Mini Vacay

Jip has some use or lose leave to use up before September 30.  Unfortunately, he won't get to use it all, but we did help him burn through a few days with a mini vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC and a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The kids had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge.  We swam.  We played mini golf.  We mini bowled.  We went to the arcade.  Three of the four of us did the ropes course.  The kids did a little bit of the MagiQuest game around the hotel.  Milk and cookies were delivered to our room by a character.  The kids slept in bunk beds and discovered that they aren't the most comfortable.

After we checked out of the Lodge, we headed west to Ashville for a delicious lunch before hopping onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The kids were able to get stamps from the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, Linville Falls Visitor Center, and Linn Cove Viaduct Visitor Center.  We hopped out at an overlook and hiked a few minutes at Linville Falls to the smallest waterfall.  RJ proceeded to slip on a rock at Linville and fell in the creek.  Thankfully, he caught himself before his whole body fell in, so he pretty well dried off by the time we got a few miles down the road.  His pride was a little hurt, but it wasn't anything that a few M&Ms couldn't fix. :)

We got off the Parkway at Highway 421 and headed east to Greensboro.  We were very much ready to get home on Sunday and pushed hard to get home by lunch.  It was a good trip and a very nice to put a cap on our summer.

This week the kids have their classroom open houses.  We found out who the kids' teachers will be.  Ryleigh will have Mrs. Dodd, whom I've heard only good things about.  And RJ will have Mr. Resek--again.  RJ's grade is so large that teachers shift each year to accommodate it.  RJ is so delighted to get Mr. Resek again, and frankly, Jip and I are, too.  So far, none of RJ's regular play buddies are in the same class this year, but we'll see what we learn at the open house. 

Our big plan for the week is Jip's promotion and Wetting Down (party).  We are very much looking forward to Jip being promoted to Captain, with our long-time friend Darren administering the oath and the kids pinning on Jip's collar devices.  After the ceremony, we will enjoy the company of friends, colleagues, and Jip's parents over some yummy barbecue and hopefully some outdoor games if the weather cooperates.

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

A First and a Couple of Lasts

Jip was able to take off a day from work on Wednesday, so we headed to the Virginia Living Museum to enjoy some dinosaur fun.  A traveling exhibit of animatronic and model dinosaurs was something we didn't want to miss.  Add in a live animal talk about dinosaur descendants and such and a movie at the planetarium about how a meteor probably killed off the dinos, and it was a good PBS-kind-of-fun day.

We ended up buying a membership to the museum, so we'll look forward to their winter programming as well as getting to use our membership at reciprocal museums when we travel outside of Hampton Roads.

The kids and I headed to Gator Pool for possibly the last time this summer.  Rumor has it that this might be the last summer for Gator Pool.  We hope not, but if it is, we had a good run.

The kids had their last Kids' Night Out at BrickHeadZ over the weekend.  And, we went to their last open build session today.  It was bittersweet.  The kids got their last fill of building sets we don't own.  We saw a few friends.  We gave hugs to the staff that have been a a part of our lives since moving here.  I'm so sad to see this chapter of my kids' lives come to an end, but hopefully we will find ways to fill the void.

RJ was able to purchase a set that they put up for sale early as they work to get their inventory down for their mobile concept.  More items go on sale on September 8, so we hope we can add to our inventory then and say our last goodbyes to staff we missed today.

This week we are traveling to Charlotte to spend a few days at Great Wolf Lodge and then show the kids a little bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway and get them another stamp for their National Park Passports.  As always, pics to come.  Until next time, cheers!

A Little More Dancing

The kids and I had a pretty low key last week.  We did our usual gymnastics and hip hop classes.  The kids went to their second-to-last Kids' Night Out at BrickHeadZ.  And, we went bowling with RJ's best buddy, Greer, and his brother, Gavin.  All of the kiddos had a great time, but especially my two.

