Fish

There was a set of fun looking fish next to a hotel at the beach.

They looked similar to those things in the play place...

but it was art and Emily was sad when we told her they weren't for climbing on.

Beach

The day we left Norfolk we drove out to Virginia Beach. It was nice to feel soft sand between our toes again.

The girls loved playing in a giant sandbox and wading in the water.

Emily built several 'towers' along the beach and definitely let it be known to everyone that she did not want to go home.

It was a really nice beach and next time we'll bring towels and stay awhile!

Visiting Norfolk

Last week we visited Norfolk, Va for a couple of days and had a great time exploring. Most of the area seemed very industrial, but we found some really great places to visit. The Chrysler Museum of Art has free admission and a glass studio where they do live demonstrations. The demonstration was fascinating and the museum has a fun drawing scavenger hunt for children.

There was a really great playground outside the Norfolk Zoo where we ate our lunch but it was too hot to play so we opted for the indoor play place at...the mall.

This was really one of the best play places we have ever been to. It was clean, constantly patrolled by a mall cop who pulled the big kids out, and it was huge with plenty of space and lots of things to climb, ride, and slide.

Or pull up and stand. Yes, this is her new favorite trick.

We also visited the Norfolk Botanical Garden, which was beautiful everywhere we looked.

They have a wonderful children's garden with fun educational areas. My favorite was the alphabet garden with herbs, vegetables, and other plants starting with every letter of the alphabet. The girls' favorite were the three different splash areas.

This was one of the smaller ones but just as fun. It was a pretty warm day so it was nice that they got to cool off.

Of course by the end of our visit it was hot so we went back to the mall...again.

Groundhog

We've had to deal with several issues already in our yard and garden - rabbits, voles, slugs, and groundhogs. The resident groundhog had babies. Two that we've seen already. Emily loves to look out the window and alert us when they are out. If they are too close for comfort, then we go out to scare them back. This time, the new baby wasn't sure what to do.

It scrunched down to hide in the grass and just sat there as Emily plucked flower petals and sprinkled them on it as I ran back to the house for the camera and a laundry basket to contain it.

Still not going anywhere...we tried making lots of noise. I think there was barking and mooing.

So, one step closer and...

cover was blown!

Garden

We've been busy in the garden again this year.

We've managed to pick lots of greens already! And I built this for the cucumber.

Hooray for spring, though at the moment it already feels a lot like summer!

First Tooth

It started out as a wiggly tooth.

And then it was 'hanging by a thread'.

So more wiggling, and then pop in the middle of the night we were awoken by an excited little girl.

The tooth was taken by the tooth fairy and crushed up into fairy dust and sprinkled on her at night to help grow a new tooth. Yes, that is what she has worked out in her mind. Of course the tooth fairy left money too!

Castle

It was time to clean up the garage but before the boxes were cut down for recycling, the girls configured what they called their castle.

There was a couch, a garden, and other rooms. They especially enjoyed sitting on their couch to read on their 'nook'.

It took them the better part of an hour to work on this construction project, so we'll definitely be doing this again :) Good thing we kept the 'couch'!