Spring Break

We decided not to do an overnight trip for this year's spring break.  I made sure it was laid back--the kids slept in, they each had a play date, and gymnastics continued as usual.  But, I also wanted to make sure they got to do a little something special.  We accomplished that with a couple of PBS-type-fun trips.

Our first mom-kiddos field trip was to the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton.  The center is run by NASA, but is very kid friendly.  Camille (Ryleigh's American Girl Wellie Wishers doll) even got to go.  The kids got to try to make a plane take off (that didn't go so well) and played with pitch and roll with a plane in a wind tunnel.  They got to see a mock-up of an emergency evacuation capsule that will be included in the spacecraft that they are designing to send people to Mars as well as learn about life aboard the space station.  I'd say the best part for all of us, though, was the IMAX movie about the Rim of the Pacific exercises.   Jip got to do RIMPAC in real life way back when he was on the frigate.  There was a lot of footage from GW when they were talking about flight operations--Jip will have to see it to confirm it, but I'm pretty sure the footage was shot while Jip was aboard.  The kids volunteered to see it again, so we'll have to make a point of doing that soon.

On Friday, the kids and I went to the Military Aviation Museum in south Virginia Beach.  They also have a dinosaur park.  I'm not sure why it is there, but the kids were glad it was.  Anyway, the museum is full of aircraft from the US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Russia (USSR) from WWI and WWII.  All of the aircraft but one are still in flying condition--and they do get flown each year in a little local air show. 

My favorite part was the German hangar that the museum owner (private citizen) brought over from Europe.  The Allies were known to have bombed it on at least two different occasion.  The girders and doors survived, but the museum had to reconstruct the outer shell.  You can still see the bullet holes in the girders and see a name written on a girder of a Polish POW who was forced to work at the hangar--historians know the POW survived the war and returned to Poland, but historians were unable to find where he settled.  The German hanger is filled with both operational German planes and prototypes that they were working on.  Historians believe that some of the prototypes were tested in wind tunnels, but they believe that none were actually flight tested. 

The kids are ready to go back to school.  I'm ready for them to go back, too.  This week should be filled with real spring weather and normal after-school activities.  We're looking forward to some outside time as we try to find our routines again.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Happy Easter

We had beautiful weather for the Easter holiday.  The kids went to the park, where Ryleigh played on the playground and RJ played with his drone.

In the late afternoon, we headed next door for the third annual neighborly egg hunt.  Teenager Paolo graciously hid over 100 eggs for the kids.  Ryleigh, RJ, Aless, and another neighborhood friend had everything located in just a few minutes.  If only they could pick up the playroom that fast!

I cooked marinara from scratch in the crockpot all day, and Ryleigh surprised me by not only trying it but by declaring it better than anything from the store.  She had seconds.  Thanks for the recipe, Amber!

This week is Spring Break for the kiddos.  Ryleigh is going to do open gym one day in addition to her regular gymnastics classes.  We have a trip to a new-to-us museum planned for Wednesday.  And, I'm sure we'll have some time with neighbors and mastering a couple new video games. On Saturday, we have a chance of snow.  For real.  I think Virginia has adopted Colorado's weather patterns. 

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

RJ Spotlight

RJ enjoyed his school dance last week.  And, he had his final gifted workshop at William and Mary.  It was a good week for our kiddo.

RJ's spring break starts Friday, but Ryleigh has a full week.  But, Ryleigh gets to have a party in her classroom on Wednesday, so I guess it comes out even in the end?  The rest of the week is pretty normal with the usual kiddo activities.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Fun, Busy Week

It was a busy week for the Mosman Clan!  And, a super busy Saturday!  But, I think everyone had fun.

On Wednesday evening, RJ's school partnered with Food Lion (grocery store) for Math Night.  The kids were given worksheets based on their grade and had to find the correct grocery aisles to complete the worksheet.  Ryleigh's worksheet included counting, reading quantities on labels, and finding shapes.  RJ's worksheet included price comparisons, reading labels, and using estimates.  It only took about 30 minutes to complete, but the kids enjoyed the outing.

Thursday was open enough for me to have lunch with both kiddos.  First, I took RJ's special project to school and then joined him for lunch.  After lunch, RJ presented his project.  The project was assigned by another 2nd grade teacher who thought RJ could use some extra work.  :)  So, he took his first stab ever at making a project board.  I taught him about bullets and fonts in Word.  I helped him find reputable references and how to cite those references.  And, then RJ picked the facts he thought kids would find most interesting.  The final project looked like it was assembled by an 8-year-old, but it was pretty darn good for his first try.

