Virginia Beach "Highlights" Part 1

 Last Thursday we packed up the van and headed to Virginia Beach, VA.  Snug was very content to have a 10 hour drive ahead of him knowing that A) he was going to the beach and B) he had full access to a DVD player.

 Pictures do not do the landscape justice.  It is a beautiful drive.

 Little Monkey Man has to have ALL of his toys on his lap while traveling.  The DVD player worked for about 8 of the 10 hours on the way there (they also slept during that time) and then it died.  Never to work again.

 One nice thing about diapers is she doesn't have to interrupt our driving every 2 hours!!!  I do change her of course, but by the time we were driving home I was considering diapers for everyone under 5 foot!  We stopped at a motel around 11PM Thursday night.  #1 had worked all day and we knew everyone needed some "real" sleep if we were going to make it through the weekend.

 After only having to drive maybe two hours on Friday morning we made it to our first destination.  The Zoo!  We have a pass to our local children's museum and it reciprocates with hundreds of zoos and museums around the US.  This is one of them, and we got in free!  There was another museum we had hoped to go to on the way home, but it didn't happen.

 We tried to donate a monkey, but they said they had enough for now.  Maybe next time!

 The zoo was BEAUTIFUL.  Very clean, and they did a fantastic job (in my not-very-knowledgeable opinion) recreating what their habitat would be, while including unique ways for us to actually SEE the animals without disturbing them.  I've been to zoos where the habitat is great, but you'll never see the actual animal.  I've also been to zoos where the habitat must be miserable for the animal, but you can certainly see them.

 Everyone had a great time.

 Riding the train was the boys' favorite part.  We did have to buy tickets, but I guess getting into the zoo for free compensated that.

 I personally loved the giraffes.  I tried and tried to get the boys to look at them.  But there were squirrels and they won out.

 The elephants!

 I think this picture is just too cute!  LMM only smiles if he is having a truly good time.  He can't "fake" it like Snug.

 If you've ever read the book  "Verde" you'll know why I took this picture.

 Someone's irresponsible mother didn't strap her into the stroller and she decided to get out by herself.  A scraped up nose and face was the result.

 As soon as we got to the hotel the boys wanted to go swimming.  I honestly can't remember if we did this first or had dinner first.  No matter, Snug was in the pool faster than I could blink and loving every minute.

LMM was a different story.  He was all excited to get in and then panicked.  He held tight to either us or the rail the entire time.  I bought a water sling at a garage sale (I realize now it was on inside out) and it was a big help with Rosebud.  She wants us to let go of her in the water and pushes against us constantly.  Being wet and slippery that is not easy to deal with while watching the boys.  The sling keeps her right next to me and gives me at least one free hand at all times.  

Friday night was a party hosted by a local establishment across the street from our hotel.  Free food for all players and their guests.  We went early, ate, and got out of there before the "party" really began.  

Saturday morning the weather was beautiful.  The kids sat for a second so I could get a picture of them in their matching shirts.  All the (under age 5) kids that come to tournaments/league nights from our team have the same one, all with their daddy's number on the back.

 The day was hot and long.  Over a span of 8 hours #1 played four games.  I was so thankful for the shade tent (think 1/2 a tent that goes up super easy) that my parents bought for us.  Both LMM and Rosebud took a nap in it.

 Rosebud loves her daddy!

 This is another team baby.  She and Rosebud kept each other very entertained.  I tried to get a picture all day of both of them with their cute shirts and pink bottoms...but either someone would lay down or one had a bib on or would crawl away.  They had matching busted noses, so I didn't feel quite so bad about Rosebud.  It was "the cool" thing that weekend.

I love the vignette around this picture.  It is actually because I took it through the fence, but whatever.  Day one at the ball field was over.  It was time to hit the beach, but I'll post those pics later.  I think this is enough for now!!!!