First Grade

Erin headed off to first grade this morning. After our long weekend, we'll see how she's doing when she gets home. But she was up when I asked, ate her whole breakfast - without fussing even, and got dressed without complaining. She asked for soup for lunch (I think because she really wanted to use her new thermos) so she got soup, grapes, pretzels and a Reeses mini cup. As well as a note from mommy packed in her lunch box.

She was all excited to ride the bus because that's where she's going to get the chance to see her friend Brandon. They aren't in the same class this year, but will get to see each other at recess and on the bus. We headed out about the same time we'd leave last year. When we got to the bus stop I went to get Erin out of the car and she screamed....."Mommy!!! We missed the bus!!!" I looked up the road, and yes, we had missed the bus. By about 30 seconds. There it was. 100 yards up the road picking up the people at the next stop.

The poor girl just lost it. She melted into a pool of tears. I made her miss the bus. I explained that she wouldn't miss school. I would drive her and Mr. Burks (the gym teacher) would help her out of the car. I did make her get out of the van and stand by the road so I could take her picture, pretending that we were waiting for the bus. As you can see, she just couldn't hide the tears.



By the time we got to school, we'd agreed that I would walk her into class. That seemed to help even things out some. We made sure she would be able to ride the bus home today. Walked to the cafeteria where all the kids were sitting in lines on the floor. Mrs. Morris came by and gave her a big welcome as well as her very own First Grade name tag.



I haven't heard anything else so I assume that the rest of the day has gone OK. This will be a busy year. A lot more work than Kindergarten seemed to be. They don't get snack, only have one recess and one Encore period (music, P.E., computers, art...) a day as opposed to two last year. I expect she'll be pretty tired for the first week or so, but will eventually get into the swing of things.

Questions

Here are some questions that have been asked of me in the past month or so. Life starts changing when kids start paying more attention to things around them apparently.

1 -- Mommy, is God dead?

2 -- Mommy, how does a baby get out of your tummy?

3 -- Mommy, why does daddy put nails in Andrew's hands (we're in a production of Godspell now, Tom is the Judas character)

4 -- Mommy, why does Luke's daddy disappear?


These are the things Erin thinks about in the back seat of the car apparently (when not trying to spell POOL). Jeffrey asks things like, Mommy, do you like chicken with fireworks. Or any other crazy combo he can think of.

So I guess this is the age of the deeper questions. My answers, not all that deep. I'm just not ready for a heavy theological discussion or a talk about the birds and the bees with my 6-year old. So to answer....

#1 - God isn't dead sweetie. God doesn't walk around on earth like we do. God is more of a spirit. Her response...."OK".

#2 - Well a doctor had to take you and Jeffrey out of my tummy and make a little cut. I'll show you some day. Want to listen to Wall*E? How about CARS?

3 - It's all a play, but remember the story of Jesus and the cross from church school? Daddy's helping teach that story to other people.

4 - Luke's (Skywalker) daddy (really Ben) disappears when he dies. But remember it's just a movie.

I'm a little afraid of what's going to come up next time we have to drive anywhere. Looks like we've got some interesting years ahead of us.

The P-O-O-L

When Tom joined the gym with me last month we got a free pass to the pool. I've been saving it to use during this busy two weeks as a treat for the kids. Yesterday afternoon I checked the weather and decided that today would be a good day to use it. So after rehearsal last night I figured I'll tell Tom of my plans. I wanted to keep it a secret from the inhabitants of the back seat so I said to Tom.

"I think tomorrow we'll use the pass and go to the P-O-O-L (Spelling the word)"

"We're going to the pool tomorrow?????" shouted Erin from the back seat.

I had no idea she could spell the word pool. Read it and sound it out, sure, but immediately put it together. No way. It's not even really phonetic. She's not got the "oo" sound down yet. Or so I thought.

"Well there goes that surprise."

It reminds me of when I was a kid. Mom was trying to convince dad that we needed a pet. We lived in an apartment complex at the time so options were limited. She spelled the word "parakeet". "Daddy, daddy, can we please have a parakeet??? I begged immediately." I must have been a little older than Erin, but not much. I did end up getting that parakeet. And Erin got her trip to the P-O-O-L today too.

