Busch Gardens!

Several years ago, Jason, Jenn, Mick and I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA around Halloween and had so much fun that we have always talked about going back.

 

This year seemed like the perfect time, so we planned the trip and did it!  Jenn found a house for us to rent in Virginia Beach, and we invited Julie, Rob, Stacy and Zachary too.  It was a total of seven of us with the four kids, so the house was the best way to go so everyone had plenty of space, but we could all stay together.

 

We went up on Thursday and spent a little while on the beach--it was breezy and a little chilly, but not to cold for Em and Cody to play in the water!

Friday morning we got up and headed to Busch Gardens.  It was about an hour drive from the house we stayed in, and we got there just after it opened.  Of course there are tons of adult rides and roller coasters, but there were just as many for the kids, and it was so much fun.

In the Sesame Street area, we thought Em would want to meet some of the characters, but she changed her mind at the last minute.  She's very shy around big furry creatures :).

But she rode the Whirly Worm twice, and loved it!

Zachary was very patient with the younger kids, and Cody and Emily did a pretty good job of keeping up with him all day!

They rode some of the smaller stuff together while Zachary rode some of the bigger rides.

The carousel is always a favorite, and there was a horse to pose on outside, which Em obviously took advantage of :).

There were a few rides that all three kids could get on together,

and there were plenty of animals to see--birds, wolves, and even a show with pet tricks!

I loved all the rides that were perfect for the kids to ride by themselves--Em loved the independence.

But she also enjoyed the bigger stuff that some of the adults went on with her--you can hardly even see her over the restraint in this one!

On Saturday, we played mini golf, walked to some shops at the beach, and ate a huge seafood dinner before heading back to the house.

Sunday, we all headed home--Julie, Rob and Stacy had flights to catch, and Jason, Jenn and we had long drives ahead of us.  It was such a fun weekend, and it was so good to all spend time together--it had been way too long, and Em doesn't get to see her cousins nearly enough.  We all really enjoyed our adult time after the kids were in bed at night too--it sure makes me wish we all lived closer together!

Soccer Star

Emily started Soccer Shots, which has a special session just for 2-year olds, right before she left Gateway.  Luckily, Rainbow Station had the same program and we were able to just transfer her registration when she moved.

She loves it, and talks about her coach every Tuesday afternoon.  Today, she scored her first goal, and got this cool "GOAL!" sticker that she wore very proudly.  I asked her if she kicked the ball into the net, and she said "no Mommy, into the goal."  Well, excuse me.

And Another...

I wasn't kidding when I said we were trying to make it to all of the fall festivals around us--we went to another one on Saturday after Em had a much needed haircut.

Her favorite thing (if there aren't any ponies to ride) is painting pumpkins.  She loves to paint--it entertains her for much longer than crayons or markers...probably because it can make a much bigger mess :).



There was a cupcake walk, and Em won a miniature chocolate cupcake that she ate before lunch.  I think this one of the reasons we love festivals...anything resembling a healthy eating habit is out the door :).

The fire truck was there, so Em had to check it out...

and then Daddy needed to check it out too.  He was as excited about it as she was!

There were a few other games that she won little prizes at, and luckily, most of the people working at the games really catered to the little kids.  They were right up her alley.

Pumpkins, hayrides, and games

We have apparently made it our mission to hit every fall festival and pumpkin patch within a 10 mile radius of our house...which doesn't seem like a lot, but it has kept us busy, and there seem to be enough planned to get us almost to Thanksgiving :).

Em has been talking about riding a horse for months--when she was in Gateway, we passed by a horse farm on our way to and from school every day.  It was on a back road, and I'd slow way down or sometimes stop completely so she could see the horses.  She would talk about them nonstop--picking out the one she wanted to ride, and talking about everyone else who would ride with her.  So when we got to this festival and saw the pony rides, we headed straight there.

She picked out the black horse, and has now decided she needs a helmet of her own.

This was a pumpkin patch near her school, and has been the most fun so far.  Emily loved picking out pumpkin after pumpkin--they give you a wagon to carry the pumpkins, and she literally wanted to keep every one she picked out.

It really felt like fall that morning, so we all had to wear jackets.

We've got to do better at getting all three of us in pictures once in a while!

There was a musical hayride with a scavenger hunt along the way--Em loved finding all the witches, ghosts and other Halloween stuff.

But this was her favorite--these bouncing balls were hilarious.  She must have fallen off a dozen times, and kept getting back on.  At one point, I tried to lure her back to our wagon by telling her the pumpkins were waiting on her.  She turned her ball around and yelled "I'm coming pumpkins...I'm just gonna bounce to you!"  The things she says crack me up.

