Meet Virginia

We took a quick trip down to visit my dad in Virginia last weekend. It was much too short, particularly when you consider the 8.5-hour drives to and from… with two kids.

Truth be told, the girls did great. But we drove down on Friday and came back on Monday, which gave us only two full days between the drives. And only two days with my dad. It just wasn’t enough. From now on, I think we’ll do a minimum of three full days whenever we make the trip down there.

Anyhow, it was our typical trip down there in that we didn’t really have anything planned. In fact, we didn’t do anything special. We went out to breakfast at IHOP. We went to Wal-Mart to get my dad a new land-line phone. We took the girls to the playground (both Saturday and Sunday). We went out to dinner (all three days!). We watched movies after the girls were in bed.

The best part was definitely the weather—70s and sunny both days we were there. It was gorgeous and warm. The leaves have started to fill in on the trees down there, and you wouldn’t believe how therapeutic it was to drive around and see GREEN. I can’t stress it enough: Spring is seriously good for my soul.

Nora is in love with the playground this year. We’ve been contemplating getting a playset for our backyard, and seeing how much she enjoyed the swings and climbing and all of that? It definitely supported the argument for one. I’ve started looking, but there are challenges: 1) Even though I am sure we are capable, and I actually typically LIKE putting things together, I have absolutely ZERO interest in assembling one of those things. ZERO. 2) We like the idea of the “no maintenance” sets, which are constructed of vinyl-encased wood.

The only places I’ve seen these types of sets are at BJ’s and at a local place that is a dealer for Swing Kingdom sets. We could purchase at BJ’s, but we don’t have anyone to assemble it (I’ve asked BJ’s if they have subcontractors to recommend, and they don’t. And I’ve searched Craigslist for someone who advertises that they do this, and have come up empty). Or, we could get a Swing Kingdom set from the local place with assembly included, but OHMYGOD talk about sticker shock. They’re pretty much asking for our firstborn. So, in lieu of handing over Nora to them… it’s a predicament. The resale value on the high quality sets is apparently pretty good, but it’s a way bigger purchase than we ever anticipated, so we’re thinking on it.

We went to see my grandparents. It was nice to sit and visit with them for a while, and have them meet Vivienne and see Nora. We sat out on their porch and enjoyed the weather. Nora picked wildflowers for me, and she and Michael explored my grandparents’ land.

On Saturday night, it was so nice outside that we sat out on my dad’s large screened in porch after the girls went to bed. We had a couple of beers together and just talked. It was nice to spend that time together.

Nora liked the porch swing at my grandparents’ house! :)

It was also nice to get a little extra quality time with our girls in the form of the four-day weekend. Little sweethearts, even if Vivienne is going through a screeching/clingy/whiny phase. Holy moly, sometimes her little “voice” is like nails on a chalkboard! We took to calling her “pterodactyl baby” all weekend.

Nora, who can typically be very shy and stand-offish with anyone outside of our little immediate family and daycare—this includes our parents and siblings many times!—did great with my dad during this trip. She warmed up to him VERY quickly, and really had fun with him. It was fun to watch them play together and bond.

Tessa ate up the bonding, too. :)

When Monday morning arrived, we hit the road early—before 7 a.m.—and made the trip home. On the way out, the Virginia countryside was beautiful.

As I’ve written about before, visiting Virginia always takes me right back to the summers I spent there as a child.

Since Nora was born, every time we’ve taken a trip down there, it’s been November. Now, after this trip? I think April is my new favorite time to go. We’ll be back in Virginia for a couple of super short stops on our way to and from the Outer Banks this summer, and my dad will be up to visit for Vivienne and Sadie’s birthdays in August and October. As usual, it can’t come soon enough. <3