A Week with Grandma and Grandpa

From RI we headed to NY to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids had been counting the days until the visit. They were very excited to be there. Baby Will, Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill were there for much of the week also.

The highlight of the week was certainly hanging out by Grandma's pool. The kids have been waiting all summer to swim in the pool with Grandma. It was the first question they asked every morning..."Can we go swimming?" They did great, we didn't even bring their floats. They jumped into the pool, paddled around, played with water canons and noodles. Erin even practiced some diving.


We did get a couple of day trips in. We headed to a small amusement park that's just the right size for the kids. They spent all day running from ride to ride. Erin especially loved the Flume ride. There's also a small roller coaster that the kids could ride without adults. They would finish the ride and run around to get in line again. I think they hit 4 times in a row before we moved on. They also really enjoyed riding the car and boat ride with Baby Will (who will probably be a 20-year old linebacker and still called Baby Will). Tom and I also got a chance to ride a few of the adult rides with Aunt Katie, which was fun.

We also took a trip to the zoo. It's just the right size. They had a special exhibit of a white tiger that the kids really liked. They also spent a long time watching the sea lions and the polar bear. It was lots of fun.





Saturday morning we went for a walk to the playground at Grandma's school. They'd been asking all week to go, so we let them ride their bikes over to the school and played there for about an hour. Later that afternoon, Tom, the kids and I took a trip to take a walk down the Eerie Canal. We stopped and got some ice cream and walked along the canal for a mile or so. The kids got excited to see some boats moving along the canal.





It was great to spend time with our NY family. We can't wait to see them all again.

Fun with the RI Family

We have returned from our tour of the Rhode Island branch of the family. We haven't visited there in a few years so we were excited for the visit. We left early in the morning from DC and drove up to RI. The kids were really great during the ride. Once we were there, Erin and her cousin Rylie ran off like two peas in a pod. They dumped their Little Pets on the floor, synced their DS and pulled out all the Disney Princesses. It was great to watch. Jeffrey tried to join in and got pushed aside somewhat, but he wouldn't be turned away. He and Cousin Avery played Cars and watched Toy Story 2 again and again.



On Friday we drove into Boston. I haven't been back there in quite a long time and was excited to show the kids part of where I grew up. We ate at Quincy Market (but I couldn't find any kielbasa on a stick), walked part of the Freedom Trail and wandered through Boston Common and Gardens. I even took the kids (and Tom) on their first swan boat ride.


Once we got back to RI, Jeffrey proceeded to get ill all over Aunt Robyn's floor. Poor kiddo. We had a nice dinner then went to a nearby inlet to look for starfish and crabs. Saturday morning the troops headed out to a farmer's market while Jeffrey and I hung out to make sure he was feeling better. That afternoon Uncle Craig came down from Boston for a visit and we all headed to the beach. The kids loved being at the beach. Both of them just ran into the water, dug in the sand and searched for shells and critters.



Sunday morning the kids gave Uncle Tom and Uncle Craig beautiful makeovers. They've never looked more dapper. It was a gorgeous morning so we headed out for a nature hike and then spent the afternoon at the beach again.



Monday morning arrived and it was time to pack up to head to Grandma and Grandpa's. We had a great time and both kids were sad to leave their cousins. It was wonderful to see them really playing together, using their great imaginations to save princesses, dress up Uncles and take care of pets. I can't wait until we all get together again to see what they come up with next.

Growing from fish to dolphins

That's what we call 'em now. Dolphins. Both Erin and Jeffrey are water obsessed this summer. They had lessons in June, and we hit the outdoor pool twice during the month, and the lake at least 3 times. Then this past week they had a mini swimming-camp. Really it was just 4 straight days of lessons.

Watching them, especially Erin, make huge strides in being comfortable in the water was so much fun. Erin progressed so far. In the beginning of June she was terrified to get her hair wet. We added some magic goggles (kind of like Dumbo's magic feather) and that made a lot of difference. She also had a great teacher in June who really helped her get over her fears of going under the water and getting her hair wet.

