A year of KOA

My first summer working was pretty hard on our fun meter.  So the weekend before school started, we planned to go camping at our first ever KOA in Williamsburg.  Since there's a discount when you get a membership, we decided to join for a year.

Juan Pablo splurged on the cabin without a bathroom, which turned out to be a great idea since it rained the first day.

We had no idea what to expect, but we were all thoroughly impressed with the camp store.  Who doesn't love a good gift shop?

This KOA has paved roads and go-cart bikes to rent.

Very fun, but a little hard to steer.

We brought Carmen's bike along, too.  It's perfect because it's so heavy duty.  The boys still ride that thing!

My nature boy enjoying a spikey ball.

And look at this bear we found in the woods!

There was a great playground with a gaga ball pit, too.  I'd never played before, but it is kind of like dodgeball with a lot of bending over!  

I forced everyone to walk the trail.  At one point, I saw a huge acorn and asked Isabela to pick it up.  When she bent down, she started screaming hysterically.  Apparently, a one-armed crab was right by the acorn and started skittering away.  What are the chances?  Everyone was tense after that, seeing spiders and whatnot around every corner.  Their screaming ensured we didn't see any wildlife.

Tree-hugger.

Pancake breakfast!  The fun thing about KOAs is that they often have activities for everyone.  How about free pancakes?

Is that a smile on her plate? And pancake in her hair?

He must have said something funny.

Carmen and I strolled down to the petting zoo one night.  Lots of sweet baby animals.

Then it was on to gem mining.

You're guarantied to get something because you buy a bag of stuff that has the rocks already in it.  Who knew?

Diego is also a future geologist and has a table in his room covered with rocks.

Our hammock!  We splurged on some straps from REI before we left so we could hang our hammock up anywhere.  We've had this hammock for eleven years and never used it.  I don't know why I hung onto it for so long, but I'm glad I did.  It was definitely one of the highlights and I even heard other children saying, "I wish we had one of those."

Here was our cabin.  Front porch swing.  Awesome.  Double bunk beds inside...awesome, too.  There was even a separate room for the parents!  (But Carmen weaseled her way in like she always does.)

Diego was fascinated with the fire.

Did I mention the jumping pillow?  Most awesome thing ever.  It's like skyzone, but outside.

   And they had two--one for little kids and one for big kids!

(Not buried in sand, but it looks like it!)

But when no one was around, we had it all to ourselves.

See you at the next KOA!

Latin jazz and salsa festival

For my new college class this semester, we had an assignment to visit someplace where we were different from other people.  (The class is called Diverse Learners.) I thought it would be fun to go to the Latin Jazz and Salsa festival at Dogwood Dell.  I'm not really a jazz person, but I used to like salsa dancing a lot.

Again I dragged the whole family along.  I thought it would be good for the kids to see an outdoor concert as well.   They pretty much complained the entire time, but that's nothing new.  I had brought along Spot It! for them to play and some snacks to tide them over.

Juan Pablo and I danced a little with the crowd down in front of the stage, but it was Carmen that couldn't stop.  There were lots of kids and families there, so she saw some little girls dancing and wanted to join in.

Now in the car, when a certain song comes on with the same instruments that were at the concert, she remembers it and says she wants to go dancing again!

Here's a little video where salsa arms turn wildly into a flapping bird:

library learning

Our local public libraries have so many neat programs for children of all ages.  Over the summer, I dragged three of the kids (usually they don't want to go, but love it after they've been) to a program on creatures in our back yards.  

We learned about a corn snake that rustles in the leaves to sound like a rattler and some other neat animals.

Here is a turkey buzzard that showed off its large wing span.

They had a cute little tree trunk prop that they would pull the animals out of.  Of course, they warned all the kids not to go reaching into holes in the woods.

There was a pretty barred owl...

...and a screech owl.  Look at those big eyes!!

Here's a close up of that cute opossum.  Interesting fact #1: No, they do not hang by their tails.  She said that only happens in cartoons.  They are too heavy to do that, but they may wrap their tail around a branch to balance themselves.  Interesting fact #2:  Their lifespan is only three years!

On our way to the car, we came across this amazing, but dead, beetle.  You never know what you'll find at the local library!

Today, Isabela's off to learn how to use a 3D printer.

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putt-putt

Diego was invited to a birthday party at Putt-Putt.  Because weekends are so precious to me since I work full-time (I'm coming up on one year soon--betcha' thought I wouldn't make it!), I thought it would be fun if the whole family went. 

We've gotten over the trauma of Carmen's stitches when she got whacked in the face with a golf club.

I also happened to have some coupons which sealed the deal for JP.

Diego broke away from the party when it was time to hit the course and sped through, hitting the ball as many times as he could.

I looked over at one point, and there was the family playing!  After they played their round of golf, they went inside to the video arcade.  You should have seen all the prizes they came away with!  Best time ever!

Selfie with Diego and I.  I've stopped carrying my good camera around as much, but forget to pull out my phone to remember to take pictures.  Is it me, or do selfies always make you look like your eyes are crossed?

Watch out for that hippo!

And that gator doesn't look too happy in that murky water.

Coming up to the finish line.  No holes-in-one this time around, but he may have gotten the high score!

Who's that big guy in that tiny car?

According to the kids, we've done nothing all summer.  I find that hard to believe.