Virginia Family Time

Yippee, we're home!!! Though we love to spend time in Northern Virginia, there is nothing like coming home.

Maddie loves her wonderful GG. GG treated us all to a live Wizard of Oz show. Madeline and GG loved it. And guess where Ryan and I spent most of our time. . .in the hallway waiting for them. Actually, I sat at a bench in the hallway and Ryan ran up and down a ramp. Are you surprised? :)

After the show, GG treated us all to a ride on the carousel. A trip to Glen Echo Park is not complete without a ride on the carousel. Ryan's favorite part of the ride was watching himself in the mirror in the middle of the carousel. And of course we made our customary trip to Costco for lunch (and to buy food for our beach trip).

A sweet time with friends--Lanie, Alli and me. These ladies are so special. I could have spent the entire two weeks with them alone! This picture almost did not happen. We asked an older woman, who was walking by with her husband if she would take a picture of us. You would have thought we had asked her for $100 and a ride home (at gunpoint). She was put off by our request and made it known. After this rejection, I did not have it in me to ask someone else. Thankfully, a girl at a nearby table heard the transaction and jumped up to take our picture.

Our second week in Virginia was actually spent at Virginia beach. My sister, Amanda invited us to join her at Sandbridge Beach for the week. We had a wonderful, wonderful time. Each year the kids seem to grow in their love for the beach. Are you wondering where our beach pictures are? Yeah, all I can say is Ryan. The boy did not have a great fear for the water this year, so all my attention was on him. Aside from the beach, the kids had a wonderful time with their cousins, especially Ryan who was surrounded by big boys.
Madeline had such a wonderful time at the beach. Her favorite thing to do was dig holes in the sand and then search for beautiful shells to fill the holes. She also loved running into the water and racing away from the waves. And the little stinker dug up the hugest sand fiddler that I have ever seen. She was so proud of herself.
Since Daddy was not at the beach, Mommy had to take over some of the manly activities. I caught numerous sand fiddlers, dug large holes, and even caught a huge sand crab in a large bowl. And when the darn thing scurried out and fell to the ground, I screamed and ran (I don't think Matt would have done that).
The picture above is from Virginia Beach's boardwalk. We had a great time people watching and eating on the boardwalk.
And this week I learned what it is like to eat dinner at 8:30. Not sure I'll be continuing this new experience. . .man was I hungry!
We also got some special time with Madeline's young cousins. Sitting with Maddie and Ryan are Emily and Zachary. These four really enjoy their time together. Madeline and Zachary are like two peas in a pod--they just seem to get each other and they play so well together (they are both very sweet and gentle). And Ryan introduced Zachary to wrestling. Matt's sister asked Matt if we taught Ryan to do this. Obviously, she has not been around the boys of the Bridge Community Church. Unless Tim is secretly teaching these boys to wrestle, it seems to be a natural activity these boys love!
Off to put some babies to bed!