We spent this past weekend down in VA at my parents' home. (Just so I don't confuse anyone...my parents have 3 homes...MD, TX and VA.) This area is called the middle section of the northern neck of VA. Beautiful country down here. This county reminds me of our county 20 years ago. Rural...but the signs of development are starting to creep in. This is Dad and Maggie sitting on the pier.

My children had a fun time kayaking, boating, jet skiing, water skiing, and being with their extended family.

They used the jet ski to pull the waterski.

Mike said Lizzie is a natural on skis. She flew over the wakes. He also taught her how to ski slolam style.

Simba rode the boat nearby while everyone skiied. Being on the water made my hubby homesick for his childhood summer home. His family lived in CT, but had a summer home on a beautiful lake in MA. Mike spent his summers water skiing with a ski club.

Only one little fish was caught this weekend. I've always enjoyed eating the sand sharks from this area.

This is Allen on skis.
This is one of Dad's oyster floats. Dad is raising about 5000 oysters. We cooked some up on the grill. We also had a bushel of crabs and a dozen soft crabs...Yummy! Here in our county, a bushel of crabs costs about $200. Down in VA they cost about $50. Wow! I also noticed a big difference in gas prices. Our Wawa charges $2.45, but we paid $2.33 at the Wawa in VA. But I thought the Walmart prices were much steeper than ours. On the way home we saw this sign, so naturally we had to pull over.
This area has a large native american influence...the mattaponis and the pattaponis, so we weren't surprised by the teepees. This teepee was $450.

This teepee sold for $950. I think these are grossly overpriced. The tipis at Colorado Earthworks are a much better deal. But I would be tempted to support the locals.

One last pic of teepees.

As usual, we laughed ourselves silly all the way home. I'm not sure what it is about coming home from VA. Usually we are exhausted from all the water sports, plus washing and putting away all the kayaks and gear. I always think my children will sleep the whole way home, but they never do. Oh well.

When we got to MD, we ran into a traffic jam of amish buggies. Since it was a Sunday evening, they were probably coming home from a singing. Anyhow, it was a fun end to a fun trip. Thanks Meemaw and Grandad for a fun weekend!

Summer is now officially over for us, and we are heavy into schooling. Sarah got everyone off to a fantastic start yesterday. Hurray! While I did all the laundry and unpacking, Sarah found out where everyone was in their studies and got them going. She also read to them. I saw her madly printing out worksheets. She will be the BEST homeschool mom ever when her time comes! Thanks so much, Sarah. You made my day!

I am so thankful the Lord has allowed my hubby to have a good job so we can homeschool. I'm off to take Maggie to her appts. Many blessings ~ Kathie