More "Something"

Normally, the 4th of July finds Familia Doyle in Woodstock, VA running the Liberty 5K and relaxing by the pool at Camp Kreitzer.  This year, the Bristow Kreitzers traveled to us because of plans to attend a special concert on Saturday, July 6th.
The weekend was full of the fun we always have when we get together.  Many in the group ran Zelienople's inaugural 5K race on the morning of the 4th, making us all proud.  We did a lot of fishing, paddle boating, tennis-watching and EATING!  At dark, we walked up the street to watch fireworks with some neighbors and the kids caught quite a few fireflies.
Saturday, before the concert, we all headed to McConnells Mill to do the Hells Hollow hike.  It is a flat and easy walk to a pretty waterfall, small enough to enjoy without fear.  I was in my element.  All of the water and nature took me back to my days as a camp counselor in Charlottesville, VA and I was splashing and enjoying myself as much as the kids--though a bit more carefully because of the camera.
One thing I love about our new home is the easy access to beautiful trails and outdoor activities.  In our almost-a-year here, we have only tapped the surface and look forward to many adventures!

 Ella, at the bottom of the falls

 Girly Sophie

You can see how small this waterfall is.  A little like a desktop fountain but so pretty!

 David, doing some kind of self-imposed challenge to inch along the ridge.  We'll leave him to it.

 My favorite nephew named Matthew.  He is precious and so darn good looking too!

Mateo and Sophie

 Dad gets a wet hug from a special babe

 Nine kids in all

 Ella fixes her do

 All of the kids except Ella walked the creek all the way back.

I want to go back and do it when I don't have to protect my camera.

LATER:

 All dolled up and ready to go....

 to Taylor Swift!

 the stage

 Gorgeous all!  Grace and I picked out the flower head pieces.

Me and my G

The concert was tremendous.  TS is a talented and conscientious show woman.  She really knows how to connect with her audience.  My favorite part was when she walked through the crowd, essentially the length of the football field.  Her bodyguards looked very worried the whole time but she was caught up in the moment, present to her fans and seemingly oblivious.  She even kissed a baby!  I got to bed way too late for an old lady like me but I think the girls had a great time.  Well worth it.

Tata for now y'all!

Something is Better than Nothing

So, my sister-in-law Abby has been tearing up the blogging scene of late and reminding me of how much fun I am missing.  In fact, I have missed so much, I have no idea where to start.  There is always so much to say and so few moments in which to say it.  I constantly feel the pressure of time marching on and desire to hold at least a little back in words and pictures of the "now".  I love my life (most of the time) and would love to record every minute.  And it is that desire which makes blogging incredibly frustrating because it is impossible.  So, I remind myself that something is better than nothing.  This post includes a few of the "something"s going on in our lives.  Snapshots that froze times that we would like to remember.

First up:  The beginning of a wonderful vacation in Asheville, NC.  Chris and I spent five days with my brother David and our sister in law Jes adventuring in a place we'd never been.  It was exhausting but very, very fun.  Before the trip, Jes made a thorough list of the best restaurants in town.  White Duck Taco was on it and we headed there our first night.  It was casual and fun with a variety of a la carte tacos and good draft beer.  What more could we want?

 A favorite photo of the trip.  Night two before eating at a fine French restaurant.  The girls clearly add the spice to our little quartet.

Next:  Alfred turned ONE!  He's starting to mature and I love him more with every little step in that direction.  We fed him scrambled eggs for his birthday dinner in honor of Baron, Prince, Dutchess and every other Doyle dog that came before him.

Finally:  Howdy Y'all!  VBS.  Wild West Theme.  Our cowgirls had a wild and wonderful time.  Meanwhile, mom painted the dining room!

Thanks for stopping by.  We've missed you!

Spring Came Anyway

I guess my profession of unbelief in spring didn't matter a bit.  It came anyway.  Faith is the same way.  The fact of my believing or not does not change Who God is--my Father--forgiving, loving and waiting for me to run to Him.  I find that very comforting.

And below--my very first photo-shopped photo!  

I watched a short video on adobe's web site today and their spokesperson said that if you aren't using this software, you're skipping the second half of the process.  Photo editing is today's dark room.  I believe it.  I do not know what I am doing at all but I still like the photo I ended up with.  I can't wait till I can do things like move heads onto other people's bodies.  Really--why work out?  

"New Life" (untouched)

 "New Life" (I couldn't tell you what I did and it's a little green but I like it!)

