Scorching

We thought if we got out of the house early it would save us from most of the heat.

The tour guide described the straight format of the stones as the soldiers being at attention for all eternity.

This was right beside our bus when we stopped for a procession to go by. Hm....me worry?

This is the old amphitheater. Beautiful.

You can see in this picture how gosh darn hot it was....morning or not.

Us Stuff

Our first stop was Ash Lawn-Highland, home of James Monroe, 5th president.

Second stop, UVa (University of Virginia). We had an extraordinary tour guide who had attended the university and knew a lot about the history of the buildings and culture of the school.

Right about this time is when M told me to turn off my phone/stop texting.
M's favourite poet/author is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe attended UVa and stayed in this exact room...number 13!! (How appropriate, eh?) Does anybody out there know M's favourite story by this author? Click here to find out.

The next day we went to Monticello.

I was getting tired of having my picture taken so I had taken to hiding behind the map.

The amount of thought that went into the details of this building is incredible. No detail left out.

Including the wine cellar. There was a dumb waiter to get wine bottles to the eating area above.

So remember I mentioned I didn't want my picture taken? This horrible pic of me on the left was taken while I was trying to stomp out of the way before he clicked. While looking at the pictures later M suggested that it reminded him of something.....a yeti. Also known as a sasquatch. After doing a side-by-side comparison....I couldn't disagree. Yikes.

Pull It Together

We pulled it together today let me tell you. We got off to a slow start(think p.j.s at noon). Then we spent a lo-o-o-o-ong time getting all the bikes ready to hit the trail. Then my front tire exploded! M had to run over to the bike repair shop and get a new tube. Then we finally all got on the bikes and before we even reached the end of the first street.....it started to spit rain.
But we were committed then so we ventured forth. We did well for about 20min.

Then we took a little pause under some trees while the rain poured itself out.

From there it was all up hill. And I don't mean on the trail! There are several stops along the way to take a rest and get a water refill.

These pics were taken on our way back. We covered about 13kilometres. A great ride. Big smiles all around.

From one spot on the trail we could see the harbour we visited yesterday.

Less Hot, More Fun

Had to make sure we got the g.p. lovin' in.

The weather was still warm but a little overcast.

We were across the bridge at the NationlHrbr. There's a great treat store over there.

And a cool statue at the waterfront.

There was just enough time before leaving to have an ice cream.

Then we jumped on the water taxi to get back to our side of the bridge.

I'm embarrassed to admit that after the candy store and the ice cream...we had homemade donuts for dessert tonight.

It's A Scorcher

We went and played in the park this afternoon....what were we thinking?

And since we still hadn't seemed to cool down later that evening....we went down to walk by the water.

Oh ya, we had ice cream too.

Little guy got a lot sticky while eating so M tried to wash him off in the fountain.

Writing From Yesterday

GreatWlfLdge

Surprise boys! We're going to GreatWlfLdge for the night.

The best part is the waterpark.

Did I mention that the waterpark is awesome?

After soccer on Tuesday the kids settled into the library to do a little visiting.

Guy Time

I took the kids to the airshow yesterday at Andrws Air Force Base. J took the day to get some chores done. Here are some of the snaps. Below is one of the US Air Force Thndrbirds about to go vertical on a fly past.

You know that US Cost Guard Helo that flies over our house twice a day? Well, the boys got to sit in it at the Air Show. It was pretty amazing.

The 2nd largest aircraft in the world.

The boys and I at the tail gun of a B-17.

Boys in the back of a STRYKER (BISON in Canada), also known as an Armoured Personnel Carrier.

The firemen were also there. Who doesn't like firetrucks?

Some shots of an aerobatics team with some American pride in the foreground.

The boys got to sit in a BLACKHAWK helicopter just like the one their Dad flew around Afghnistan in. They really liked the guns!

Ahhhh....the all too familiar (and uncomfortable) seating in the back of a c130 Hercules.

Overall a really fun day had by all. Great show if you ever get the chance to go.