Good-bye Norfolk

So I am feeling a little sad this afternoon. We left my sister's house this morning. :-( We had so much fun with her. We went back to Sandfiddler for another yummy breakfast and then to a coffee shop for teas. We got one that my sister named Memaw's Garden. It's so yummy! Now were on our way to PA. Tomorrow we'll head to Canada. We're having a blast so far. The kids loved the beach. We saw dolphins playing with a couple of surfers. The kids found lots of shells. Big thanks to my sister for a great time. We love you and miss you Michelle.



Kiddos with Aunt Shell




Me and my sissy

Last day at the beach

We went back to the beach today. We head to Pennsylvania tomorrow. We've had so much fun. JD went into deeper water this time. He is so funny. A wave would hit and he would say, "Please, please...I'm too young to die." When he would say that I would laugh so hard and the next wave would take me out, so he said it a lot. It was a great day. Heading to Michelle's to order in Chinese and pack our bags. Thanks Aunt Shell for everything. :-)



Heading back to Aunt Shell's.

In Virginia

We made it to my sister's late Tuesday night. Wednesday we went to the SandFiddler Cafe in Norfolk for breakfast. It is an awesome restaurant. Check it out if you are ever in the area. We went to the beach for a little bit and then went to see a movie.



(Me @ the beach)

Wednesday night Michelle hosted a Celebrating Home party. Yes, I am working on vacation and you know that you NEED a bean pot, so call me. :-) I made a bean pot lasagna and a microwave cake. Then this morning we went to a different beach, Sandbridge, to watch the sun rise and gather shells.



(Sunrise @ Sandbridge)



(Running from the waves)

Then we got Krispy Kreme and Starbucks and went to Michelle's. We took a nap and headed back to the beach and Michelle took our family picture. We went to Sandbridge Island Restaurant and had all you can eat crab legs and shrimp. Then we swam and built sand castles. JD buried me in the sand. He gave me a mermaid tail. Too funny. Had a great day.


I love this picture of Phillip!

Geo Caching

Well, for those of you who don't know what geo caching is...the Air and Space Museum knows and can fill you in. :-)

A day in DC

Today we toured our nation's Capitol. We started at the Library of Congress and went on a tour. Next we went to our Congressman's office. We met the sweet lady that set up all our DC tours. Then Jacob, the intern, took us on a tour of the Capitol. It was so cool. We even got our picture taken on the steps and a copy will be mailed to us. We learned so many interesting facts. Definitely do the Capitol tour if you are ever in DC. We had lunch at Union Station. We even found a few virtual caches. Next we walked to the Washington monument and went to see Lincoln. Man, we did so much walking. Everyone was tired and sore. We took the train back to the car. Went to the hotel and the kids went swimming. Then we ordered pizza for dinner. Noah helped me do laundry. Tomorrow we're going back to DC to the Smithsonian. Then to Norfolk to see my sister. Yeah!



On the Capitol steps.



Visiting Mt. Lincoln.

Sunday

Sunday we drove all day long. We got stuck in a lot of traffic and got to the hotel really late.

Stone Mountain

We spent the day at Stone Mountain, so am just now able to update. We road the ducks. The kids loved it. We even had Captan Tiny as our driver. You may remember him from Under Cover Boss. He was a hoot. We went up to the top of Stone Mountain on the sky ride. It was pretty over cast, so the visibility was low. On a clear day, you can see downtown Atlanta. Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed granite. It's 864 feet above the surrounding area. The granite base, meaning what's under ground, reaches to Tennessee and Kentucky. There used to be a quarry there and stone from Stone Mountain is in all post offices built before 1972 and was used in construction of the steps of the US Capitol. The boys (Phillip and Noah) did some caching on the mountain. We also got to tour the antebellum plantation and farm yard. Got to pet some goats, sheep, and pigs. (I liked the plantation tour the most.) Did you know that when Sherman burned Atlanta you could still see the mountain through the smoke? Also, Sherman had all the rails from the railroads in the area pulled up and put in bon fires and then wrapped around trees, so that they would not be useable. They called them Sherman neck ties. We did a ton of walking and were very hot and tired. It was so humid. I think you need gills to breath the air. We stayed late to watch the laser show and fire works. Very cool. It was a really fun day.



This was some rock in the parking lot.



Quack! Quack!



Silly Daddy.



Quack!



Aren't we cute ducks?



On top of Stone Mountain.



Waiting for the show to start. It was so hot and it rained some, so our tushies got wet.

5 states - 1 day

So far we have traveled through Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. We'll reach Georgia tonight too. Our family tradition is to take a picture in front of the state signs. We don't have an Arkansas one (but will when we come home) and Georgia will have to wait till we leave on Sunday as it will be too dark. We've gotten a geo cache in each state and left a Razorback pin in each cache. We won't be getting the oldest cache this trip as it will be too dark when we get there. Another time. Kids have been doing really well, especially considering how long we've been in the car. Everyone will be glad to get to the hotel tonight. JD especially, since his blister popped and needs a fresh band aid. Poor guy, it hurt when it popped. Playing with mommy's iPhone made it better though. :-)

Lunch

We stopped in Russellville, AR for lunch, which greatly improved everyone's moods. :-) Phillip stopped to get a geo cache. Don't know what that is, look it up or check out Phillip's blog at www.totosphotos.blogspot.com. We went to CJ's Butcher Boy Burgers for lunch. So good! Phillip and I split a burger and were still so full. They have the best home fries, just like my grandma used to make. She would have loved them. Back on the road. Abby is doing her homework and the boys are playing Lego Batman on their DS's. We're listening to the satellite radio. We'll get into Atlanta late tonight. The5Ts may have to stop in Alabama to get the oldest active cache. (Again, look it up. Fun hobby.) Going to Stone Mountain tomorrow. History lesson for the kids. :-)


This is after we ate.



Outside of CJ's. Yum!

Vacation here we come

Day one of our vacation
We got a later start than we had planned. Phillip and I stayed up late loading the car. When we woke up this morning, we found a gross mess. Our dog, Candi, had pooped all over the front room floor. Yuck! We cleaned it up and got the carpet shampooed. We hit the road at about 9 this morning. The kids slept. Below are some pictures in the car. Noah was quite grumpy and told me that he didn't want to go on vacation. A nap helped some, but as you can see from the pictures he is still feeling kind of grumpy. JD has been asking since we left if he can play with his DS. Abby is in a great mood, even though she has to do homework. Gonna be a fun trip. Stone Mountain tomorrow.

Home made cleaner

Okay, so this weekend my sister-in-law was showing me her home made cleaner and how great it works. Well, so I decided to try making some. It's incredible! It's an antibacterial, anti fungal, and a bug repellent. It's really cheap to make as well. Just get a spray bottle to mix it in. Recipe is below. Happy cleaning!

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
4 TBLS lemon juice
10-20 drops of tea tree oil

Shake it all together. It's great. If you don't like the smell, add some essential oils like lavender or rose.