Promotion list

We were going to find out in July if Buddy gets promoted and whether we're staying here longer. The promotion list came out and Buddy will get promoted right away. This a really cool achievement since it is merit based promotion and he was promoted on the earlier side. He's still trying to get used to his new title. Buddy thought it was like changing your first name.

I took Bohdin and Nyla on a longish bike ride the other evening. There is a nice flat trail near the house I thought Bohdin would enjoy. It was a little difficult getting there since the sidewalk is very uneven. Bohdin walked his bike part of the way. Once we were on the trail he did wonderful. The problems came after we exited. We were further from the house than I thought we would be. The sidewalk was bumpy and slanted. Bohdin fell and his knee started bleeding. There was nothing to do but keep going. I pushed both bikes a few minutes before he got back on. Soon after he was crossing the street and one of his back wheels hit the curb and off he toppled again. This time his hand was scraped up. He was done. He was crying and tired and just done. After a few minutes of sitting in my lap listening to me sing he felt better. Nyla and Bohdin walked while I pushed both bikes. That was kind of hard. Eventually I had to ask Bohdin to push his own bike. Then I convinced him to ride just to the next street. It took 40 minutes to get back home from the time of the last fall. Next time I will ditch Nyla because she just wanted to walk and load our bikes in the truck so we can drive to a trail. Bohdin said he had a lot of fun on the trail. Next time we'll try to bypass the crappy parts.

Dreaming

I woke up before the kids this morning and laid in bed reading a book. I heard Bohdin who was next to me say "Upside down". I turned to him and he was looking at me and smiling. I told him good morning and asked him if he slept well and if he had a dream. He replied no. Then after a pause he went on to say "But sometimes I do. A real dream. A dream I can see. It's like I disappear from the bed and go somewhere else."

That was the most poetic description of dreaming I've ever encountered. I jumped out of bed to write it down before I could forget. Perhaps he'll be a writer someday.

Yesterday Bohdin was near me and said he found a bug on his head. He dropped it on the pillow next to me. It was a tick. He said it felt like a lump on the back of his head and that he couldn't feel the legs. He thinks the legs were rolled up like a ball. He seems to be the only one who had a tick.

Sandy history

Our campground was located on the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay very near the site of the "first landing" whatever that means. I guess 17th century Europeans. Sunday morning we went to the beach which was either a short drive or long walk. We chose short drive. It was overcast but warm enough. The beach was almost deserted with just a few fishermen nearby. Buddy attempted a sand castle but Bohdin sort of ruined his plans. Bohdin enjoyed getting in the water and letting the sand run out from under him which he couldn't do in Maine. The water was stronger here and the sand coarser. We stayed just long enough for us which was about an hour. On the way back to the truck we saw some honeysuckle blooming which was exciting for Bohdin. He loves eating it and the honeysuckle around here stopped blooming several weeks ago.

 
 

Upon returning from the beach Bohdin continued his quest to plant seeds. We had cherry seeds from the night before which he already planted and now he wanted to plant apple seeds. Getting the water for the planting turned into a fun muddy mess and they had to clean up before heading back out. I cleaned Bohdin up but Nyla insisted on doing it herself.
 

We went to the Jamestown historic area. Nyla had a nice long nap in the car because once again we ran into sucky traffic. A heavy drizzle started falling but we persevered. We bought two rain ponchos and an umbrella and made our way through the museum. They had a fabulous indoor exhibit but we only made it about half way through before Bohdin became antsy to go outdoors. The rain was still falling but we managed to explore the outdoor recreations. There was a replica of a Powhatan village, Jamestown, and the three ships the colonists used to cross the Atlantic. All of it was really fascinating and sad. They showed the fort how it would have looked after three years of building. At that point it would still have been almost entirely men many of them soldiers. The Powhatan had such a rich culture and the British never tried to learn much from them. Bohdin enjoyed the musket demonstration and blacksmith demonstration. I prefered the Powhatan stuff like watching a stone tool being made. We were also able to help build a canoe by scraping burnt wood with a seashell. The ships were small with cramped quarters. Bohdin thought the beds were for children. We spent several hours there but I could have stayed much longer. It's on my list of places to return without kids.

