We spent the weekend away, which was our first time away as a family since Christmas. It was a very nice change after spending most of last week at the pool. We spent Saturday at Colonial Williamsburg and Sunday at the Jamestown Settlement. I've already posted pictures to Flickr, for those who haven't seen them yet. Saturday was hot... really hot, especially for Clara who was outfitted in her colonial dress. And although the day seemed full of not-so-good moments: Eli nearly tumbling down a hill, Clara whining about being hot and sweaty, or Lucas whining about being thirsty and hungry, we still ended up having a really nice time. The kids got a chance to tread mud for bricks at the brickyard - their favorite part of the day by far! Jason got to witness an artillery demonstration, which the kids and I could not join him at since Lucas discovered his fear of loud booms. The first time we heard any of the canon-fire, Lucas took off running in the opposite direction of the sound. Talk about a scary moment... your kid fleeing into a crowd by himself! Of course, after the fact we can laugh about it. Sunday proved to be much more enjoyable all around... the temps were milder, and the Jamestown Settlement has a lot to see and do for both the adults and the kids. They have these full scale, fully functional, exact replicas of the ships that sailed into Jamestown in 1607 that the kids ran all over. I know that was Lucas' favorite part as he kept asking throughout the day if we were going to go back to the ships. In addition to the ships, there was also a Powhatan village and the James Fort to explore. It was great fun. The museum there was so expansive that we ended up having to skim through a lot of it. We took a break about halfway through our visit to get some lunch and then took the kids to a playground. It was nice to let them run and expend some energy before tackling the museum. I really loved taking a short vacation, but it reminded me just how much work is involved in trying to get away with 3 small kids. I guess that explains why we haven't done it since Christmas. Though I am feeling braver. This summer we plan to hit the beach for an overnight stay (our past beach excursions have all been day trips). Clara and Lucas are itching to camp out, which I would love... I have always loved camping, but I'm just not sure that I'm brave enough to try that yet with Eli still so little.
In other news, Clara had her first swim meet yesterday evening. For the Little Vikings, it isn't competitive at all, it's just a way to demonstrate their progress in a highly motivating setting. For this first meet, they had to swim the length of the pool with their kick boards. I could tell that Clara was putting forth her best effort, but I could also tell that her coach was assisting her by pulling on the kickboard part of the time. I'm anxious to see how she progresses throughout the summer. Lucas' swim lessons are going very well. After explaining to the coach that his name was not Lucas Black, the coach now refers to him in class as "Lucas Blah". So... Lucas Blah is doing much better... more attentive, even providing the model for behavior in some instances. He still seems like the smallest kid in the class, but size doesn't hold him back. I guess the biggest news is how Eli is doing at the pool. My post on Monday went into detail about how much he hated the water. Each day following, he got closer and closer to actually getting into the water himself, until Thursday he did just that. He spent most of the morning on Thursday in the water, splashing and having a grand time. Unfortunately, it didn't last. Friday he was back to just sitting on the edge splashing with his feet and that is where he has remained. I'm not disappointed... he is still having fun with the water... and knowing that he's gotten in once, I know it will happen again.
Outside of pool stuff... Eli is cutting teeth, finally! Four new teeth are poking through the gums and have been causing him an enormous amount of grief.
On a personal note. I just learned that my good friend lost a very dear friend. I feel very sad for her loss. The news caused emotions to resurface from when I learned of Jason's passing... emotions that I never really dealt with at the time, so whenever I think about it, it still seems very raw. I really miss him.
1 comment:
I was thinking about Jason the other day. His untimely loss is very sad, even to someone like me who didn't know him very well. I remember hanging out at your apartment on Byers with him and Shane. I'm sorry that your friend's loss brings up these emotions again. Thinking of you both...
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