As soon as RJ was done with his presentation, I surprised Ryleigh at her school.  I didn't want to tell her I was coming in case I got delayed at RJ's school.  She was so surprised.  We had a lovely lunch together.

Jip woke up early (for a Saturday) and headed to the beach for the Shamrock 8K.  It was chilly, chilly, chilly!  But, once he got running, he was able to take off a jacket and just have on winter underwear, a long-sleeved (green) tee, and running pants.  Jip saw a number of people he knew there, which made it even more fun.

Ryleigh hung out next door while Jip was running, as I had to take RJ to his class in Williamsburg.  He had a great time as usual.  He asked if we could do it again next year.

On Saturday afternoon we headed to Ocean Tumblers for the Shamrock Pre-Team Meet.  Ryleigh was nervous, as a couple of the newer moves on the bars and the beam have been hard for her to master.  But, she was terrific! I'm hopeful that she gained a little confidence from the meet.

After the meet, we hurried home.  Jip and I changed into our formal wear for his command's Dining Out.

The Dining Out was fine.  Jip got called to the grog once for being on his phone (that is against the rules).  The person who called him out on having his phone joined him at the grog.  She is a civilian employee of the shipyard, and Jip is her boss.  So, Mr. Vice (the person who doles out the "punishment" and keeps the evening moving) thought she should also partake for tattling on her boss.  Lisa drank the alcoholic version, but Jip stuck to the non-alcoholic version since we needed to drive home.

Our side of the room all joined one of our fellow tablemates at the grog out of solidarity.  I also had the non-alcoholic grog.  It tasted a little bit like lime sherbet.  For some people it was chunky, thanks to the lucky charms that Mr. Vice put into the bowls.  Thankfully, I was not one of those people.  :)

Jip was also one of the lucky ones who got to play some Navy-themed Jeopardy between meal courses.  He answered a couple questions correctly.

The food wasn't bad, the Admiral's speech was decent, and the person on my right was pretty entertaining.  And, it's always interesting to see all of the people Jip works with in social situations.

Sunday morning, we bundled up to cheer RJ on for his Shamrock Final Mile.  He didn't get to run it on Saturday like everyone else because of his workshop in Williamsburg.  But, we definitely wanted him to run that last mile and celebrate the accomplishment.  His P.E. teacher confirmed that between his running at home and after school on Thursdays, he had run over 25.2 miles before the last run.  So, RJ ran at least a marathon between January and mid-March.  He is proud of himself and we are proud of RJ!  Even Ryleigh showed her pride by making him a goody bag and a card for when he finished his run.

This week should be back to normal.  Regular work, volunteer, and school schedules are welcome after last week.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

Wacky Weather

I'm not sure if the whole "in like a lion, out like a lamb" thing applies in Virginia.  Even if you believe in that sort of thing, how do you reconcile mid-month wacky weather?  It's been unseasonably cold, as evidenced by Ryleigh's idea of layering. 

The wind has been worse than Eastern Plains wind.  And, to top it off?  Snow.  Yep.  It is snowing on March 12 in southeast Virginia.  It is a very wet, icy snow.  Some of Jip's colleagues have been stuck on the roads behind accidents for a couple hours.  And, one person who lives about an hour north of us has several inches on the ground.  Ours is just an icy dusting--so far.

We're holding our breaths (well, maybe just I am) to see what this means for school tomorrow.  The shipyard is letting 2nd shift go home early and they cancelled 3rd shift.  I guess we'll see what the roads look like when Jip leaves at 4 am.  The call from school is supposed to come by 5:30. RJ already stated he doesn't want to miss any more school, whether it be from illness or weather.  I wish I could control that, buddy!

This week is pretty normal, but this Saturday is a doozy.  Jip will be running in the Shamrock 8K at the beach in the early morning.  Ryleigh will go next door for a couple hours while waiting for Jip to get back and while I take RJ to his workshop in Williamsburg.  Ryleigh has ballet. Then Ryleigh has a gymnastics meet.  Then, we all get to hurry back to drop off kids with Miss Julie and Jip and I will frantically change into formal wear and show up to a Navy function an hour late.  On Sunday, RJ will run his "final mile" of the Shamrock Marathon for kids, but he'll be running the mile in our neighborhood since he will miss the official run on Saturday due to his workshop.  His PE teacher already let me know that with the miles he has been putting in at home and at school, RJ will meet the marathon distance (between January and March) goal.  Hopefully I can make enough noise at the end of his final mile that he feels like he is getting some of the hoopla that comes with running in an organized race.  He's just happy he is getting a beanie and a t-shirt out of it.

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