Thinking Inside the Box

As I listened to Braylen fuss on our drive to Massanutten and watched him strain to sit up, I gave in to Jason's desire to move Braylen to the convertible car seat.   We have two Britax car seats for Evie and have no issues with them.  Emily (Evie's BFF) has a Recaro and Jason thinks this car seat looks "cool".  Luckily, the reviews are just as "cool" from a safety standpoint.

Thanks to Lisa and Amazon Prime, Evie's new car seat arrived the next day.

Wait, Evie's?  Yes, the Recaro seat is bigger than the Britax and leg room gets tight for both baby and driver when it is rear facing.  You know, this will be a huge issue for my super tall family.  To save you the rest of the drama, we have both Britax seats in my car and Evie's lone Recaro in Jason's car.  And since it's Evie's seat, we let her pick out the color.

Baby's turn after Evie's.

Evie spent a good 30 minutes playing with her baby in her new car seat.  If the car seats weren't so big, I would keep them inside to occupy her interest while I cook dinner.  

BUT, the best part of the new car seat was the box.

A sturdy, big box it was

They sat in it

All 3 of them.  I hope no one went toot-toot!

They smothered Daddy in it

They played peek-a-boo

Evie climbed on it

She sat on it while Daddy made it shake

They rolled Daddy in it

We got the box on Monday and recycling goes out Thursday night.  It was three nights of giggling, screaming, and tears when it was time to go to bed.

No one was injured during these shenanigans.

Ever thought of being a contortionist, J?

How long will it be before we buy another seat... that ends up being rear facing?  I'll give it a month of moving Bray's car seat back and forth between cars and we'll be playing with another big box for a week.

Summer Staple

When I think of summer foods, I think of corn on the cob, watermelon, and picking Maryland crabs.  Our crop share has provided 6 ears of corn just about every week in July and August.  We've also gotten watermelon the past two weeks.  Evie LOVES watermelon, which is a good thing when you get a huge watermelon each week!  After seeing us eat corn on the cob for weeks, Evie grunted asked for a try.

Welcome to the wonderful world of corn on the cob eating, Evie!

Hearing her crunch the corn off the cob is so cute.  I don't know why we waited so long to let her try it!

I am STILL waiting for my first dozen of crabs.  Just need a babysitter so I can enjoy them.  (I hear some one's grandfather is retiring this week.... we'd love a visit!)

Prepare for Landing

We are back from vacation #2 of the summer!  Check back for blog posts and pictures.  Even though I could have spent the day getting the house back in order and making food for Braylen, the weather forecast for today was too good to spend the day inside.  Daddy suggested we head to the "airport playground".

If you live in the area, your kids love planes, and haven't taken them to the Aircraft Observation Area, GO!  There is a paved path around the airport filled with bikers and runners (good place to train for a marathon... ask Jason) in addition to the playground and observation area.  The parking lot near the playground is busy on weekends, but we've always lucked out with parking.  Watching the planes land at BWI is pretty awesome.

When the roar of the plane approached, Braylen turned his head
and followed the plane until it was beyond his sight line.  

No tears this time for Evie.  Last time the planes were taking off over
the observation area- it was LOUD!

We had a fun morning watching the planes, climbing on the playground, and kicking around the ball.

I look like I actually might know how to kick a ball!

There will always be dishes to be washed, clothes to be sorted, and food to be prepared... We need to soak up these precious family outings where the kids light up about a ball rolling past them or Evie giggles as we run around an open field with her.

Massanutten Resort Vacation: Off Site

Massanutten Resort is conveniently situated in the Shenandoah Valley.  Skyline Drive is within an hour as well as caverns and vineyards.  Since Jason and I have driven parts of Skyline Drive when we went camping before kids, we opted to try out some of the other picturesque places.

Luray Caverns

My only recollection of cavern viewing was in youth group.  I recall being scared while riding a boat over bottomless water through a chilly, dark cave.  I am pretty sure it wasn't a dream... or maybe it was?  Anyhoo, I was happy there were no boats, no water deeper than 2 inches, and well lit solid paths to walk on.  Since the weather was eh, there were a lot of people there.  Instead of walking at our own pace, we had a group tour which lasted 1 hour.  That's a bit long for 3 kids... and 5 adults chasing after them/taking them in and out of strollers/carrying them/trying to keep them quiet/making sure they didn't destroy 200 year old stalagmite.

Definitely the coolest part of the cavern.  The top part is real.
The bottom is a perfect reflection in 2 inches of absolutely still water

Same place.  It looked like there was a deep cavern, but it was the
reflection of the top.  Serious eye games.

The "easy" one is started to lose it :)

Crosskeys Vineyard

Back in the day, we spent many tipsy afternoons tasting wine at various vineyards throughout the area with Dave and Jill.  I think working in a tasting room must be the best job out there- who isn't happy tasting wine?!  (well, if you don't like wine, then don't go... you ruin the peaceful atmosphere for the rest of us)  A glass of wine, a beautiful view, Brie, and time with just Jason was exactly what this mama needed!

