richmond rides

Nothing beats doing something together as a family for Father's Day!  I'd heard about Richmond Rides and loved the idea of riding downtown with a guide, with someone else's bike, and with a stop for gelato! 

Diego and Joaquin brought their own bikes, which I definitely recommend.  Your own bike is more comfortable and something you're used to riding.  I don't own a bike, so I was happy to be riding at all.  Well, I'm lucky I still remember HOW to ride a bike.  There was a little incident with me running into a building, but I don't think anyone is interested in that.

Carmen rode along in this trailer with her giant bear.  She looks petrified here, but it's more shy than anything.  Neither JP or I took our cameras, so our friendly guide, Joseph, took all of these shots with his phone.  Thanks, Joseph!

Isabela did an amazing job pulling her most of the way...even down narrow ramps and through the flood wall!  She switched with Dad just at the end, and he admitted it was tough to tow her along.

We got to see some beautiful sights of Richmond, rode along the river and by the new LowLines garden (built under the railroad tracks), Rocketts Landing, and even met up with the paved trail that leads to Williamsburg just for bikers!

This is a monument to Henry "Box" Brown, a slave that escaped to freedom by mailing himself in a box.  This was Isabela's favorite part, and we had just read more about this story a couple of days earlier!

Diego said his favorite part was the stop for ice cream and the free Pac-Man video game we played while waiting for the gelato.  *sigh*

I don't care...it was an amazing day and worth every penny!

little dancer

I'm pretty sure I remember going kicking and screaming to my first ballet class when I was eight years old.  We all know how that turned out.  (For those of you who don't,  ballet became my life for the next eight years.  I spent summers in far away cities dancing at renown schools and every hour after school at the Richmond Ballet.)

And Carmen started off in much the same way.  She cried at the trial class and had no intention of ever going back.

I'm not sure what changed, but one day she wanted to go to dance, which takes place in her same school, where I work.

These are photos from the final recital.

OMG.  Is she a mini-me or WHAT?

Carmen loves a rub-on-tattoo.  We're lucky there's only two on her hand.

She also took tap.

Her amazing smile wasn't going to last long.

Just like mama... performing in front of people is just so stressful!

Two seconds after this last picture, I knew what was coming.  I put down my camera and opened my arms.   She came running over, tap-tap-tap, and leapt into my lap bawling.  We all comforted her and lavished her with praise, while the other girls finished out the song.  I will always remember that hug.

The following Tuesday while getting ready for school, she exclaimed,  "I have dance today!" 

So resilient, that spirit of children!

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memorial weekend

Hello, Kiptopeke.  We're back!

The grand idea was to go camping for Memorial Weekend, but with the weather outlook, I didn't want to risk a stormy night in a tent.

JP convinced me it would still be great to go for the day.  And it was.

The kids were immediately attracted to the beautiful seaweed...

...and the soft sand.

The water was still a little chilly, but it's only knee-deep, so not enough to hit that spot on your back that makes you tippy-toe as you wade in.

Remembering when Isabela almost got her teeth knocked out by a wave, we're not cut out for ocean surf just yet.  The Bay has amazing scenery and calm water, perfect for all ages.

There were several families catching nets of crabs.  I didn't see a single one when I was in the water.

I put SPF 50 on us when we arrived.  We were there for 2.5 hours in the heat of the noon sun.  I don't think any of us even got a hint of a tan.  That stuff works!

Just asking for more days like this, Summer!

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international night

I've always thought it would be fun to have a llama.  

Well, if you can't have a real one, a cardboard one is the next best thing.  It was tricky trying to figure out how to make it stand all by itself.  (And, yes, that's a placemat on his back.)

We made this for our Bolivian booth at Diego's school's International Night.  Families with ties to foreign countries were invited to share cultural items from those countries.  I immediately thought of  the llamas of Bolivia, but we only had a small stuffed one.  A quick pinterest search turned up some creative costumes for llamas that I quickly modified into this.  The head was just taped on to the body, and just after finishing it at home, Diego kicked a ball at it and knocked the head off.  Yes, I was in shock that he would do that, but it was fixable.

This display of pictures was slapped together on my break from work.  We also wanted something for people to DO at our booth.  JP thought of play dough.  So I whipped up several batches of homemade play dough the night before, and we had them try to make replicas of stone statues found in Tiwanaku.  But mostly they just punched and squished it.

Check out the real live cholita.  Isabela represented with her bowler hat.  She did a great job telling people all about Bolivia!

Can you believe this little one has never been to Bolivia? She finally fits in Isabela's first cholita skirt.  She had droopy eyes by the end of the night, but we really had a great time sharing all about JP's home country.  We hope they do this night again!

(I'm still looking for a perfect place in our house for our new llama to live.)

American Ninja Warrior

Diego got invited to an American Ninja Warrior birthday party.  Since this is the main show we watch over summer, and since we all want to be ninja warriors, we couldn't miss it.  