This past week she decided she was ready to try some new skills. There was a bigger boy in class who already could swim to the far end of the small pool and back. That was just what she needed. By the end of the 4th lesson Erin was "swimming" almost all the way across the pool, working on diving to the bottom to retrieve rings, and jumping into the deep end (10 ft. mark).

Jeffrey keeps progressing. He's working really hard on his freestyle stroke...we call it Ice Cream scoops. He's perfectly capable of jumping into the deep end of the pool and getting to the side all on his own. He has also been practicing his "pizza pulls" (kind of like a modified breast stroke) to get to the bottom of the pool and get dive sticks and rings.

We're getting ready for our trip to grandma and grandpa's next week. Since they have a pool we can show off all our new tricks. Until then here are a few videos to whet your appetite.

Thanks Robyn

Hi there....stealing Robyn's idea to brighten up the Blog. Hope you like it :)

30 Really Rough Minutes

I haven't had to deal with this for a while. At least not to this length. But today I was met with the mega-tantrum. A fit that lasted close to 20 minutes. What makes it even better? We were at an indoor pool. Just think about the echos. I'm pretty certain that people in Honolulu could hear the antics.

So this week we are doing a swim camp type of thing. The kids have 30 minute lessons Mon-Thurs. Jeffrey has been taking lessons since February, but only once a week. But July is busy, so I decided we'd do a condensed version. Yesterday was the first class with the new teacher. Jeff always tests the bounds with the new teacher (he's had 4 since February). He decided he was just going to do his own thing, and not really listen to the teacher. The guy got Jeff to do a few things, but really Jeff just wanted to play his "sit on the bottom of the pool" game. (Erin on the other hand went from being nervous getting her hair wet to jumping feet first into the deep end of the pool and paddling to the side on her own).

When we got to the pool today we had the usual talk...

"OK. Now you NEED to listen to your teacher. He's trying to show you some new things. I want you to listen to him and try them."

"OK mommy"

Now here is where mommy made the fatal mis-step. I let the kids get into the pool 5 minutes before class started. I explained to Jeff that he needed to stay ON the steps or at least within reach of the side of the pool. After two warnings about I told Jeff he needed to get out of the pool. I counted him down and that was when chaos erupted.

He threw his body stiff as aboard. I had to pull him out of the pool and sit him in the chair (getting myself pretty soaked in the process). He screamed as if I had just thrown his precious blankie on the fire. He continued to do this for 15 minutes. I explained to him that when he showed me he could calm down, I would let him get in the pool and join the lesson (which Erin was participating in).

"I WANT TO CALM DOWN" he continued to scream. Without calming down. I explained that he needed to SHOW me he was calm.

Once he realized that I wasn't giving in he starting with "YOU"RE NOT MY FRIEND" "NO ONE'S MY BUDDY"

And then the hitting started. At that point he was removed to the locker room, stripped of his swim suit (at which point he pulled my hair) and reclothed in his shirt/shorts.

He spent the next 10 minutes of Erin's lesson sulking (but at least not screaming) in a chair poolside. I cheered as Erin jumped again into the deep end, dove down to get a ring from the bottom of the pool, and swam about 20 feet only grabbing the teacher once. Remember in June she wouldn't get her hair wet.

So while I wanted desperately to hide. To become invisible. To make my loud, rude and unruly kid evaporate (at least until the fit was done) we both seemed to survive. I feel badly for all the other people trying to accomplish something within a 10 mile radius having to listen to "YOU"RE NOT MY FRIEND" continuously. Still I stood my ground. At the end of class his teacher came to him and said he hopes Jeff can join them tomorrow. And that he wouldn't put up with not listening either, just like mommy.

We'll just see what happens tomorrow.

Happy 4th!!!

We spent a fun 4th weekend here in the "ville. Daddy had work off on Friday so some friends of his (from work) came to visit for the afternoon. We hung out on the deck, went for a swim at the lake and even played on the Wii for a bit. It was just a good ole' relaxing day.

