Let's Catch Up!!

It's been quite a while since I posted, but it's not for lack of exciting things to share.  We had a wonderful finish to our summer and the school year has been off to a racing start. Pretty much every weekend of August and September has brought us some sort of memorable event. It's hard to believe that Simone is already half way through her first quarter of SEVENTH GRADE.

So here's a quick summary...

After a little recuperation from our Irish adventures, Simone had a fabulous trip to Disney with her cousins in August.  We visited all four Disney parks, and Simone and Seleste were inseparable all week long!

 It was melting hot, but all of the parks were great fun.  We hit all of our favorite rides, and  we also finally got to see the new Avatar land and rides.

And the fun didn't stop there.  Seleste flew back to VA with us and spent the rest of the week as Simone's cousin-sister.  Here they are at the pool one evening.

We also had our annual Watermine day in August, but shockingly, I didn't get a single photo.

And then just like that -- summer was over.  7th Grade was upon us.  Here's a shot of Simone on her first day.

Next, we had a terrific visit from some college friends in late August and took a hike down to the river.  

 We marched steadily through September with Labor Day weekend, a play at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in DC, and ... are you ready for this!?!

SIMONE TURNED TWELVE YEARS OLD!!!

Today we celebrated her 12th birthday.  She had one of her friends sleep over last night and woke up to red velvet pancakes for breakfast in the gazebo (per her request).  By lunch time the rest of the gang arrived for pizza, wings and cake.  And then off to Exit Plan for an escape room game.

The party theme was matched to the title of the escape room -- A Matter of Time.

 Finally, the girls made a stop at local store for a sweet treat.  As I type, Simone is slipping back into a regular Sunday night routine, studying for her French test with a bowl of mac and cheese.  LOL!

And there you have it, all caught up.