As you might have noticed, I've been having a hard time keeping up with the blog lately (hint as to why pictured above) so we've decided to take the rest of 2015 off and try again in a few weeks. We'll see you back here next year. Have a wonderful holiday season, from the whole Watermelons Grow family to yours! In the meantime,...

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A few weeks ago, James's parents came to visit and we spent an afternoon at Bluebird Gap Farm, one of our favorite weekend spots. That October day the Hampton Master Gardener's display garden was in bloom with fall pretties and we spent some extra time exploring it. A lot of time, actually -- there was a lot to see. The garden is bigger...

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 This Halloween, we took costume inspiration from some of our favorite kids' books. A. surprised me by insisting that she did NOT want to be Elsa (the first time in three years! Yay!) Instead, she wanted to be a flamingo. Flora and the Flamingo is one of her favorite books -- she loves to sit and "read" it by herself when she's in...

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  This is one of my favorite fall activities ever and probably a new tradition in our family. It's also Anouk's brilliant idea and her first project contribution to the blog! "Mom, can we make a fairy house  out of one of our pumpkins and take pictures of it for the internet?" That's kind of the name of my game, kid! A. used...

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I'm a little behind on grateful lists thanks to Gus being born -- I just realized when I went to put up September that I had scheduled the day after his birthday to post August's grateful list and then never did it. So here are both August and September's lists! Be forewarned, they are a little long, because we have a lot to be...

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"But I thought you liked dinosaurs."  "I do. Just not these ones."  "Why not?"  "They're a little too REAL for me, Mom."  When it comes to an exhibit about dinosaurs, I think "too real" might be a compliment? This wasn't for Nou, but some little dinosaur lover out there will be very happy, I think, with what the Virginia Aquarium's got going on...

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It's kind of embarrassing to admit that I overpacked for the hospital when Gus was born, but I did. When Anouk was born early, I ended up at the hospital with nothing but the clothes on my back and I think that experience made me want to make sure I would have every single thing I could possibly need the second time around....

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Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford. Publisher summary: A Bonfire of the Vanities for the 21st century mixed with Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep and Amor Towles's Rules of Civility. I wanted to throw up while reading this book, but in a good way? It was just so hideously awkward and nerve-wracking to watch the heroine, ordinary Evelyn, try to pass herself off as a member of...

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Anouk's one request for this past rainy, windy, extremely waterlogged weekend (in which nearly everything was closed due to flooding) was to go and get "a lot of pumpkins, mom. A LOT." And grocery store pumpkins simply would not do because: of course.  Luckily, the Cullipher Farm Market was open, and they're a little famous for their pumpkins, which come in almost every...

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The Sunday before Gus was born, wayyyyy back a whole two weeks ago, we met up with friends in Mathews for the annual Mathews Market Days celebration. It was the perfect way to get ready for the fall season (and to walk a baby out, apparently). Even if it was still almost 90 degrees, the Middle Neck is looking gorgeous this time of...

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Hey guys, guess what? BooBooButt AKA James Augustus AKA Baby Gus was born a week ago today! Gus ended up being born three weeks early (but still full term) weighing 7 lbs, 3 oz, and measuring just about 20 inches long.  His arrival was wild, an hour and a half from start to finish, with lots of craziness and NO time for an...

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Anouk has a lot going on lately -- new sibling on the way, new school schedule, new sports and friends and responsibilities -- so much so that she's become sometimes a little skittish about taking on new things. I can't -- I don't think I can -- I'm not sure I'll like that. So when we got the opportunity to review Ed Vere's...

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Mr. Tweed's Good Deeds: Mr. Tweed is like a less obnoxious Where's Waldo (I don't know why I find Waldo obnoxious but I guess I do?) I think because it starts out slowly (he finds one kite, then two fish, then three etc...) or the message that you should do your best to help people even if it inconveniences you. This book is...

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