Virginia is a really great place. It has been such a pretty Spring. This past week Mark and Jared have been on Spring break. Now that Jared is in school all day I really look forward to these school breaks. I already really liked them since it meant Mark would be around more but now I really enjoy having both my boys home.
We started the week by heading to our first ever trip to the National Zoo. The zoo itself is free but you have to pay for parking (in their lots) but when I think of how much the zoo in Colorado Springs cost paying for parking only is a great deal. We went on Monday which was the most Spring like day. It was not super crowded and the weather was amazing. We enjoyed all the exhibits the favorites were the Panda bears (Jared and Lydia had never seen a panda before) and the Sea Lions and Lydia really loved the beaver. I really liked North American trail exhibit. The otters, my most favorite were not very active when we were by them but still cute. After enjoying most of the zoo (it's really not too big) we saw a frozen yogurt sign right out one of the entrances so we grabbed some and enjoyed it as we finished walking through the zoo. I am glad we went and we all enjoyed it but we will not be rushing back there anytime soon. Now we can check it off our list of things to do in DC and maybe go back next year?
You can just see the Gorilla by Mark's ear.
We loved the baby Panda so so cute!
Tiger sighting
These guys were really fun.
Tuesday we packed up our car and headed over to Lexington, VA. Quite a few friends from Charlottesville have told us how much they love Lexington. There are 2 Universities there, Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee. Both have very different architecture and beautiful grounds. At Washington and Lee we toured the Lee Chapel and it was nice to see and read about a different side of General Lee then just the Civil War history. He did a great job as President of Washington and Lee and was much beloved. His horse, Traveller also has a plaque there honoring him. We took a nice stroll down their downtown district and it was cute. It was not super warm out but with our jackets on we were pretty comfortable. I really wanted to eat at a fun taco shop there but sometimes I don't want to spend the money if Jared and Lydia will not really eat the food. Next time we go to Lexington I will make sure we stop there as it looked so yummy and well priced.
Virginia Military Institute
VMI, its really nice having a child old enough to take pictures of us together.
Washington and Lee
Lee Chapel in the bottom right.
After Lexington we drove over to Douthat State Park to camp over night. When we planned this trip we originally wanted to camp two nights but the weather did not look great for camping most of the week so we opted for just Tuesday night. Late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning were FREEZING!! It was so very cold and un-Spring like. When we got up to cook breakfast it was 26 degrees with such cold wind! It was bad. The campsite was great and we had fun with our friends the Wooter's but it was so cold. We enjoyed our campfire Tuesday night and ate delicious s'mores. Jared and Lydia had a great time playing outside and messing around with the flashlights. We bought some headlamps which I think are genius for camping and they thought they were amazing. Making breakfast and packing up our campsite was not fun at all but after we finished that we went on a fun hike to a pretty but no so impressive waterfall. I was impressed with how well Jared and Lydia did. The hike was about 3 miles and it got to be a decent incline at the end. We all enjoyed being out doors and were glad we made it to the waterfall. This park is really pretty and one we would be happy to go to again. They have boat rentals, a beach, hikes, swimming and 2 playgrounds. We stayed at the tentsites but it could be fun to rent a cabin or Yurt as well. It was really nice to go somewhere new in VA. The drive out there was so beautiful.
He loved this headlamp so much! And the S'mores but not roasted.
26 degrees!!!
The steam was fun on the lake. It really is a beautiful campsite.
At the waterfall at the end of our hike. I was surprisingly pleased that I looked this normal in this picture. I had not showered and had been wearing a beanie all morning. I was proud of these little hikers.
Thursday I spent most of the day at the Library planning preschool stuff. I will have my State inspection on the 26th and will be happy to have that out of the way. Tuesday morning a family moving here for the next year stopped by to chat about preschool. I am not sure if they will come here or go to Northridge but I am glad I could meet them. Friday we headed over to Walnut Creek to meet up with the Farnsworth's. We are always glad to hang out with them. Mark had a great time playing disc golf and we had fun catching up. Again not awesome Spring weather but warm enough. Friday afternoon we cleaned out the car and I caught up on house work. I don't love cleaning my house or the car but it does feel good to be in a clean place. I feel like this week went by super fast. It's hard to believe we are down to the last 7 weeks of school and that there are no more days off except right at the end. Lydia starts swim lessons next week which will be nice. I hope that it really clicks with her and she can feel ready to swim for the summer she was so close at the end of last Summer. I am sure the warmer weather is coming but I will not complain about this colder Spring weather as it keeps the humidity away. Soon enough it will be hot and yucky.
