And Then It Was October....

The heat's been turned on (and back off, for now). Boots are out and ready. Summer must be over.
But what a summer it was.
These Horne kids were two lucky tykes. The Outer Banks, Cancun, Indiana, Nashville, a week "camping out" on Grandma and Grandpa's boat, learning to wake board....some highlights. Not sure how 2016 can ever compare.

But back to September.

Actually, a little bit of August still to cover.
There's a new Horne in the brood. Cousin Emmitt was born on August 20, bringing Grandma and Grandpa's grandkid total to a whopping six.

Henry is just as interested in dinosaurs as his baby brother.

Labor Day weekend was good to us weather-wise. We continued our (new) hiking tradition and set out for Kilgore Falls. The kids had a blast swimming.

More Labor Day fun.

Grandma and mom took the kids up for some music and fun for one last "Good Life Thursday" at our favorite winery, Boordy.

And then last Saturday, we visited Hersheypark. Hurricane Joaquin was kind enough to stay off-shore, so that all we had to battle to enjoy a fun day was a bit of rain in the morning, then wind and chilly temps.

No problem. These warriors were ready.

Dad hadn't been on a roller coaster in almost 20 years (by his calculations). We made up for lost time, and enjoyed our first time on a roller coaster as a foursome.

Hanging with Peppermint Patty.

We met up with our Connecticut friends the Tomlins at the park. Marshall was quite the fan of both Daniel and Kacy.

So now we are caught up and speeding into Halloween and the holidays. Buckle up! Who knows who will end up where.

Back to School....2015 Edition

Kacy (and her pink hair) started 3rd grade on Monday.
3rd grade. Next is her driver's license.

Daniel and his cool backpack head off to Kindergarten this week. He's ready in case you couldn't tell by his "I've got this" face. Thankfully Kacy had his teacher and we are friendly.

Here's to a great year...And to both kids being in school full time. Woo hoo all around!

Cheers to Twelve Years

That's right folks. Dave and I have made it to our 12th wedding anniversary.
It's been a fun ride from 2003 to today.

Look how young we were.

Twelve years later, we had some tag-alongs for our anniversary celebration on Sunday. The weather was perfect so we took another new hike, this time up at the Jerusalem Mill Village near our house. We are finding all kinds of fun places to explore close to home.

And because mom kind of likes pictures, we stopped by Federal Hill for some photos overlooking Baltimore, on our way to dinner.

Dinner was fun, and our dining companions were lovely company. Luckily, they love tacos. And dessert with fireworks.

And finally, in other Horne news, Kacy and Daniel have another new cousin: Emmitt Joseph entered the world on Thursday, August 20. Uncle Matt, Aunt Alyssa, Caleb, Katrina and Henry are all excited for their new arrival.

By Land and By Sea

We took a hike in the Gunpowder State Park this past weekend. The weather was just too perfect not to explore.
We have some budding hikers on our hands.

They were even kind enough to continually pose together for pics.

We made it to the "Pot Rocks" section.

That afternoon, we took a boat ride to nowhere (always fun) with Grandma and Grandpa.

Sunday Funday indeed.

August Adventures....part 1

And it's August. Summer (as expected) has flown by at lightning speed.
School starts next week. Some are ready (mom, dad and Daniel); some are not (Kacy).

But to circle back:

Kacy started out the month testing for her yellow belt.
Next up: sparring.

We had a great view of the blue moon on Friday, July 31 at the club. Our friends the Mansolillos were there with us to view the rare occurance.

And as they say, once in a blue moon....you get all the kids in a photo to cooperate at the same time with a blue moon rising in the background.

Daniel and Gia....always having fun.

With August comes the annual Week on the Island at Baltimore Yacht Club. Grandma once again wins bravest woman on the island for inviting the four oldest grandchildren (ages 5, 8, 11 and 13) to join her on the boat all week.

There was swimming (day and night)....

Night fishing and of course, some tubing.

Fun times on the boat during a great week.

As though there weren't enough excitement during WOTI, we headed off to Lake of the Woods, Virginia for a weekend to visit with friends at their lake house. They have all the toys and were very happy to let the Hornes try out wake surfing, a new venture.

 And of course, tubing was on the agenda. Again. Who are these kids?

That's all for now....