Tonight we enjoyed a little in-class performance from RJ's hip hop class.  It's been a great summer with Brandon.  Brandon may be leaving for a Peace Corps assignment, but nothing has been finalized yet.  Though the Peace Corps would be lucky to have him, we selfishly hope he stays and continues his daytime teaching job for a Virginia Beach public school and his evening hip hop classes.

This week, Jip is taking a day off (well, his phone will still be in hand) and we're heading to a museum.  And, this weekend will be the last Kids' Night Out at BrickHeadZ.  It's going to be so hard not to be sad when we pick up the kids that evening.  We're going to miss BrickHeadZ and the staff there so much.  We hope Vanessa can get her mobile BrickHeadZ concept off the ground soon so we can be supportive of it.

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

A Little Catching Up to Do

I have been a big slacker on the blog.  Well, at least keeping it current.  But, let me try to catch everyone up a little...

The week of July 23, the kids had their last week of swimming lessons.  The weather was a bit iffy, so we ended up having a safety lesson in the gym next to the pool one day.  Ryleigh volunteered for every demo.

Both kids made great progress this summer.  I'm confident that next summer, Ryleigh will have the confidence to do the last couple of skills she needs to complete Level 2.  And, I'm sure RJ will continue to improve, too.  We just need to get to places with pools when the weather turns chilly.

The kids managed to talk me into Gator Pool on that Thursday.  We hadn't been able to go to Gator all week because of the weather.  I reluctantly said yes, even though we needed to go to gymnastics that afternoon.  I'm so glad we went! 

Not only did the kids have a good time, but I bumped into the Woodard Family.  Miles and Jip were in Power School in Orlando from October 1997 to April 1998.  Robin and I got to know each other when we were both visiting one weekend and the boys took us to a strawberry festival outside of Tampa.  We ended up being stationed across Puget Sound from one another for 2001-2002 and then the Woodards were in Groton, CT while Jip was at MIT.  Miles got out of the Navy shortly after that, but continued serving in the Reserves.  We have stayed in touch through Christmas cards and Facebook.  Miles came to Japan on a business trip while we were there and we got to take him to dinner.  And, this time the kids and I just happened to catch them at Gator while Miles was in Norfolk for some Reserve time.  I'm so glad I saw them and yelled at them after they came down the curly slide!  It is truly a small Navy world.

Robin had to leave the day after we bumped into them to get kids back for start-of-school-year activities.  Hopefully Miles' Reserve commitment will bring him again at another time when the family can join him.  Until then, we will savor the pleasant visit we had when Miles came over for brunch the following Saturday.  Hopefully Miles can squeeze us in again during a short Reserve commitment he has in the next few months.

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We celebrated RJ's birthday with a party with friends he seems to make everywhere we go.  Not only did he have friends from school, but a friend from BrickHeadZ, a friend from Hip Hop, a friend from swimming lessons, and Ryleigh's best Kindergarten friend's older brother joined in the fun.  We had the party at BrickHeadz, and I convinced the owner to let the kids have a Nerf battle as part of the party.  They did some Lego stuff, ate quickly, and then shot each other for about 45 minutes.  I think we sent every kid home exhausted.  You are welcome, parents!

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The kids had their last week of camp the week of July 30.  They loved being at BrickHeadZ all day, especially given that the week's theme was dinosaurs.  We are so going to miss BrickHeadZ when they close their storefront in two weeks.  We are going to do at least one more kids' night out and cross our fingers that we will be able to take advantage of the mobile BrickHeadZ concept they are working on.  In the meantime, I'm gathering emails of some the college-aged staff to see if I can find ways for them to continue to inspire my kiddos.

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This week is another week of "Mom Camp."  I hope to do a few things good for brains, maybe get crafty, maybe swim (if it would just stop raining!!), and just relax.  Jip is in DC for a couple days for a meeting.  We had to postpone a trip we had planned to Gettysburg, but hopefully we can do that some long weekend this fall.

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