Zoo

HCA the company Mike works for had an employee appreciation day at Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke. Our family went and enjoyed an afternoon of train rides, animals, a playground and lunch.

Riding the little train

Playing on playground

Having fun on the slides

Playing with the animals

The girls got to pet a snake, owl and rabbit.

Dixie Caverns

On a hot summer day we went to explore under ground at the Dixie caverns which are only a short drive from our house. Hiking up and down over 340 steps we got to see lots of neat rock formations.

Hiking in the caverns

Exploring the caverns

They light up the caverns with little lights along the path, but during the tour they turn off the lights for a minute and plunge us in total darkness. I was impressed that all three kids didn't get scared when there was on light.

The Wedding Bell

Its said that if you stand under it and a drop of water drops on you, then you will get married. If you are already married then you will have a kid. I guess we didn't have anything to worry about we have both of those covered.

A closer look at the Wedding Bell formation

Fun with Grandpa & Grandma

The kids sure had a lot of fun with Grandpa & Grandma Kennedy & Natalie while they were here.

They got lots of tickling,

built forts,

played dress-up

(fun jewelry of Great-Grandma Kennedy),

and hiked around Pandapas pond

We had so much fun with Mike's family. They were such great house guests we wish they could have stayed longer. It was hard to let them go, it felt more like I was on vacation while they were here. How can you hate having guests that cook you dinner, entertain your kids and clean your house before they leave. We hope they come and visit again soon!

Mabry Mill

There are so many beautiful places to visit her in Virginia and one of those is Mabry Mill. I have been wanting to visit for quite some time but never wanted to take the 1 hr. plus drive with three kids by myself, but with Mike, Marsha & Natalie in town I thought it would be a perfect place to go. What better place to let them really get a feel for the beauty and lush green of Virginia then the Blue Ridge Parkway. The mill was very picturesque and we were able to walk around a short trail and see the gristmill, blacksmith shop, and sawmill.

Marcus riding on Grandpa's shoulders

On the way back to town we stopped at a scenic overlook to get

a better view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

After a short stop to clean up a little car sickness accident from Natalya and hit a birthday party at the swimming pool that also ended in a throw up incident, we ended the day with a fish fry.

Lots of fried food and dessert what more could you ask for!

Playing on the swings at the fish fry

Probably not the best thing for a girl who had already thrown up twice.

Swimming

While Grandma & Grandpa Kennedy and Natalie were here visiting, the kids took them swimming. They enjoyed playing in the water and jumping off the diving board.

Raquel, Grandpa, Natalya & Natalie

Natalie, Raquel & Grandpa racing down the pool

Enjoying the hot tub

Raquel, Natalie & Grandpa Kennedy

Baby Blessing

We were able to bless Marcus while both Mike's parents and sister and my parents were in town. Their visits only overlapped one day so we blessed him at home. The Bishop, Bro. McBee and Neal Henshaw were able join in the blessing.

Patiently waiting for the bishop to arrive.

The whole crew minus Mike he had to dash off to work.

Cute Kennedy Kids!

Surprise!

For Mike it started as any other birthday with the kids and I bringing lunch and the traditional German Chocolate cake to his office. But what he wasn't expecting was a big birthday surprise for his 40th birthday. I secretly arranged to have Mike's parents and sister fly in for his birthday. This was the first time any of Mike's family has visited since we moved here so it was a very unexpected surprise. And many thanks to Mike, Marsha & Natalie for helping keep it a secret!

Unveiling the big surprise!

Mike, Marsha and Natalie meet us at Mike's office and surprised him.

Mike then thought that was the end of the surprise, but little did he know that I had also planned a 40th birthday surprise party with a bunch of friends and family at our house later that night. After coming home from Mike's office we spent the afternoon preparing for dinner.

Raquel and Natalie decorated the deck and front porch for the party, while the rest of us made food.

Decorating!

Enjoying the party!

Marcus, Marsha (Mike's Mom) & Margaret (My mom)

Enjoying the food!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Marcus hanging our with Dad, Grandpa & Papa

Dentist

Natalya had her first trip to the dentist today. She was such a big girl getting her teeth cleaned and inspected by the dentist. I thought she would be scared of all the instruments but after watching Raquel she was excited to get in the chair and then get her goody bag with bracelets, toothpaste and a new princess toothbrush.

Waiting her turn

Showing off her new Cinderella toothbrush

It was a No Sat.

It was suppose to be a fun Saturday playing in the water. Mike had heard about a fun little reservoir where we could swim and rent paddles boats, so we decided to check it out. Our first problem started when the GPS in our car wouldn't map the whole route so we had to stop for directions. We finally made it to the reservoir over an hour later to find it was a total disappointment, it didn't even have a beach area to swim. Not even getting out of our car we quickly turned around and headed back to town. Unfortunately the roads were a bit curvy and Natalya got a little sick.

After no swimming and a bit of no fun in the car we decided to stop and eat and let the kids play. The girls had fun playing on the toys at McDonald's.

After everyone had a full tummy and was feeling better we decided to try and take the girls to the new Kung Fu Panda 2 movie. After hunting down the cheaper movie theater and parking we found out that not only was the movie not at the theater anymore the theater was also closed for the day.

After the third strike out we decided it was time to call it a day and head home. Not one of our best Saturdays but it sure was an adventure with no swimming, no movie and a bit of no fun in the car.

9 Months

Marcus had his 9 month Dr. visit. He is a very healthy growing little boy. He loves to play in the water, eat popsicles or anything really and loves hanging out with his sisters.

At 9 months Marcus:

Crawls

takes a binky

loves things with wheels

Cuddles

Height: 28 inches (50%)

Weight: 19.6 lbs (25-50%)