Birthday Number TEN

Ok everyone... it's about to get real.  Today Simone turned 10 years old!  I won't lie -- I'm having a tough time with this one.  It gets harder every day to think of her as a little kid anymore.  I'm not sure how we got to this point so fast, but I suppose we have a decade of some pretty awesome memories to show for it.

She has asked to have her birthday celebration up in PA at a future point, but tonight we marked the occasion of her actual birthday with a surprise dinner and ice cream with a few of her close friends.  They had such a good time, and as I watched and listened to their little tween conversation as they sat and at blizzards at DQ, I couldn't help but think of just how very few years of such sweet outings remain.  No fear, we will make the most of them all!!

At birthday dinner.  The girls unanimously decided on Thai.

A quick pose near the pumpkins after dinner. 

Ice cream for dessert!

End of the night selfie.

The last two shots are from yesterday when mommy and Simone went for an after school snack and then dessert to celebrate her very last day of being 9 years old.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIMONE!! 

Mommy and daddy love you more than you will ever know!

(hang on tight for the next decade!)

The TOTAL Eclipse

THE DOTSONS SURVIVED THE SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 2017!!!!!

OK, so we didn't get any pictures of today's solar eclipse but I feel like it's an historic milestone to note on Simone's blog to mark the occasion for posterity.

So in honor of today's eclipse which reached maximum coverage in northern VA at 2:42pm, I post these shots of the lunar eclipse that I did take from our house in Sept of 2015 --LOL!

Winding Down the Summer

Well, the leaves on the trees are starting to brown ever so slightly and school starts in just a few days.  But no complaints here.  We've had a terrific summer.  Simone attended a some great summer camps, and we recently enjoyed a terrific visit from Grammy, Pop, and the cousins.

One of Simone's camps was like a mini Disney World (without Mickey, of course).  It had a full kitchen for cooking classes, a bowling alley, a dance theater, and a variety of other activity rooms.  She had a blast!

On a walk with the cousins after dinner -- they just have so much fun together!

This was another camp -- Creative Dance Center.  Simone and her camp mates put  on a great parent show in Friday, and was especially memorable because her cousins got to see her perform too.

Spent a day down on the Mall seeing some monuments and going to the Natural History Museum.

Pop saw an episode of Food Wars that featured DC's very own Pizza Mart and their jumbo pizza slices.  That was it -- it was determined to go and get giant slices for everyone.

All the kids got a kick out of the humongous slices.

Too big to even pick up!

 And of course, we spent some time at the Reston Watermine -- a family favorite.

We had great times this summer and will be sad to see it go.  But spent the weekend finishing up school shopping, and we're all ready for 5th grade! Bring it on!

Summer Update

The Dotsons have indeed been having a spectacular summer so far!  We just returned from 10 days on the gorgeous island of Oahu, and it was again incredible.  This time, we explored the island at a more leisurely pace and added a bunch of adventure.  We spent lots of time relaxing on the beach, enjoyed great food, went horseback riding at sunset, did a day of zip lining on the North Shore, and had an AMAZING snorkel sail and swim with dolphins, turtles and fish.  Couldn't have asked for more on our second Hawaiian adventure.  Here's a very random array of our trip...

Pure paradise!

At the resort on the 4th of July.

Breakfast at the resort. It's hard to see in the picture, but breakfast was ocean view!

One of several stops for shave ice.

At the Waimea waterfall.

Occasional selfie with mom. 

Sailing on the dolphin cruise.

Groomed for a life of leisure!

Smile daddy! you're having fun.

The dolphin pod loved to surf in the wake of our boat, but we also had a chance to get in the water and swim with them.  It was amazing.  All wild, spinner dolphins -- with such personality.

On Waikiki Beach.

Simone's lei on the last day.

Tossing it to the sea for a future return!

Lookout near the Halona Blow Hole.

Playing at Haunama Bay!

Posing at Haunama Bay.

At Kailua Beach.  

Running at Kailua Beach -- our favorite for white sand and clear water.

At the ranch.

Simone on her horse.

Riding along the water on the North Shore.

All three of us on the ride.

Simone becoming an equestrian pro.

Waimea Valley

Waimea Valley

Waimea Falls.

Beach at Jump Rock.

Sunday brunch at Orchids -- DIVINE!!!

Strolling after brunch.

Poses after brunch.

Before the luau.

Ziplining!!

So now we're back, safe and sound and missing our tropical traditions of lazy days and shave ice.  But lots more summer ahead to enjoy, and we plan on making the most of every moment.