just girls

Somehow I lucked out one day this summer to be able to hang with just the girls.  The plan was fishing (Carmen's idea) and the Science Museum (Isabela's idea).

All Carmen really wanted to do was use this net, so we went to our nearby lake to see what was there.  It was so hot that day, that even the fish were hiding.

Carmen was happy to simply slap it on the water.

At one point, Isabela caught one, but it was so small, it just escaped through the holes in the net.  We didn't last long at the lake.  

Since we haven't been members of the SMV for several years, we splurged on seeing an IMAX movie about National Parks.  -Amazing!-

We felt like we had just visited some amazing places, and it made us want to get out there and do it all for real.  Isabela was ready to go mountain biking, ice climbing, and hiking as soon as we left the theater!

Here's a link to the trailer if you're interested.

We really enjoyed their new exhibit called Speed.  It's always fun to go as soon as a new exhibit opens because all the stuff still works!

Here is Isabela in a hurricane simulator.   I think it went up to 85 mph winds--not fun!

An amazing slice of a very old tree with rings marked to dates in history.

Carmen was strong enough to lift this very light-weight bicycle.

The best exhibit was a short track where you could race against a pulse of light across the floor that simulated the speed of different animals.  The crocodile is mighty fast!

It was so nice to be able to go out with just the girls!  No soccer talk, no bickering, no competition.  I think this needs to become a monthly event.

where's waldo?

In the long, hot days of July, many of the shops in Carytown draw families down there by playing Where's Waldo?  Our entire family loves to do this, which is rare when the kids range from three to thirteen. 

  Would you believe that Carmen found Waldo in the first store?!  She was sitting in a stroller, and I said, "OK, Carmen, we need to look for Waldo."  And she said, "OK, Mommy. There he is."  I thought she was joking, but he was hiding on a lower shelf in a bookstore, right at her eyesight!

Do you see Waldo in this picture?  It's pretty obvious here, but in a large store, it can take a little bit to find.

I came across these awesome paper placemats that I fell in love with.  I didn't buy them, but I still think about them.  Maybe I'll go back one day.

This was the first time JP was able to come along with us, and he really enjoyed this store full of the first video games we all grew up with.

After finding Waldo in 18 different stores, we decided to eat at the Mellow Mushroom pizza place we'd heard so much about.  Best pizza we've ever eaten.

It's family friendly and full of interesting stuff to look at, just like the rest of Carytown.

After you find Waldo in 18 stores, you can enter a drawing to win Waldo books.  We win something every year!

july fourth?

I know.  School is getting ready to start.  But, since I've neglected the blog the entire summer, I thought I'd start where we left off.

We began our fourth of July with some shrinky-dinks.  A blue ninja with some fireworks--Diego's 

go-to drawing at any time.

Then I dragged the kids to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in the pouring down rain.  It's free on July 4th, and I was so happy for the rain.  I knew it would keep the crowds away and the temperatures down.  The kids, of course were not as enthusiastic about it.  I don't get it.  What kid wouldn't want to play in the rain all morning?

We brought as many umbrellas as we could find. and the gardens lent us a big one.  

But it was just easier for me to walk around without one.  And it turns out what I thought was a rain jacket was really a wind breaker.  (Not waterproof.)  Oh, well.

But look at these amazing lego structures.  A buffalo and its baby.  The birds up above were also made out of legos.  There were lego animals throughout the grounds so we had to hunt for them.

 We ended up inside at a table where the kids could make their own lego squares to display.  Carmen and I made a little house.

Diego's plan was to fill up the whole square, but he compromised with a letter D.

And Joaquin pretended that he had made this amazing picture of dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.  That must have taken more patience than any of us have. 

We decided not to see any fireworks this year.  Too many people, too late, too loud.  But I'm pretty sure this will still be a memorable fourth. 

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!