Virginia Beach

This is Trent's last week of leave before reporting to CLAMO. We took advantage and drove down to Virginia Beach on Monday. We stayed at the Navy Lodge and then went to the beach Tuesday morning before coming home.

The drive down was great. After we checked in, Monday afternoon and evening turned into a potential lampoons movie. The lady at the front desk of the Navy Lodge told us about a water park on base that sounded like a lot of fun. We got the kids suited up and sunscreened and went to check it out. Turns out it is closed on Mondays. There is also a beach that is accessible from the base when it isn't being used. Wouldn't you know it, the gates were closed, because they were using the beach for an amphibious training exercise. We drove into town to check out the parking situation for the next day and then started looking for someplace to have dinner. Other than Arby's and Subway, most places were closed either because they sold only breakfast and lunch or because they were just closed. Mugging the Pizza Hut truck started looking like a possibility. We found a little Mexican place that looked decent. Turns out it was a step up from Taco Bell. Sigh. We still had a good time.

Tuesday morning, we got up early and got everyone suited up. We ate a quick breakfast and headed for the beach. In case you missed the news earlier this week, the east coast has had a nasty heat wave. The high for Tuesday was supposed to be around 102. With the humidity, it makes it unsafe especially for the kids. Therefore, we arrived at the beach around 8:30. The water was cool and felt great. The kids couldn't wait to get in and play around. By 10:30, there were shade structures (umbrellas etc.) up all over the beach. I took a break shortly after that, and I realized how hot it was already getting. When we were playing in the water, it wasn't that noticeable. It only took a minute or two out of it to start sweating standing still. Wow! Luckily for us, Trent had purchased a shade structure at the Exchange the evening before. It worked out great for stowing our stuff and for giving us a place to go sit down and get some water periodically. Good thinking Trent!

We left around 11:30. It is a testament to the heat that none of the kids argued with us when it was time to leave. Dad bought some replenishing slurpees and we were off for home. It was a short trip, but we sure did have a great time.

Cool Jon sporting his new sunglasses

Our shade structure (I took a picture of all of the umbrellas and blue caves along the beach, but it ended up being an unintentional picture of the lifeguard in her bikini, so I will leave it out.) The Monster House sand castle Trent built with Jon


There is a great statue of Neptune at the beach. I took some pictures as we left. I am so used to California (west coast) where the sun sets over the ocean. Here, it rises over the ocean (east coast duh). As a result, the sun was in our eyes out over the ocean and makes it hard to see the great detail in the statue.

Seriously?

It appears that the International Astronomical Union has decided to rename Pluto following its reclassification as a dwarf planet.

Pluto will now be called Plutoid. Plutoid? Really? I for one am stubborn on this. As far as I am concerned there are still 9 planets. The smallest is called Pluto. Afterall, in the term dwarf planet, the word dwarf serves as an adjective describing the noun planet. Don't these people have anything better to do?

Photos

Early last fall, the primary presidency at church took each child outside and had the secretary, Mandy Carroll, take a picture of them. It is common. I didn't think anything of it. I know Mandy is a professional photographer, but these were quick shots. No big deal. At the quarterly activity in December, the kids made gifts to give others in their family. They made picture frames for Mom and Dad and little wooden treasure boxes, journals, and toy snakes for whomever they chose. Samantha was too young to participate in the activity. When we opened our gifts from Ashley and Jon, I was beyond pleased at the pictures included in the frame. They were the ones Mandy had taken. The picture of Jon is hands down one of my top 5 favorite pictures of him. I like the one of Ashley as well, though I keep her school picture in her frame right now. As a result, I couldn't find it to scan in for this post. When I locate it, I will try and remember to post it. My only disappointment? There was no picture of Sami though I know they took one. I was there when it happened.

A few weeks ago, I dropped the kids off in the nursery while I donated blood for an Eagle Scout project. They had finally put up the pictures of the nursery kids. I LOVED the picture of Samantha and have been plotting how and when to get it off of the bulletin board. Imagine how pleased I was when one of the ladies that helps in the nursery simply handed it to me at the end of church today.

Though they were taken quickly, I just love the pictures. Mandy has so much talent. I would love to have her take professional pictures of the kids. She works outdoors in natural light and specializes in working with kids. You can look at samples of her work at her blog or her official site. I would love it, but she is expensive. I am sure it is worth it, but I can't justify it. Still, I just had to share these pictures. They are great don't you think?

