Deliquent Random iPhone photos

I realized tonight its been months since I uploaded photos from my phone, so I decided to put a few of the highlights up on the blog.

Back in September (I told you its been a long time) we went to the 'Field Day of the Past' out in Goochland County. I figured the kids would be interested in the tractor/lawnmower/pig/horse/steam machine competitions that this festival provided; instead we spent quite a bit of time inside an exceptionally large tire.
John Grayson finished another full session of gymnastics with Miss Ivy again last fall. Unfortunately/Fortunately gymnastics fell out of favor now that he has discovered Tennis, Basketball, and Football. While we may never see him on the podium again, I think he is set with an amazing base of tumbling skills.


Right before Thanksgiving last year we headed over to the Short Pump Mall to celebrate the arrival of Santa. JGray enjoyed his first Starbucks (hot cocoa) while Delia was in absolute awe at her first site of Santa for the season.
JGray in Daddy's new Ditka sweater. Da Bears.
Delia loves Guacamole. Ridiculous amounts of Guacamole.
For her 2nd birthday Delia received her very first Tricycle. Her feet are just getting to the point where they reach the peddles. She loves to try to follow around her 'Bobby' when he is on his big bike.
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster Trucks in Richmond! You may pay for the full seat but you'll only use the edge of it!!!!!!!!!!! In what is quickly becoming an annual event the Schmitt men made their way down to Thunder Nationals to watch Grave Digger destroy the competition. Apologies to the guy to JGray's right, he caught the end of Grave Digger flag to the face when JGray vigorously waved his flag in celebration of another Grave Digger victory.

Sweet Frog. Awesome Yogurt. Toddler Crack. If you don't have one of these near your house now, expect one soon.

Family Weekend in the Mountains

John and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we have two portable kids (who aren't totally dependent on their naps) and go away for a fun-filled family weekend! We rented a house in the small town of Luray, VA and headed out right after lunch on Friday. No one napped (no big surprise there since Schmitt kids don't like to sleep in the car), but we arrived happy and ready to explore. We walked down to the river and then came back to the house and made smores. The kids were so excited that Daddy could build a real fire for them to roast marshmallows. On Saturday, we went to Luray Caverns and then spent a rainy afternoon at the movies. We took Skyline Drive on our way home; the sights were incredible! As promised, JGray got his hike. We came home tired but so happy that our first family adventure was a huge success!

Our adorable cabin

Playing by the river

JGray loved throwing rocks and sticks into the water

Our little monkey

Running to Mommy

Daddy put his Eagle Scout skills to good use and built an awesome fire!

Yummy smores!

She thought the chocolate was the best part!

At Luray Caverns


We saw a rainbow on our last night at the cabin

The view from Skyline Drive was incredible!

Hiking to see some waterfalls

"Aw Mom, can't we just keep walking??"

Going back uphill was pretty steep, so someone needed some help from Daddy.

And eventually Mommy had to help out on the hike back to the car.

Basketball

Watch out NBA, here comes JGray! In February, we signed him up for an instructional basketball class through a local church. Two of his friends were there too, which made it a lot more fun for him. It was a very low-key class with lots of instructional time. They focused on teaching the kids how to dribble, pass and shoot the ball. The last class was a "scrimmage." Each team played several 4 minute games and when one child had the ball, the others couldn't steal it. It was adorable and everyone seemed to have a great time! JGray said he liked basketball a lot more than soccer, but I think it's because the class was focused on teaching skills and then playing the game, instead of learning by playing.

JGray scored a basket during the last class, and he came sprinting over to John and I to give us a hug and a kiss. He totally forgot about the game clock, which was still running! It didn't matter though because I haven't seen him prouder of himself :-)

Here are a few pictures from basketball (I took a lot of pictures, but apparently I need to work on my sports photography skills because most of them are impossible to see):

Future NBA star!

Look at that form!

John also took some video from the last class, and we'll upload it soon!