It's All About the Bears

We had a wonderful camping trip on just about the hottest weekend of the trip. With our great friends, Jamey, Nelson and Anna, we headed to Jellystone Campground at Natural Bridge. We had a fantastic time! Here is our trip in pictures, in no particular order.



Playing along the banks of the James River


We went to the VA Safari Park. We took the wagon ride and then our car. It was great except for the heatstroke we all just about had the my bit on the a$$ from an out of control ostrich!

Anna is not sure what she is so excited about yet.

The Llama had a nice snack out of the back seat!

Dropping food into a bison's mouth

Forcing E to try and feed the gentle llama

She is not so sure about being eye to eye with this buck.

Sam feeds the doe!

Elizabeth was brave enough to touch the pigs. She really liked the baby pigs.

E and Anna with the Yogi who doesn't more. He seems so much safer!

After the pledge is done the bears go back to their home for a rest.

Lizzy was trying to be brave. Afterall, it was BooBoo's birthday.

E and Miss Jamey enjoying hanging out at the campsite.

Jamey and Nelson, our camping buddies (and everything else buddies too!)

Best Friends!

Elizabeth really enjoyed the lake this year. Wearing her vest has brought her a new sense of confidence that she never had before. She will actually let go and let the vest do the work although she can really kick those little legs and get to where she wants to go. She has even gotten brave in the last few weeks and is willing, almost eager, to put her face under!

Went to the zoo and E got to ride the Elephant with Baba!

She was pretty brave feeding the deer.

Here is how you know everyone had a great time!!!

We will be back next summer!!!

Rites of Spring

Strawberry picking is a wonderful rite of springtime. We found a local farmer's market that had a hay ride out to the strawberry fields. Strawberry picking was a first for Elizabeth so it was fun to watch her search the plants for the perfect specimen. It was just hard to get it in the box instead of in her mouth, which was encouraged by the farm owners.

We walked away with five pounds of strawberries. Red mouths, red-stained shirts and a tradition started!

One for the bowl, one for the mouth, one for the bowl, one for the mouth

Toothless Grins

My friend Leslie's little girl Fin and Elizabeth currently have matching toothless grins! Fin's happened recently in Disney World by the mere fact that she is 6 while Elizabeth's happened a 2 years ago because of a hard marble floor at the mall. Nonetheless, they are as cute as they can be with their matching smiles. Leslie was right when she said we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some great pictures of the girls. They had a fun time posing and getting silly with the camera and the photographer. I think she did a great job capturing the spirit of both girls as well as their special friendship.

Sometimes I Love My Husband

I love my husband.

Sometimes I love him because it's a just a fact of my life. Something that is true by default.

Sometimes I love him because he does something sweet for me.

Sometimes I love him because he overlooks the error of my ways.

Sometimes I love him because I realize I never have to worry about his faithfulness and commitment to our marriage and family.

Sometimes I love him because I see how much he loves Elizabeth.

Sometimes I love him because he gets this special look on his face that lets me know he is proud of who I am.

Sometimes I love him because he cares as much about my family and Max as I do.

Sometimes I love him because I'm talking to another person about him and I realize what a wonderful husband I have described.

Sometimes I love him because he overlooks my too-frequent faults.

Sometimes I love him because he rubs my feet after a long day.

Sometimes I love him because he takes Lizzy out for a date when I don't feel good or have work I need to get done.

Sometimes I love him because he keeps Elizabeth without complaining when I have to go out of town.

Sometimes I love him because he is happy to go to all sorts of things for my job.

Sometimes I love him because he serves "his girls" breakfast in bed ~ everyday.

Sometimes I love him because he is always happy to go out to dinner instead of my cooking dinner.

Sometimes I love my husband because I'm away from him for little while and it hits me how much I love him.

Sometimes I love my husband when I'm listening to heartbreaking stories from bad marriages and realize how blessed I am to have him.

Sometimes I love my husband because when he can prove I am wrong, he doesn't rub it in.

Sometimes I love my husband because he loves me first.

I guess if you put all those "sometimes" together, it adds up to the fact that I love my husband every minute of every day... more and more every day.

Yep, that sounds about right. I love you Sam Apperson!!Happy Valentines Day!

Never let it be said that I am not determined...

to do anything I can to make the Polar Plunge Winter Festival happen. It was a quite a day for an outdoor charity fundraiser. We had it all ~ wind gusts to 50 mph, rain, sleet and snow. We also had a committee of about 25 incredible volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the 2010 Polar Plunge Winter Festival to benefit Special Olympics Virginia an awesome day under far from perfect conditions. I am so happy and honored to lead the pack!!! Today I feel like I have the best job!!! 2636 brave souls took the plunge into the cold Atlantic and raised over $860,000 for Special Olympics Virginia. We wouldn't let them get too wet because of the vicious waves but just standing out there in their bathing suits won them a badge of courage to me. Volunteers, supporters, plungers, you are INCREDIBLE!!!!

My Little Fashionista!

My little girl knows what she likes! If she doesn't like it there is no convincing her. These all pass muster!


Thanks Fin! You give the best hand-me-downs. I am wearing this today on my field trip!


Thanks Aunt Katy! This dress makes me feel like a diva! It goes perfect with the shoes from Ms. Debbie.


Thanks Grammie, this one matches my "funky socks" (aka socks with polka dots)
This is my own creation! The outfit mom bought me and the princess gear from the Vanbuskirks. It is amazing how a tutu, some plastic shoes and a tiara turn an ordinary girl into a princess.

Tinkering

After a nine day trip, I have a ton of laundry to do, xmas gifts to put away, decorations to stow and a gazillion other things to accomplish. Instead of doing anything (alright, I did get a few things done) I sat and tinkered with Windows Movie Maker. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time and never could figure out which software to make it work until I was blog hopping this morning (of course wasting more valuable time). It seems pretty simple now, silly that I could not have done this last year when I wanted one for my mom's birthday. Anyhow, I know it is not Christmas related (that will be coming soon) but it was a fun group of pictures that I thought I would use as my test. Nothing is more fun than to play with photos of three beautiful little girls.