Virginia Aquarium

We are really enjoying this time together as a family and yesterday we took Brooke to the Virginia Aquarium.  She had an amazing time walking around and looking at all the exhibits. It is exciting to take her places now that she has turned a year because she really acknowledges and responds to her surroundings.  She is a blur of motion in most of these pictures because she loved everything so much she just kept moving and looking at all the different things.  She wasn’t too fond of seals but enjoyed the seahorses, fish, and turtles. She even tried to get into the water with the manta rays but the pool was really cloudy and hard to see. I think if she could really see them they probably would not wanted to have jumped in.  It was a wonderful and fun afternoon.

Date Night – The Great Turtle Migration

With being off of work for the last few weeks, we’ve been going on several date nights to make up for lost time.  Last night we went to dinner and then to an awesome glass blowing party at the Chrysler Museum of Art.  They made a huge glass sea turtle with a live reggae band playing all while we had drinks and otter pops to stay cool from the impressive amount of heat used to form and shape the glass.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-7OMhn_gWYI&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/9gbcvYUaK7Y&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/73GXe9LqBts&w=638&h=385]

Blueberry and Blackberry Picking

This afternoon we went blueberry and blackberry picking at a nearby farm in Pungo.  We were joined by Jen and her daughter Adrianna, who is one of Brooke’s favorite people.  The girls had fun picking and eating the berries and so did we.  AJ in particular was very good at picking with his speed and ability to get some of the hard to reach ones.  It was a fun thing to do on a hot day.

 

Williamsburg Vacation

We took a family vacation to Williamsburg, VA.  Getting out-of-town, even if it is just up the road from us, is always fun.  The first day we went to the Saude Winery, where Laura got to try some nice wines, then had dinner at Colonial Williamsburg.  On the second and third day we went to Busch Gardens, which was Brooke’s first time there.  She seemed to have a fun time – – playing in the kids area and riding the kiddie rides (surprisingly she was under the cut off for the roller coasters… maybe next year).

[youtube=http://youtu.be/t9AVX-0LIgc&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/BB4WH38JZyU&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/OtS1LEX6VU4&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/GWAScUer7MA&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/csEhA_DZF4s&w=638&h=385]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/WVREv7Kl4wE&w=638&h=385]

Enjoying Sunday

We started off the day by taking a drive to Munden Point Park where we played around in the water and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Brooke talked the whole way home while eating Cheerios, only to fall asleep just outside our neighborhood.  After a nap for Brooke, playing around the house and then buying Brooke some new shoes, Laura treated us all to some gelato – – Brooke enjoyed some too.  It was a great family day.