Winter Wonderland At Wrigley

Northwestern Volleyball Game

B volleyball

It had been years since Ryan lost a tooth. Then one came out about two weeks ago and another one tonight. Looks like we are getting close to an orthodontist appointment ;)

Roscoe Village Halloween Block Party

Today was a little complicated. The Roscoe Village Halloween Block Party is an event the kids love. But, Brooke had practice from 2pm-4pm. I told them we could go, but it was only for one hour..... 12-1. Even only a little candy is still candy, so they agreed. We dressed fast and ran out in a panic.

All About Luke

How To Get Better, By Luke

Riding in an Uber

Jeff took my car AND his keys, and Brooke had an appointment. So we had an accidental first Uber ride.

Luke's Goal: To Make a Goal?

"The Bad Seed"

Luke (and Ryan) are always in trouble for eating candy and always losing technology privileges. So ... I dont know which event this was referring to but Im sure it happened ;)

Brooke, What's In A Name

First Day of Third Grade: Recap (with Photo Evidence)

High Honor Roll Achievement

Brooke has made the High Honor Roll for last school year (this came in the mail today)

Goodbye Virginia!

Goodbye to our A frame cabin in Basye, VA. The car is packed and we are off on our 11 hour, 40 minute drive.

Ice Cream Heals

 One last stop, to help heal the embarrassment and to make the drive back a little more tolerable. We decided we needed ice cream from Kline's Dairy Bar in McGaheysville. 

The Skyline Drive

 Stop 2: The Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

We entered at Thornton Gap (mile 31.5) by Rt. 211 near Luray, Virginia and exited at Swift Run Gap (mile 65.5) by Rt. 33 near Elkton, Virginia.

We stopped at a few overlooks on our way to lunch at the taproom at Skyland. We walked out ready to begin our planned hike with full bellies, a new hoodie and a stuffed fox. 

Route 11 Chips

 Stop one today: Route 11 Chips in Mt Jackson. We had a (surprisingly) fascinating view of the production process and got to try 5 different types of chips. We left with 12 bags!

Dinner in Harrisonburg

After the caverns we decided to drive to Harrisonburg VA, home of James Madison University. Essentially, I chose or because it had a centralized grouping of restaurants ... which is hard to find around here. We drove around and looked at the campus, which seemed pretty closed off and kind of dark (every building was a grey stone). We looked for restaurants and most of them either were closed or appeared to be closed. So, we chose the one that was the most lively. It was a great choice! Yummy pizza, a good choice of local beers, and home made pasta. It was a win for all.

Shenandoah Caverns

Today we visited the Shenandoah Caverns in Quicksburg VA. The tour was about an hour long, and we walked a little over a mile underground. It was cold (56°) but felt pretty comfortable! The farthest we were was about 220ft below elevation. The kids weren't really psyched when I told them that was what we were doing, but all of them were pretty impressed by this natural wonder.