Mom and Grandmother Visit... (Grandmother and Great Mother to the kids)

In the middle of August, Charles' mom and grandmother came for a visit. It is never long enough! I know that Mom had grand visions of all the things she wanted to do while she was here, but while she was in PA she broke her foot. We had a wonderful visit anyway! Just seeing the two of them is gift enough! We were able to go out and eat a couple of time, go to the movies, they got to see the girls swim and watch Jacob play Guitar Hero. We watched movies at home and taught mom how to play Killer Bunnies.

While they were here I was not feeling well. I started an antibiotic that made me very sick. It reacted to anything that had alcohol in it! By the way, there are many things that have alcohol in them....
mouth wash
hand soap
face scrub
conditioner
vanilla
I know there are more...

Right before we drove them to the airport. Nate's hair was out of control!

Charles and Mom (They were humoring me; I really wanted a picture of the two of them together). They look a lot alike don't they.

Charles and Grandmother

Four Generations: Grandmother (AnnaMary Reader), Mom (Sheryl Burch), Charles, and Jacob

Mom and the girls

Grandmother and Nathanael

Mom, Victoria and Jacob at the park by our house

Lunch time

Busch Gardens on Labor Day

During August Charles was very busy on the ship and had very little time off. We did not see him much. Over the Labor Day weekend he finally had some time off...4 days off!!! On Labor Day, before the kids went back to school, we decided o take them to Busch Gardens again. The great thing about having passes is that we don't have to feel obligated to stay until they close the park down. Somehow Nate ended up in almost every picture I took that day!

This is a picture of the kids not long after we arrived at the park.

We were all able to go on the bumper cars. Nate was so small in the car with Charles that his head barely was visible from the front of the car and Julianne had trouble getting her car to move at all.

I realized as we were about to leave the park that we did not have a family picture taken. I found a gracious person to take our picture, but I know by this point I was worn out and ready to head home.

This is Nate's first real roller coaster ride. He was barely tall enough to get on. It really was a stretch! He is going to be right by our side as he reached the height requirements for each of the roller coasters. He had a blast!

Nate and Charles waiting in line for the bumper cars. The Big Bad Wolf track is off in the background.

Jacob and Nate sat down next to each other as we were walking out of the park and asked if I would take their picture. What a precious moment. Taking the kids places, especially four of them, can get a little nuts. Jacob has many weaknesses, but he has so many strengths as well. I am encouraged by the genuine love he showers upon his brother.

Taking Jacob to an amusement park has huge advantages. Most amusement parks (Disney, Busch Gardens, Universal, etc.) have programs for children (and adults) with special needs enabling them to bypass the main lines. With Jacob we are usually able to move to the front of the line relatively quickly without a wait. This is definitely a positive thing because lines and crowded spaces can be too much for Jacob to handle.

While Charles was taking Jacob and Victoria on the new roller coaster, The Griffin, I took Nate and Julianne to a few other rides that appealed to them. Julianne is not interested in roller coasters at all at this point in her life. That makes her an oddball in our family...of course we are all oddballs in some fashion or another!

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for all of our children!!! What does that means for me? I am not really sure, other than it is really the first time I have had no children in the house since Jacob was born. Yesterday I felt a bit guilty for taking it easy and not doing much, but today I am trying to come up with a plan. I know it will take a while to figure out my schedule.

Nate is actually the first one to leave in the morning. His bus comes around around 7:25. He was so excited to get onto the bus. For the first month they have a green shirt they have to wear over their clothes to and from school so they are recognized as the Early Discoveries children. The YMCA actually runs the Pre-K program for Virginia Beach.

The girls have been ready all summer for school to start back up. Julianne is now in the 2nd grade and Victoria is now in the 3rd grade. They were ready to go back and see their friends, meet their teachers, and enjoy the everyday life of being in school. The two week hiatus from swim team was also over yesterday, so they were back in the pool last night as well! With new swimmers on the team, the girls were showing everyone the ropes.

Jacob started his 7th grade year yesterday. With so many problems last year at the closest middle school and ending the year at the residential school, Jacob is now in a program for children with needs similar to his own. I have been struggling for this now for years. Jacob is so intelligent, often times it makes getting him the things he needs in school a challenge. Jacob is now in a middle school 15 miles across town. It is a huge school, but they have many great programs there.

A visit with friends close to the heart!

While we were in Texas we were able to spend some time with the Grove family. We met Shane and Chrystal when we lived in Virginia in 2001. Julianne was only a few months old, and they had just had Alexis. Chrystal needs some advise on being a mom. From that moment, our friendship blossomed. I was there with Chrystal when she had Josselyn. Shane was out to sea. She and the girls stayed at our house until Shane got home so that we could help her adjust to having two children. It was hard to leave such a close friendship when we moved to California. They soon moved to Texas.

The Burch and Grove Children (l to r): Josselyn, Nate, Victoria, Julianne, Jacob, Alexis

Josselyn and Nate

The Grove Family... near and dear to our hearts

Chrystal and I after we had been swimming.

The kids eating lunch. My mom was great. She made lunch for us so that we could spend time together and not stress on making the food!