Friday night Noni, Grandpa, Uncle Jon and Oma arrived for the weekend. Since Noni was preaching at our church on Sunday they came for the 4th too. Saturday morning we all headed into over to Main Street for the annual 4th of July parade. Erin had been talking all week about hoping to see her friend Brandon there. I had intended to call his mom and try to make some plans to meet, but it just didn't happen. As fate would have it, as we drove into the parking lot, there were Brandon's parents pulling chairs out of the car. Erin was soooooo excited. She jumped out of the van and ran across the parking lot (once mommy held her hand) to give Brandon a proper tackle. For the rest of the morning they were inseparable.


The parade was great. The kids got their usual fill of candy thrown out of fire engines, from tractors and antique cars. They got to wave at Miss. Greene, and even Lil' Miss and Mr. Greene. They got little flags from a group of veterans, and Erin got a ruler with all the presidents pictured on it.


The rest of the afternoon we spent on the deck. The kids played PlayDough with Oma for hours. Noni, Grandpa, Daddy and I played some dominoes. Uncle Jon wandered from activity to activity (and fixed mommy's computer program). We had smoked chicken, pasta salad, corn on the cob and some potatoes from the smoker too.


Once it got dark we took a few sparklers out to the side lawn for some sparkler fun. Then we walked down to the lake for the annual "lake" fireworks show. As usual for a small community show, they did a great job. Unfortunately we got separated from Jeffrey and daddy (when Jeff needed an emergency potty break) and didn't get to watch the fireworks with them.

Sunday was rainy. We lunched at the local wing place after church. Then played some board games while the kids watched Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Before everyone headed home we celebrated Uncle Jon's birthday (2 days early).

It was a great weekend to see some family and special friends.

Butterflies, Roses and Shrimps

We spent Father's Day weekend in MD with Noni, Grandpa, Jon and Oma. Drove up on Friday night and back home Sunday afternoon. I'd wanted to do a bunch of outside things on Saturday morning but of course it rained. By mid-afternoon the sun made an appearance and we decided to go over to a local botanical garden to see the roses in bloom. They also have a butterfly house that we've visited a few times and the kids really enjoy.

Even since Jeffrey's bee sting he's been terrified by any kind of insect. There were lots of bugs at the garden...including plenty of bees. He tried to stay calm, but really didn't enjoy the roses. Erin loved going around and smelling all the different roses. They also had found all the fountains where they could splash in the water.



The 3 of us visited the butterfly house with Noni. The butterflies were super active. Erin wanted so badly for one to land on her. As usual, they went right for Noni. Erin would sit super still waiting for a special visitor or holding her hand near one on a rock. Jeffrey got a few visitors. One actually landed on his head (and amazingly he didn't freak out). Just as we were about to leave, Erin finally caught one on her shoe. Totally made her day.




After butterflies we drove over to Bethesda for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Grandpa loves their fish and chips and Tom and I were certainly willing to indulge in some seafood. They were super busy when we got there (at about 4:45 PM). We were seated outside near a little lake. It was the best place to sit. The kids could be a little loud, and eventually there was a band that set up just outside the restaurant. The atmosphere was really great. Tom and I both got steam pots that had crab and shrimp or clams, potatoes, corn and sausage. Really good. Jeffrey ordered a pizza and inhaled it, then ate 3 of Uncle Jon's fried shrimp and 3 of my steamed shrimp. I tried to convince him to order the kids shrimp plate to start, but he claimed he didn't like shrimp. Apparently he forgot.

As a great ending to the evening, Tom took the kids out to the band in front of the restaurant to dance. They had a great time. Then Grandpa drove them all home, while Tom, Jon and I walked around for a bit and caught a late showing of Angles and Demons.

Sunday morning, we had a nice breakfast together. The kids played in the back yard with Uncle Jon and daddy for a while. After a fun morning we had to get back to VA for a rehearsal later that night.

