BG Time!

We finally all got to BG for our first family trip!  (Boys had the first actual trip of the summer already.)  Kids were super excited.  We got there early and it ended up being a beautiful day - hot but not crowded at all!  We went straight to Grover's Alpine Express and rode 4 times in a row.  They loved it.  

 They refused to try Escape from Pompeii.  They did however love getting splashed!  We did that for a while so Daddy could ride it - no line at all!

 And here's where I know for sure we've got a daredevil on our hands.  He rode this and wasn't scared at all!  He had his hands in the air the whole time and a huge smile on his face.  I appreciated that Rob took one for the team, because I do NOT want to do it!

 Here they are nice and dry before we got on Roman Rapids :-)

Fun day!!  We made a perfect route through the park without having to backtrack and barely ever waited for anything.  We can't wait to go back!  (mommy just needs some time to recover from the big swings....I have truly lost my ability to go on any rides!  what happened to me?!)

Girl time! XO

 While Fielder was away at a birthday party, Alison and I planned a little girl time!  We had pedicures while the girls got their fingernails painted and Sweet Frog after!!  I love all my nieces so much, I am one lucky Auntie.

I loved it!  Claire is very mellow and sometimes it's hard to tell how much she is enjoying something.  Afterwards she talked on and on about how much she loved getting her nails painted and that maybe she'd want to have her birthday party there!  I might have created a monster :-)

Our 1st "Camping" Trip

Well, to call it camping is a bit of a stretch.  Let's just say we tried!!  Alison got the ball rolling on a Barnes family camping trip at the river for Memorial weekend when Jake would also be in town.  They spent 2 nights, we settled for just 1 since we'd never slept in a tent before!  We got air mattresses and borrowed tents, shipped Charlie off to Mimi's house, and headed off.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the weather report was pretty certain on storms that night.  We didn't bother setting up the tents and instead decided we'd indoor-camp in the man cave.  Kids had a blast and it was really a great family weekend.

Luckily Aunt Alison was super awesome and packed all kinds of games, water guns, water balloons, etc.

 One of my favorites!!  Fielder can do his best to annoy these girls, but they can take care of themselves!

 Rob took the lead on our water activities.  He took us for a great long boat ride on Saturday.  The kids all loved it - Jenna would only get upset when he slowed down (see pic below.)  Fielder would beg to "go sideways" so Rob would do a few donuts.

Then after the boat, they were ready to try the jet ski.  Our little daredevils loved it!!  Fielder and Katie rode together for a long time and even Jenna took a turn with Matt.  (By day 2, Claire was willing to try and realized she absolutely loves it too!)

 While some were on the jet ski, the others had fun playing in the water.  Unfortunately, Claire got stung - I would assume a jelly fish although the water seemed too cold and we definitely didn't see any.  Poor thing was crying so hard and had welts under her arm.  Jenna had previously had some sort of allergic reaction and then had even more welts after being in the water.  AND to add to all of our ailments, Katie had a mysterious swollen and painful ankle.  Sometimes it seemed ok, but then it got pretty bad and we had to carry her around for the rest of the night.  (Later in the week, they found out it was actually HSP.)  Look at our sad little crew.  (They really didn't let it ruin the weekend!  tough girls!)  And HOW is it possible that the only kid to not get hurt in some way this weekend was Fielder?!?!  I mean, he certainly tried - he found an ax and was playing with it and also found some matches that he really wanted to play with.

 That night we had what every camping trip must include - smores!!  Popa built a perfect little fire and the kids had fun roasting their marshmallows.  Fielder liked to catch his on fire, Jenna liked to just make the smores and not actually eat them, and Claire liked hers barely warmed by the fire.  (Mommy loved them too!!  I was happy to eat Jenna's leftovers.)

 And a happy birthday celebration for Popa!!  We all chipped in and gave him tickets to the Zac Brown Band concert.

 As the thunder started to roll in, we got ready for bed.  Fielder even managed to catch one firefly before bed.  He wanted to keep it as a nightlight, but we decided to set him free instead.

 We got all set up in the man cave, nice and cozy.  Kids were a little nervous about the thunder but it never actually stormed or rained.  Of course, Fielder managed to break his zipper on his sleeping bag right before going to sleep.  20 minutes of fighting with it, we finally got it fixed and were ready to sleep.  So we had a mostly peacefully night....until around 5 am when Fielder woke up and somehow his sleeping bag was completely turned around in the opposite direction and the zipper was broken again.  What?!  I tried to get him to sleep with me, we tossed and turned, we attempted to play on the kindle, but by the time it was good and light out we got up and left Rob and Claire to snooze.  We were on the pier for probably an hour (playing with the matches) just waiting and hoping for other people to wake up soon!  That was when I lost my cool a bit, but OTHERWISE it really was  a great weekend.

 We got in another boat ride (much colder that day) and after lunch hit the road.

Girls Weekend!

Claire, Mimi, and I got out of town for a whole weekend to visit Linda in Virginia Beach.  It had been several years since we'd been to Linda's and I was so happy to to have this special weekend.  We drove down Friday late afternoon and it should have been no surprise to us that it took absolutely forever.  With a quick dinner stop, it took 4 hours.  Ugh!  But Mom and I chatted while Claire listened to Kids Bop and the time went by quicker than I would have thought.  Friday night we got unpacked and enjoyed some time on Linda's porch with ice cream!!  Linda had bought 3 flavors for us and made her special chocolate chip cookies.

