We really don't have much exciting to share this week, so here are just a couple of mundane news items.
RJ's class did a Pledge of Allegiance demonstration for all of the other classrooms in his school. His teacher asked them to wear red, white, and blue for it, so RJ asked to make a flag shirt. A couple bottles of fabric paint and RJ's version of a flag shirt was born. Of course, Ry couldn't be left out, so she made her own shirt. It turned out... well.. interesting.
Jip had to run to the Navy base on Sunday, so we all tagged along so that we could go to the fun park in Norfolk where we did Ryleigh's birthday pictures. The kids had a blast!
Jip is gearing up to go back to sea for about 3 weeks with a short 60ish hours back on land in the middle of the stint. The kids and I will just do our best to stay busy and keep our routine in tact to help us pass the time without Jip. As always, pics to come of our exciting and not-so-exciting moments.
No, no. Not a family member's birthday. It was George Washington's Birthday. So, Jip's ship had a ball to commemorate and celebrate. It was supposed to be a masquerade ball, but Jip and I didn't end up with any good photos with our masks on. So, you'll have to use your imagination and admire our masks on our kids. (The kids went to a daycare provider at the hotel and probably ended up having more fun than we did!)
The rest of our week was pretty good, too. Jip ended up having to go into work last Monday, on the holiday. So, the kids and I did a canvas art project. They were both excited with the results and I think they enjoyed the process. I did the tape,but they picked their colors and did their own painting.
We also did our weekly BrickHeadZ trip. RJ loves taking sets at home and turning them into something else at home. Now he does that at BrickHeadZ. I swear he must think about it at school or elsewhere, because he walks in, grabs the set he was thinking of, and just makes it something different. I hope he applies those engineering principles to his schoolwork in the future!
Lastly, we hung up the newest art we acquired. I found a fun artist on Etsy who made us this:
Isn't it great? He did a great job of capturing the essence of the highway sign Jip and I know and love.
This week should be a normal one for the kiddos and me. Jip is going to be super busy on the ship as they prepare to go back to sea next week. As always, pics to come.
We took a mini-vacation this week, but before we headed out, we had to get the Valentines ready for school. This year, the kids decided they wanted to hand out punch balloons. So, I stuffed a balloon in goodie bags for all of RJ's and Ryleigh's classmates. I cut out the heart shapes and arrows for the tops of the goodie bags. RJ's classroom wanted their Valentine's cards addressed to each kid, so RJ wrote his classmates' names on the arrows. Ryleigh's classroom did not want their cards addressed so handing them out would go much faster. But, Ryleigh still signed each of the 23 cards. I'd say it was another fun, non-food Valentine's gift/card this year!
We left after Jip got home from work on Wednesday and headed up to Massanutten Resort in the Shenandoah Mountains. Our villa had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. One bathroom had an extra large jacuzzi, but I think the kids were more excited about the housekeeping staff's artistic talent.
We had a leisurely Thursday morning. After lunch, we headed to the indoor water park. It turns out that Thursday afternoon is a great time to go--the park is far from crowded and we were able to enjoy nearly every aspect of the park. Ryleigh didn't get to do the tubes on the really big slides because she was too short, so Mom hung out with her while Dad and RJ tried out each of the three slides.
Friday morning was another leisurely morning. Jip took the kids to one of the resort's playgrounds because they needed to burn energy and Friday was supposed to be the warmest day of all our days there--25 degrees! In the afternoon, we headed up to the mountain and went tubing. Massanutten got a couple of feet of snow during the big snow a couple weeks ago, but you wouldn't have known that when we were there. But, they have some pretty good snow-making equipment and helped us make sure we got some winter as part of our winter getaway.
Ryleigh was super excited to go tubing, but RJ wasn't once he was told that the hill was running too fast that day for him to be tied to a grown up (Ryleigh was small enough that she got to be tied to Jip). The first time down was okay, but the second time down, an awesome staff member was so helpful with RJ and helped him "win" the race by starting him farther down the chute. RJ ended up going down 4 times and then just wanted to play in the snow. Dad and Ryleigh went down a few times without RJ and me. Then, Ryleigh decided it was time to play in the snow. We only used 90 minutes of our 120 minute window, but that's okay. It was starting to get crowded and I really do think the kids had more fun playing on a barely snow-covered hill.