Graduation

Last week Erin had an official "graduation" from kindergarten. I figured it would be kinda corny, I mean, Kindergarten graduation? But it was very cute. All the teachers read off the names of each of the kids in his/her class. They got to walk across the stage and get a "diploma" from the principal and they had a professional photographer and everything. The principal even gave a little speech at the beginning. Then all the kids stood up and sang 5 or 6 songs that they had been working on.

We were so lucky this year that Erin had THE BEST teacher. She was simply wonderful. She created a loving and warm environment where all of the kids clearly wanted to be at school. Erin learned so much from her. She started school not interested in reading at all and finished above the required level for kindergarten. She also made some wonderful friends. I'm hoping that Erin gets just as lucky next year. I asked Miss. Smiley if she'll be around in two years for Jeffrey and she said she's not sure. I certainly hope she is, because I'd love for him to have the opportunity to learn from her as well.

So here are some pictures and a video of her big day. The friend she's with in the songs is Brandon. They've been best buddies since early on in Kindergarten. It's quite cute to watch them play together and I'm glad she's found a best buddy.

Hamming it up with Brandon

Status Update

Jeffrey finally had his annual physical last week (yeah I know his birthday was over a month ago but combine busy doctors with stupid insurance people and well...you know). Our pediatrician does the big Kindergarten physical at 4 instead of 5 because often the kids are 4 when you register them for school. At least with Jeff I was prepared, poor Erin got surprised that she needed 4 shots when I thought she didn't need any.

Basic stats: Weight - 37.5 lbs -- yep that's 3 pounds heavier than his sister. Height - 43" -- yep that's the same height. No wonder people keep asking if they are twins.

The Dr. gave him a good bill of health. The hearing and vision tests went off without a hitch. We talked about the wasp sting (of course I forgot the camera so I had to describe it). We're going to watch Jeff pretty closely, but because it was a wasp, there's no history of allergies to stings in immediate family, and the swelling dropped after a few hours he didn't seem to think we needed to run out and buy an epi. pen.

We did discover that Jeffrey does have a skin condition called Mollescum Comtagiosum. These are the small bumps that he gets on his back, and now his neck, that have gotten infected a few times. We've now got an $80 cream to put on them. Hopefully that will last us for the next few millennium. His body should start fighting off the virus in the next few months and we won't see them any more.

Jeff also had to get 4 shots as menioned above. The Dr's office has this procedure down to a science. It takes 2 nurses, 1 care-giver/mom, 1 blankie and about 15 seconds to get all 4 shots in. He was very good. He did shout and scream, but didn't carry on too long. And for that the nurse rewarded him with 5 stickers, 1 book, 2 pencils and a toothbrush. Pretty sweet deal if I might say so.

So that's it for another year. Hopefully no visits are needed between (this year I think we only went in once...if that). That is unless he gets stung by another wasp and we discover that he IS allergic to them.

End of School Year Fun

As we reached the end of Erin's school year the first few days of June, there were lots of fun activities. The kids had a special field trip to a big wooden playground (knows as Kids Castle). Although the day was chilly and dreary they still had a ton of fun playing around. Erin also got to participate in her first Field Day. Jeffrey and I went to watch the games at Field Day and it was so much fun to see the kids playing. They had a dance party where one of the teachers taught them some silly dances and also just let them dance around the cafeteria. The PE teachers led a class vs. class tug-of-war. Watching 5 and 6 year olds at tug of war is hilarious. Finally one of the teachers organized a bunch of relay races, most involving water. This was Erin's favorite part of the day. She got totally soaked - which was the whole point. I also found much humor in the teacher's "release" during the water relays. I think the teachers were doing just as much soaking (including dousing the principal) as the students were.

So here are a few pictures from her field trip and then Field Day.

With her best friend Brandon

Carrying a "boiling" chicken in the relay races

She's the orange shirt in the middle of the picture....next to the blond girl in the yellow shirt.

Boy meets wasp

Unfortunately Jeffrey had his first run-in with a wasp yesterday. We always have had wasps around the house. Might be something to do with the yellow siding, might have something to do with the deck, who knows. What I do know, is that Jeffrey got too close to one who was building a nest and it retaliated.

