Visit to Grammy’s in VA Beach

On Friday, a day after all the spring performances were over, we packed up and went to see Grammy! The boys were so excited.  I can not believe I had not made it out there yet.  She has lived there since last July.  Brad went to see her once when he was there for work and she had just been to visit us every time since she has moved there.  Her job is going good and the place she rents is just two blocks from the beach and right at the heart of many of the summer concert series and festivals they have there.  It is small in some ways but perfect for her. 

View from her kitchen sink window.  Her little fenced in yard is the perfect space for the kids.

They were painting the last of the three garden stepping stones we made her for Mother’s Day.  I put each of the boys handprints on the back of one but they helped each other paint each one.

I loved this moment of them putting their heads together (literally) and not fighting.  A little team work captured. 

Uh, I hope she likes them?!

We headed to the beach right away when Daddy got back from his run.  The boys loved pestering the seagulls and of course got their feet wet.

We took them to the park at the end of the beach.  They really could care less about the playground equipment and just wanted to get their hands sandy. 

It was close to dinner by that time so we stopped to pick up some pizza for the boys and Grammy and Brad and I headed out on a date.  We went to our favorite restaurant and seafood market on the Chesapeake Bay.  We discovered this place when Brad was stationed there on rotations for a few years. We were thankful to have the opportunity to go back.  Kind of neat that my mom lives there now at our little home away from home.

 

Saturday morning we just went for a walk to the beach.  They were having a she crab soup festival, hence the giant blow up crab.  Easton did not like it one bit. 

Later that afternoon while Daddy took the big boys to meet up with a friend and his son, Mommy laid out while Grammy and Easty napped inside.  We just were not all on the same schedule that day.

It was a little chilly for me but I was amazed at all the people who had busted out their bathing suits already. 

 

When Easty woke up we walked with my mom back to the beach.  He was having a ball yelling at the seagulls and entertaining and showing off for the girls laying out.  Total dude already right?!

On Sunday we went to a real deal petting farm.  We loved the beach but for two days of it and not being able to lay out or get in we needed to find something else to entertain our troops.

 

Brushing the goats hair and feeding them in their area.  There were no employees helping.  I immediately got my clothes dirty when one of them jumped on me and I was totally grossed out how you were just walking around all there “business” and on it. Yuck!

Next the chicken coop where Easton immediately told them he was going to ‘punch you in your face chickens,’ yeah, he is a little scary sometimes.  I think he has learned this defense mechanism as the baby of three boys.

 

Llamas and my Momma’s!

I love how Bradley was helping Gavin feed them.  He is such a sweet big bro.

Pony rides. 

 

 

 

Then some good ole family fun on a tractor.

It was a great little weekend getaway at Grammy’s! We love her!

Spring Performances

On Tuesday and Thursday of the last full week of April, Bradley and Gavin had school spring performances.  First up was Bradley on Tuesday night.  You can tell how many times I have done these things and maybe slightly over it because I forgot what they even sang.  Bradley’s theme was just simply ‘spring.’ He had to dress up as a green leafy plant and the girls in his class as flowers.  What I did the day of his performance was borrowed a leaf crown from my friend Angela (her son was a tree in a play before).  I went to Michaels and bought a stem of leaves.  I came home,flipped a green shirt inside out and literally safety pinned the entire stem of leaves to his shirt.  I just did not want him to wear camo.  They said that was an option but camouflage does not scream spring to me. 

Here he is rallying the plants and flowers when it was time to line up to go on stage.

Before that when we dropped him off in his classroom the boys got to see the chicks that had hatched in an incubator in his classroom.  They are so cute.  Baby chicks never get old.

Walking on stage.

Singing with his class.

“Oh mom, enough with the pictures already!” He spotted me.

He did really great and it was a pick up and get them out of there situation because the next age group of students were having their concert next.

He did not complain about the outfit and rather enjoyed looking like the ‘green giant’ but he was excited to get that shirt off once home.

On Thursday night, It was Gavin’s turn.  His first performance. I thought he would be super outgoing but he was a little shy. He sang all the songs quietly (how all the 2’s class sang them) and did all the movements but just wasn’t shouting them which I was anticipating may happen.  Mrs. Debbie even said he wanted to hide behind his spider legs.  She tried to move them out of his face but he was being temperamental with her.  Gavin? No way, not him, like EVER!!

