We stayed in Williamsburg thanks to Ammy and Papa getting us two condos for a week! The grounds had mini golf so we started by playing a round, Alex even played along for a bit. The next day we took everyone to Busch Gardens to have fun and Alex rode on his first roller coaster! Everyone had a great time riding the rides! We walked Colonial Williamsburg and one very happy boy got to see some sheep and Brooke was excited to get ‘locked up’. Ammy and Papa watched the kiddos so we could have a date night at one of our favorite restaurants, The Fat Canary, and we walked Colonial Williamsburg at dusk with a full moon. We enjoyed some family snuggle time and the kiddos enjoyed some topless running time before spending the day in Yorktown. It was fun to be near the river and seeing the different replicas. On a rainy day the kiddos enjoying playing with one of Brooke’s birthday presents from Ammy and Papa. During a break in the storm we took them on a walk to see the turtles at the pond and ended up playing a short game of horseshoes. Everyone enjoyed playdoh after dinner that night. It was a fun week in Williamsburg!
We JUST got back from a family vacation in Raleigh, North Carolina and driving back today celebrated my 35th birthday.
Monday we drove up to Raleigh and went to Umstead State Park after checking into our hotel. It was a beautiful and large park right next to where we were staying. We had a fun time walking around the lake and upon a park ranger’s suggestion ‘jumping the creek’ to take a fun trail back to the parking lot. After dinner we went to Shelley Lake Park to let the kids run out some energy. They had a lot of fun with the hilly terrain of North Carolina.
Tuesday we explored the beautiful grounds and sculpture garden of the North Carolina Museum of Art. My favorite was crowd railing that was raised on posts and positioned in the shape of the brain. The artist wanted people wandering around the sculpture to be ‘like neurons firing.’ Both the kids liked ‘wind sculpture’ the best because they played peekaboo to take the picture. We took a quick look around inside the free museum before everyone got hungry and we headed to The Oak Bourbon Bar for some southern eats. My Old Fashioned was perfection. We then headed to Pullen Park, the first park in North Carolina. It had a wonderful playground for the children to play, a miniature train for us all to ride, and a beautiful 106 year old carousel. After nap and dinner we headed to JC Raulston Arboretum to play among the flower and trees. Alex has quite a habit of throwing rocks into lakes/rivers, therefore he did not understand why this could not translate into fountains. In fact, he launched several rocks from the second story peek through as captured in photo.
Wednesday Alex woke up early and I pacified him in our bed with milk and croissant while AJ caught a bit more sleep. Brooke, of course, is the one who’s sleep must be protected so she dozed peacefully in the other room. Being sleepy is her kryptonite as being hungry is Alex’s. When everyone was up and fed we drove into Chapel Hill to visit The University of North Carolina’s campus. They had a gorgeous campus and we enjoyed looking at their bell tower and stadium and having a snack on their ‘mall’. After lunch and dessert on their ‘university’ we headed to the UNC Botanical Gardens to play and relax in their inviting hammocks. After nap and Brooke waking Alex up WWF style we had dinner and headed to nearby Laurel Hills Park. The park had an amazing playground for the kids to really run out the rest of the day.
Thursday the kids read books peacefully while AJ and I packed up the hotel and then we headed to Durant Nature Preserve to walk around, throw rocks in the water, and play before getting in the car for the three hour drive home. Once home, Alex napped, AJ grabbed supplies for dinner, and I unpacked. AJ and Brooke cooked me a delicious birthday dinner of salad (made by Brooke), grilled salmon, and Tuscan bread. It was followed by petit fours with 34plus1 candles. The kids and AJ went shopping to get me a new tea mug and made me beautiful crafts and a card. It was a lovely birthday!
We traveled to Arizona for Allison’s wedding. It was Alex’s first time in Phoenix. Brooke and Alex got to meet their new cousins Ian and Aaron and we all went to the aquarium together. I took the kids to the McCormick Train Park with Ammy, Papa, and Great Uncle Bobby. That night I joined Allison’s friends at her Bachelorette party. Friday we had a playdate with Jackie, Amy, and Ben at their neighborhood parks and house. Then we all got dressed up for the main event: The Worthington Wedding. Brooke and Alex did a good job in the wedding and had fun at the reception. We had a visit with Great Uncle Brad the next day before flying home.
We traveled to Tucson to visit and celebrate Opa’s 70th birthday. It was Alex’s first time in Arizona and Tucson. While we were there we had a great time celebrating Opa’s 70th birthday with a walk, then lunch out at La Parilla Suiza where he got birthday margaritas and flan on the house, pool time with lots of fun splashing, and a dinner party with Christine and Jake. The kids and I had a fun idea to use different numbers to make 70 since Opa loves science and math. There were 12 different numbers that added to 70 on Opa’s birthday cake. The next day we spent a day seeing old friends in the morning and then viewing Christine’s work and taking a tour of the UofA in the afternoon. We hiked Sabino Canyon with Christine and Jake and Alex really enjoyed to cool mountain water that he jumped right in and had to ride home in a diaper. That night we went to the UofA home game with Jackie and Derek who drove down from Phoenix to see us. We hiked Douglas Spring Trail on our last day and bought some La Mesa Tortillas to take home with us, and saw a rainbow after bringing the Virginia rain with us to Tucson.
We took time away to enjoy our family on a vacation in the mountains. We took a stepping stone approach to get to our rental cabin and spent our first day at Water Country. Everyone had a great time at the waterpark and after nap that day we had dinner at and walked around Colonial Williamsburg. The next day we enjoyed lunch at Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, a beautiful area with al fresco dining and boutique shops. When we arrived at our cabin we didn’t waste anytime and got down to business- eating smores. It was Alex’s first smore. The next day we hiked 1.2 miles vertically up Crabtree Falls, had a picnic lunch, then hiked down. Alex had to be carried most of the way because the trail was very steep with rock stairs but Brooke did amazing and would have gone farther if we could. We cooled off that afternoon at Sherando Lake, swimming and running around. The next day we took a ‘meadow trail’ so Alex could walk more around Upper Lake and the kids played at the campsite playground. Then we had lunch at Sherando Lake and swam and splashed some more. Brooke and I swam all the way to the island in the middle and AJ carried Alex to the island around the trail (and through a shallow bit of water) and we all walked around the island. Everyone was very tired after our busy trip!