There was some mighty screaming and it took us a few minutes to get him to tell us where it stung him. Finally he was able to explain that he got stung on the lip. We would have figured it out within a minute or two as his lip swelled up to about 4 times regular size. I quickly got him a freezer pop (glad Tom bought some that morning) to numb the sting. Then gave him some Motrin to hopefully help the swelling and made a baking soda paste to put on his lip. Poor kiddo was miserable. He still wanted to come to auditions for the summer show though (and after he felt better he even insisted on singing for the director).

Since it swelled up so badly we are going to watch him pretty closely for any other stings. A few parents mentioned that allergies often start with a slower reaction and can build in the future. He has a doctor's appointment on Friday so I'll mention it at that point.

He's much better today. Poor kiddo.

Regular Picture

Stage One

A Few Minutes Later

Shades of...

Back in February Erin was studying about Abraham Lincoln (Presidents Day) and Martin Luther King Jr. The process of talking with her about MLK provoked some interesting thoughts. When do kids start differentiating by race? Does she see, or realize the difference? How do we teach her about such an important person as MLK and not discuss race?

Her teacher dealt with it quite well. They learned that he gave an important speech. They learned that he dreamed all children to be able to go to school together. I talked with her about his passion for teaching peace. I think she grasped the important concepts.

Fast forward to just last week (June). Erin was working on a project for school. She was drawing a picture of herself.

"Armone has brown skin" she said. Armone is in Erin's class. Has been since September. Yet it took until June for Erin to think enough of her physical appearance to mention it.

"Jonathan has brown skin too."

Tom was walking by, and paused. I didn't say anything. I wanted to see what Erin was going to say next. It ended up something like "Mommy, can you pass me the blue pencil, I need to make my blue pants." So I said something like

"So Armone and Jonathan look different than you?"
Erin -- "Yep" (still coloring away on her drawing)
Me -- "And that's OK right?"
Erin -- "Yep"

That was it. The conversation had ended. I'm hoping I handled it correctly. Erin certainly doesn't seem concerned with it. Actually, the topic hasn't resurfaced since that short conversation. But I know now that her vision has broadened somewhat. She's noticing and recognizing that people are taller or shorter, lighter or darker skinned, blonde or brunette. She's seeing that there's a great big world out there full of so many different people and adventures. I'm watching my baby grow from a little girl into a young lady, right before my eyes. And how amazing it is to watch.

Off to "Meet College"

Last weekend was reunion at Allegheny. Tom and I haven't been back in 12 years. With rumors that our choir director, Chief, will be retiring soon, we decided this would be an important year to go back for the reunion choir. We brought the kids with us so that they could meet some of our friends from school.

Grandma came down from New York to play with the kids so that Mommy and Daddy could go to the rehearsals for the choir. We spent most of Friday and Saturday at rehearsals. Aunt Katie and cousin Will even came down for the day on Friday. They got to swim in the pool together and even take a trip to a nearby spillway and feed the carp.


It was important to us to show the kids around campus. We went for a walk Saturday afternoon and showed them were mommy and daddy first met. We also showed them where Daddy proposed to mommy (the bench is still there). Saturday evening we got to hang out with some college friends and their own families. Erin has seen pictures of "Mr. Jeff", heard him on the radio and even talked to him on the phone when she wanted him to play "Over the Rainbow" for her. We also got the chance to meet his family.



On Sunday before we headed back to the 'Ville Erin and Jeff wanted to show us the spillway with the carp. Honestly I thought it was rather disgusting. There were thousands of carp just swimming on top of each other. Waiting to be fed bread. We bought two loaves of bread and went through it in about 15 minutes.





So we had a special weekend. The kids got to spend some time with Grandma and Tom and I got to reconnect with some very special people from college. We promise it won't be 12 years again.

The results are in....

After a belated trip to the pediatrician for her annual check up we got there today. The Dr. is really pleased with how Erin is doing. Had some tips to fight off the headaches too (water, water and more water).

Of course my biggest concern...and always is...Erin's weight.

