Hit the ground running in Falls Church

August started out with the first Wellons Beach week in ten years!! Lots had changed since August of 2013 - we added some family members and all the kids have gotten MUCH taller. But everything else has pretty much stayed the same. Lots of sun, waves, food and contests (Wellons Beach Olympics).  

             

There are a few things that we always do when we are in the Outer Banks, so of course we had to check off all these boxes!  Lunch at Tortugas Lie and salt water taffy from Forbes candy store.

        

It wasn't all fun and games though, some  people still had to work! Speaking of work, we didn't get to stay for the whole week. Jim had work and Lucy and Ben had fall sports tryouts, so back to Falls Church we went.

      

Just in time to hang out with Uncle AJ! He was in town on a layover and so of course we begged him to come hang out with us for a few hours! In the few weeks we have been here, we have already seen like 10 of our longtime friends! Japan was nice, but hanging with old friends is pretty special too.

Speaking of having special friends visit, Lucy's boyfriend who had been in Colorado all summer flew out to stay with his DC family and we were lucky enough to steal him away for a few days! The kids were sooo happy! 

Both Ben and Lucy made Varsity sports for the Meridian Mustangs.  Ben is playing football and Lucy is on the volleyball team. Ben's first scrimmage didn't work out great, but he got some playing time and hopefully he made enough plays to grab a starting position. Currently he is a running back and special teams player.

We will have to wait for some volleyball action because their season hasn't kicked off as of yet. In the mean time, I decided we needed to hit the DMV and see just what kind of hurdles we would need to overcome in order to get her a driver's license. Turns out after sitting in the waiting room for a few hours, she can't get her full license at this time, which she wasn't all that disappointed about, truth be told. She can, however, get her permit and begin practicing her driving ... and will be eligible for her license when she turns 18. I think we are all ok with this. I am just glad she doesn't have to start all over again from zero.

Lucy, Ben and I went to the new student orientation where they were issued their schedule and laptops and I sat through several presentations of various organizations and extra curricular options available. Hopefully they will make some friends quickly and we can get down to the business of enjoying all that this school has to offer.

 

That being said, the first event is of course the first day of school! Lucy, being a senior, had to get up fairly early to make it to the "senior sunrise." We were happy that we aren't in Japan for this particular event because the sun is still rising around 0430 there. Here was a much more reasonable time of 0630. Ben got to sleep in a bit longer. But neither got to get out of posing with the traditional sign.

    

Ben applied to do a Naval Academy STEM session this summer and got an invitation for the short version, a one day session, and he jumped at the chance! Jim decided to take him up and, coincidentally, his good friend John and daughter Lucy were in town to tour the campus since she was being recruited for Navy soccer. It is truly a small world!

     

    

College has started for most schools, but Lilly's is on the quarter system, so we get a bonus month with her! I am sure she is READY to leave, but we are thankful to be able to keep her around for another month. Trying to squeeze in all the family time we can. The girls found a super cool movie theater that had recliners and a bar in the lobby, so we decided we couldn't say no to that!

        

Word is out that we are back in the area! Our friends from California met up with us while they are in the area dropping off their daughter for her freshman year. We hope to have a daughter swap since they will be closer to Lilly than we are this year. 

    

I have gotten a few requests to give an update on Jim's tower garden. We are really enjoying all the fresh greens. So far his crop has provided several varieties of lettuce and some basil. His next attempt will be some herbs. Not sure if we will continue this during the winter. If so, he is going to have to invest in a "grow lamp" and move this operation indoors. I am surprised the squirrels haven't discovered this yet. But Wesley has been super vigilant in keeping them off the deck. 

The night before the first day of school found us heading over to another long time friend's house. The kids picked up right where they left off after a 11 year hiatus which we are thankful for. They are already making plans to go to a local gym for some rock climbing and bouldering sessions. 

We knew Lucy's senior volleyball season would look drastically different than what she experienced in Japan. She is one of 5 seniors on the team. We also knew going in, she wouldn't get much playing time, and that has also proven to be true. When she does get in however, she gives it her all and we are super proud of her for sticking with it. The main goal of playing was to be active and to make some friends. Both of which she has achieved. We are hoping for a different outcome when soccer season rolls around.

    

The last day of August finds us on the football field! Ben was selected to carry the flag as the team runs onto the field so we had to make sure we weren't late for this one! Go Mustangs!!