There was a huge sand box with toys and shovels, and Em wasted no time taking her shoes off and jumping right in.

She is crazy about popcorn now, so she was so excited to spend her dollar and have her very own bag.  She didn't come close to eating all of it, but she was very proud to carry the bag around and pick out the "fluffy white pieces."

There were two corn mazes--we chose the shorter kid-friendly one because we weren't sure Em would have the patience for the huge one.

We had so much fun--we may end up going back before the season is over.

Having Fun

Emily has such a fun little personality--these are just a few pictures of her having a good time...

she had a little scraped nose for about a week after falling in the driveway.  This little dress is a favorite of her Daddy's--go Dawgs!

We always spend some time in the $1 section at Target when we go--especially now that the Halloween decorations are out.  There's always something fun to try on or play with there.

The live music on Friday and Saturday nights ended the last weekend of September, so we took advantage of it and let Em get some dancing out of her system.

There's a new IHOP that opened a couple of miles from us, so we went one Saturday morning for breakfast, and Em needed to wear her tutu :).  She turned a lot of heads!

Breakfast for Dinner

Don't you just love those nights when you come home and don't want to cook, so it's breakfast for dinner?  Em is such a terrific helper, and loves cracking the eggs or stirring anything.

It certainly makes everything a lot more fun with her helping in the kitchen :).

New School

We've been thinking about moving Em to a different school lately--there has been a lot of teacher turnover at Gateway, and she just moved up to Pre-2 and has another new teacher, Ms. Monnica started.  Emily (for the first time ever) told me every day that she didn't like Ms. Monnica because she was "not nice."  It really bothered me, partially because I didn't really connect with her either.  The fact that we have to leave Em in day care for 10 hours a day is bad enough without worrying if she's receiving the best care with the best people.

I took half a day off to go look at another center near us that has terrific reviews, and just received a NAEYC Accreditation, which very few schools have.   It's called Rainbow Station, and we know several people who have moved from Gateway to there.  In fact, I saw Em's very first boyfriend (Evan) when I was touring, and another of her very early friends (Cameron).  I loved the school, so I decided to go talk with the Director at Gateway.  I found out that Ms. Monnica had been terminated, which was great...but that meant another new teacher...which wasn't great.  The decision was made.

Friday, September 21 was Em's last day at Gateway, and she started at Rainbow Station on Monday the 24th.  This was her first morning--we kept talking about her new school over the weekend, and she seemed excited.  Surprisingly, she wasn't nervous about her new classroom.  She was excited because everything was new--the classroom is decorated with owls, which she loves.  They have a color and a theme every week, and Fridays are "show and share" day, when all the kids bring in something in the color of the week to show their friends.  There's a newsletter, a PTA, and all kinds of ways for us to get involved, which is just what we want.

Another cool feature of the school is The Get Well Place, which is a separate wing of the school where full time registered nurses are on staff--if Em was ever sick and something happened where Mick and I couldn't take off work, she can stay there in her own room with someone taking care of her.  Granted, we hope we won't need to use that, but it's certainly nice to know it's there.

We're looking forward to the change, and think we've made the right decision.

Here Comes Fall!

Fall is my favorite season for lots of reasons, but one of them is all of the fall festivals that happen--I love festivals in general, and the weather is usually so nice in fall.  The first one around us happened this weekend, and it was pretty small, but there were some features that we knew Em would love.

Her favorite (no surprise) was the petting zoo--it was also small, but was just enough for her.  This bunny's name was Chocolate Chip, and Em called him the Velveteen Rabbit.

The goose was a little more intimidating, so she kept her distance.  Looking forward to lots of fall festivals this year!

Playing Games

Emily loves to act silly, and she's in a great mood most nights when it's bath time.  She usually sits up on the counter while we dry her hair and brush teeth, and lately, she's decided some of her bath toys need to come with her and "swim" in the sink while she gets ready for bed.  One night, she told me she wanted to get in with her toys--I thought she meant she was going to put her feet in, but she didnt.

She was really proud of herself!

Music Lady

Emily really has a thing for music, and has quite a collection of instruments now, including a drum, harmonica, maracas and recorder.  She's especially talented at playing the air violin though--we have a CD for the car that has a song about different instruments and the sounds they make, and she's learned to play the violin like a pro!  She normally assigns Mick and me other instruments so we don't take hers (she can be very bossy).

