Monday, July 28, 2008

Last but not least, PICTURES!!

Beach Pictures:


Aquarium Pictures:

Air & Space Museum:

Busch Gardens:


Williamsburg:

What we did for summer vacation...

Jason was voluntold to go on a 2 day trip for work a few hours south of us. We had recently decided that traveling for Christmas would be out of the question considering the baby's new due date and the airlines policies regarding flying in the last trimester, so we decided to make his work trip a family vacation.
Last Monday we piled in the car and went to Virginia Beach. It is a VERY tourist-y town but they have beautiful sandy beaches and pretty great weather for July so we made the trip. We spent Monday playing on the beach and Monday night trying to get the sand out of our clothes, hair and hotel room. Jason and the girls had a great time floating in the little waves that came rolling in and I enjoyed hanging out on the beach with Jenna and looking for pretty shells. We didn't have a bucket and shovels so Jenna and I built a beach snowman and as soon as we walked away from it a boy came along with his wake board and had a little batting practice. We had enough fun that the girls had an easy time falling asleep so we are calling it a success. After waking up in time to catch what was left of the sunrise and watching the dolphins play along the coastline we checked out of that hotel the next morning and went to the Virginia Aquarium. That was fun until about 10 am when it started to get really crowded. We left around 10:30 to catch a tour boat ride to see the dolphins up close. The family as a whole had a blast, but that was a serious bad idea for a pregnant chick. I threw up at least 4 times mostly off the back of the boat since there was only 1 bathroom. I know there were dolphins out that I could get a look at but I really didn't care at the time. We tried to get some pictures, but there are not many and they are not up close. The guide said that we had more dolphins on our tour than most boats usually see, but that didn't mean much to me. We checked into our next hotel that evening and sent Jason off for his meetings the next morning. I drove him in for his meetings so that the girls and I could keep that car that day so once we were up and dressed we went to a movie theater called Cinema Cafe where you order your food, and eat it right in the theater (I love that concept!) We watched Wall-E (which was cute, but not what I expected) We found a target close by and were able to snag a Hello Kitty shirt for Kristin's back to school wardrobe. We then went to the mall and got Kristin school shoes and looked for a Hello Kitty shirt in Jenna's size, but we had no such luck. Kristin had been wanting to get her haircut so we cut about 3" off and then hurried back to the hotel to wait for Jason to call so we could pick him up. I noticed a Cracker Barrel on the way back from the mall so we went there for dinner. Would you believe they had a Hello Kitty shirt in Jenna's size in the country store out front? I thought it was a little strange considering the other items they carried, but Jenna was thrilled to finally have a Hello Kitty shirt of her own. Another success.
The next morning Jason had to go back to work for a few hours and then he was done for the day. We sent him off and then I packed everything up, got the girls dressed and fed and we watched some cartoons until he came back to get us. We checked out of this hotel and went to the Virginia Air and Space Museum. Kristin later said that was one of her favorite parts of the whole trip. It was three stories tall and had a bunch of airplanes inside. Jason helped each of the girls land airplanes with simulators and we went to Mars. :) Jason flew in the moving flight simulator before we hit the road and was showing off by flying more time upside down than right side up. He had fun though and the girls thought it was fun to watch.
Next we were off to the outlet malls where they just so happened to have a Harry and David's. After stocking up there we left in a hurry because Jenna (who is in the midst of potty training) had an accident.
After checking into our last hotel of the trip we found a pond with a ton of turtles, ducks, fish, geese, etc. After feeding them a few crushed up saltines we hopped in the pool and attempted to wear the girls out for another good nights sleep. We stayed in and ordered pizza that night and tried to rest up for the big day ahead. On Friday after eating breakfast and loading in the car we had to find a Wal Mart (the only store in that town open at 9 am) to get Jason something to wear on his feet other than flip flops. We were spending the day at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and he knew his shoes would fly off if he went in flip flops. We had a great time, I only rode on the rides that Jenna was required to have an adult with her to ride and Jason was able to get on the big rides fast enough that we just waited for him. We didn't know this but apparently Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been voted the most beautiful theme park for 18 years in a row. It was not nearly as crowded as Disneyland and most of the rides you could almost just walk in, but then again, I spent my day finding rides appropriate for a two year old. It was a lot of fun and it has been at almost two years since we had a churro so everyone was happy. It was a lot of walking and I am still recovering from the physical toll, but it was a lot of fun. We spent Saturday in Williamsburg playing colonial tourists but we were anxious to get home so not too much time was spent there. We did get some pictures for MarJean, though. So there it is, our summer vacation and what we did instead of visiting all of you for Christmas! Sorry about that!

