Blizzard '09

Once the Blizzard left I decided to let the kids venture outside to check it out. They had been begging me since the first snowflake dropped. I hate dealing with the in and out and all the wet clothes so I always make them wait. Abigail is usally pretty good about staying out and making the most of it. She's an outdoor girl like her daddy. Jacob and Alison are a lot like their mother. They're good for about 10 mins and then they're ready to head back in :( All three of them stayed outside for about an hour though. I think they were in "awe" of all the snow. It was beautiful and I enjoyed watching them play in it (from the window in front of the wood stove of course :) )

Abigail, Jacob and Alison trying to make it out to the play park.

I just love icicles. But look how much the snow drifted off the roof.

Our grill is under all that snow somewhere :)

Sleds Away

After we dug ourselves out of the 22" of snow we headed up to Gammie and Grandpa's for some sledding. Mom and dad have a pretty good hill on their property but because of all the snow my dad had to put it somewhere so it was kinda hard to get to where the kids sled. Mom and I decided to run a few errands instead. While we were out we passed a park in the heart of Winchester. Tons of kids were sledding down the park hill. Mom and I promised the kids if they behaved we'd take them back home to get their sleds and outfits. I guess they really wanted to go 'cause my little rug rats were little angels the whole day:) I should bribe them more often :)

Once at the park I realized I was dealing with professionals :) These older gentleman and their kids had cleared paths, made ramps. I'm talking hardcore :) The only think missing was the bonfire :) The only sledding I ever did was on Hay Road outside our house and it was a great sledding hill. This hill was just as nice. It brought back a lot of memories.

Yes, I had to make a couple of trips down. So much fun!!!!


Abby getting ready to make the trip down.


Jacob wondering why I needed to take a picture. I
was wasting valuable sledding time :)

4th Generation

I'm always telling everyone that driving a school bus is the family business. Well, here is the fourth generation :)

We are at Mountain View Elementary waiting for Abby and the rest of the elementary kids to come out.

And just for fun....here is me at 2 on my mom's bus :) Like I said before. It's the family business!

Happy 3rd Birthday Alison

I can't believe my baby girl is 3. Time sure is flying by. Can it be that we are having way too much fun? :) Alison's birthday (10/17) fell on a Saturday this year. Go figure she wanted to spend her birthday at Chuck-e-cheese. Lucky me. I'm not big on parties. I can't take the stress. So I came up with an idea that makes the kids happy and me stress free :) I let the kids pick where they want to spend their birthday. Then I tell the Grandparents and Aunts what are plans are if they want to participate. This year Aunt Doe Doe, Uncle Boo and Nana made the early trip. Chuck-e-cheese really isn't that bad when you get there early.

The kids and I were pretty wore out by 1pm. Lucky for us Gammie and Grandpa invited us up their way for dinner, cake and ice cream. Uncle Tom joined us for that adventure. He missed the whole Chuck-e-cheese event due to work.

Too Good of a Day Not to Be Outside......

What a beautiful November day and a great day to catch up on a long overdue play date. I couldn't believe how warm it was. The kids had a great time playing with their cousin Jaden. He is growing up so fast. It seems like only yesterday that Christine and I were bringing them home from the hospital. I'm really surprised at how smoothly the afternoon went. Four "Skinner Kids" and no major problems. Now that is a surprise :)

Just for you Shelley :)

My friend Shelley posted on her blog a month ago about her mission to find a four leaf clover. I couldn't help but laugh at her post. Ask anyone, I have a knack for finding four leaf clovers. I use to find one a month usually while I was out in right field in softball or walking the ASAP kids from Ashburn Elm to the Sports Pavilion. I hadn't been looking in sometime. After reading Shelley's blog I decided I was overdue. Plus I wanted to see if I still had my talent. Let's just say "I still got it!" :) Found this one while I was walking around outside the corn maze waiting for Gammie and the kids to find their way out. I had to laugh at my dad. He pulled the one I gave him back in high school out of his wallet. I couldn't believe he still had it after all these years. I never keep any of them. I always give them away to family and friends. Shelley, this one is headed your way :) Enjoy!

Skyline Drive, Corn Maze & Pumpkins

Mom and I decided that it would be a nice weekend to drive Skyline. We ventured out after breakfast for a fun filled day. The views were breath taking. I wish I had taken my camera out a little more often but I was too busy enjoying the views.


A view from Skyline Drive

We got off of Skyline drive in Luray. I wanted to go down in the caverns but it was just too expensive and the wait was too long. Maybe another weekend when the kids are older and can appreciate the trip down into the caverns. On our way home we stumbled upon Valley Star Farm. This was the highlight of the trip for the kids and I. Farmer Dave was wonderful and made the trip very educational but fun for the kids. I wish this place was closer. It was by far the best farm I've been too in a long time.

Abigail & Alison in the pumpkins.

Abigail & Jacob petting Lola.

Picture of the Cow Corn Maze.

This was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. This cow was made to simulate cow milking. Gammie having raised and shown a dairy cow had to show the kids and I the proper technique to milking.

Jacob giving it a go :)

Abigail milking

Abigail, Jacob & Alison duck racing.