Busch Gardens

Finally, the Busch Gardens post!  I think I procrastinate this post because I have so many videos, and I know it will be time consuming.  But, I am behind enough, so here goes!  After two rainy days in Newport News, we were all prepared for more rain on Friday.  The weather forecast called for rain off and on all day.  We had decorated ponchos, but never had to use them.  The weather was perfect and with the threat of rain, the crowds were down.  The kids road ride after ride, and some rides they just stayed on for the next ride.  It was so fun!  We saw two shows: Pet Shenanigans and also the Wolf show.  The park was definitely more creeped out for Hallo-scream.  We left just after 6:00 because the common areas of the park were really scary.  Too scary for the kids.  Glad we were in England at 6:00 and were able to escape easily!

The Forest of Fun had some of their favorite rides!

Josiah rode the flying machine.  Last time I rode this (about 10 years ago) I felt soooooo sick!  He was on his own! hahaha

Josiah rode this one!  The Verbolten.  I wished he would've rode the Loch-ness.  I rode the Apollos Chariot and the Loch-ness.  For both rides, I literally walked right up and got on the ride.  It was awesome!

Glad he rode it!  Was a little scray for him, but he did it!

Land of the Dragons ride

Love this one!

and this one!

Aedan, Mercy, and I rode the egg together.  Josiah was running around the big tree house while we rode. 

the fox!

My amazing wolf shot!

The big pumpkin

This one is one of their favorites!  It goes up and down!  And, I love that Mercy is big enough to ride!

The kids also liked this one!  I rode it once with them, but it made me feel a little sicky!  There was another roller coaster in the Elmo area: a Grover coaster.  Aedan wasn't a fan, but Mercy, Josiah, and I rode it four times!  hahaha!  No pics because I had to ride with Mercy for her to ride!  She was just tall enough, and she said it was her favorite ride!

Aedan and I

And now for the numerous videos:

The elephant run ride!  The kids love this one.  Mercy rode, too, but I could only handle riding it once!

Here is Josiah on the coaster:

Land of the Dragons:

A boat ride:

The ladybugs:

Elmo's ride!  The favorite!

The Oscar Ride:

Virginia Part 1

We had a busy fall break this year.  After our summer on-the-go, I thought we would have a slow-moving fall break, but that wasn't the case!  We were a travelin' family!  The day after school got out, we headed to Virginia.  Our first stop was in Clarksville, Virginia to see the Russells.  Ryan was speaking at Ryan's school, so the kids and I hung out with Christie and the kids for a few days.  Christie and I chatted lots, and the kids played football, and jumped on the trampoline LOTS!  We had one rainy day so Christie rented the movie, Epic for the kids.  The boys had sleepovers each night, and we tried with the girls, but Mercy was a little uneasy with it.  (maybe next time)  Christie and I went to Pilates one night.  It was quite humorous at times when I felt like my stomach was going to be ripped apart.  hahaha!  After about 20 minutes I was unsure if I was going to make it another 40!  I am so thankful for our visit!  We love the Russells!

the kids

silly picture

Christie and I

On Tuesday, the kids and I headed to Newport News after lunch.  It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive.  It's an easy drive, and goes by pretty fast.  We always stop at the rest area just north of Williamsburg.  The LOVE art was out!  I love it, so pictures are a definite must!

At Gigi's house, there were no falls down the stairs this time!  I think last time we were there Mercy fell down the stairs twice!  yikes!  We had a rainy week in Newport News (aka: ghettoville, badnewz).  And, I don't just mean a little sprinkle.  It POURED on Wednesday and rained steady on Thursday.  We went to Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target.  (All non-Cookeville stores!  hahaha)  We made a trip to Sweet Frog and on Thursday we went up to the church gym to play, followed by swimming at the Wellness Center.  On Friday, we went to Busch Gardens, which will be my next post!

Mercy on the steps with her babies!

Flag football ends

Flag football came to an end before the break as well.  Josiah did really well throughout the season.  He tried hard, and made several interceptions by the end of the season!  And, of course, he had a couple touchdowns since he was, "Josiah: touchdown maker McGann"!  It rained the very last game, so Aedan, Mercy and I didn't go, but Ryan went to the "mud-bowl" with Josiah.  The pictures below are from the 2nd to the last game, I think:

Here's Josiah on defense getting a flag!

There was an awards night, and Josiah got a trophy!  He was so excited!

Baseball Ends

Aedan's baseball ended in the beginning of October, just before fall break started.  The Wahoos finished 6-4 and in 2nd place out of 10 teams.  That's pretty miraculous!  hahaha!  Aedan had a great season.  He played all different positions: 2nd base, short, and pitcher.  He was basically moved around the field to get outs!  Aedan learned a lot about facing his fears, and trusting God.  About halfway through the season, he started practicing with the coach's pitch team, too.  (the 7-8 year olds)  He can totally hang with them, but was very hesitant to practice with them.  Once he got out there, he loved it and did great.  When the season was just about over, they needed an extra player for a game, so Aedan got to play a coach's pitch game.  He was nervous, but did great.  Aedan experienced God's faithfulness through baseball as he was dependent on Him to help him through those unnerving times, and we are so thankful.

Another highlight of the season was that Ryan started helping out with the games.  Ryan coached third for the last several games.  At one of the last games, Ryan had to do the head coaching because Brandon was sick.  So glad they pulled out a win for that one! :)
  

Aedan at pitcher

at pitcher again

Here is a video.  Aedan got the kid out at home, but I didn't follow him with the camera.

  Aedan getting an out at first:

An out at home, even with a ball bobble:

Mercy and Baylon

Aedan and Brandon

Ryan coaching 3rd with Aedan at 3rd

about to get their medals...so excited

woohoo Wahoos!

I love this one.  It's my favorite!

getting his medal

Brandon and Aedan

booya!

the team with their medals

yay Aedan.  (with a cupcake in his mouth)

Me and Aedan (and his medal)

Josiah's tooth

In other September news:

Josiah lost one of his front teeth!  woohoo!

It had been loose for months, so it was time to tug!

Once it was out, you could see the other tooth ready to come in!

The other front tooth is loose, as well, along with the next two front ones.

Spirit Week and the Tomahawk Trot

Well, I guess since it's almost the end of October, I should catch up some.  hahaha!  Well, considering I'm still not really done with September I have a lot of blogging to do.  In September, the boys had School Spirit week and the Tomahawk Trot on the Friday of that week.  They loved dressing up everyday.  I found it a little challenging to find the different things we needed, but it was fun.  I think my favorite was dress like a Brave day.  I found some older brown t-shirts to cut up, which was Josiah's idea. :)  Here are some dress-up highlights followed by the Tomahawk Trot.

Hawaiian day

Crazy hair and sock day

Dress like a brave day

Time to RUN!  Josiah and Aedan love the run!  They enjoy getting sponsors and seeing how many laps they can run.  Josiah ran 11 laps this year.  (just over 2 miles)  Aedan ran 9 laps.  (just under 2 miles)  They did fabulous!  It was fun to watch them :)  The second grade went first and kindergarten was later, so we were back and forth to the school that day.  Here are Josiah's pictures:

Josiah and Jaida
Jaida's older brother is in our youth group.

determined!

Fighting through the pain!  He is hardcore!

Mercy and Jaida

After the run!

Josiah's class with the mascot!

Time for kindergarten!

at the starting line

Go Aedan!

Yay for Gatorade!

Mrs. Fowler with the class

A special thank you to all the sponsors!  It was a successful day!