^^^^drum roll please^^^^

A whopping 34.5 pounds. I think the nurse could see the concern on my face as soon as Erin stepped off the scale. Really she's 6. 34 pounds? She only gained 4 pounds from this time last year. She shouldn't even be in a booster seat. She should be harnessed still.

Dr. Q. is not at all concerned. Erin's perfectly healthy. Her skin is good color. Her fine and gross motor skills are right on target. Her mental abilities are outstanding. She's just tiny.

I was hoping that maybe, just maybe we'd be a little closer to 40 pounds. Maybe by the time she's 8?

Knock Knock

Here is the full collection of jokes that the kids like to tell. I'm fully aware that this really is the full list because we spent 8 hours in the car/restaurants today and I heard them all. Again, and again, and again.

Erin: Hey Mommy, want to hear a joke?
Mommy: Sure honey.

E: Knock Knock
M: Who's there?
E: Boo
M: Boo who?
E: long pause to remember the rest of the joke....."Don't cry, it's only me."

E: Wanna hear another one?
M: Sure
E: Knock Knock
M: Who's there?
E: Banana
M: (oh dear....not THIS one) Banana who?
E: Knock Knock
M: Who's There?
E: Banana....etc...like 3 more times. FINALLY
E: Knock Knock.
M: Who's there?
E: Orange?
M: Orange who?
E: Orange you glad I didn't say banana again? Ha Ha Ha!!!! I'm so funny!!!!

Now Jeff feels the need to get in on the mix.
J: Hey Mommy!!!! Knock Knock.
M: Who's there?
J: Cars.
M: Cars who?
J: Just cars. (clearly he doesn't really get the idea)

E: My turn again mommy!!!!! Knock Knock.
M: Who's there?
E: Orange?
M: Orange who?
E: Knock Knock
M: Who's there?
E: Orange.
M: Orange who?
E: Knock Knock
M: Who's there?
E: Strawberry!!!
M: Strawberry who?
E: Strawberry you glad I didn't say orange again?

Clearly she doesn't really get the jokes either.

Fun Family Day

It was so gorgeous Saturday that we planned a fun family day. Erin had the early soccer game and was done by 10:30. Tom has been talking about visiting a working flour mill that's about an hour away. We went to the mill about 6 or 7 years ago and hadn't been back since. I decided if we were going to drive out to the mill we should make a day of it and do some geocaching. So I printed off the caches, loaded up the caching backpack, grabbed some new batteries for the GPS and we headed off right after soccer.

The kids enjoy the caching. It usually brings us to some cool and new places. This mill is over in the Valley with some gorgeous views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Erin and Jeff really enjoyed the mill. They got to explore outside and see the sluice and the huge wheel. Inside there is a little shop but the kids could see some of the workings there as well. The owner still operates the mill....with water power, but not when the store is open because it gets too dusty.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hitting a series of history caches that were located near historic markers in the county. We even ran into the owner of one of the caches and we chatted with him for a while. He was very nice and pointed us in the right direction for a cache that we'd not been able to find earlier in the day.

We headed back to one more cache. With the few tips from the owner I was finally able to spot it. As we approached it from a different direction we saw a small historic park nearby. This one also had a small mill. The kids really wanted to stop there before heading home. So we went down there and they hopped out of the van and started running around and exploring all the little buildings. It was very cool. It reminded me a little of myself when I was a little girl running around the "battlefield" at Concord and Lexington. Not sure I really grasped what was surrounding me, but I found it very cool. The kids were the same way. They loved the mill building and could see more of how it worked inside. There was an agricultural workshop that they also thought was neat.

The last thing we did was follow a path to the mill pond. Erin especially liked the little walk. We saw some ducks and learned about the habitat surrounding the mill pond.

At one of the stops, the kids got a hold of my camera. Of course I discovered some "fantastic shots" worth sharing when I got home.





On the way home we stopped for some BBQ at a place just across the mountain on 33. We stopped once last year and really liked it. Erin was even willing to try the kids BBQ platter.

Of course we had to deal with the general whining that comes with a long day. And the fighting in the back seat never seems to end some times. But all in all we had a really fun day exploring another area of our cool state of Virginia.