Boy Crazy

It's already begun!!  Aaaagggghhhh!  When my sweet little daughter was about 9 months old she started to become stranger shy, particularly to male figures.  My husband and I would say "sorry she just doesn't like boys as much and we are okay with that until she is 20".  Now a little over two years later, she prefers male figures.  She was always friendly with our fun little neighbor boy that lived next door but I didn't think much of it until we moved.  She has definitely become more of a daddy's girl which I have really loved seeing and will always sit with him over me nowadays.  Then the other day Craig came back from a business trip with a co-worker and when I mentioned to the kids he would be bringing someone back with him, Caitlyn immediately asked if it was a girl or boy.  When I said boy she stated that he was her friend too.  Nothing too out of the ordinary.  The surprise came when I told them we were going to dinner and she said she wanted to sit by him.  All night she sat by him and kept asking him questions, it was cute but also a little concerning.  I guess we will have to worry about boys before she is 20.

Air and Space Museum

We were able to go to the top of the tower where you can look down at all of the Dulles Airport

We visited the Air and Space museum at the Dulles Airport just about 15 minutes from our house the other day.  The kiddies loved seeing all the airplanes, they have some amazing exhibits.  As it happens we went on Women in Space day with about 40-50 girl scout troops also so a little crazy.  We are planning on going again at some point.  

The museum is basically a huge hanger with all kinds of aircraft.  This picture shows some of them all lined up.

 The Kiddies coloring kites.

The Enterprise shuttle.  So amazing to see this close up. 
A lot bigger than I was expecting. 

My future astronauts

or pilots if they would prefer.

A cute little plane that Liam said was for babies

One of my favorites

Puzzles

 Liam loves doing puzzles.  He puts one together, takes it apart and puts it together again. 

 I love that he is doing something that really makes his brain work and develop. 

 Of course his favorite is this Buzz puzzle but he has 3 others that he rotates through. 

 Two of them are listed as ages 5-8 and with a little help he puts them together in no time.  I wish my brain would still work this fast. 

FINISHED!!

 

Swimming lessons

 I signed the kiddies up for swimming lessons here in Virgina.  We have three pools and I thought that some water safety would be good before summer comes.  Everyone tells me here that we will be spending a lot of hot summer days in the pool.  

 They were both excited though Liam was certainly more daring than his sister.  He did extremely well and passed off everything the teacher asked him too.  Caitlyn on the other hand was a little more nervous and while she liked the lessons would not put her head in for the 5 seconds so we will need to work on that still. 

 She did start to jump farther to her teacher though. 

Needless to say it was an excellent way to get us out of the house and a little physical activity also. Summer will be here soon and we will be able to play at the pool.

(excuse the pictures, there were actually no cameras allowed in the rec center so I had to be discreet)

St. Patricks Day

So I forgot all about St. Patrick's Day this year until I took the kids to the library and everyone was wearing green.  Luckily the kids were actually wearing green so we were okay.  On the way home I was telling them that today was St. Patrick's Day and we were supposed to wear green like for luck like the Irish.  Caitlyn said "Patrick wears green shorts on Spongebob" - which is weird because they have only seen that show a few times.  Then Liam said "If today is Patricks today then tomorrow will be Spongebob day and then Squidward day."  I thought it was cute and wanted to remember it.  I decided to make green chocolate cookies that night but this morning Liam was all upset that we didn't have a party. 

