Vacation Part 2

Virginia:

For the rest of our time in Virginia, we tried to do all the usual things.  We met up with old friends at a favorite playground.  We've been friends since Josiah was only one.  The kids had a lot of fun and I always enjoy talking to their mom.  They are a favorite family for sure.  After playing hard at the park, we had McDonald's for lunch before they had to jet off.  McDonald's was on Josiah's "Virginia List," so we were able to check that off.  

Another friend invited us to lunch one afternoon.  They were going to provide the lunch, but we said we'd bring the dessert.  Ever since covid, I have had a "you touch it, you buy it" mentality.  We don't want to leave any germs for others to pick up.  So, partly because of that, we bought a lot of desserts that day.  Five to be exact.  For four kids and two adults.  After lunch, we went to their neighborhood pool.  This pool had a diving board, which our kids had never used before.  (We've never been to a pool with a diving board before!)  It took a bit of courage, but once they took their first jump, they had fun with it.  They jumped, pencil dived, and Caroline even tried a front flip when she saw another kid do it.  

Grandaddy and Nana bought the kids water guns, so they had more water fun.  I gave them one rule - no head shots.  Stay away from the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.  Said rule was definitely not heeded despite being repeated often.  The kids grew weary of my oft-repeated phrase, so they took their play to the side of the house where I could not see them.  That seemed to satisfy us both.  Out of sight, out of mind.  

Caroline gave Josiah a good close range hit, but then got very upset when she was met with return fire.  Once she accepted being wet, she got into it.    

Another check off the Virginia List was going to Dairy Queen.  It is a short walk from Grandad and Nana's house, so we always try to go.  It is a funny request, however, because Dairy Queen is a Texas based company and they are everywhere at home.  The kids messed with the camera settings, but it made for some good looking shots.  

Grandad gave his lawnmower rides with the kids, too.  This year he let the boys mow a bit of the yard instead of just taking a joy ride.  I think they would be quite happy to be given the responsibility of mowing the lawn.  Their track may look a little like the Family Circus comic where the kids took the most roundabout path.  

At the end of the week, we traveled north for Great Grandma's memorial get-together.  It was so good to see extended family again.  We even had cousins in charge of cousins at the playground.  Our kids really soaked in their cousin time because it was the only day they were able to see a few of them.  

We spent some time at Great Grandma's apartment, too, picking out all the sentimental items that would remind us of her.  Josiah and Caroline both picked several of her paintings.  Josiah found a cane and has been using it steadily since.  He would have thrived in 1890s England where he could wear a top hat, tails, a walking stick, and a pocket watch.  We found old photos and rocks from her collection.  As wonderful as these things were, we still miss her a lot.  I would have taken a hug and a chat with her any day.  

Our kids got to meet their newest cousin, little Miss Eleanor.  Playing with her and Arthur was a huge highlight.  After our first day there, they kept commenting on how fun they were.  Cousins are the best.  

Delaware:

From Great Grandma's we drove up to the beach.  We got there in the late afternoon and after a much needed dinner, we walked up to the beach and took advantage of the setting sun.

We did not have a full week at the beach, so we tried to fit everything in.  For our first day down at the beach, we all went to our comfort zones.  Henry ran for the water and spent a lot of time in it despite it being only 67°.  Caroline ran between both the water and the sand, while Josiah stayed firmly on the sand and spent his days digging holes and burying himself.    

The water was really nice despite its temperature.  It was calm most of the time and I even got out in it with Henry on two different days.  It took me about half an hour to acclimate myself before fully submerging.  Meanwhile, Henry would just run into it like it was nothing.  

These crab legs were very dead smelling...

The beach grew more fun when there were cousins there to enjoy it with.  Watching their reaction to the cold water was even more fun.  

Even Grandma and Grandpa joined us in the sand for most of our days.  

The kids walked with Grandpa to the little canal and fed real fish with Goldfish crackers.  Apparently, they really love them, though our kids called it cannibalistic.  We went shopping with Grandma.  We did all the beach things - French fries, funnel fries, and ice cream.  