Claire and I were roommates and we always get a good laugh when we sleep in Linda's room - there is a little window that looks out into the hallway and Linda pokes her head through to say goodnight!  We were the first up in the morning and since the sun was shining, I SHOULD have gone for a run, but I just enjoyed a slow morning and drank my coffee on the porch with everyone.  We eventually got around to gathering up our things and headed to the beach.  It was just perfect, at least for a while.  Then suddenly the clouds moved in, the wind picked up, and it was COLD.  Even though Claire loved the playground and had made some friends, we didn't stay long.

We then went to the aquarium.  I hadn't been in many years and had never taken Claire to one.  She fell in love with the otters and especially loved playing with them - she would roll by the glass and they would roll.  It was so cute!

 We really enjoyed the aquarium and would love to go back one day in nicer weather to do the outdoor climbing course - they have all kinds of ziplines and things to climb way up in the trees.  They also do dolphin cruises which would be fun to try.  (We were already planning our next trip to Linda's!)

What Claire really had on her mind was the gift shop!  Linda has some stuffed animals that Claire fell in love with and was hoping to find a similar one in the gift shop.  When we got there, Linda surprised her and told her that she could have the seal back at the house that she loved the most!!  And she picked out a mermaid ring that I bought for her.

After the aquarium we stopped to buy shrimp and had an amazing dinner of peel-n-eat shrimp and Linda's salad.  Such a treat!  We attempted a walk on the boardwalk that night, but it was SO windy and just freezing cold that we changed our minds and went back to the house.  We had to warm up a bit before we were ready for our ice cream and frozen cookies :-)  Claire and I were not exactly night owls and hit the bed early.  Sunday morning when I saw the sun, I knew to take my opportunity for a run!  I went out for an hour and thoroughly enjoyed myself - it was so quiet and peaceful on the boardwalk.

Claire wanted to play again on the playground so while Linda and Mom walked, I read my book huddled under towels and Claire made some new friends to play with on the playground.  I sent this picture to Rob and Fielder, waving from the beach.  (Fielder was home having a blast with Daddy - they even did a boys trip to Busch Gardens!!)

 One last spin on Linda's trike before we left for home.  I really enjoy talking with Linda and spending time with her.  She is such a fiercely independent and strong woman who lives life they way she wants to - I really admire that!  I also love spending so much quality time with my mom and of course one-on-one time with Claire.

THANK YOU to Linda!!  We really hope to do it again next year.  Sadly, a few weeks after our trip, Linda fell on the boardwalk and broke her leg.  She had been in a bad accident several years prior and after removing some of the metal that had been in her leg, it became weak and caused her fall.  It's going to be a while for her to recover.  I couldn't believe the news when Mom told me.  Claire and I sent a thank you/get well card and I know Claire has been worried about her.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day weekend started off with the much anticipated Mother's Day tea at Fielder's school.  He was so excited for me to come.  The kids sang songs and then we had lunch together.  Fielder and I need to work on our selfie skills.

He made a card for me, some flowers with his picture on them, and his silhouette picture was our gift from the teachers.

 Fielder and his buddies, Fares and Lucas.  These boys just egg each on - I can't even imagine being their teacher.  They were nuts!

Saturday I got to spend some time with my mom and she helped me put together these pots for the front porch.  I absolutely love how they turned out!!  I hope I can keep them alive....almost a month later and they are doing ok!!  

On Mother's Day, Rob did his best to let me sleep in and later in the day we all went to Brown's Island to walk around and check out the new pedestrian bridge.  It was a gorgeous day so half of the city also had the same idea.  Even though it was crowded, it was nice to be outside and enjoy our beautiful city.  My favorite was watching these crazy kayakers do tricks like somersaults in the air.

I'm proud to be a mama to these 2 :-)

Back in the 'Burg!

After many years (at least 13?) I finally got back to Harrisonburg!!  I was SO excited to see JMU again and to show the kids where I went to school.  Rob's cousin Brooke was graduating so we went up to celebrate with her.  Even though it was very cold and rainy, it was just as beautiful as I always remembered.  First stop, my favorite place I lived, Shorts Hall!  

 Next stop, the one and only picture I really wanted - a family shot in front of Wilson.  Our first attempt left me super annoyed with the kids - Fielder especially.  But he had walked a long way and it was cold so I guess that's why he had such a bad attitude.  Anyway, we met up with my friend Joe who now teaches at JMU and he got my picture for me!!  3 out of 4 happy faces, it will do!

 The kids favorite was kissing rock.  They ran around and played on the rock while we chatted with Joe about all the changes around campus and Harrisonburg.  It just felt so great to be back and I was weirdly emotional about it!

 After we saw everything I wanted to see, we headed over to Brooke's apartment for her party.  Fielder was just extra Fielder that day and was getting on my nerves, but overall we had fun and it was wonderful to see the whole family again.  We realized we had not even seen Brooke since she had graduated from high school!

All the kiddos with Aunt Mary Lynn!!  (Auntie ML brought kids Easter baskets - more candy!!! Just when I thought we were out of Easter candy!)