Visit to Virginia

On Friday morning we left to go down to my parents' weekend home in Virginia. We had a lot of fun, as you can see. The weather was perfect, breezy and in the high 70s with low humidity. Mom and Dad were there as well as my brother and his wife, Simba and Natalie. It takes 2 hrs and 15 minutes to get here from our home.

Maggie and Anna enjoyed the jet skis while Allen enjoyed fishing. It was hard to fish with the breeze but that didn't dampen Allen's enthusiasm. He loves to fish! Ruthie enjoyed everything, especially kyaking. See this kayak? Five of my children piled onto it at one time. My brother took a picture and says he'll email it to me when he gets home.

The joke for Friday was that breakfast starts at 5 am and fishing at 6. Well, I think breakfast was do-it-yourself around 8 or 9, and it was easily 10 am before they took off for boating. Mom and I did bike riding, not boating. Last year my fishermen brought home 4 large sharks that were delicious but this year they thought about going to the local supermarket to buy some fish to put on their hooks:-)
This is my Dad on his bench on the pier where he spent most of the day. Dad has back "issues", so he spends a lot of time sitting these days. This is very hard for me to see since my Dad has always been a very busy, task-oriented person. Even when he was on vacation, he was always busy fishing, camping, travelling, etc. He still gets a lot done! Maggie and Anna took their books out on the boat and read while their fishing lines were dangling. Well, it must work because Anna caught the one and only fish on the trip! This was my favorite place to be ~ the kitchen. My mom kept feeling badly about me being in the kitchen, but it wasn't work! Dad stocked this kitchen with the best of everything, Henckels knives, Calphalon pots and pans, etc., so it is wonderful to cook here. As usual, Dad fed us like royalty ~ steamed shrimp and crabs, and BBQ sandwiches. We brought home leftover crabs for lunch today.
Simba was a real champ and swam with my children. The children had fun swimming with him and his dog, cousin Sidney.

We came home Saturday evening because of commitments at church this morning. I was looking forward to a quiet, relaxed ride home, knowing how exhausted the children would be from their day. Not so! My children laughed and sang the whole time. Several times I thought I would pass out from laughing so hard.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, and Simba and Natalie (and Sydney) for such a memorable weekend. Many blessings ~ Kathie