Catching Up

Once again, like always, I feel like I'm falling behind with the blogging. Things are moving quickly now and we have the move date set for October 27th. The kids are wrapping up activities and winding down their time at school. Jeremy's been working and living in Ohio while the kids and I work on the logistics of getting the 3 of us and the pets up to see him.

Last week, my mom (Nana) came to visit with her friend John and it was a great time to fit in some those touristy things we haven't had a chance to do while spending time with them. We were on the road almost the entire weekend...scouting out the Virginia Safari park in Natural Bridge first. (BTW, they've really updated the place since I was last there. Highly, highly recommended. After all, when was the last time you fed a giraffe, pet a watusi, or watched a joey hop into mama kangaroo's pouch?)

We went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiked for awhile on Flat Top Summit. The leaves were peaking and the weather was a balmy 75. Perfect weather for a fall hike and acorn/leaf collecting afternoon.

We also got to check out this awesome restaurant called The Homeplace. It was country kitsch to the extreme and so incredibly yummy. Unbelievable amounts of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and any other fixin' you would want. Delicious.

It was great to have a chance to see Nana before the move. It was an easy, relaxing weekend. The weather was perfect, the conversation flowing, and the kids extra well behaved. It's good to end our time in Roanoke on such a high note. Next up - heading up to Ohio until the railroad tells us otherwise :)

The Last Official Weekend

There's only a week left until we begin the moving process. The movers won't be here until the first week of September but the kids and Jeremy and I will be camping out in the new place once school starts. We'll have 3 days hanging out with his parents and 2 days of sleeping on the floor until the furniture actually arrives. School and piano lessons start next week and so, really, this past weekend was our last little bit of free time before we head to Roanoke.

Jeremy was off for 4 days to get things done around the house but I didn't want to spend the weekend only working. And so on Friday we had the neighbors over for cards and drinks and chips and salsa and laughter. It was great, I won the poker game and the kids stayed up way to late :)

Saturday was all work and no play and so I was determined that Sunday would be different. I convinced Jeremy to go hiking with the kids and I early in the afternoon. It's no secret that I love heading up to Skyline Drive and there's a trail that I've been wanting to check out for months. It was an easy 2 mile trek to see some old Episcopal Mission ruins and the weather was perfect - 70 degrees up on the mountain.

The bugs were terrible because we were at a lower elevation than normal but the endless butterflies were beautiful. We found the ruins along the overgrown trail and passed an Appalachian Trail cabin (J and I keep talking about completing the 2000 mile trail once the kids move out...). There's not much left of the old mission. A few stone walls, some steps, and some random rusty metal...things. But it was fun and the kids had a great time climbing rocks and looking at the flowers that were insanely tall. I'm anxious to find new places to hike on the Blue Ridgeway Parkway (which will be less than 5 minutes from our new home) but I'm going to miss the spontaneous trips up on the Drive.

The weekend ended on a perfect note when our friends Dave (Uncle Dave!!) and Pat ("What? How does he rate Uncle status?") came over for dinner. I haven't laughed so hard about nothing for a long time and it was a great evening. I'm getting nervous about the move and knowing that I have visits like that to look forward to seems to make it all ok.

The next few weeks should start getting complicated so we'll keep you posted and let you all know the new address and phone number once we take over the lease for the apartment...Stay tuned.

Alaska, Part II

I just wanted to take a second to make two quick notes about next year's Alaska trip:

1. Deposits are due August 1st (or very very close thereafter). If you only paid the initial $25 then the next $225 is now due. Once this is paid you'll get your stateroom assignment if you don't have one already. And, remember, you can always pick a room now and upgrade if you want later on.

2. If you're not going with us to Alaska in September '09, it's not too late! Let me know and I'll get you all signed up. Bring your friends and your family, the cute guy down the street, your favorite bartender, that random chick that you work with...invite them all! It's gonna be a good time :)

The Trips Are Winding Down

Summer is running away from me quickly this year and our constant traveling through the state is coming to an end. Less than a month until school starts and we begin the moving process so it made complete sense when my mom called to ask us to visit. Once we move the drive to her house will take closer to 5 hours so we wanted to fit in a weekend trip before the road gets longer.

We got to Nana's on Friday and the evening started out great. We went to Angelo's for dinner and I finally got that cheeseburger I had been craving for over a week. We did a little shopping and then headed to her house and to bed. The next day we planned to go to a local state park or the local bald eagle preserve, maybe a movie or the beach. But, instead we awoke to bad news...Nana's fridge had conked out during the night and so we stayed in and waited for a repairman to come find out what the problem was. Time was ticking and the day was passing by so the kids and I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to visit the local "beach." My mom lives on the Potomac River so it's sort of like a small, gentle beach. But, unless you're prepared with beach shoes (which we weren't) it's not really good for swimming because the sand is really coarse and rocky in most places. We weren't going for the swimming, anyway. You see, Nana's beach is called "Shark's Tooth Beach" for good reason. Along the river old shark's teeth wash up all the time. The last time we were there we found 2 or 3 and we were hoping to get lucky again. After making the 1/2 mile trip in the sweltering heat and humidity, we were happy to see the beach path come into sight. There were people fishing and people kayaking...a great day to enjoy the cool water. Unfortunately, our early afternoon timing wasn't so great and the tide was coming in. This meant that the rocky bars where we normally spot the teeth were covered in water. We made the best of it anyway, splashing in the water, getting our clothes wet, collecting cool rocks and shells, and digging in the sand.

Olivia is leading the way

Look closely and you can see Maryland behind them

Noah building a wall against the tide.

