Chautauqua To Bristow, VA,To Alexandria, VA For The Weekend

Glad To Have Her Dad Home

With Mom

We all have to be up early because the cleaners are arriving at 8:00.  I was awake at 5:00, got up at 5:45 and Drew was already up, filling out his bowl picks, watching CNN.  Jill got up soon, as did Hayden who has to be off to school around 7:00. Halle and Evie are the lucky ones, who get to sleep in some.

Hayden, A Freshmen, Ready For School

We left the lake behind, in a drizzle, and had some form of precipitation for the next seven hours through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, into Virginia.  It was either raining or foggy, especially into the mountains or hills.  Thus, what was a breath taking ride through fall colors in October was a blur, literally, as the hills and trees were often hidden by fog.

The Fog Of Late Morning

Our Favorite City, Breezewood

We arrived just after 3:00, our usual seven hour drive, to a empty house as the girls were getting picked up from school and getting their hair cut for the weekend.  We were happily greeted by Coco, their dog, and everyone started to arrive around 4:00.  And Drew got home after two long two flights, from Kiev, about 5:00, happy to be back after two weeks in the Ukraine,  So we were all together by 5:00 and had time to sit down, enjoy a drink, and catch up on both the girls lives and Drew's weeks in Kiev.  The girls are both doing well, excited that school is ending, the wedding is happening, and Christmas is less than a week away.

Halle And Coco

We brought dinner, a pork stew, with beans, so Evie made up some brown rice, braised some Brussels sprouts and we had a nice dinner.  We also picked up a lemon custard pie at vegetable stand just before Winchester, VA, where we always tend to stop because they have all kinds of neat things, as well as fruit and vegetables.  The evening was spent trying to figure out what the girls were going to wear to the wedding,  And Halle had a big science test so we all worked with her, helping her memorize some terms.  A typical night at the Bissells I suppose, getting the girls to get their work done, then trying to get them to go to bed.  Things don't change as I remember us doing the same each night with our kids.  We were all tired, us from the drive, Drew from his two weeks in Ukraine, so we all went upstairs to bed by 10:00, except for Evie, who stayed up with the girls till they were organized and in bed.

We will leave for the Monaco Hotel in downtown Alexandria this morning around 11:00, hoping we can get into our room early.  Beth and family arrive from Dallas at 10:30, so we want to get there to see them.  And our son Tom and family arrive from KC at 2:30, so we will all be together before the rehearsal dinner which starts at 7:00.  It's going to be a couple of fun days.