Stubby Blue Crayon

Since the ship was leaving on Tuesday, Jip was able to duck out early on Monday.  We took full advantage of having him home by picking up the kiddos and heading over to Mount Trashmore Park and then dinner at Jason's Deli.  The kids had a great time at the park until they decided on the way back to the car to run up the big hill and back down.  On the way back down, they both managed to find a huge pocket of mud.  Ryleigh lost a shoe (Jip found it) in the muck.  I didn't take any after pictures--I was too busy trying to figure out how to contain and clean the mess before heading to eat.  But, here are a couple before pics.

Jip got to stick around Tuesday morning, too.  We took RJ to school and he was able to see Ryleigh's ballet class before we dropped him off at the ship before lunch.  It takes a lot of time to prep the ship for its departure.  They finally made their way out as the sun was setting and they crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel just before sundown.  This is not my picture, by the way--the kids and I were probably reading stories in our jammies at this point.

On Friday, RJ's class members were invited to dress as their favorite storybook character.  RJ wanted to go as Grimlock from Transformers.  Um, not a storybook, kiddo.  So, I told him to think about his books, come up with a few ideas, and I'd make something happen.  Without any prompting from me, he chose Stubby Blue Crayon from the book The Day the Crayons Quit.  I ironed on some vinyl I cut with my die-cutting machine and found a tutorial for the hat made out of cardstock.  I present to you, Stubby Blue Crayon:

Our weekend was spent mostly indoors thanks to what seems to be incessant rain and highs in the 60s.  There is an end in sight and it should be back to a normal Virginia May with temps in the 80s by the end of the week.  I'm looking forward to some more outside time for the kiddos and for me so we can have more moments like this.

This week should be pretty normal.  We have Ryleigh's last ballet class until next fall on Tuesday.  And, I'm trying to figure out whether the kids and I should do a mini road trip this weekend.  Hotels in the Outer Banks (NC), Ocean City (MD), and Rehoboth (DE) are ridiculously expensive this weekend, so it might just have to be a day trip.  Maybe Kitty Hawk?  Maybe the Lost Colony (in NC)?  I'm sure the length of trip will be dictated by how everyone's attitudes are by the end of the week.  If they are super good kids, maybe we can make it all the way down to Hatteras Island.  A cool lighthouse and maybe getting really dirty in the sand might be just what is needed!

As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!