She's Got Personality

Emily has more personality than any two-year old I've ever seen.  She's so talkative and will really just carry on a normal conversation like she's an adult sometimes.  She's started making up nonsense words to amuse herself (and us), and will give silly answers to questions she knows sometimes--then slap her leg and say "that is so funny!" and laugh like she's just the most hilarious thing on the planet.

She'll come home in the afternoons, fold her arms and tilt her head to the side and say "Mommy/Daddy, how was your day?"  And she's also decided to start naming her favorite or best friends.  So sometimes she'll tell us "guys, you are my favorite friends," or tell her baby dolls "you are my best friends ever." 

She's gotten much more into playing with dolls--aside from books (still her favorite), her babies are her favorite right now.  We bought some tiny newborn diapers for her to use with them, because she loves changing them and getting them dressed--they always seem to be going to the beach, but are usually wearing crazy outfits and winter hats.  She puts them in a stroller or her little grocery cart and rolls them around the house (or outside sometimes), and when she puts them to bed, they're always face down and completely covered with a blanket.  She's so funny to watch.

Tea parties are a favorite activity now too.  We had bought her a Disney Princess tea set last Christmas that I had decided was a waste, but it's now one of her most played-with toys!

Her coordination is pretty good too, for someone who never stops moving!  We signed her up for a program for two-year olds at school called Soccer Shots, and she starts Monday.  If it's as big a hit as Tumblebugs, it will be money well spent.

Big Girl Bed

This weekend, we decided to convert Em's crib to a toddler bed--we had ordered the rail a couple of months ago, but were waiting until we felt like it was the right time.  She really never tried to climb out of the crib, but she's doing so well with potty training that it's not out of the question to think she'd get up and go to her bathroom on her own.

She was SO excited when Mick put the rail up, and is really proud to be such a big girl!

Working at the Carwash

Mick got a new, smaller van for work, which he was really excited about--we've always had a little bit of a battle with parking his commercial vehicle in our driveways when we live in a neighborhood with a HOA.  Fortunately, Rosemont has never said anything to us--he parks behind his truck and covers the logos with white magnets so you really can't see them.  Still, the smaller van meant there's even less chance anyone will notice it because it's completely hidden by his truck.

The day he brought it home, he decided to wash it, and Em was more than happy to help him out!

She was excited to be in charge of spraying the water whille he washed.  She's quite the little helper!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend always brings the Matthews Alive Festival--it benefits local non-profit organizations and is always a lot of fun.  The problem is that it seems like every year, it's still so hot outside on Labor Day!  We went anyway, on Saturday afternoon--Emily had a great time, of course. 

There was live music, so she danced every chance she got.

She and Daddy went down the Super Slide, and I got the helicopters and carousel.

After only a couple of hours, it was really too hot to stay much longer, so we headed out--we had dinner, and Emily had her first ice cream in a cone for dessert.  She was a fan immediately, and did really well with it considering the lack of practice.

After dinner, we went to hear some more live music, and Emily cleaned out my pennies when we got to the fountain.  She has a pretty good arm!

On Sunday, it was still really hot outside, so we spent the morning at the pool.  I uploaded some videos, but didn't take any pictures.  I did, however, catch this one during our water gun fight in the backyard Sunday afternoon!  Emily was hilarious, and we all had fun (and were soaked by the end).

We got into dry clothes and decided to go back to the Matthews Alive Festival, since the weather was cooling off some.  It was much nicer Sunday evening, so we had festival food for dinner (yum!) and rode some more rides.  We headed home with a very sleepy little girl.

We didn't do much on Monday, except a few things around the house and yard.  It rained some, so Em took advantage of the weather and played with her umbrella--she gets so excited about using an umbrella!

Overall, it wasn't a tremendously busy weekend, but we had a good time and enjoyed the extra day for sure.

Friday Night Fun

 

Every weekend should be three days long! We originally planned to go camping this weekend, but it turned out to be much hotter than we expected, so we stayed around home.

 

Friday night, we decided to go to Barnes and Noble at the mall--they have a kids' story time at 7pm, and we thought Emily would enjoy it.  We had a rare junk food dinner at Chick-fil-A, which she was so excited about she could hardly finish her chicken nuggets!

We got there a few minutes early, and Em found her seat and waited anxiously!



Once the story actually started, her attention span shortened a little.  I guess it's like asking someone to go to a candy store and only have a piece of gum with all the other great stuff around--she was distracted by all the other great books.  Emily and I could both stay in the bookstore all day!

We stayed a while, picked out some books to buy, and headed home after doing a little more shopping.