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!