Call me SAM!!!!: July 2012

So,

We've been home for a while now and things are settling back into a routine. We are looking forward to our next trip, passing classes, venturing out and cutting hairs.
The ONLY splash park anywhere near here is in our old town Oak Park so we set out for that. It was a good one. Being back in Oak Park was strange. We stopped and took some shots of the old homestead.

That is actually significantly less vine on the front of the house than there used to be. The street looked much the same.
The splash pad was pretty good. Not quite as good as the one we went to in C'ville but it was good and the kids have warmed up to the idea for the time being so they had lots of fun.

As usual when we set out fo far flung destinations our lunch was all lined up, pre-destined, and set in stone. T loves the lampost pizza up in Oak Park back from our High School days. Back then the lunch special was $4.50 for 2 slices, a salad and a drink. Now it's $8... so we ordered a small and it was really good. It disappeared.

Since then we have been laying low, trying to conserve our resources, hanging out at home. To entertain ourselves we cut hair, bbq various meats and non meats, and go to the park. I had tried before to give "A" a Mohawk but he wouldn't hold still before so he ended up bald. This Time I had T's help to pin him down. (only kidding Grandma)

I know it looks like he hates it but he is actually crying about me taking away the Vacuum attachment for the shot.

In reality he likes the cut and Z likes her shorter bangs.

Told you.

Funny Faces and the offending vacuum attachment.

This weekend T took the kids down to the OC so that Sam I can try and install new floors in the kitchen and entry.

???????huh???????

Till next time-
RTSZA

So,
As all 10+ current readers of this online family journal are no doubt aware we traveled across the country to Virginia last week. It was amazing. The flights weren't bad at all despite a few hour delay on the way home. The weather went from 100+ and 90% humidity to 80+ and nice the whole time we were there. The accommodations and company were 5/4 stars and we all had a great time.
There is really no way to do this that isn't tremendously long so I'll just move chronologically through the week and these might not even be in the right sequence of events because I am not so good at remembering stuff like that.

The first day we went to Crozet for a little peach picking. It was a beautiful cool-ish day and the orchard was pretty. We tried to find ripe peaches and honestly thought we had failed until we got them home and 1/2 of them were already really really ripe just from spending a few hours in the car. We used those ones to make home made peach ice cream that we enjoyed the whole trip.

A kept Grandma company regaling her of his previous fruit picking adventures.

and stick breaking

Z was a serious peach hunter if they were on the ground she'd smash em, if they were in the tree she'd pick em. She filled almost a whole bag by herself.

Peach yogurt was procured and enjoyed in the shop at the orchard.

The next day??? Padre took the day off and we headed out to Luray caverns. I'd been there before but the kids hadn't. It was another beautiful day, we drove through the blue ridge through the Shenandoah valley and arrived in time for a morning tour. The cave was beautiful, our tour group was large and slow, and occasionally rude. I overheard a really really old woman in a wheelchair telling her party that Z needed a good smacking with hand gestures and all.

A had had enough walking by the end so Padre graciously carried him.

T hates this picture. Oh well.

Madre Y Padre had had enough walking by the end so this bench supported them. Oh and we looked up local eating establishments.

A certain member of our group (madre) remembers it being really cold down in the cave so since it was summer in VA and we hadn't packed any warm clothes at all we brought fleece PJ's for the kids to stay warm. They looked cute but it wasn't cold in the caves so they soon got warm.

Picture time. Madre carrying the warm clothes.

Snack time!

The next day??? We went to Bounce-n-Play. we got there as soon as it opened and had the place relatively crowd free for a while. Like everything else the kids eventually warmed up to it with T's help. A lot of T's help. I guess they have toddler mornings on Monday and Wednesday and they allow parents to do the activities with their toddlers so T and I both got in on the act.

T Takes A down a slide.

T climbed through the entire tube ceiling maze thing to get here.

I told you. That tube is like 15- 20 feet off the ground and that's T in the viewing window

Z gained confidence quickly and was off doing everything on her own.

The next day we decided to try Onesty (pronounced Honesty) pool. The place didn't open until 10 am so we killed som time at Broadus Wood elementary.

Madre pushed Z on the swings.

A had a decent time. He is generally water shy but he had some fun.

Told you.

Add caption

Z had another great day and didn't want to leave. Even for our 2nd? Bodo's trip of the trip.

The next day Padre took another day off so we headed out to Montpelier. T has been to Monticello already and I hadn't been to Montpelier since the completed renovations. The ground were lovely. The weather was good. Pad Y Mad watched the kids while T and I took a really long tour. Our tour guide was a very nice, long winded, resourceful woman who seemed to know everything there was to know about James and Dolly Madison. She talked so much that the other tours caught up to us and people started fainting. T and I finished the tour and came out right as the kids and Padres were finishing up so we sat for some photographs with James and Dolly. In all of my pics Z has this darned clothespin in her mouth, maybe not in madres camera? (that's a question)

On our way back to C'ville we stopped at another farm where we picked up more peaches and some amazing little orange sun-something tomatoes. Then we went and ate delicious BBQ for the 3rd time? so far during the trip.

There was a summer camp at the farm. I can't escape these things.

The next morning Padre went to a chainsaw party down the block (really) and we headed out to a park and met him later at a splash park. This day was interesting in new ways. We started out at Barracks Road for "Virginia is for lovers" gear. I found a sweet hat (see below). Then we went to a park where the splash pad wasn't working so the kids played a bit until Padre arrived.

It isn't easy taming giant purple Dinosaurs. Insert Barney breaking joke here _______

Once padre arrived we set out for a different splash pad that no one had ever been to but some woman a the previous park told us was really nice. Since we'd never been there Padre set the GPS and we were off. The GPS took us straight into the ghetto. Prospect St... We literally drove right past a murder scene down a cul-de-sac dead end and had to turn around while the whole neighborhood stared at us.

We found the Splash pad eventually and it was awesome.

A loves balls.

A lot.

...

And is slow to warm up to water as I've previously stated.

Street photographer test.... does the kids bum crack help or hurt the photo? Depending on your answer you too might be a secret street photographer.

Still warming up to the water.

Warm.

The (Possibly embellished for dramatic effect)Barbie Saga...

Some one pointed out that there was a barbie and a shoe stuck on top of this water feature.

At the bequest of a skinny bathing suit clad Italian woman Padre set out to retrieve the Barbie and the show. He hurled the beach ball up there to try and knock things loose. The beach ball got stuck up there too.

He came and got a honey bucket which he filled with water and started throwing that up there to try and get down the beach ball and Barbie and shoe. He knocked off the ball and the Barbie but despite the pleas of the Italian woman he never got down the shoe.