Dancing

Jemma was invited to go to dance class with Mya for "Bring a Friend Day" today. Talk about one happy little girl! :) She wants to take dance classes next year...

Memorial Day

I want my kids to know and understand holidays, but being 2 & 4 they don't quite yet "get it." I explained to them several times that Memorial Day is for honoring those who serve today (like Daddy and so many of our friends), served in the past (like Papa, Uncle Ken and Aunt Karen, and a host of our friends) and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and died serving our country. Yes, they are definitely too young for that last category. It just started a whole discussion that included death, heaven, God, Nanny, Aunt Irene, and burials. Hopefully our lengthy discussions will one day be effective...

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We had an absolutely wonderful weekend!

It began with Daddy getting home early on Friday! We went strawberry picking and Daddy actually was home prepping the mower when we returned just after 3! Yippie!! We had the Norman family over for dinner... chicken on the grill with salad, sweet potatoes and mac-n-cheese. Jemma, Marisa and James had fun playing together and the adults got to visit and chat. We love having them over to visit!

On Saturday, we went to the Pungo Strawberry Festival. We saw the parade, watched the pig races, ate strawberry shortcake, saw the clowns perform, then watched the pig races again. Jemma said her favorite part of the day was the pig races. James said his favorite part of the day was the instruments. (They had 4 marching bands from local schools... Jemma covered her ears and James got all excited and clapped!)

We left home Sunday morning bound for Annapolis. We had a picnic lunch and then headed for our pirate adventure (see the movie clip on the Family Tree blog).

A bit of training before boarding the ship:

See Jemma manning the cannon... we had to get the key from the bad Pirate Pete!

Reading the treasure map:

The kids getting their part of the buried treasure:

James after drinking the "grog" (know to adults as Sunkist)After the pirate adventure, we walked around the Naval Academy grounds. I wanted to show the kids the chapel where we were married, but there were weddings. So, we saw the outside and several brides! Here is Daddy with Jemma and James in front of Bill the Goat.

We were so lucky to have Tracy come up to visit with us! :) We had dinner at the Ramshead Tavern... yummy! Then, we were all in bed by 9... what a long, fun day!

On Monday, we headed to the National Zoo. I wanted to take the kids before the weather turned too hot. We arrived before 10, which is the opening of the zoo. The panda was eating bamboo and he was so cute! We saw the hippopotamus (James' favorite) as he ate his breakfast. Then, we watched the elephant get a bath (Jemma's favorite). Best of all, Olivia and Jason were able to come spend the day with us at the zoo. We had such a lovely time walking around, seeing the animals and talking. We departed DC just before 2. James was asleep before we hit VA!

On our way home, we stopped by Williamsburg to visit our friends Brien, Rachel and Lily. I love seeing our kids have fun and they had a blast! We ate dinner with them and visited for almost three hours. Time certainly flies when you are having fun! The kids got dirty from head to toe, so we put all three kids in the tub before leaving... it was dirty, dirty water when they got out. I thought that since it was 8 (bedtime) that they would fall asleep on the way home, but they were still awake when we pulled into the drive!

It was a truly wonderful weekend. Thank you to all our service members!! :)

Question of the Morning...

Jemma was awake in her bed for at least 15 minutes before coming downstairs and I was immediately greeted with a question: (No "good morning" or hugs...) "Mommy, can you go to the store today and buy me a ring?" My response, "What kind of ring would you want?" Jemma says, "A gold one with a diamond... a really sparkly one." And I replied that we would have to just see how the day goes.... do you think she'll forget this request?

On the Road...

We decided to visit Granny and Papa last weekend. Jim was in Key West and we had not visited South Boston in a while, so I packed up the car and decided to go!