The kids were exhausted that afternoon, but only Ryleigh actually took advantage and took a nap.
On Saturday, it was miserably cold. So, rather than tubing again, we decided to take a trek to Luray Caverns. It may have been in the teens above ground, but it was a very comfortable mid-50s below ground. This was another activity RJ wasn't too sure about at first.
I was worried that he might be claustrophobic, but it turns out that he was worried it was going to cave in. Once he saw that it was brick walk-ways and railings through the whole thing, he got a little more excited. Then, when the tour guide started talking about rock types he recognized from playing Minecraft, RJ was more than fine with being there. By the time we got 164 feet below the earth, both kids were looking around and up and I think almost delighted to be having some PBS-type fun.
Yep, that's an organ console in the last photo. It is called the Great Stalacpipe Organ. The organ makes it sound by electrical pulses causing mallets to hit various stalactites in the cave to create the different tones. (Find more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Stalacpipe_Organ) I didn't find the tune particularly recognizable as the tune the guide said it was (A Mighty Fortress is Our God), but it was still neat. They have hosted over 500 weddings by the organ, so I presume that Hear Comes the Bride or Wedding Recessional may be played on it, too. Jip recorded a video so you can hear it for yourselves.
After lunch at a restaurant that smelled just like the GPI in Stratton or Birdie's in Granby, we headed up to Shenandoah National Park so that we could drive the Skyline Drive back toward our resort. Jip and I enjoyed the drive. The kids enjoyed a nap and getting the cancellation stamps (well, Jip running into the visitors' center to get them) in their National Park passport books.
We hit our regular resort pool after we returned. Then it was time to break out the ice luminaries I made on Thursday. We didn't have any snow to put the LED candles in and then put the luminaries on top, so Jip had to chip out holes for the LED candles. Still, it was a successful endeavor and made our back balcony so pretty.
We headed home on Sunday. The kids were tickled that we found a Which Wich in Richmond. It capped off a nice winter getaway for us! Now, it is back to the grind. We hope we can do another little getaway when Jip is in DC for meetings in a couple months. So, stay tuned. As always, pics to come.
1) RJ went to a birthday party at Topgolf.
2) The kids had a great time at their school's Valentine's Day dance.
3) RJ was totally jazzed about his trial Ninja Zone class today.
And, here's what you won't see.
1) Ryleigh talking to Dad about conjoined twins (Mom needs to stop watching Grey's Anatomy reruns while Ryleigh is around).
2) Mom embarrassing Ryleigh by singing Gettin' Jiggy Wit It to Ryleigh at the dance.
3) RJ starting to learn how to fold laundry.
Pictures or video of one of the three things you missed may come in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy this quick video.
We had tickets to the last Virginia Symphony Peanut Butter and Jam series concert for the season. This time, we made sure to get there in plenty of time to take advantage of the instrument "petting zoo" and the craft sponsored by the Norfolk Public Library. The kids had a great time picking up all the instruments. RJ was hesitant at first, but after he played the cello, we had to get in line to do it again--he was enamored. Was it enough that he is ready for some instruction? I'm not sure about that. But instrument-playing Mom and Dad are encouraged!
Then it was time for the concert. Today's theme was space. We heard pieces from the Jupiter Symphony, the Planets, and the kids' favorite, Star Wars. During the two pieces from the Planets, they showed photos provided by NASA of Mars and Jupiter, which was fun for adults and kids.
Although the kids were a little fidgety by the end, I am so grateful that they are respectful of the musicians and the audience members and can sit relatively still and quiet. A child behind us was having a terrible time today, and his poor mom tried everything she could to get him to be still and quiet so at least his sisters could enjoy the program. But, he wasn't having it, and they ended up leaving early. So, yay for RJ and Ryleigh having a good day and saving their grumpiness and meltdown (Ryleigh) for the ride home.
The rest of our week was quite routine. We did our usual BrickHeadZ. And, once the snow melted and the rain went away, it was warm enough for the kids to go outside at school and after school.
This week should be a relatively normal one. Jip has duty twice this week, but then it is over with for the month. RJ and Ryleigh's school is having a Valentine's Dance on Saturday. The parents had to buy tickets, but the kids are free. They are having a silent auction of themed baskets put together by each classroom. There are two I'm interested in, but I have no idea what to expect for the bidding. I'll let you know how we make out next Sunday.
