Another Saturday at the beach

We had a pretty good storm Friday night with the remains of Andrea coming through. By the time it got to us, it was a tropical storm but it definitely made for a good beach day the next day. It was cloudy and overcast and the waves were HUGE. There were several people in wet suits out surfing.

We kept mainly to the sand.

Building a sand castle. Our masterpieces do not last long with Godzilla, er, I mean Sam running around. 

Sam LOVES digging in the sand, putting sand in the buckets, and throwing sand. ALL BOY!

Kate making sand angels

Proof that I was at the beach too. :) 

Eventually we did get in the water. It's definitely cold, but everyone says it will warm up soon. 

Maybe then, we will get in past our ankles.

Norfolk Zoo

Thursday was a FANTASTIC weather day so we decided to drive in to Norfolk to visit the zoo. The drive in to Norfolk took 25 minutes so of course Sam snuck in a little snooze. I swear that kid can sleep anywhere!!

Kate insisted on taking her "noculars" with her so she could see all the animals

She thought the bamboo was really cool and she told anyone that came by it "That's bamboo!"

Sam loved the idea of getting out of the stroller to look at the animals. He is at that age where he loves to get out and walk but we would still probably be at the zoo if I let him walk everywhere. Can you say slow and small steps? I know, pretty soon he will be running and I will be telling him to slow down!

Looking at the turtles. What was really cute is that Kate was telling Sam that the turtle's name was Sammy.

Then she wanted to ride the giant turtle statue.

Looking at the giraffes. There was even a brand new baby giraffe that was born very early that same day. Kate liked seeing the baby giraffe but when daddy got home, all she told him she saw was "giraffe poop." Yeah.

Saved the best for last - riding the train!

Someone was EXCITED!

We had a great time and I have a feeling we will be getting a season pass for sure!

(Nice photo bomb)

Tuesday was pool day

Packed up and ready to go!

We got there a little before the pool opened so we had some sidewalk chalk time.

A few jets flew by! We are so very close to Oceana naval base that we get several fly bys a day. And when they fly right over the house, they are LOUD! But they have to be loud to be that fast ... at least that's what we tell Kate. :)

Loving the pool time! Yes, it's a pink raft for Sam but he doesn't care. Apparently I grabbed the one that we used when Kate was his age. And the Hello Kitty ball? Well it's a ball, so Sam loves it!

Chillin

My big girl swimming all around with her floaties on. She is doing really well on "moving the water." We were sad that we couldn't do swim lessons with Ms Julie this year but at least we will get plenty of pool time this summer. 

After a fun morning and a tasty lunch, what's better than a big nap? Sam just couldn't wait!

Rainy Monday

So what do you do when you live in Virginia Beach and it rains most of the day? Well, you go to Target (one of mommy's favorites!) and then you search out the library.

Playing in the blocks

Reading .. a Christmas book. Why not?

Driving the boat

It finally did clear up enough to run out to the pond and feed the ducks and geese.

Friday Beach Day

So daddy went in to his new office this morning so the kids and I headed to the beach to hang out. Lots of fun in the sand and being chased by the waves!

Hot day means lots of water for baby boy! And a BIG nap!!

An evening walk on the boardwalk with some DQ icecream.

The BIG move to Virginia Beach

So we packed it all up and left Little Rock on Monday May 28 and headed east. Our plans were to leave LR by 9am but well, that didn't happen! We pulled out of St Michael at 10:45. We weren't sure how the kids would do with all the driving, so we decided that a good goal would be to get to Nashville, TN on Monday night.

We turned Sam around in his car seat so he could have more leg room and watch the DVD player. All I can say is ... THE KIDS DID GREAT! I was shocked. No arguments. No fighting getting back in the car seat after a stop. There was fantastic napping! One happy momma! What's the secret? Snacks! Lots and lots of snacks! Sam had his teddy grahams and goldfish and Kate had her popcorn and goldfish. Both were happy.

We got to Nashville in time for dinner and some swim time. The water was too cold for mommy and Sam but Kate said it wasn't cold at all. Her chattering teeth when she got out of the pool said otherwise.

Tuesday we got an early start since hotel sleeping is a joke with small children. Thanks to a tasty hotel breakfast, we had full bellies and were on the road by 7:30 am.

 Lunch at Chic fil a in Knoxville and a good time on the playmat led to a good afternoon car nap for the kids.

Dinner was at Cracker Barrel in Clemmons, North Carolina. Both kids ate a really good dinner and then we drove on to Greensboro, NC for another Holiday Inn stay. More swimming for Kate and daddy and Sam decided to rearrange all the pool furniture.

We crossed over the Virginia state line and decided to take a playground break at the rest stop.

Lunch at KFC in Emporia, VA and Sam took a nap all the way to Virginia Beach. I think Kate was just too excited to nap so we just skipped it all together. Daddy volunteered to unload the trailer while the kids and I got out of the way ... which meant we went to the beach.

So we are all here, mostly unpacked, and we've been to the beach everyday! YAY!