 

See the legs, too funny!

Easton loved each and every performance.  He screamed “yay” really loud and clapped for both of his brothers that he even caught lots of attention from the audience himself.  Talk about stealing the show.

 

Gavin showing us his art work.

Some Filthy Animals

As I was contemplating the title of this entry with a few days rolled into one large post some thoughts were ‘Trampoline Friend Fun and The Zoo’ or ‘Zoo Tramplings’ but then one scroll down at the group of pictures I had and it hit me! They are all ‘Some Filthy Animals.’ When I look at all my boys (including Daddy sometimes) and even Chasers (because even though he’s not my boy, he is a boy and they too often are all the same), I think they can fit right in there with the zoo animals.  They definitely know how to get filthy and I have been known to reference them as animals or gremlins, monsters, creatures.  Pick your gross, dirty or scary being and I have thought of it about them! Also, I couldn’t resist a Home Alone reference and one of Bradley’s favorite one liners.  He just kept cracking up and saying it the first time he saw the movie, “keep the change you filthy animal!”

 

So, here they are.  Pay to enter the ZOO but keep the change you filthy animal.

 

A few weeks ago we had Chase over for an after preschool play date.

 

These three monkeys had a blast jumping on the trampoline and fighting with their foam swords.

Now they are cats! Told you, lots of filthy animals at this zoo ( I mean house, we’ll get to the actual zoo later).

When they are not becoming animals, they are….

      

….learning about animals.  Here they are hovered around mommy’s tiny Iphone screen watching a YouTube video on Kimoto dragons.  Now those are some mean filthy animals.  Luckily our animals are sweet ones. We have been doing this lately to answer all of Bradley’s million questions he needs to know right then.  His ever expanding mind is a lot to keep up with but I am thankful he finds learning about most things fun.

 

Two Saturday’s ago we went to The Aloha Safari Zoo.  It is one of those “I bought a Zoo” family kind of places.  They had an eclectic group and it is nice because it a rescue zoo also.

 

We met this gigantic friendly horse.  It was too funny because his shelter made him look even bigger. The boys were backing away, I think he was so in your face that we got a little nervous.

Your normal cute little farm goats.

Easton is hilarious.  He was all fine and in there face and then he just jumps back and very expressively with his hands says “He gonna bite me! Goat no bite me mom!” In other words, In fear the goat would bite him he was telling me he did not want that to happen. He just tells it like it is.  I don’t know where he gets this from? Hmmm….

Bradley is very much into snakes and all reptiles currently.  He was too excited to see this boa constrictor. The kid can also school you on the subject, it’s crazy hearing him talk about it and I can’t even begin to repeat all he knows.

The coolest we thought was being so up close to the giraffe.

The little horse in the background was too funny trying to be all up in the giraffe’s spotlight and get some food.

The poor little thing.  She deserves just as much attention. It probably stinks being neighbors with the popular giraffe and she’s all like, “where’s my celery and carrots, I can hang my head over the fence and eat too?” LOL!! Totally just went off into an immature school girl ramble there.

You know, I may have a point.  Look at us all happy and the little white pony has her head down. 

So sad :(

There was also BOBO the bear who did not disappoint.  He later went on to pick up a tire with his mouth and put it around him like a pool ring and get in his little watering hole.  The boys thought it was very entertaining.

I think this sweet lady is the momma of the family run zoo. She was walking around on the microphone getting all ‘her’ animals to do stuff. At many times I was almost certain we were at a circus not the zoo.  Wrong turn somewhere?  Huh?  Oh well, off to see more filthy animals we went.

   

A wolf pack.

Seriously?  He went for it.  He touched his first snake!! Might I mention Daddy completely make a B line in the other direction.

Possum. Iguana. Crazy and Scary Wiki- Waki because who the heck knows? White Tiger.

Alligators. Pot Belly Pig. Two Tigers.

Peacock.

 

Well, there you have it.  Come back and see the animals and enjoy the show.  Here in the dirty south we do it both! haha!