Baltimore Aquarium

Trent is still on leave, so we decided to plan a mini trip up to Baltimore to go to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We left early Tuesday afternoon, stopped off in Quantico and then headed up to Baltimore where we stayed the night before spending Wednesday morning at the aquarium. The aquarium is fantastic, and we all had a great time. This was one of those trips where the trip itself was often as much fun as the destination. (or at least funny)

When we arrived at Quantico and headed into the exchange to get our discount tickets for the aquarium, I noticed Sami had spilled half her bottle of water into her seat, and her bottom was soaking wet. That would explain her complaining for the previous 30 minutes or so. While Trent picked up the tickets, I went over to children's clothing and bought a new outfit for Sami, which turned into a new outfit for all of the kids. I know, I am a pushover. While we finished getting clothes, changing and looking around in general, Trent decided to get a haircut. At the barbershop at Quantico, they have a device hooked to the clippers that vacuums away the hair as it is cut. Trent, who hadn't seen said device previously, asked what it was. The lady cutting his hair then remarked that Trent hadn't been there before. She followed that up with the question, "you FBI?" Trent explained that he was Coast Guard. She remarked that the Coast Guard liked their hair longer. Trent told the lady that he was technically working for the Army for the next year. She then told Trent he needed to fit in. Trent has a very good priced shorter than usual haircut. I know, shorter than Trent's usual seems improbable. We thought the whole thing was funny.

Of course, our pit stop put us on the Washington/Baltimore expressway, otherwise known as the Beltway, at around 5:00 in road construction. Wow! Traffic was bad. While sitting in traffic, Trent and I started composing a modern day version of Dante's Inferno. We decided that one of the inner circles of hell has to be Beltway traffic at 5:00 in road construction. We are still coming up with ideas for the rest of the story. If you have any, please share. If they are good, know that we will likely steal them. Now might be a good time to mention we did this trip in Trent's car. That means that we put ourselves and our three children in a Toyota Yaris HATCHBACK!! No more evil laser guided stares at the fact that I have three children please.

We did eventually get off the Beltway and into smooth traffic up to Baltimore. (Our children cheered loudly at this point). When we got near the airport (where our hotel was located), we started to attempt finding the right exit. (Did I mention we left our directions at home?) Also, did you know that taking a wrong exit in that area of the world won't just take you down some road you don't want to be on that you can turn around on and head back in the opposite direction? No, a wrong turn or exit will most likely put you on another interstate heading somewhere entirely wrong (New York in our case). It was at this time that Sami decided to inform us all that she needed to "pee pee." She has been extremely stubborn about the potty training thing, so we reminded her that she had a diaper on. She started crying and insisted on going in the potty. So, we found a gas station, took Sami to the bathroom and bought her some M & Ms for her effort. (see bribing and chocolate in post below) Of all the times to pick about being adamant about using the potty, Samantha picks a road trip in which we only mostly know where we are going. This request manifested itself several times on the return journey. That time, however, we knew where we were.

We checked in, found out the pool was not open, waited for Ashley to finish mourning that the pool was not open, had dinner and then watched Spiderwick in our room. Ashley is reading the books and loved it. Jon, the future Tim Burton, loved it as well. Sami got so scared at the end that she cried. As a result, Jon got to sleep with Daddy, and I got the pull out bed in the living room area of our room with Sami.

Trent and kids in front of USCGC Taney, which was on the way into the Aquarium. Of course we stopped and took a picture!

Next morning, we got to the aquarium with only one wrong turn. It was so great. I wish I had more pictures, but every time I tried to photograph the sharks or rays etc., I got dark images or flash reflected off of water or glass. I have never seen rays that big before, and I loved the sea turtle. It was also huge. There were so many great exhibits. Jon was distraught at first, because the giant pacific octopus exhibit was closed. The octopus has grown too big for his habitat, and they are building him a new one. Jon got over it by the time we went to see the dolphin show though.

Trent and kids in front of bubble columns.

Trent bought the kids chomper head toys. Jon got a hammerhead shark and the girls got dolphins. For those of you wondering if I confiscated them by the time we were in D.C., the answer is no. Surprisingly, not only did I not take them and hit Trent with them by D.C., I didn't at all. I also found it hilarious, when our kids had their chompers clacking and singing along to Volcano by Jimmy Buffett.

kids with their chompers

On the way home, we stopped and had lunch. One of the ladies sitting at the table next to ours stopped on her way out and made a point of noting how well behaved our children were. I am shocked too! She said she does day care. Trent and I wondered all the way back to the interstate what kind of head cases she is watching if she thinks our kids are well behaved enough to say so. O.k., I am mostly kidding. They were actually quite good.

While at the restaurant, a huge thunderstorm hit. It was raining sideways when it first started up. It was still pretty bad when we left and for awhile after that. I know I should have been worried about the potential for flooding (we were in the Yaris after all) and about tornado warnings though the wind wasn't bad at the time. I couldn't make myself stop enjoying it though. I LOVE the rain and particularly a summer thunderstorm. I love the lightening and thunder. I love the sound and the smell.

Great trip. Hard to believe it was not even two days.