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The packing/getting ready was an adventure all by itself. I had my hour long session with my personal trainer, then began packing at 10:30. The kids wanted to play outside in the sandbox, so I let them. Everything was going great until I heard James crying and saying, "No, Jemma. I don't want to... I don't WANT to!" I found that Jemma had unreeled the water hose, sprayed the deck, then sprayed James. He looked like a pitiful drowned rat. And although it was warm outside, it was not warm enough to be drenched. So, I took both kids upstairs and put them into the bathtub. They both love the bath, so I thought it would be ideal to let them play while I finished packing. I could hear the laughter and talking, so I was not worried. Then, I peeked in on them. There were bubbles EVERYWHERE! They had taken the entire bottle of soap and dumped it into the tub... then, proceeded to throw bubble covered toys outside of the tub. It took me a while to clean up the bubbles and rinse the kids. However, I had finished packing the clothes for us. (Yes, I pack "back-up" clothes and "just in case" clothes and "what if it gets cold/warm" clothes, etc. so it takes me a while.) Yippie! Now, I just needed to take a quick shower and we could get on the road... so, I turned on the TV and the kids were eating cheese sticks while I went to shower. When I came downstairs, I discovered that Jemma had gotten applesauce for her and James to eat. However, the applesauce was not eaten but played with. James was putting applesauce on the wooden pretend food. "Look mommy, I making a sandwhich!" He was so proud. It was also on the wooden tray, coated the wooden watermelon, in the plastic bowls and spoons (apparently an applesauce tea party), and carpet. As I was cleaning the applesauce, I discovered that the plush rocking horse was coated in applesauce. I was not in a happy mood. We finally made it on the road just before 3:00, only for me to realize that I forgot the pack-n-play. So, we actually started our trip at 3:30. It was a good trip, with only one potty stop. The kids were so happy to see Papa and Granny that it was worth the trip. Next time, I'll pack the night before while they are asleep no matter how tired I am... or I'll hire a sitter for an hour or two! :)

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The kids got to help Papa plant watermelon and cantaloupe! They were so, so excited.

Jemma holding the seeds:

James has seeds, too:
Getting water:
Going to the garden:

It was Jemma's job to put in 3 purple hull pea seeds with Papa's watermelon seeds:Yes, Papa used an old tabacco planter!

James was happy to play in the dirt!

When Jemma lost interest, Aunt Amy stepped in!
Jane and Ryland came down to visit with us Friday night, too. It was a long, but very good day!

Heritage Festival

The Heritage Festival was held on Saturday at the Fair Grounds in South Boston. It sounded like fun, especially for the kids. After getting Logan, Granny and I took all three kids.

The kids had oh so much fun playing in the corn! I missed getting a picuture of Jemma making a "corn angel" but here is James making a "castle":

Well, Logan watched the other kids play... couldn't convince him to get in!
On the see-saw:

Riding the "train"

Looking at the tractors

James was looking at how the seat was put together... my little engineer!

There were antique cars, farm equipment of all types, lots of tractors, and even an airplane!

The kids had fun milking the cow

I love this one of cousin Logan... he is such a little sweetheart!

There were goats, chickens, chicks, geese (very pretty, but loud and mean!), mini horses, alpacas, and turkeys. Here is Jemma holding the bunny.

Then, they played in the straw:

Before we left, we saw the tractor parade... a huge hit, especially for the boys! Both James and Logan took a wonderful afternoon nap!

Sunday

After church Sunday morning, I tried to take some pictures of the kids in their cute clothes!

Jemma and James putting on a "show" for us:

This has to be my favorite from the weekend... Logan is thinking, "My two cousins are completely insane!"

Logan and Papa:

This just looks like trouble waiting...

She is destined to be the center of attention:

The boys climbing in the trailer:

Papa showing Logan the eggs in the birdhouse:

Papa showing James the eggs in the birdhouse:

After lunch and after I had packed the car for our return trip, we rode the 4-wheeler. Jemma and James both had an absolute blast on the little blue one. I rode on the back to helped steer, but they would give it the gas. I even called Jim so he could hear Jemma's giggles. She was so happy!

Logan would not ride with me, but he loved sitting on the 4-wheeler all by himself!

My kids romping in the hay:

The trip home was uneventful and we were all glad to be back in our own beds... home sweet home!