the canyon - it is so cool.