Wacky Day

Wacky Day

by Jill

This year BigZabba was selected to be on the student council. Their first job was to plan spirit day. They voted and it was decided that spirit day would be wacky day. BigZabba was so excited to participate in the day. She wore different colored socks and two different shoes, her shirt backwards, leggings on her arms and legs, and had 6 ponytails.

Seeing her get excited about this day shows me how much she has matured in the last year. Last year she didn’t want anything to do with wacky day. She was very self conscious about doing anything that would draw even the smallest bit of attention to herself. While she still has moments of shyness, she has become more sure of herself and has more confidence. I am proud of how she has grown.

Snail Park

Snail Park

by Jill

I love how creative the girls are. While working outside the girls started collecting snails, grass & leaves for them to eat. BigZabba got out her bug catcher so she could keep a few of them. Soon there were more toys out for the snails. After a few minutes they decided to make a snail amusement park. They had the best time finding more snails and making new “obstacles” for the snails. It was so fun to watch them use their imagination and be creative with their play time.

It is a little hard to see, but if you look close you can see the snails crawling on their toys.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

by Jill

Time to play catch up a bit. While we were in Virginia visiting Papa and ShaSha we spent one day in D.C. We would have loved to have more time to explore the museums and other monuments, but we packed a lot into one day.

The first thing on the agenda was to ride the carousel on the mall.

Then we were on our way to the Washington Monument, or as LittleZabba calls it, the pencil building.

We spent the next several hours walking to many of the monuments around the city; the Lincoln Memorial, World War 2 Memorial, Korean War Memorial, & Vietnam Memorial.

That day I was able to do something I have always wanted to do….buy a hot dog from a street vendor. As silly as it is, I was thrilled, and it was a very tasty hot dog. Later in the day, since it was so hot, ShaSha treated everyone to frozen lemonade.

The cherry blossom trees were just starting to bloom. It was so pretty.

We had a lovely day. Everyone enjoyed seeing the sights and learning some new things. BigZabba later said that seeing the World War 2 memorial made her think of Pappy and made her miss him even more. It was a good time to talk about our country’s freedom and what the men and women in the military do to protect our country.

Easter Fun

Easter Fun

by Jill

On Saturday we took the kids to an Easter celebration at the local John Deere. Only in Virginia could you entertain the whole family at an Easter party…tractors for the big kids, ponies for the little kids.

The girls loved going on a pony ride.

A woman was there doing face painting. She was painting all the kids faces to look like a rabbit. My girls had to be different. They asked for specific things on their face. The woman was happy to oblige. The rest of the kids followed suit and started asking for different things on their faces too.

What would an Easter celebration be without the Easter bunny and an egg hunt. LittleZabba thought the Easter bunny was very funny. She kept following him around saying hi, being silly, waving. It was so funny to watch. The egg hunt was like any other…toe the line, edge up, keep pushing forward, then go! The kids raced off and tried to grab as many eggs as they could.

Once we got home we did a little Easter cooking with ShaSha. We made Easter basket cupcakes. The girls loved being able to decorate their own “basket”.

It was a fun & full day. ShaSha and Papa know how to make memories!

Vacation

Vacation

by Jill

We have had a great time visiting my parents. There has been lots of good food, laughing, taking walks, special make-up sessions with ShaSha and even throwing rocks in the “crik”. The girls love being with ShaSha and Papa and are taking full advantage of having them close. I am not sure who enjoys the early morning snuggles more, the kids or them.

We took some time to walk around Patrick Henry College, where Papa now works. It is a beautiful campus.

BigZabba finally got what she has been asking for for months. We went with ShaSha to the local mall and BZ got her ears pierced. She was so excited. She did get quite nervous when the time came, but she wanted the “fanciness” more than she cared about the pain.

In the afternoon we spent a lot of time outside. The weather has been beautiful. The girls loved being outside watching, and chasing the geese. It is strange, but the kids seem more like real kids here. They run around outside, get dirty, chase animals, pick flowers, so many of the things that I did as a kid. They haven’t been watching TV or playing on the computer, they have been running around playing imaginary games and enjoying having a huge yard to play in.

While the little kids enjoyed playing outside, the big kids had fun freeing the vehicles from the mud. Papa was mowing the lawn and got the mower stuck in the mud. Then while trying to pull it out, he got the truck stuck in the mud. We had to bring down the 4 wheel drive to pull everything out.

There is no better way to end the day but with ice cream.