The rain stopped as we were walking out of the area. We were too hungry and tired to wait for the drive to camp to make dinner so we headed to Williamsburg for dinner. We stopped at a place we had eaten at previously. I had the meatloaf which was excellent. Actually it was the oxtail mushroom gravy on top that was excellent. Buddy had the chicken but we didn't find out until the bill came that it wasn't the chicken he ordered. It was nice but not as good as mine. That was our traditional nice anniversary dinner.

We intended to go to Yorktown afterward but it was too late. We just barely missed a highway shutdown by a lucky side trip to Sonic. We drove down one additional exit and saw that if we hadn't we would have been stuck behind a new accident. A camp fire was started upon our return. I took the kids to the playground where Bohdin made a new friend. He just walked up to this kid and started talking to him. We went back to the fire and had a few marshmallows. Since we were leaving early the next morning we had to get our stuff ready to go. If the camper wasn't back by noon another day's fee would be charged. Bohdin loved camping and wanted to go again. He asked to go again tomorrow even if it meant going without daddy.
 

Celebrating in traffic

Buddy picked up the camper Friday morning while I finished getting ready. We still had no firm plans on where to stay. I checked campgrounds in the Williamsburg area and all seemed full and required a 3 night minimum for the holiday. We checked a military base and they had one opening. The campground was really close to the beach but far away from everything else we did. If we had to do it all over again we would try to find a closer one.

We set out about 1pm for the four drive. We didn't arrive until after 9pm. Traffic was beyond horrendous. It was dark by the time we arrived at the campground so we set up quickly and got ready for bed.

The next morning we set off for Busch Gardens. We were able to leave early since Nyla was up before six. We thought we could have a leisurely breakfast and be first in line. Traffic said otherwise. Once again we sat in traffic and it took us twice as long to arrive as it should have. When we arrived at Busch Gardens there was a long line of cars waiting to pay the parking fee. Then we arrived at the gate to a very slow moving line. I was so done with lines and waiting at this point. The amusement park didn't seem very crowded once we made it inside. Part of that was the rides and areas we were going. There were no long lines for the lame kiddie rides. A new children's area recently opened and most people were congregated there. We stuck to the older rides. Bohdin was really proud that he was just tall enough for a purple band at 42". The kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Basically the whole experience was for them as we walked from ride to ride. Bohdin went on three scarier rides and Nyla just one. Buddy took the kids on the Battering Ram and both hated it. I thought Nyla might like it since she is a daredevil but this was still too much for her. Bohdin also went on a spinning ride with me and a small roller coaster with Buddy.

The gondola was the favorite and we did it twice.
 

Nyla kept signing all done on the Battering Ram. Even now when she looks at the picture she signs all done.
 

After leaving the amusement park
 

Eating a marshmallow
 

Getting ready

Our 11th anniversary was the end of June and we decided to celebrate it over the July 4th weekend when Buddy had four days off. The original plan was to West Virginia but it wasn't a concrete plan and we changed it at the last minute to Virginia since Buddy had free tickets to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Thursday was a blur of getting ready and I didn't even finish everything I wanted since Nyla had a late nap. I was stuck at home until she slept. When we finally went out that evening Nyla insisted on wearing a sweater. She actually picked out her entire outfit which she often likes to do. I need to hide her winter clothes so she doesn't give herself heat stroke. I had already nixed the fleece pants she wanted to wear. She was mad when Buddy took it off her when we were outside but it was way too hot to wear.
 
 

Birthday celebration

Wednesday we had the privilege of having Buddy's aunt, uncle, and grandmother for dinner. She was celebrating her 89th birthday. Bohdin wasn't feeling very social but everybody else enjoyed the company. After a nice visit, we walked them outside. They were driving a minivan and Bohdin wanted to see the inside. Then Nyla wanted to sit inside so she directed me to an empty seat, sat down, pushed me out the door, and waved goodbye. We ended up taking a spin around the block and Nyla was really mad that she had to get out.

 
 
 
 

Five seconds

The last picture was taken 5 seconds after the first picture. Things can change so fast.