July Summary and August Planning

I am posting this time mainly to add pictures, but since I only seem to update once a week or so here is what you have missed since the last post:
-I picked Kristin up from the airport all by myself! She flew into Dulles about 3 pm on a Friday (which is SERIOUS RUSH HOUR here) It was a little intimidating and took 2 hours to get home, but I was pretty happy I handled it and the experience came in handy this past week (will explain below)
-We spent the following Saturday at the beach, We don't have beautiful white sand beaches here, just rocky mucky sand but still a good way to cool off. I managed to get a tan on my legs that looked kinda like tan knee socks since I was wearing capris. It looked kinda silly, but it didn't take long to correct since we went to the Chesapeake Beach water park the following weekend. It's a little scary to be putting on a swimsuit at this point in my pregnancy, but it is just too stinkin' hot not to jump in the water when the opportunity comes along.
-Kristin is participating in a summer reading program at the library for some extra practice this summer. Jenna loves it because they have computers that are about 1 1/2 feet off the floor and are toddler friendly, she plays the computer with mommy while Kristin practices her reading and they both have a great time. I have to admit I am ready for school to start up again!
-I did my school shopping for Kristin's school supplies last week so she is all stocked up and ready to go. She picked out a new lunch box and seems excited to break into her new supplies so I think the transition will not be too difficult. We bought school shoes last week and I need to go on one more shopping trip for some jeans, but other than that she is well stocked and ready for the new year.
-I was in charge of sharing time yesterday in junior primary and we learned about being "fishers of men" and that we can be missionaries now by being good examples, I think it went well, but when I asked Kristin what she thought she got a blank look on her face...It made me laugh...I guess I kept them occupied, but they didn't retain much. I'm just glad it is over.
-Last week we went on a family vacation, I will do a separate post about that...
-On the agenda for August is 2 weeks of swim lessons for Jenna with a girl in our ward who is going to teach a 2 year old swim class in her backyard pool. She will be taking the class with a few of her buddies in nursery, so that should be fun for her. -A few of us nursery mommies are in the talks of starting up a mommy and me style joy school in the fall. We are all intimidated by the idea of 5 two year olds on our own, but thought the kids would enjoy a little class.
-School starts up again on August 20 for Kristin.
-My next doctor appointment is August 12th, my 20 week ultrasound should get scheduled at that appointment so I am a little anxious for it.
-Happy Birthday to Uncle Jared on August 5th!!
-Jason and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary this year on the 21st. We haven't really decided what we want to do to celebrate yet, we are just happy to have made it this far. :)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Another overdue update


-Here is baby! I had my 1st appointment yesterday and they moved up my due date from Feb 2 to January 24th. So far, so good. I was quite sick a few weeks back, but that is clearing up and I am feeling much better.
-Kristin will get home on Friday after being in Idaho for a month. We are anxious for her return and Jenna is thrilled to be getting her big sister back.
-Jenna has been working very hard on potty training this last month. She is pretty much completely potty trained except we put her in a pull up at night and she is not quite #2 potty trained (sorry for tmi!)
-Jason and I each finished two more classes last week and I have now started a new course (history) Jason is taking a break this month. After I finish this history class I will have 8 more classes to get my bachelors degree. Jason is pretty close too...We should both be done by the end of 2009.
hmmm....
not too much else going on. The house is pretty well in order except for my craft room, which I am anxious to set up.
I do want to report that we got a queen bed all set up and ready for visitors in the guest room (hint hint)
-Melissa