One afternoon we tried our hand at putt-putt.  When the girl at the counter quoted me $48 for four of us to play putt-putt my jaw dropped.  You are going to play putt-putt and you are going to like it!  Because this is our only go at it!  They did have fun once they got in control of their swings.  Apparently they felt they were on the back nine with Tiger Woods. Caroline kept swinging a full body swing for her "putts."  Slow it down!   

Josiah, ever the shopper, found some new sunglasses as his souvenir.  Because the other two are not shoppers and didn't even want to walk around looking for a souvenir, I got them t-shirts.  Caroline asked for a tie-dyed t-shirt with bright colors.  I think she got what she wanted.  

It was too short of a beach trip, but we had to get back to Texas.  We spent a few hours at Grandad and Nana's before heading to the airport.  This time we had a direct flight, which we thought would be better for Caroline.  It felt really long, however, and by the end she was very, very done.  She does not like airplanes.  

Todd picked us up with a cooler full of refreshments to enjoy along the way.  It wasn't long into the drive home that our early morning departure caught up with us.  

We stopped at Whataburger on our way home as a Texas welcome, unpacked, and then spent the entire weekend doing laundry.  We had to get all the laundry done because a day and a half after we got home, we were already dropping these two off at camp!  When I showed them the camp menu for the week, they got excited.  When we arrived at church and they saw the big buses that would take them to camp they were even more excited.  They should have a great time.  

Benson was happy to have us home again.

And now we're back to reality...

Summer Fun

At the start of the week, we went back to the pool with a neighbor friend.  They were doing lifeguard testing or training behind us, so they took up a good portion of the pool for a while.  Lots of swimming tests and treading water tests.  I was watching them swim laps and there was one guy who wasn't quite making the distance.  He kept stopping to breathe, then he'd take a few steps during his breaths.  If he passed, hopefully he'd be assigned to the shallow end of the water.  

The kids had fun with their friend.  It was a little more rambunctious than usual, but the water still felt great.  

For most of the rest of the week, we were getting ready for our trip east.  We decided to fly this year, which makes packing a little easier - if it doesn't fit, it doesn't go.  Our flight out of Houston was at 5:00 a.m.  We got to the airport at 3:00 a.m. and then stood for nearly an hour with a hundred plus people waiting for United to open their kiosks so we could print our luggage tags and boarding passes.  This was only our second time at this particular airport and we had never done the kiosk thing before, so we were a little apprehensive at the start.  However, by the time we dropped off our big suitcase and made it through security, our flight was already boarding.  Not too shabby.  The first flight, the kids were able to sit three in a row and I was on the other side of the aisle.  I forewarned them that a 5 a.m. flight was going to be quiet.  Many would sleep.  Of course, the kids had been awake since 1:30 a.m. so they were hungry.  For half the flight I kept hearing crinkling as they ate all their Goldfish and Cheez-its and all the snacks.  Sorry fellow passengers.  

We had a short layover in Chicago because that's on the way...  Caroline was not feeling well from the first flight.  Planes really mess with her ears and stomach.  Though she likes roller coasters and all the amusement park things, airplanes do something special to her little body.  The second flight was bad for her.  This flight we all had aisle seats - we could see each other, but we didn't exactly sit together.  Caroline was diagonal in front of me and she kept looking back with a pained expression on her face.  It went from ears to belly, ears to belly.  We landed, made it to the gate, started to deboard, and it was at that point that she looked at me with big eyes and I quickly held out the bag they put behind every airplane seat.  She felt a bit better after that (but took a day to fully recover).  

The kids have loved the rental car and we cruised the Toyota Camry in style to see Grandaddy and Nana.  

Over the past few days they have soaked up their time with them.  One of the perks of staying with their grandparents is a hearty breakfast of waffles and bacon on the daily.  Josiah helped set up a badminton net and we've played that nearly every day.  On Day One we learned how to hit the birdie.  It was harder than expected.  

The next day, Grandaddy brought out cornhole and we had better success with that.  Henry learned how to play frisbee by himself.  He throws it up super high so that it comes back like a boomerang.  

Chalk art and bikes.  Wagon rides and climbing trees.  Billiard games throughout the days.  And lots and lots of food.  

They've walked the garden with Grandaddy and Nana.  They've helped water the flowers and tomatoes.  

It is the true summer experience - play hard, eat all the good stuff, then showers at night to clean off all the sweat and dirt.  And that was just the first few days.