Our First Visit to Virginia Beach (It Will NOT Be Our Last!)

This weekend we made our first visit to Virginia Beach.  Jason was at a conference (in exciting Trenton, NJ) so he couldn't join us, but mom, dad, the girls and I went and had so much fun we are already planning to go back (and bring Jason with us!).

Of course, the reason most people go on vacation to Virginia Beach is for the BEACH, but this weekend was cold and rainy and we needed to find something to do indoors.  So, we headed to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.  We were delighted by what we found there!

Watching the playful seals.

Grandma and Elise discuss animals and habitats.

Magnifying underwater life.

A real Komodo Dragon!  Elise has been fascinated
with these for a while and finally got to see one!

Elise LOVED the tunnel through the fish.

Anja communed with the sea life.

There were snakes, too!

A crocodile!  The girls ham it up :)

This was beautiful to watch.  This tank had several
sea turtles that kept coming back again and again to
the girls.  They would swim right up to the glass
and just hover there while the girls held up their hands.

Learning about echolocation.

Oh, no, scary shark teeth! (yes, these dramatic
girls were having fun!)

Help!  We're being eaten by a shark!

One building at the Marine Center was the Marsh Pavilion, where there was information on the animal life in the surrounding marsh.  There was a lot of information on birds in this building, including an interactive display where the girls practiced their bird calls.  See a short video of Anja doing a gull call here.

Even though it was cold and rainy, we were in Virginia Beach and we HAD to go out to the beach!  The first day we were there was just a little cold, and the girls (and grandpa) were pretty adventurous in getting their feet wet.

They started out fully clothed,
with swimsuits underneath.

They started out not wanting to let the waves get them.

Then grandpa decided to see how much of the
cold water he could stand.

And, following grandpa's example,
the girls decided to get wet.

The day we left was even colder than the previous day, but the girls wanted to go out on the beach once more before we left. 



Heading to the beach to collect shells,
Elise thought the bucket on her head
would help keep her warm.

Anja's goal was to make a sandcastle.



Collecting shells



Mission accomplished!

Seeing the girls enjoying nature and the outdoors
brings me a special kind of happiness.

Anja Tests For a New Tae Kwon Do Belt

Anja is just clicking right along in earning her Tae Kwon Do belts.  Recently she tested for and advanced to her blue stripe belt.  It is so much fun to watch her!  She is very focused and determined when she wants to be.

Do not mess with this girl!



Success!  Receiving her certificate and new belt
from Master Lee.

Putting on the new belt.

Congratulations!

Elise Turns 9!

Hard to believe, but one of my babies is now nine years old.  She is growing and changing by leaps and bounds and is very excited she is getting closer to being a teenager, which she is very much looking forward to (and I am very much dreading).

Elise's birthday fell on a Friday and unfortunately we had a lot of family commitments that day and evening, so we ended up extending her birthday celebration over two days.  On Friday we celebrated with family and on Saturday Elise celebrated with her friend.

We started celebrating right away Friday morning with a couple of presents.

Hamming it up

Just what I wanted!

Friday evening Elise got to pick what she wanted for dinner (pizza), and we celebrated with a few more presents and some cake.

The birthday girl,

and the whole family.

Make a wish, birthday girl!

Jason took a short, fun video of Elise blowing out her candles, you can see it here.

Several months ago Elise asked if she could have a sleepover birthday this year.  I said that was fine, but just two friends could stay over and they had to be girls.  (laugh if you want, but I have learned I need to be specific in my expectations or someone ends up crying and it could be me.  Also, I limited it to two for my sanity).  In the end, Elise decided she just wanted one friend, her best friend, to stay over.  So, Saturday afternoon we picked up Elise's friend and we all came back to our place. Elise had her choice for dinner again (pizza again.  Really.  All kids do that, right?)

 The girls had a great time doing some crafty stuff.

We had some more cake, candles and singing.

And playing around, and watching a movie.  Even Dutch got into the spirit.

It was a long night, but the girls had fun and that is the most important part. (I say that now, two weeks later.  It is not what I was thinking at midnight on Saturday when they were still awake and coming to me with questions about what they could and couldn't do.)

On Saturday afternoon, Elise fell asleep on the couch.  She looked so sweet laying there, I almost didn't feel jealous of her nap time.