Father's Day

We went to Staunton's Frontier Culture Museum on Father's Day. The weather called for 60% chance of showers, but it was a bit cool and we thought it might keep the crowds down so we took the chance.

We had a great day. We rented a wagon to pull Abby, as there is a lot of walking involved and she was a bit tuckered out and grumpy. We also bought a little bag of feed to give to the geese and chickens. The kids really enjoyed this.

The big hit was feeding the piggies at the Irish Farm. They were filthy and loved the fresh green grass the kids were offering them.

They also enjoyed working with the farmer on the German farm, breaking flax and brushing it to make linen. They liked drawing water from the well on the German Farm too.

We had the place to ourselves nearly. We bought a family membership and hope to visit again... much cheaper than Six Flags, and much more educational...

Margaret at the Strawberry Fest, AP at Forrestry Camp

Bubby and her friend Ms. Ruth Anne took Margaret to a Strawberry Festival last weekend where they shopped til they dropped... It's become an annual trip and Margaret competed again to be crowned Miss Strawberry! She did great.

Dick too AP to Forrestry Camp in Appomattox on Sunday. He will learn about tree identification and logging techniques. We plan on picking him up on Friday and catching a Lumber Jack contest!

Kicking off summer; garden and home projects

Whirlwind of a weekend. It doesn't help that Abby wakes up at 6 am and doesn't stop for a nap. She gets really crotchety by about 2 pm... and things get interesting!

We pulled out our first potatoes this week. They are delicious! The rest of the garden is coming along fine too.

I took the early risers, AP and Abby to the Farmer's Market Sat. morning where they biked and skateboarded. Pretty sad when you are so early, the market hasn't even opened yet!

Then we went to a Rainforest animal program at the Warrenton Library. We saw a macaw, and African parrot, a tarantula, an iguana and a ball python. The kids enjoyed it and got to spin the prize wheel... we love the Summer Reading Program! It's a great way to kick-off the summer and we're all in a better mood this time of year.

I worked out while AP and Patrick worked on the soap box car. After a huge rain storm, we decided we had enough energy to move the kids rooms around. HA! What we thought would be a medium size project turned into a hellish, unending pain the the bottom kind of project you wonder why you ever started to begin with! We had to take apart bunk beds, move and reassemble them in another bedroom and switch all of the kids furniture and toys to accommodate the new set up. Why do they have so much stuff!? We've only had them six years! And the dust bunnies... and we're not even done. We still need to set our computer room up and rearrange a million more little things in the kids bedrooms... but the girls are now in a room together, which they both seem very excited about and our goal is that Abby will FINALLY stay in her own bed at night instead of joining us. She made it until 4 am last night before I heard the pitter patter of her little feet... she's been promised a "Pillow Pal" if she can fill up her star chart for staying in the "girl's" room. Margaret is thrilled to have her!

AP just left for Forrestry Camp in Appomattox. Grandfather took him to a Soap Box clinic and they are driving to camp in his new truck. He was in great spirits and ready for the first big adventure of the summer.

VA Renaissance Festival today at Lake Anna

Great Train Raid in Strasburg

When Patrick and I first got married he worked at a Civil War Museum in Strasburg, VA. It's been about 14 years... can't believe it!! A few years ago, we learned that the museum had closed and most of the museums and shops that had once been in the town were now out of business... Even the Inn where we had our reception had been sold at auction. It was disheartening. But now that it is the 150 anniversary of the start of the Civil War, most of these places have been reopened, including the Museum at Hupp's Hill and the Wayside Inn where we had our wedding weekend. We were both very excited that these places, so special to us, are finding new life once again.