It turns out there's a gym in Richmond that has most of the same obstacles as the show.

Including a warp wall!

The boys, and some of the dads, were determined to get to the top.  Joaquin almost made it a couple of times, but I guess it's a lot harder than it looks.  The wall on the left, even curves backwards a bit, just to make it a little harder. Not really necessary in my opinion.

Diego is a beast at monkey bars, but not going up backwards.

Joaquin couldn't really do it either.  I was secretly happy, because once you got up to the top and your arms were tired, then what?  All that protected you from the hard floor was one tiny mat.

JP finally gave it a try.  There was a little pressure because two of the dads had already made it, but whew! he did, too.  

I think he's doing the "YES!" signal, not flipping me off here.  Although it was hard to tell.

And this was pretty much the state of us girls the whole time.

Isabela strategically wore flip-flops, then complained the whole time that she couldn't try anything...and I wasn't about to hurt myself at a kid party.  I still have a ways to go before I become a ninja warrior.

mini golf statues

We had big plans for spring break.  JP and I both took off of work and thought we'd have a real family vacation.  Only it never really got planned.  And it helps if you take the SAME days off.

So I decided to make the best of it and brave mini golf with four kids by myself. 

We had driven by this place many times but never stopped.  So I piled us in the car and didn't tell them where we were going.  Joaquin's question was, "Does it cost money?"  (He HATES when I take them to free things.  He figures it must be some park if it's free.  What's wrong with a park?)

I said, "Yes. And it's outside."  I knew they'd never guess.

Everyone was very excited when we finally pulled up. (FYI--they don't open until noon, so we had to make a little detour to Short Pump to pass the time.)

This mini-golf place is the coolest one I've ever seen!  Each hole has some random statue obstacle.  Humpty Dumpty?

The giraffe was the coolest.  So HUGE!

Isabela started out trying to keep score.  I warned her that was not a good idea.  Tears are always shed at putt-putt with my kids; the boys mostly.   Especially when it takes more than three swings to get it in the hole.  She gave up keeping score at the second hole.

Watch out, Carmen!  There's an eagle about to snatch you up!

Carmen was a ball thief and a club thief.  Diego was adamant about do-overs, despite the fact that there were people behind us.  I gave up even putting after about the fifth hole so I could just keep the peace.

I love how Carmen posed with my club in front of the unicorn.

Some of the statues were a little scary.  I think Carmen still remembers this blue bear when we talk about this trip.

There was a sign that said, "Don't climb on statues."  But how can you resist?

Don't mind that bunny, Diego.

There was a nice breeze that day.  I can imagine it would be boiling in the hot summer sun, but despite all the bickering that goes along with mini-golf, it was a beautiful day!

I didn't get a shot of the last hole, but if you make it in the right spot, you win a free game.  And wouldn't you know, Joaquin made it!  The nice man at the counter gave him his free pass, then gave one to Carmen since it was her birthday, and then gave one to Diego so he wouldn't be sad....so we are destined to come back.  With Daddy this time.  We wouldn't want him to miss all the fun!

3...7...13

We have celebrated three birthdays over the last couple of months.  Diego was first and is now seven years old!

He is all about Minecraft so we celebrated with a Minecraft party at home with just his family.

He didn't want to invite friends.  I think he is still traumatized from his Army birthday when a guest smashed his face in his cake.  But we still go all out with decorations and a theme.  Unfortunately, my computer ERASED all the photos I had taken of his party!  I was left with just a couple random shots from my iPhone.  *sad face*

Diego hit the jackpot at Chuck E. Cheese and brought home a gumball machine just like Isabela did many years ago.

Carmen was up next.  Three years old!

It was a toss up between Elmo and Micky Mouse for her.

I found the cute little toy figures at the grocery store when I picked up her cake and couldn't resist them.

Her highlight was a build-a-bear stuffed animal.  (She's hugging it before she stuffed it.)  It's a cat, which is funny because she hates our cat.  This one smells like cotton candy though.  

And just a few days ago, Isabela turned thirteen.  This is a RARE shot of her beautiful smile.  I had to take it on the fly with my undercover camera, which is why it's so grainy.

This colorful decoration took WAY longer to make than expected, so I may just have to keep it up all year long.

And where do you shop for a teenager who hasn't said one thing that she wants for her birthday?  Kroger!  We picked up gift cards for some fun stores.....from World Market to REI.  And being the quote-loving mom that I am, I tried to share my limited wisdom with her.

1.  A smile is the best makeup.

2.  Be yourself.  Everyone else is already taken. Oscar Wilde

3.  If you never did you should.  These things are fun. And fun is good.  Dr. Seuss

4.  It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are. E.E. Cummings

5.  Don't be afraid to fail, be afraid not to try.

6.  We love you.  Always have. Always will.  Mom and Dad