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

Random is how we came about picking Harper's Ferry as the place of our weekend getaway.  I was simply looking for nearby KOA's and it was the easiest and closest.  I really didn't know much about it other than it was in West Virginia and a co-worker of Craig's lived there.  I did a little research before we left to find out that it was near a National Historic Park so I figured we would have plenty to discover.  We left early Friday morning to allow Craig to play a round of disc golf and the kids and I play at the playground then headed on further to Harper's Ferry.  As we were leaving Virginia we came across a big river which from a sign we learned was the Shenandoah River and across from it we saw a beautiful old chapel and town right near it.  We were both intrigued by it but at this time did not know this was actually Harper's Ferry.  We found the KOA and National Park and across from the street a tourist center.  We stopped by the tourist center first to find out that the National Park was the actual town of Harper's Ferry and some of the surrounding areas.  She told us the town played a significant role in the Civil War and in the Industry movement.  We took a shuttle from the Park visitor's center to the town and walking around several of the buildings provided the history of this town. Basically, Harper's Ferry was the location of the second armory that George Washington had built.  Washington had surveyed much of this land and his brother Charles, founded a town about 5 miles away.  Harper's Ferry is unique in that right at the point of the city is where the Shenandoah and the Potomac Rivers meet and combine into the Potomac that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  A town with a lot of industry due to the rivers being a valuable resource for movement then the railroad was also built running through the town.  Thomas Jefferson also visited this area and wrote how amazing it was to view the two rivers meeting together.  The rock where he sat still stands today and we hiked to it to see the same view he saw.  That trail we hiked on is also part of the Appalachian trail and as we learned more about it this weekend it is now a goal of Craig's to hike all of it in parts.  Maybe when we retire we could take the 6 months to hike the entire thing at once - it is just over 2000 miles and runs from Maine to Georgia.

When the United States was in conflict about the issue of slavery an abolitionist by the name of John Brown raided the armory with the intention of arming the slaves and free them but the raid failed with several of his men killed or captured by local farmers and US marines under the command of Robert E. Lee.  John Brown was tried for treason against the State of Virginia and for the murder of 5 pro slavery Southerners and subsequently hanged later that year.  Many believe that his act is what triggered the tensions to increase and a year later the secession of the States and start of the Civil War.  The town was valued by both the North and South soldiers due to the railroad and supply lines so it was a scene of several battles, trading hands between the North and South about 8 times.  During one of these times the Union soldiers did not want the Confederate soldiers to be able to use the weapons from the armory and destroyed several weapons and most of the machines used to create the guns.  Stonewall Jackson was one of the leaders who tried to maintain Harper's Ferry for the Confederacy but eventually the Union did gain control of Harper's Ferry and Abraham Lincoln came to survey the troops.  We were able to stand on the same field where he stood to do this.  After the devastation from the Civil war and several floods the town was never really the prominent town it once was. 

We also found out that Harper's Ferry happens to be the most photographed town in the United States and of course I forgot my camera.  I can definitely see why with the historical buildings and the river fronts and bridges, very unique backgrounds.  The city is pretty much a tourist town now with cute shops and restaurants and the lower buildings being maintained by the National Parks service, but one that I would want to visit again, with my camera this time.

Camping - well sort of

With all the craziness that's been going on for a while Craig wanted to take a weekend and do something fun with the family.  We decided since he had Presidents Day off that he would take Friday off also and we would have a long weekend to spend.  With the weather being in the 70's a few days before we left, he decided it was time for some camping.  Knowing how February can be with short lived warm weather I looked for KOA's nearby with some cabins.  We found one at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia for a really good deal.  We decided to jump at the opportunity and started the packing.  I packed clothes and some games and fun things to do at the cabin, however was not really thinking actual camping so didn't bring much camping gear.  I also forgot my camera, which I was so sad about, Craig teased me about forgetting it since I always have it around my neck but with my scatterbrain I did forget to grab it.  When we arrived at the cabin we found no bedding - luckily I had brought the kids sleeping bags and a couple of blankets but no pillows.  The cabin did have a light which was good since I packed no flashlight.  We headed to Walmart to pick up a few things and Craig and I were talking about missing our pillows and I mentioned we could buy a couple unless Walmart had $3.00 pillows then we could buy 4 or 5 for us and the kids.  Ironically just as I said that and turned the corner there was a sign for $3.00 pillows.  Yay!!  We bought some firewood and hot chocolate, marshmallows, and chocolate for the kids first experience with smores.  We enjoyed some hiking and discovering the history of Harper's Ferry.  More on that in tomorrow's blog.  The nights did get pretty chilly but with our heater in the cabin we were all toasty and warm.  We really enjoyed a nice long weekend with just our little family and no tv or distractions just games, relaxing and nature.  The perfect way to rejuvenate for the weeks ahead and recovering from the crazy weeks now behind us.