4th Grade Here He Comes!

Summer ended quickly this year. 

Back to school on July 24th.

Open house this year was a huge success! Hensley got the teacher he wanted, Mrs. Johnson, and had a classroom full of really awesome kids!

He has been hoping for Mrs. Johnson since last year. She was new to Clover Garden last year and Hensley really enjoyed her! She is an incredible teacher who really connected to the kids! She is kind and fun and she also teaches science, Hensley's favorite subject.

This year Hensley's school is focusing on being a HERO. This represents characteristics and actions they take to show they are a HERO or someone who should be looked up to. They were encouraged during open house to stop at the HERO bulletin board and pick out a characteristic that they felt expressed who they were! I was so happy to see Hensley pick out the word "extraordinary".
There was also a scavenger hunt during open house where the kids found certain places in the school and took photos with it. It was a super fun way to get reacquainted with the school and have some fun! It was also a great activity to distract the kids who had nerves lurking about the start about school.

We had a great time at open house and are looking forward to the new school year!

During open house we were invited by our friends to take a trip to Wet n' Wild water park the next day. They had some passes and were going for one last trip of the summer! 

Hensley was thrilled!!!

It was a perfect day! Hot! Not crowded! Tons of fun!

Hensley was pretty excited to see that he was tall enough to ride every single ride!!!

 The lazy river wasn't too lazy with these two!

Austin knows how to relax!!!!

Hensley loved watching people go down the biggest slide at the park. Dare Devil's Drop was very intimidating and he didn't want to attempt to go down it this time....maybe next time!

His favorite park of the park was the wave pool! he and his friends stayed here most of the day!

                    

All the boys had a blast and we are going to get passes ourselves next year! It was a great day!!!


Summer break ended with a bang! However we will not say summer is over! We still have weekends and a week long break in August to have a ton of fun!!!!

The last few days were spent relaxing, shopping for school supplies and finally getting Hensley's hair cut!!! He went all summer without a hair cut!!!!

Each year I fill out Hensley's back to school board. I let him write his name across the top because I love to see how his little signature changes over the years!

2017

2018

Getting all his rest before the big day!!!
 

 
First day of school went great! He was excited and made a new friend. He seems so excited for this year and I'm so happy he is in a place where he feels so safe and loved!

Of course the first day of school always makes me reminisce about just how big he is getting. Time flies by! 

I know he is going to be excel this year as he always does. I pray he finds friends who lift him up and love him. I pray his teacher is patient and kind. I pray he learns so many new things!

Exploring Fairy Stone State Park

Last year we took a little day trip to Stuart, Virginia to visit Fairy Stone Park. I had seen it online and it looked like a really cute little place to take the kids for the day. I invited a few friends and it was a great day! I'll post photos from that trip in 2017 at the end of this blog.

We had such a great time last year that we all decided to go back this summer! 

We almost didn't go because the weather wasn't looking good. It's mid July and it's usually so hot outside you can't even breathe. However, on this day it was CHILLY outside, overcast and a chance of rain. It was not ideal conditions. Luckily our friends are always down for an adventure and thankfully it paid off! The weather ended up being P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

We seriously couldn't have asked for a better day!

Since it was a little chilly when we first arrived we decided to try something new. We attended an small event they had going on at one of the shelters. They had a park employee there to tell the legend of the fairy stone. She had several books that contained photos of fairy houses and went with the kids into the woods to use natural materials in order to make their own fairy houses!
I wasn't sure the boys would like it or how much the kids would enjoy it but we were pleasantly surprised! They had a ball!!!! And it became a real group effort!!!

Sophie and I built one!

Leah and Maddie really used their imagination of theirs!

The boys did their own fairy house and it was amazing!!!!!!

The event was suppose to last only an hour and we literally had to pull the kids away when the hour was up. I think they could have spent all afternoon there!

By this time we were all hungry and it was getting hot! The weather had cleared up and it was a gorgeous day, so we headed for the lake!

Fairy Stone has tons of toys in the water for the kids to climb on, swim under, and float on. There is also a diving pier way out in the deep water. The kids could easily play there all day!

The beach area extends into the water, making the bottom of the lake all soft sand! A nice change from most lakes.

Maddie taught us all how to make "drip castles". I had never heard of them before, but they were awesome. We all sat around making drip castles, which soon turned into a drip castle city!!!

They also have a few volleyball nets set up and we played several epic games! We are really terrible but we had a blast trying and laughing at ourselves. 

 The lake also has a spot where you can rent paddle boats, paddle boards, and kayaks!

The kids were all excited to try paddle boarding! 

We took off on the paddle boat and stayed close as they tried it out!

We all love Fairy Stone because it's so laid back. We all could have fun, play, nap, eat, and explore all while feeling so relaxed!  

I love this little annual trip and hope we can continue it for years to come!!!

I heard that a few little fairies may have visited our houses after we left :)