The patsch family takes on obx

Hudson said it all...best vacation ever!
After a mellow thanksgiving by ourselves (complete with turkey, naps outside, and a movie) we decided on a whim to go and check out the outer banks for a couple of days since we didn't have any other plans. We threw together more than a few suitcases and were on our way with no agenda and no hotel reservations. I needed to scout out the place for my upcoming field trip in the spring and we have always wanted to take a family trip there... so why not have some off season fun. Who knew it was so close! In 4.5 hours we found ourselves sitting on the beach of kill devil hills wearing sweatshirts and playing in the sand. On saturday we had a jam packed day of island exploration, wright brothers memorial (so cool!), laser tag and arcade, dune jumping on coquina beach, jeanette's pier and aquarium (nellie got to see mr and mrs claus there...so exciting!), my favorite jockey's ridge (largest sand dune on the east coast and the topic of my college senior thesis and first published paper), and concluded with a yummy italian dinner. Yes that was all in one day. I can't believe nellie rallied for all of that... and was the only one still awake at 9:30 that night! We are headed home today thankful that we rallied and refreshed from a couple of days away from our usual daily grind...and in hudson's words...best vacation ever.

A few more cute phone pics

A few more cute pics from my phone.
Why aren't these rotating ?!?!?!

Back to school

I'm just going to ignore the fact that my last post says Happy Easter!!
Let's see if I can recap the last four months or so quickly:
Kids finished up school in early June.
We started the swim team which consumed our lives for most of the summer (in a positive way for the most part). Hudson and Larkin were both on the team this summer, and both were awesome!! I'll dig up those pictures eventually. I was so so proud seeing them diving (or belly flopping) off the starter blocks and just swimming their hearts out... I love it!
Larkin lost her first two teeth (bottom middle)
Hudson has to get braces on his crazy teeth (to start next month)
Hudson and I are still reading the Harry Potter Books (on Book 6 now)... We are totally into it, but I think we've been reading them almost every night for the past year or so. How many are there??
Nellie is still sooo funny. She walked into Hudson's room the other day while he had a friend over and said, "Hudson, you are not being appropriate ... you need a time out"  I have no idea what hudson was doing other than playing legos, but the word appropriate coming out of a two year old's mouth is just plain funny. We all keep reenacting that one, and getting a good laugh out of it.
We've had a lot of fun trips this summer (hopefully I will get a few of these pictures in soon). Virginia Beach a few times, Hilton Head last week (Hud and Larkin loved their week alone with Debi and Mikie), Lake George and Ocean City with Oma and Opa, North Carolina over memorial day... all kinds of fun!
Gregor is starting a new job in a couple of weeks.
The kids started school yesterday (First and Third grade for Hudson and Larkin). Here are the obligatory first day of school pics (nellie has a picture phobia now, can you tell?):


Hilton Head (I don't know why these won't rotate
Brooke's take on summer
Picnic on the blue ridge parkway (nellie apparently needed her goggles in the mountains)
Brooke and Isla in animal heaven at Lynes Land
Larkin's last swim practice... Yay girl for getting the Coach's award... love that good sportsmanship
Larkin's teenage attitude I see all the time now. I'm constantly reminding her that she is only 6!
I had to put this one in of Nellie, because she is actually smiling.

I know these aren't the best pictures (taken straight from my phone)... but I had to start somewhere to make the task of getting back into the blog less daunting.

Happy Easter!

Last day at Lynes Land! Brooke had to say goodbye to the weasels (she's begging for one of them to live in her room...thanks for that mikie..uggh), and we are now on the road for the fun filled 10 hour drive home. Somehow we always end up with way more stuff (in bags that I swear we didn't bring down) on the way home. All-in-all a successful and super fun trip to hilton head. I'm not really looking forward to our re-entry week of getting betimes back in order and convinving the kids that in our house brownies and lollipops don't come before breakfast (that's just in Debi's world).
On to the next adventures...

Spring Break 2012

WooHoo spring break! Hilton head with debi and mikie has been full of bike riding, boating, kayaking, and just cruising around enjoying the island. Gregor, Hudson and I broke away for a little trip to Ormond Beach, Florida to visit the Runyan Family including new baby Stellan Michael (oooohhh what a cutie!!! I admit my womb was aching a little holding a tiny baby again).
We still have 3 days left! Good times...

Trouble

We're in trouble now!! Looks like my days of having a baby in a crib are seriously numbered!

Gregor's birthday at Sugar Hollow

 

 

 

 

 

March Maddness

It has been a whirlwind of activity these past couple of months in the Patsch household. We had to say goodbye to Gracie at almost 13 years old, which was emotional for everyone. This is a great book, if you ever have to explain a dog passing to your kids. We then set off for New Paltz, New York to visit Oma and Opa and actually made it into the city with Hudson and Larkin! After that we had our first real snow of the season here in Crozet, complete with school cancelled, snowmen, and sledding. The next day it was 65 degrees and all the snow melted, but at least we had that day! Gracie's passing prompted a total redesign of our office. We painted the walls, ripped up our disgusting carpet, and Gregor installed wood floors (yes, he is sooo handy... he even managed to finish the floors after he had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled!). My mom and mikie came in for the weekend and helped us finish up the office (yay Designer Debi and Super Handy Mikie... you did a fantastic job!) just in time for Larkin's 6th Birthday Party (Cheerleaders and Cupcakes... yes, Larkin picked that theme herself). After all my stress and anxiety that the office wouldn't be done and the call for thunderstorms all day, Larkin's party was actually a great success. The girls were all sooo adorable! Click on the Patsch Videos Link to see some of the Cheer Videos from the party. Finally, we wrapped up the maddness with Gregor's 34th birthday yesterday, complete with a birthday breakfast at Cracker Barrel, throwing rocks at Sugar Hollow, and dinner out. All in all a success!