This weekend, the Town of Strasburg and nearby Cedar Creek Battlefield hosted an unusual reenactment of the Great Train Raid... featuring an appearance by Stonewall Jackson himself! I knew it would be really special for Abby to see, so we braved the traffic, dressed Abby in her civil war attire and went early Sunday morning to catch a glimpse of Stonewall reviewing his troops on the battlefield. (Before we left, Margaret snapped the house key in our laundry room door and we had to unscrew the darn thing in record time so we wouldn't miss Old Stonewall's appearance!) The reenactor was spot-on and Abby was quietly shrieking when he made it up the Old Valley Turnpike on "Little Sorrel." She whispered, "It's my dream come true!" when he marched by! She was too intimidated to approach him, but I think a lasting impression was made! The girls purchased Chinese parasols and woven fans and we trekked into Strasurg in the 90 degree heat to watch the reenactment of the train engine get carried past by draft horses. It didn't hurt that ta Mexican restaurant opened right next to the Strasburg train depot! As we hiked to town, AP was excited to find a cactus growing off the roadway and despite my warnings, he decided he would pick off a piece to bring home. He had the bright idea of putting it in a pocket in his shorts. And after waiting hours to see the train to come through town, he was in the bathroom picking needles out of his heinie when the procession passed by the restaurant! On the way home, we discovered Abby had a tic feasting in her ear. A gallon of ice cream distracted her enough for me to pull it out!

See the pics:

Memorial Day Weekend

Tony, Nicky and their children visited VA over Memorial Day Weekend. They came over on Sat. afternoon for a picnic and the kids all played in the yard. The last time we saw them, we had just adopted the big kids, so it's been a while! It was nice to catch up and all of the children played so nicely together, it was a relaxing afternoon. Alec and Patrick became instant buddies, catching bugs and jumping in the trampoline. And the girls enjoyed splashing in the kiddie pool with baby Hayden. I had forgotten how active a 1 1/2 yr. old can be though! He was everywhere!

Before they arrived, Patrick took AP to the Soap Box Derby Family Day while the girls played and I got my workout done. Then we went grocery shopping and had to relieve Patrick so he could go to work and check on the pool opening at Piedmont. We ended up having to spend hours more at the Soap Box event b/c Patrick's car wasn't performing well and some volunteers helped us get it weighted down and taught us some tricks to make the car more competitive. There was a cookout and the girls stayed entertained enough and I got to help Patrick with one of his runs... switching tires and loading him in. I was a bit stressed it was taking so long and I had groceries in the car, the girls and company coming, but Patrick came back from work in time to switch off with me again so the girls and I could get home and get set up for the picnic w/ the Griswolds! Abby was exhausted and quite a handful while we attempted to make deviled eggs, fruit dip and cookies, but I pulled it off and Margaret was a big helper... which really helped make a difference.

My car is still in the shop. The tire rolled right off it last week while I was taking Abby to a doctor's appt. I could tell something was wrong w/ it and had actually stopped a few times and got out and checked to see if it was going flat (never would have know to check the bolts!)... so I was in the proccess of pulling over again when it rolled off. We were fine, but it was POURING down rain and it took about three hours to get towed and get a ride home, so it was a big pain. We can't find a matching tire and we're waiting to figure out what to do next. Any way, it worked out that we had just inherited an old Saturn from my mother-in-law, so I've been driving that. But with the Expedition at the shop, we had no way of getting AP's Soap Box car to the event this weekend. Insurance said they would cover a rental, so I was able to get a truck... a 2011 red Dodge Ram w/ less than 600 miles on it!! I've been tooling through Culpeper thinking I'm hot stuff! I'll be sad to have to return it tomorrow... I've been spoiled for a few days, and the kids think it's a blast too.

Slideshow for more pictures:



Springtime Fun

Planted a garden this year... the first since we've had kids. They've had fun helping w/ it. Abby has really gotten into "worm farming." She also wants to build a "sod house" since she saw a DVD on pioneers! AP has bee great helping her catch and identify butterflies w/ their nets and bug vacuum. He's also excited that he is finally heavy enough to drive the lawn tractor w/ out it turning off on him. Patrick let him go around and sweeep up the clippings after I cut the grass and he had a blast. Abby just loves running down our hill. She makes Margaret do it repeatedly, but Margaret definitely prefers to be indoors...

While AP is away this weekend visiting DC w/ Bubby and grandfather, Pops is visiting us and has taken over his room. He got to see Abby's soccer practice this morning (She's playing on a special team that doesn't have games... since she needs to avoid collisions), and then we went to read to the dogs. After lunch, Pops and Patrick took the girls to feed the goats at a local farmer's market and then to the Children's Museum on Charlottesville b/c they had to pick up a rental car there for Pops. I got to stay home and clean and organize in a quiet house!