Fredericksburg Fair

Our plans to head to Maryland today ended when the birthday guy woke up sick this morning. So, we looked for another adventure. We had picked up a brochure at the library advertising the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair, which started yesterday. Today happened to be Military Appreciation Day, which meant Mommy was the only one who had to pay (but really, they should be appreciating Mommy too, right?).

Kylie was really fascinated by the animals at the fair.

Will was tall enough to get a wristband and ride all the kiddie rides alone, so that's what he did. Can you guess, though, which ride went a little too fast for his liking?

After trying all the rides, Will played one carnival game and totally rocked it. He threw three darts and popped three balloons, so he got a prize.

After that, it was time for ice cream and a little tractor and ambulance viewing.

Will climbed right into the mock ambulance and helped himself to the equipment. He called the police officers from the radio and made sure his seat belt was buckled.

On the way out, we stopped at the Chain Saw Art booth where the man carves these creations using only a chain saw. Pretty impressive, huh?

An Early Birthday Present

A few weeks ago, Mom and the kids stopped at Walmart where Will tried out pedaling a big boy bike. He did really well cruising the aisles of Walmart, and Mommy sent Daddy an email photo with the news. On his way home from work, Josh stopped and got the very bike Will had set his sights on. We planned to keep it hidden until the big birthday, so it's been riding around in Daddy's car for a while now. Today, though, Josh wanted his trunk back, so we told Will to go check in the trunk.



Boy, was he excited! He hopped right on the bike and away he went.




After a quick ride down the road, during which he sang Happy Birthday to himself, Will headed back to the garage where Josh presented him with his own bike horn!





Josh had to go back to work this afternoon, so the kids and Mom hit up storytime at the library where Kylie was really interested in the other kids. She would get all excited everytime she saw another kid playing. We took good naps to get ready for our evening family run and bike ride. We're heading to Maryland this weekend for a birthday party.

Great Falls

Today, we packed up and drove an hour north west to Great Falls, VA, home of Great Falls National Park. This is where the Potomac River hits some steep drops and rocks and goes through Mather Gorge. It's an 800 acre park with hiking trails and overlooks.

We hiked down through some splits in the rocks to get a closer (but still safe) look. Along the way, we climbed some cliffs and rocks, too.

Miss Kylie was in charge of the map, so she led us to a big, cool overhang where she really enjoyed touching the rocks.

Will started the morning off strong, but the rising temperature soon led to a falling temperament and when he tripped and fell, it was the end of a peaceful walk through the woods.

So, it was Super Dad to the rescue. Yes, Marine Daddy insisted he could carry both kids back to the visitors' center, where, thankfully, they had air conditioning and water fountains to refill our water bottles.

We picnicked in the car and headed back home, where everyone cooled off and calmed down before an evening baseball game with our neighbors.

Busy Day

This morning's planned adventure was to head "downtown" and explore the river bank. It wasn't very impressive; actually it was kind of dirty. So, we walked a bit along the river, played on the playground, and then headed to Fun Land to use the batting cages, bumper boats, and go karts.

Mom and Dad showed their batting skills using the machine, but we let Will use them at a more appropriate speed: Daddy speed.

Then it was on to the go karts, which Will found to be a bit too loud for his taste.

The bumper boats, though, were more his speed. He loved driving under the sprinklers and bumping into the walls and other kids.

Kylie took the bumper boat time to snuggle up to Daddy for a quick morning nap.

We have big plans for Daddy's last day off tomorrow, so stay tuned for photos of our day adventure.

Lake Anna

We spent the day at Lake Anna today. It's a gorgeous lake only 20 minutes from our house. The drive there is all back roads, through farm country, so it's very peaceful and scenic.

We were the only people there for almost an hour...and we got there at 9am! We set up camp and tested the water...it was REALLY WARM!

Kylie took to sunbathing and swimming in the lake very well. If you stayed still long enough, little perch would come nibble on your legs and toes. Will thought this was really funny. Speaking of Will, we haven't mentioned he's back to being a little fish! Mommy was a little nervous of his lack of swimming this summer, and wondering if it might make him forget that he knows how to swim. Nonsense! At the YMCA on Saturday, he swam like a fish, and today in the lake, he swam with the fishes. He still swims all underwater, but he definitely goes places and gets a lot of attention for being such a little swimmer.

He loves the sand, too.

After a while, Kylie took a little nap in the tent while Will explored the playgrounds at the lake. One is shaped just like a train! Life could not get any better.

We left the lake right at nap time, and, thankfully, both kids napped in the car, so Mommy and Daddy got to drive all the way around the lake and through the country side, looking at the scenes and enjoying the peace.

Of course, when we got home, they were ready to go again, and boy, are Mom and Dad tired!

The UPS man came while we were gone, and he brought our new bounce house, which Daddy and Will just HAD to try.