Today's Fab Family Friday is all about Samuel!
And... we even began work by cutting, marking, and taking the first steps!!!!!
This past week was not a usual one. We ran around like mad! This week is really a relief. Our schedule for this week looks something like this:
However, last week was different. If you don't mind though, I'm going to skip over everything else and zoom in on the one part that I'll write about here. The Talent Show.
This year's summer reading program was themed BE CREATIVE AT YOUR LIBRARY. As you probably found out, anything that requires creativity and fun is right up my alley, so to speak.
I was really excited when I learned that the finale party was to be a talent show! Now, my family loves music. I mean really LOVES music. Since the time we learned to speak, we've been singing!
A few years ago, when the boys were all really little, we did a talent show for a local nursing home. We performed two songs from one of my favorite plays, the Fantasticks. We practised hard, and the songs were a big hit. And we were hooked. After that, family skits and songs became a habit. We perform a nativitiy every year. Whenever we have a family get-together, Mom expects a song or two. But in all our grease-paint years, those first two songs, Plant a Radish and Never Say No, have always stuck. And if we haven't prepared or have to give a spontaneous, demanded performance, we alway for back on those two. And we always love it.
So, when we heard of the library's talent show, there was no doubt whatsoever in our minds as to what to do. Brianna and I each prepared a piano solo (the library, literally a 20x20 room in the comunity building, would provide a keyboard). And we prepared a duet. Sure, we played our songs on the keyboard, but the real fun was the songs. In fact, we had the audience chuckling throughout.
And that is one thing I did this week!
Here is my first (and second) blogger award!
Miss Hope, at My Hope is in the Lord ,tagged me for the 5 things I love about summer.
To carry on the line of summer fun in blogland, I'm tagging my blog-land friends, Karlee and Lizzie and my sister Brianna. Have fun this summer!
I visited Roanoke, VA! Mom's BWF (blog world friend) Jen T. and her family were coming up to Virginia. About four hour's drive from their home in Tennessee. Also about 4 hour's drive from our home in Maryland. So we met in the middle. First, we visited the Virginia Museum of Transportation. After turning a handle to see how a piston works the train's wheels...
and turning another handle to see how a set of gears moves, we visited the section of old cars. My favorite was the oldest one on display. A wooden frame, painted black, and tires that looked like they came off of a thirty-year-old bicycle, a steering wheel that was, quite literally, a stick that moved the front tires left and right, and an engine smaller than the one in the little craftsman tractor that we use to mow the grass! 
I made a new friend while in the museum. This is me with Jen T.'s oldest, Makenzie
, and Ellie.
And here we all are together. T's in orange and W's in blue!
In 2 trips, we were able to take a ride on an old Model T (no pun intended, that's it's real name;}) by Henry Ford. The driver said he's bought this car in 1951 secondhand. he fixed it up and take folks for 1-mile rides, outside the museum.
This ride was certainly the highlight of the day... next would be the chocolate shop in downtown Roanoke...but we'll save that for another time!
The last thing we did was eat dinner at Wendy's. After laugh-accented conversation, I told all the kids the story of the 3 little pigs. But not before Mr. T informed me that the folks back in Tennesee, don't let wolves get so close to their livestock-they just shoot 'em!
All in all, we enjoyed ourselves so much, all the members of both families, agreed that we must do this all again soon!
Today's Fab Family Friday's subject is Emma! 
The one thing I did this week is i finished the summer reading program at my library. My total on books was 20 and my total reading time was 30 hours and 55 minutes. That might give you an idea of how much I love reading!
Another thing I did this week was stay alone at home with the kids overnight. My parents went on a much needed weekend away. They left Sat. afternoon and came home Sun. afternoon. We had a blast! don't feel bad, Mom! we still missed you! Being the oldest, I was pretty worried when Mom brought up the possibilities of fire, major injury, asthmatic attack, and major allergic reactions, and how to deal with each one. Pa joking about burglars and keeping his Red Ryder BB gun by the front door, didn't help.
All night I lay listening to people's breathing, and any creaking noises the house made. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard water running and everyone was in bed! Don't be silly Kaitlin. I kept telling myself over and over, and over and over and over! After I realized the noise was the water softener going through its nightly cycle, I checked the time before going to sleep. 4:58AM! Well, I did fall asleep pretty soon after, and boy must I have been out! the next morning, Brianna informed me she had caught Sam (4 yrs. old) sleepwalking and crying, taken him to the bathroom and put him back in bed. I didn't hear a thing!
I woke up at 9 Sunday Morning. As I pulled my hair up in a clip (a morning habit of mine), I began to walk upstairs to make breakfast. I noted that everyone was asleep. Sam was nice and snug up against Brianna, and all was right in the world. (Have you noticed how everything seems scary by night and silly by morning?) But I hadn't taken more than 2 steps when Sam sits bolt upright and says ,no kidding now, at the top of his lungs,"WHERE ARE YOU GOING, KK!" I cringed, but the only person who moved was Brianna, who had apparently been awake for a while. They must have all had a night as bad as mine!
In spite of a slight headache undoubtedly caused by lack of sleep, the rest of the day went beautifully! We ate breakfast, did our chores and got ourselves ready for the day. Since I don't drive, we had "church at home" . We sang hymns we all knew, memorized a verse together and Than even gave a sermon! We planned a surprise welcome home party for Pa and Mama. And we planned a skit to perform for them some other time.
Altogether, we had a wonderful time of fun and family you know, SBT: Sibling Bonding Time! Plus we got great practise for when Mom goes to Italy in November!
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