After we got back from the beach walk, we decided to head over to the local berry farm. We try to go every year to get our strawberries, blueberries, red raspberries, and blackberries. This year we were too late for the early berries but there were plenty of blackberries ripening on the vine and since I can't resist making blackberry cobbler and bowls of berries sweetened with sugar and milk, and handfuls of berries in the middle of the day, that's what we picked. Yummy. And did I mention they make the best shortcake in the world there for when you're all sweaty and tired from picking? Delicious cake, vanilla ice cream, and fresh berries all melting together in the summer heat. It's an excellent way to end an afternoon.

Looking out over the berry farm.

Noah and Nana picking berries

Visiting with the goats...

Cooling off after the harvesting. Doesn't Noah look thrilled? :)

All in all, it was a fun visit even if it didn't work out exactly as expected. The kids were exhausted enough to sleep in until 9 both mornings and, for me, that makes the trip more than worth it. Hopefully, even though we'll be 5 hours away, it won't be too long before we're able to go visit Nana again.

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

We are now the proud owners of a five year old...girl :) Liv's birthday was Saturday and the weekend has been a whirlwind of good times. We started off Friday with camping in the backyard, complete with pizza and cupcakes, good friends, fireworks, and a giant bonfire (nice job, guys). Then, after Jeremy and I were able to drag ourselves out of the tent after staying up way too late (but, really, who needs to sleep more than 3 hours?) we set out for a day of Chinese food, shoe shopping (yes, Olivia is a shoe addict), present opening, and build-a-bear building.

Jeremy and I were talking last night after the kids went to bed, wondering how in the world our teeny tiny baby has suddenly turned five. Is it really possible she'll be starting kindergarten next month? She's promised that she won't get any bigger but, somehow, I just don't believe her...

This is what five looks like...

A Week With Dad

The kids wanted to spend this past week in Roanoke so they could visit Jeremy and their Granny and Poppie in one glorious trip. They got to see Daddy every evening and hang out with their grandparents 24 hours a day. When you're 4 and 9 what's better than that? I joined the group on Wednesday so that the 4 of us could spend some extra time together. We shopped, helped rearrange furniture, played lots of Chinese checkers, and hit the Salem Fair. We had a nice relaxing time but the kids were dying to get home today to play with the neighborhood kids. Can't say I blame them. It's always nice to go away for a few days and then walk back in your own front door.

Same Road, Different Trip

The kids and I decided to spend a night with Jeremy "on location" again this week. It was just a quick overnight jaunt but it ended with us arriving home tonight exhausted and ready for the weekend.


We hit Skyline Drive again because I was hoping to take some shots of the kids with the amazing amount of mountain laurel that is currently blooming up there but I made the mistake of stopping off at Big Meadows first. We wandered for a long time, enjoying the sun and following the winding deer (and people) paths. We saw lots and lots of these:


And plenty of these:

including this girl who cracked the kids up by taunting a puppy on a leash.

The only problem is that when we started driving again, the kids were hot and sweaty and not wanting to hike and let me take pictures of them. Somehow that just did not sound like an excellent time. I can't imagine why not??

So we headed up to see Jeremy and arrived just in time for dinner. Amazingly, even though there are even numbers on both sides, the kids outvoted the grown-ups and we had to go to Olive Garden for dinner. Ahh, the sacrifices we make...

I had a pretty sleepless night and was worried that I'd be a grouchy, tired mess for the return trip but after a little breakfast and some hot tea I was good to go. We had a few hours to kill so we headed to the Luray Zoo. Now, I know you're thinking what kind of zoo is in Luray? But they actually have a great reptile section with a gazillion snakes, some pretty cool rescued animals that they've "adopted" over the years, and a small petting area. It was a surprisingly fun way to spend a couple of hours (especially during monkey snack time). And really when you get to talk to a donkey named Burrita and she does this:

that, My Friends, is a good zoo trip.


A quick stop for lunch and we were back on the road to make a trip to Grammy and Papa's. We went swimming and the kids had a blast racing each other across the pool. Then it was time for dinner, conversation, looking at pictures from their recent trip to Israel and ice cream sandwiches. It was a great little visit and a nice way to spend a summer evening.



A long day and what felt like 45 hours of girl power music (Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and iCarly, anyone??) knocked the kids out on the way home. And so, I drove in the quiet dark, flashes of heat lightning in the distance with the lure of home urging me on.

Alaska

As most of you know we're heading to Alaska for a vacation next fall. Many of you are coming with us and I'm hoping many more of you will decide to join in on the fun. Thanks to Pat for suggesting I put an Alaskan sidebar on the blog. To your left you'll find information on the trip which will be updated as things come up that you need to know. If you're already going I can't wait to see you there. If you're not, c'mon, join us. We really want you to go :)

Road Trip

One of the unexpected benefits of Jeremy's prolonged training is the fact that sometimes the kids and I can visit him and spend the night with him in whatever town he happens to be in. They love staying in hotels and seeing him. And, honestly, so do I. A week ago we went and hung out with him for a night. The time passed too quickly but our trip back home was like a miniature road trip. It was a pretty perfect day - breakfast at Waffle House (Noah's first time there. Olivia, of course, is an experienced waffle orderer..), a stop at Dinosaur Land (Noah's comment - "cheesy but fun", Olivia's? "The best park I've ever been to!!!") and then a side trip to Skyline Caverns where we went through a mirror maze and rode a miniature train. After a leisurely lunch at KFC we hit Skyline Drive for some of the trip home. The kids got to scale boulders, run down skinny deer paths, count chipmunks, see a wild turkey and be amazed by the doe and newborn fawn we saw laying in the grass not 20 feet from us. We got home exhausted and happy and anxious to spend more days like that this summer.