I Do NOT Believe in Spring

      It is April 3rd and the sun was up this morning in Western PA.  I had big plans for the day and walked out the door, coffee in hand with a "spring" in my step, only to run into the fog of my own breath and feel the icy fingers of Old Man Winter dig into my skin as he whispered,  "There is no such thing as spring."  Later in the day, snow flurries.
     I do not believe in spring.  I'm not one of those people with pastel dreams of flowers and birds and butterflies.  I think this must be Narnia with its endless winter.  Only, we had a Christmas.  One good thing.
     I keep walking past the pile of snow garb left on the basement floor after the last ride down the sledding hill.  It looks out of place, as if maybe it should move on.  But then, lo and behold, it is needed again.  I haven't even glanced at the "warm weather" clothes bins.  What a joke!  There is no spring.
     Ella told me it said "spring" on the calendar awhile back.  What do I say to her?  I don't want to squash her innocent faith in the widely respected theory of the four seasons.
     I hear it will be 61 degrees by the weekend.  I'm betting on snow though.  I do not believe in spring.

I Don't Hate Snow!

I could start this post with comments about how long it's been since my last one but that would not be as interesting as diving right in so...

We moved!  From hot and humid Kingwood, TX where we lived in a smallish house in a neighborhood to a rather large house on six and a half acres in the woods of western PA.  Our situation is ideal for home schooling and raising kids.  It is private and safe with lots of room to roam.  I love the house and spent our first several months here attacking the unpacking and the set-up.  We were out of boxes in two weeks!  Now that that is done, I sometimes find myself wondering what to do with myself.  We have wonderful neighbors but hardly ever see them.  In fact, if I don't drive away from home, I don't see anyone other than my family and the wildlife that comes to call.  I'm still not sure how I feel about that.  I suspect that, all things being equal, I may have more of the city girl in me.  But, all things aren't equal and I see more and more each day how good this life is for the girls.  

Moving back to the east coast, I thought I knew what to expect, at least from the weather.  It turns out that the four hours from Virginia (where I grew up) to Pennsylvania actually make a big difference.  It is colder AND we have gotten so much snow this winter!  It makes me laugh because on our house-hunting trip, every single person assured us that we should expect no snow this year.  I ignored them and figured we would get enough to please our little croc-wearing Texans but---well, let's just say, I never knew there were so many KINDS of snow.  It has been very interesting to watch and I have had many opportunities because it has snowed almost daily for the past month.  Well, maybe not quite that much but close.  I was starting to get grumpy and sound like every other person I've met here who hates the snow.

This morning, I woke to Chris saying, "you've got to see this!"  

Outside our window, it was fairyland.  By now, I have seen our backyard covered in snow more than a handful of times but this was different.  I could tell looking at it that the scene would not last long.  The inches of snow that decorated the tree branches were falling in chunks as I watched.  So, I yelled to the girls to get up and put on snow gear and out we went for a few quick photos of the beauty that God gave us today.

 "The wish"

Later in the day, I dragged the girls back out to make my first snowman of the season.  We call this one "Family Portrait".

In case you can't guess who's who:

Before I fixed my snow person, it looked like I was trying hard to run away from Chris (which would have been difficult since he has his lightening-fast Newtons)

 Baby G

Love how she decorated herself

 Beautiful Madeleine--no braces!

 E--posing for three seconds.  She was carried to and from the site by big sis' Grace

 Sophie and Ella weren't very interested in the building of their snow people but Sophie definitely got into the decorating.  She even found a bead and a bell for her eyes.  Chris commented that Sophie's snow person looked more like a snow mermaid.  How appropriate!

 ARD--swimming is her favorite thing.  

From the back

When we let Alfred out, he barked and barked at the strangers in front of the house.  Our neighbor stopped to take a picture.  So, I guess we did a good job.

And now---Bring on the Spring!

Fun, Fun, Fun While Daddy is So Far Away

 The Great Maze at Luray Caverns

Mia wanders through the misters into the maze

Our second cavern visit of the summer, Luray did not disappoint.  The girls and I survived the windy drive along 211 from New Market to Luray where we bought our tickets and bravely entered the maze.  It was a lot of fun, probably the highlight of the day.  Our objective was to find four different goals where we got our tickets stamped on our way to the exit.  We wandered through a tunnel, stopped at a lookout and a fountain and stumbled into many a dead end.  We had a little too much help at times from fellow maze wanderers who thought we would appreciate a tip like, "the next one is right around there".  Come on people--it's a puzzle!  We're supposed to solve it.  As always, my fun was in the photos...

Sisters--different flowers from the same garden

getting stamped at Goal 2

The other day, I asked Ella what scares her.  Her answer?  Ghosts, monsters and when I'm not with you mama.
That was a heart melter for sure.

All four goals stamped!

Acting out the "dead end"

 Luray Caverns


I really enjoy walking through caverns.  I like to imagine what it would have been like to discover them or even to live in a cave way back when.  Caves feel like cozy, safe places to me.   I am hoping to take the girls to Endless Caverns before the end of the summer.  After that, I think we will be able to call ourselves cavern connoisseurs of the Shenandoah Valley!

oldest and youngest

Mia and "Plato's Ghost"

The Fab Five

Yum!  Fried eggs!

Sophie wants some

So that's it.  The first blog post since...well, it's been awhile.  I've missed Frodo Seven.  As I've said before, it makes me appreciate my life and the people I share it with.