My Kids Smell Like Camp Loll

Spring has come and pretty much gone. Summer is well on its way if not here already in Virginia. That means three things: it is very green and beautiful, the pollen count is VERY high, and all the bugs are back. I do mean all. It isn't like we didn't have bugs in California. We did. We even had a couple of baby tarantula sized spiders in and near the garage. It still does not compare to here. The bugs are everywhere, and some are prehistoric. I was cleaning last August/September and heard what I thought was a knock on the window. No, it was a bug colliding with the window. It happened to be so big that I could hear it bump into the window.

Now that the weather is beautiful and school is out, my kids are playing outside a lot. That is as it should be. A few days ago though, Ashley came in and was covered along her legs and arms with over a dozen bug bites. It was crazy. Ticks are very much a reality here as well.

So now, before playing much outside, I not only have to put sunscreen on my kids, I am spraying them down with bug spray. It is an enormous effort for some outdoor play, but it beats the alternative.

What's with the title of this post? Well, if you haven't been to Camp Loll, you will have to take my word for it that it is God's country. It is beautiful. It is one of my favorite places in all the world. You can click on the link above or on the link on the sidebar to the Camp Loll alumni Association to see some pictures for yourself. As much as I love Camp Loll, I do not love the mosquitoes at Camp Loll. They are mythical in size and ability to do damage. They border on capable of picking your pocket. When I worked there in 1993, and in several visits in years afterward, I came to accept bug spray as a common and necessary accoutrement. I HATE mosquitoes, and I am slightly allergic, so the combination is not pretty. They, on the other hand, seem to LOVE me. Go figure. Sooooooooo, as I am spraying down my kids with bug spray, I automatically think of Camp Loll every time. It is one of those olfactory memories I guess. My kids smell like Camp Loll even though only one of them has ever been there.

The Motivational Power of Chocolate

We are potty training Samantha, and it is not going well. It is a slow process. I mean SLOW. In the last few days, we have offered to give her a small piece of chocolate every time she goes to the bathroom in the potty. We only had one accident yesterday! See, chocolate can be a great motivator! Good thing Sami loves to brush her teeth several times a day.

Discovery Dash

Today was race day. Even though school is out and it is Memorial Day weekend, we started getting out of bed early to get up to Monticello High School for the Discovery Dash. We had absolutely perfect weather. (not trying to rub it in Dad and Muriel)

Pictured on the right are our two racers. While waiting for Ashley's race, we watched the dashers (3 and 4 year olds) It was totally fun to watch them go. Sami wanted to get out there and run so badly. She is not old enough, but watching those kids go made me wonder if I should have taken the age limit less seriously. Jon, who was adamant about not running, really wanted to race once we got there. There is always next year I guess.

Ashley did great in her race. She finished at the first pack of the second half of kids. Some of those kids have run for awhile. You could tell by watching them. This was Ashley's first thing like this, and we were really proud of her. She ran the entire half mile without stopping or walking and showed really good stamina and form. Most importantly, she had a great time doing it. She wants to work on her speed now so that she can be faster next time. She really wants a trophy.

Ashley as she was finishing her first lap around the track

Video of Ashley finishing her race

Ashley claimed to be tired after her race but had plenty of energy to run down a small hill and jump on the pad the High School has for the high jump. We figure if you factor in both of her races and the playing she did in between, she ran a full mile today.

Ashley with her ribbon for finishing her race

The kids that were 9-12 ran a full mile for their race. I was impressed watching them go. The kids that won trophies (top 3 girls and boys in each age division) finished their miles in under 5 and just over 5 minutes. I used to HATE running the mile in gym when I was in High School. I mean absolutely HATE. If there wasn't somebody chasing me, why on earth would I be running? Watching these kids was inspiring. I don't want my own kids to hate those things, and I am glad for opportunities like this that focus on having fun and showing the kids just what they CAN do.

The next event for us was the parent/child relay. In this race, the parent ran the first lap and the child the second for a total of 1/2 mile. I tried to get a good picture of Trent, but he was so fast, that I didn't. I should have just taken video. He was in the first pack of dads right after the two that were out front. Good job Trent!

That is Trent with the short dark hair, white legs and sunglasses on the outside of the pack

Here is Ashley coming around the 3rd turn to finish the race. Good job Ashley!

We stuck around for the awards and raffle prizes. Wouldn't you know, Ashley won a family pass to go bowling in the raffle. Thanks Ashley! When it was time to go, my kids all wanted to have a race of their own, so I let them run on the track. I didn't think they would go all the way around it, but all three of them ran 1/4 mile. I guess that makes 1 1/4 total for Ashley today. Jon stopped and started a few times and often turned around to make sure Sami was still coming with him, but he ran 1/4 mile. We were proud. What do you think his immediate response was upon finishing the task? He asked for his trophy. Too funny.

Jon and Sami running on the far side of the track

Go Jon Go!

We ran into a couple of Trent's classmates from the JAG school. The kids were all in different age groups for the parent/child relays though, so none of them ran against each other. That could have been fun. A great day. Good job everybody.