Shark Tank, but without Mr. Wonderful

 On Tuesday, we visited the VA Marine Science Aquarium.  We got there early (before the day care field trips and homeschool groups) and had a great time!  Jason had woken up with a cough and runny nose, and throughout the day, he continued to go downhill.  After his nap, he woke up digging at his ear and I suspected an ear infection.  I got him into the doctor on Wed and we are now on a 10-day round of his favorite bubblegum flavored medicine!  But you couldn't tell how badly he felt at the aquarium--he was just so happy to see all of the animals!

Kimodo dragon!

In the tank tunnel.  I love the reflection in the glass of these two on the right side--makes it look like those photos from the 80's where you had your reflection gazing off in the distance!

Can you tell by the blank stare and pink cheeks that Jason was on the way down?  He had a great attitude for a little boy that felt so crappy!

Eye to eye with the giant crocodile!

Giving "kisses" to the cobra

Lionfish

Checking out the shark tank

jellyfish tank

turtle nursery!

Touch tank!  Horseshoe crabs, stone crabs, conchs, etc. 

Spring Breaking in Va Beach

 I decided to spend Spring Break in a slightly warmer climate, so 3 of the kids and I headed to Va Beach to visit Cammy for a couple of days (Garrett is in NYC with Debbie to see the Philharmonic).  We arrived Monday at lunch time and after a quick lunch and trip to Kohls, we headed to the beach.  Even though the water was not warm, we lucked out with a tidal pool with warmer water (and shallow depths, so I didn't have to worry about the kids!).  The kids had a ball!  We had to drag them back to the car at the end of the visit.  Caroline and I soaked our feet in the cold water and it felt amazing.
Jason got a big set of sand toys from the Easter Bunny, so we brought those and a truck to the beach and Emily and Jason never stopped playing for the next 2 hours.  And of course, they slept like logs that night!

Adding a second bridge next to the Lesner bridge to accommodate more traffic.

My beach baby

Soaking up some rays!

LOVE the sand ripples on the bottom of the water!

Seaweed!

Gazebo @ Duck Inn.  I saw so many landmarks that may not still be standing on my next visit, so I got in some pics!

The sun rise the next morning.  The clouds looked exactly like the sand ripples!

Easter 2015

What a busy weekend for us, and it started with Spring Break!  We had a half day on Friday, so Caroline, my friend Katie, and I went to nail salon to get our toes worked on (my feet were embarrassing!).  On Saturday, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to work on the kids' playground and the patio area.  The playground is a post all to itself in the next week or so, but I painted the play house part of it with primer and Tim was able to work on the roof area some more.  

Emily created a fairy garden in the flower bed next to the playground, and people who are serious about their fairy gardens are just crazy inspiring to see at Joann's.  We got a barn, a wishing well, some farm animals, stepping stones, extra fairies, and it was all 60% off!

Sunday started with baskets from Easter Bunny and a trip over the bridge to MD to have Easter dinner with Timmy's family!

Emily said "Take my picture, I'm playing the chocolate like a kazoo"

Garrett's just woken up.....at 10:40 AM

Caroline's strawberries might balance out some of the Easter sugar

We're hunting eggs!

I found one under here, Sissy!

Even though I chopped off her head in this frame, I love the flowers in the background.

Garrett gets in on the fun!

Somehow in this photo, I glimpse what Emily will be like as a teenager.....