White Oak Lavendar Farm

On our way to and from Crosskeys, I noticed this farm.  I instantly thought back to our trip with Aubrey to the lavender fields in the Cotswolds.  The petting zoo at the resort looked dirty and for $4 cheaper, why not check out this one that also had lavender fields?

Best $3/person spent on vacation

Luke and Evie (Braylen stayed back at the condo and napped) had a blast.  AND Evie wasn't scared of the animals here.  Go figure.

We could get in the "rabbitat".  This bunny looks like it has
a tumor on its neck.  White rabbits with red eyes are creepy!

A petting zoo is a huge risk for a thumb sucker.
I told Evie to put her hands in her pockets to
save her from "swine flu".  It worked.  

Goats and sheep.

Are you laughing yet at her hands in her pockets?
The roosters were very chatty

I never got the full story on the "National Turkey"

Luke chased the ducks, Evie laughed

"horsies"

The poor ducks had green stained beaks from the highly
tinted water.

Following orders :)

The ground were beautifully maintained.  The lavender fields weren't very vibrant.  I think we were a little late for the main bloom.  A few tidbits on lavender- as an essential oil, it can calm nerves and anxiety, soothe headaches, aid in restful sleep, relax muscles, and heal burnt skin.  You bet I bought a bottle.  Maybe I should try inhaling lavender instead of eating dark chocolate all day to calm my nerves.

Stop and smell the lavender

Look how calm she is- must be working.  

Children's Museum in Harrisonburg.  

I normally take Evie to these types of places, so I encouraged Daddy and MeMa to take her there without me.  It sounded like she had a blast

She milked that cow, but nothing came out

The ice cream was magnetized and so was the scoop.  A
preview of her first job in 14 years

The real life ambulance was her favorite.  

\

This girl can change a tire better than me!

Step aside Jerry, we have a new mechanic

Give us the news, Evie

Lots of fun excursions over our 5 days of vacation

Massanutten Resort Vacation: On Site

I like the way our vacations are working out: one week at the beach with my family and a long weekend with Jason's family using a timeshare somewhere on the East Coast, preferably halfway between Raleigh and Baltimore.  Two vacations a year with built in babysitters... yes, please!

We chose to use my parent's timeshare at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, VA this year.  We had a really great place with two, two-bedroom condos on top of each other, with a stairwell connecting them.  The playground in our backyard was a bonus.  The water park, adventure parks (zip lines, etc), and go karts were obviously not toddler friendly.  There is definitely a lot to do there for older kids.  Nevertheless, we found enough activities for the toddlers to keep them busy both on and off the resort.  Here's a glimpse at our time spent at the resort.

The pillow from the bed provided easy entertainment
before and after meals

I felt like we were watching American Gladiators

Uncle J took a beating from the kids.  Don't worry, Braylen
was not injured during the match

We tried to see the animals at the Petting Farm, but due to the rainy conditions, the animals and stalls were too muddy for visitors.  Evie and Luke got to see the "horsies" though.  As we were walking to the car, a horse came up to the fence to greet us.  Evie burst into tears and came running to me afraid.  Maybe it was a blessing the place was closed and we didn't spend the money to traumatize our daughter.

When we told Evie she had to hold Mommy or Daddy's hand
in the parking lot, she demanded Uncle Matt's hand.  Last year
she ran to MeMa crying every time Uncle Matt came near her.
She told me his name when we looked at their family picture months prior
to vacation.  I had a feeling her heart was softening up to him :)

Nice shot of the horses' rears

Evie and Luke had fun on the playgrounds- no pictures taken though.  The indoor and outdoor pool brought out giggles and smiles from Evie.  Braylen enjoyed cruising around the pool in his float equip with a sun shade.

We got a lot of compliments on our rafts.  So glad we brought them-
way less stress when you know your kids won't drown in the baby pool!

Kicked out of the pool for adult swim

Love these towels!  

The big cousin on the Hollencamp side.
We are pretty sure Braylen will be the biggest
cousin next summer.

A beautiful day with these cuties

One of the highlights for me was MeMa's willingness to stay at the condo with my napping or sleeping children so I could get out with just adults.  Jason, Jen, Matt, and I hit up trivia night at the Water Park one night.  I didn't know many answers, but it felt good to talk about something other than kiddie things.  Jason and I played a round of miniature golf; Jason won, of course.  In addition to "dates", we also could give Evie our undivided attention on some morning excursions while Braylen stayed at the condo.  I actually felt like I was on vacation!

MeMa took good care of Braylen for us

MeMa also saved the day by bringing bubbles and paintbrushes.  

Making bubbles for her brother

Peacefully painting together

Luke wiping off his brow sweat while Evie refills his water.

For only seeing Aunt Jen, Uncle Matt, and cousin Luke a few times a year, Evie warmed up very quickly to them.  For the most part, Luke and her played nicely together.  They are both pint size (~ 6 months age difference) and blond, making them a cute pair.  They made us smile with their sweet little voices and silly antics.  Braylen was trying really hard to crawl on vacation.  Next year he will be in the mix with Luke and Evie and Luke's little brother or sister will be taking the morning naps.  It's so much fun to see our family grow each year.