the river party

Uncle Shep invites us to a river party every year.  He plays in the band, there's tons of food, a pool, and the most amazing views.

The only caveat is we have to cross this bridge to get there.  It may not look scary in this picture, but this is the most terrifying bridge I have ever been on.  I start to physically sweat and wonder if we'll make it over every single time.

But once we're there, I can relax.  And this year, we discovered a tree swing in the house next door.  Best.  Invention.  Ever.

Let's just enjoy the pictures this time.

get outside

Coaxing the kids outside when it's hot is hard work.  

We were setting out early one morning to go to the park and beat the heat.  I was the last one out of the house, probably exhausted from trying to get everyone else out.  

I heard some commotion outside, and this is what I saw when I got there:

Apparently, this little lizard had been sunning on our tire.

I love this because Joaquin is normally a little scared of 'nature-y' things.  What would make him take  his shoe off and put the lizard on there?  Maybe he didn't have his shoes on yet.

We all thoroughly enjoyed him, even talked about keeping him, but decided it was best to let him go.

And this is why I keep fighting to get them outside.

**update** 

Diego and I did an internet search, and we believe it is an Eastern Fence lizard.  What do you think?

cool city pictures

We don't venture downtown often.   This always makes it so exciting when we do.  The buildings, streets, and views are always so unique, instead of the cookie cutter grass lawns,  two-story houses, and plastic playgrounds of the suburbs.

Just take this building with two giant milk jugs!

I think they are making this into apartments.

At the beginning of summer, we tried a Richmond event, Broad Appetite.  It's just a BUNCH of people walking around and eating food.  I don't know why we thought this would be fun.  Maybe I was just hungry.

We started off with icees because it was SO HOT.  Isabela just wanted to speed walk through the people to get to where we were going...which was not the point.

We briefly stopped for Carmen to slap some paint on a bus, but again, it was hot and crowded.

A windblown selfie to prove I was there.  You can also see Carmen's boo-boo on her chin from her ER trip after Joaquin whacked her with a golf club on accident.  Two stitches.

Another cool building.  I don't know when I became so interested in architecture!

Oooh and brick walls...I tried to get one of the whole family, but I ended up cropping them out for fighting and pouting. This was all that was left!  Ha!  JP is actually smiling!

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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